The results are in, and they're unimpressive

I'm calling this experiment over.  The four pounds I lost in the last month are not sufficient motivation for me to continue a diet with which I'm not particularly happy.  I have no issue with egg whites and low fat cheese and lean meat, but I don't want to eat them to the exclusion of so many other things that I like.  And I'm tired of not eating "healthy" foods such as carrots and brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes because they dare to have too many carbohydrates in them.

Am I going to eat precisely the way I did before I tried low carb?  No, because I liked some of the things I tried.  Blackberries and blueberries in my yogurt?  Delish!  Spiced pumpkin seeds?  Totally yummy.  Spinach salad?  Surprisingly, now a regular thing.  Which I like.  Do I want to add rice or potatoes to my dinner?  Not particularly.  Do I wish to eat cereal instead of eggs in the morning? Yes I do.

Mainly I want things like apples and bananas (and mangoes, in season) back in my diet.

Some observations:

1)  On a low carb diet, my blood sugar (or rather the observed effects, as I wasn't poking my finger hourly) seemed more stable.  Although I prefer cereal in the morning, that egg white omelet does serve me better.  As does the spinach in it, probably.  But you know what?  I don't like cooking in the morning.  I just want my dang bowl of high protein, high fiber cereal.  Or oatmeal with flaxseed meal in it.
2)  For endurance activities, low carb just doesn't do it for me.  I started supplementing my activities with higher carbohydrate snacks (or mixes such as trail mix, which have both sugary dried fruit for short term energy and proteiny/fatty nuts for long term energy) if they were going to last more than about 90 minutes.  And as you might have noticed, some of my activities last a LOT longer than 90  minutes. 8-10 hours is fairly normal for me on backpacking days.  14 hour days happen.
3)  Even with all the vegetables I was eating (A LOT) I had a hard time getting in enough fiber.  Whole grains and beans are key, for me.  And those flax muffins?  Edible, but not enticing.
4)  I liked the extra veggies.  I intend to keep having them.
5)  It can be very difficult to avoid both real sugar and artificial sweeteners.  Upon carefully reading labels, I find sucralose and aspartame in almost everything.  Even in foods that are also sweetened with real sugar (or high fructose corn syrup).

So, with a heartfelt sigh, I am going back to just counting calories and eating a more normal ratio protein/carbohydrate/fat.  And probably not losing weight.  And trying not to feel bad about it.  And the REASON I'm trying to not feel too bad about it is that 8-10 hours of hiking.  I figure, if I can do that and feel good, then I'm pretty much okay.

Next up, probably?  How annoying it is to try to figure out how much food you're eating when you're not eating something prepackaged.

PS: Remember to change your clocks tonight.
PPS:  I might ride a horse tomorrow.
PPPS:  Backpacking next weekend woo!