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While I was gathering together information about the body's weight loss mechanisms and metabolism, my research uncovered one very important fact: The amount of carbs you take in is directly related to the body's starvation mode.

The way in which the body reacts to the amount of carbs you digest can have a massive impact on the way in which you lose and gain weight. My low thyroid problem meant that I couldn’t lose weight as easily or as quickly as I used to. This fueled my interest about how to speed up my metabolism and which carbs to eat.

Once I was aware of how important the intake of carbs was to the body's gain and loss of weight, I started working this into my future diet. When you strategically vary your carb intake by eating different types and amounts, you can really give your metabolism a much needed “kick-start.” So, I decided to include brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat and oatmeal in my diet (all non-gluten), together with carbs from veggies and fruits. We were already eating brown rice as our main starch for lunch and dinner, and I was snacking on cooked buckwheat in my office before noon. And I had oatmeal breakfasts occasionally anyway. I decided to go with oatmeal because it doesn’t contain gluten and keeps me fuller longer than other cereals do. No one in my family is allergic to gluten, but, because of my son’s ADHD, we already tried to lower our gluten intake.

This combination of carbs would increase my metabolic rate while dieting so that I could avoid falling into a counter-productive “starvation mode.” The reality is – every diet that restricts carb calories over the long term can cause metabolism slowdown. At best, if you preserve with these diets you'll end up sacrificing muscle mass rather than actual fat. I was determined to find out how I could speed up my metabolism rate, because of the diet and because of my low thyroid.

After I set some rules about what I wanted to have in my diet, I went to work on the details. Snacking in-between was the easiest part; I’d have at least an apple and a carrot once a day, and some type of citrus fruit (orange or grapefruit) accompanied with a few nuts (such as 4-5 almonds) or a cup of cooked buckwheat. The apple or orange could be substituted with any other fruit that is in season (berries, pomegranates, melons, apricots), with the same serving size as an apple or orange. If still hungry after eating fruit and a few nuts, I’d fill up with the regular low carb snacks like raw celery, broccoli, cauliflower or any high fiber, low carb veggie (more on those later).

By the way, when eating apples, don’t peel them; the apple’s skin contains soluble fiber called pectin, which puts hunger to rest while lowering your blood sugar levels, making you less likely to reach for additional snacks. You’re also less likely to binge on sugary or calorie-dense foods when your blood sugar is steady. Since I was always thinking of pizza and cake while on my old diets, I wanted to make sure that I would be doing everything I could to keep my blood sugar steady while on my new one. By keeping my sugar levels steady, I’d be less likely to crave these foods… if I craved them at all!

Foods that stave off the hunger the longest are protein foods, followed by foods chock-full of fibers. I learned this after several Atkins diet cycles. My protein was always accompanied with a huge fiber-loaded, low-carb salad (spinach, shredded cabbage, lettuce, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, cucumber). The typical dressing I used was a combination of olive oil, lemon, minced garlic and salt or plain, low-fat yogurt or buttermilk with olive oil, minced garlic and salt. The amount of olive oil I used was usually 1 teaspoon and the rest was added to taste. Occasionally I would add a teaspoon of mustard or some herbs like basil, oregano, marjoram, chives, thyme, parsley, dill or mint. With all these options, I had many different dressings to choose from! It was crucial to vary salad dressings every day because the main pillar of my successful dieting was a large, fiber-loaded salad with dressing (or steamed veggie or stir fried veggie) and protein on the side. This was supposed to become the main pillar of my future diet (in the weight loss phase).

I decided to eat one such “salad-and-protein” meal every second day for dinner, switching it with stir-fry with a low-fat protein and some fiber-loaded veggie. With so many options of veggies to include in a salad or stir-fry, and with so many dressing options and so many options for proteins on the side, eating should never get boring.

Studies have shown that consumption of fiber-loaded, leafy greens leads to healthier, longer, disease-free lives. The greens are loaded with all sorts of nutritious compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, polyphenols, folate and various carotenoids. Most important to me was the fact that they would keep me full without containing too many calories. All these phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals were just a great bonus for my health.

I decided that most of the fat in my diet would come from olive oil, salmon, flax, nuts, and seeds because they’re supposed to be great for my veins. I was already using olive oil in my salads, my family ate salmon once a week already, and we were also already eating flax in our meals. A small amount of the fat in my diet would have to be a saturated fat of animal origin, found in lean meats, eggs and low-fat dairy products, but I wasn’t worried too much about the extra calories because it wouldn’t be a large amount of fat.

Because I am a gourmet cook and I like to eat fatty meat once in a while, and because I decided to exclude fatty red meats and fatty cheese because of my the problem with my veins, I started to have a grilled salmon fillet at least once a week. Salmon is fatty, but loaded with good Omega 3 fat. Most animal fats are composed of saturated fats, which are the most dangerous types of fat. Consumption of saturated fats raises cholesterol levels and elevates the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Because I’m a huge fan of beans and other legumes, I included them in my diet at least once or twice per week. They sometimes caused stomach discomfort (mostly when cooked without presoaking), but they didn’t cause any other problems for me. Plus, they’re full of antioxidants. If you have stomach problems with legumes, soak them for 24 hours or sprout them and your problems should disappear.