Report: Six Months of Low Carbs

[donheff]

Good descriptiont Al. Two years ago, I moved vaguely to a diet like your "low carb" diet and increased my bike riding significantly. I lost about 15 pounds and felt great. I think the biggest change was dropping the massive amounts of chocolate that I was addicted to. Last year, the candy crept back into my diet and has recently gotten out of control. Despite lots of riding miles my weight has crept back up 10 pounds. I am working my way into a zen like state so I can banish my candy addiction once and for all

 

[Nords]

I think the biggest change was dropping the massive amounts of chocolate that I was addicted to.

I hate to admit it, but chocolate is probably a significant weight-loss factor in any diet...

 

[audreyh1]

If you can limit yourself to a small amount, it shouldn't be a factor. If you can't...... well that's tough.

Audrey

 

[Orchidflower]

Good descriptiont Al. Two years ago, I moved vaguely to a diet like your "low carb" diet and increased my bike riding significantly. I lost about 15 pounds and felt great. I think the biggest change was dropping the massive amounts of chocolate that I was addicted to. Last year, the candy crept back into my diet and has recently gotten out of control. Despite lots of riding miles my weight has crept back up 10 pounds. I am working my way into a zen like state so I can banish my candy addiction once and for all

If you quit eating sweets for a couple weeks or more, you really WILL lose that sweet tooth totally...honest! I was eating lots of chocolate as it is all over the house for my mother and so darned convenient while I'm watching tv. I quit eating it and now I don't even like it all that much when I have had a piece. Course, I've been off it since December so my sweet tooth is gone totally now....altho a really good oatmeal cookie on the other hand...

 

[Bimmerbill]

I lost a lot of weight on Atkins. My cholesteral didn't go down much, but it was in the low 120s anyways. But, the ratio changed for the better.

But, I was STRICT Atkins. I may do it again, as I think I actually feel better on the Atkins diet, more clear headed, less tired, etc.

Maybe I'll get myself tested for cylliac one of these days.

 

[Pete]

People concerned about diabetes might want to research glycemic index and load science.

It's hard for me to think of salami and bacon as meat.

Did the human animal evolve to eat animal fat, salt, and cow mother's milk? What about things like legumes that need to be treated before we can eat them?

Things are probably far more complex then deciding to limit fat, protein, or carbs.

 

[audreyh1]

Salt and smoke-curing and high use of milk in diets (Indo-european) go back pretty far in human history - milk use at least 8500 years ago. And obviously plant cultivation has been around for even longer (12,000). Animal herding even longer (15,000).

I don't see how eating a strictly paleolithic diet is necessarily essential to good modern human health since human populations expanded considerably after adopting more modern habits. But there clearly appear to be health problems associated with contemporary eating and exercise habits - diabetes, obesity, etc. To me it's the comparison of today's developed societies with those of 100 years ago in terms of these "modern" diseases that is most alarming.

Audrey

P.S. Salting Fish to preserve it - 3500 BC in Mediterranean region.

 

[haha]

Things are probably far more complex then deciding to limit fat, protein, or carbs.

This is certainly true, and it it made much harder to untangle by the habit of medical researchers to spin their findings according to whatever theory is currently popular, and thus currently easy to get grants for.

On example is low fat diets. Whatever success these have is pitched in terms of the lowered fat content. However, it might well be from increased vegetables, or even just increases in certain vegetables.

Similarly statin effectiveness in lowering death rates from CHD, or in the case of some statins lowering all cause death rates is pitched in terms of cholesterol reduction. As it turns out however, equally powerful or perhaps more powerful are statin effects on inflammation.

If you read medical literature from this field it is easy to form the opinion that the summaries and even conclusions are made by logic deficient individuals.

Ha

 

[Westernskies]

but sometimes I'd love about a half a loaf of fresh french bread.

I'll drive the getaway car for the other half...

 

[Pete]

Salt and smoke-curing and high use of milk in diets (Indo-european) go back pretty far in human history - milk use at least 8500 years ago. And obviously plant cultivation has been around for even longer (12,000). Animal herding even longer (15,000).

I guess that only leaves a previous 190,000 years for modern man, and many more hundreds of thousands of years for our ancestors.

I'm sure that type of food will get us to reproductive age, which is all that's really necessary to carry on the human race. The question really is, is it healthy for us.

 

[Tigger]

According to a new study Mediterranean, low-fat and low-carb diets are all three equally effective in helping reverse blocked arteries.

That's good news for those like me who can't seem to make up their mind.

Sources:
BBC News - Low-fat, Mediterranean and low-carb diets 'help heart'
Dietary Intervention to Reverse Carotid Atherosclerosis -- Shai et al., 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.879254 -- Circulation

 

[audreyh1]

I guess that only leaves a previous 190,000 years for modern man, and many more hundreds of thousands of years for our ancestors.

I'm sure that type of food will get us to reproductive age, which is all that's really necessary to carry on the human race. The question really is, is it healthy for us.

It seems that there are plenty of healthy examples of societies eating traditional diets (as in diets from decades or 100 years ago) along with plenty of physical activity. Their longevity and health statistics are good. We don't have to go all the way back to paleolithic eating patterns to figure out how to be healthy. It's pretty clear some of the major modern health issues are very recent.

Audrey

 

[Orchidflower]

This was in USA Today--Atkins NEW book--and good article on low carb eating:
Digesting the facts on the 'New Atkins' low-carb diet - USATODAY.com

 

[RonBoyd]

Simply to add to the conversation:

Digesting the facts on the 'New Atkins' low-carb diet - USATODAY.com

 

[Orchidflower]

Great minds think alike?

 

[audreyh1]

For folks over 50 with total cholesterol below 180:

Do you really worry that much about fluctuations below that number? It's a pretty darn good number unless you are being treated for heart disease with a specifically lower target. It seems like the component numbers HDL and LDL and their ratio would be the key things to monitor when your diet changes.

Audrey

 

[Alan]

A slice of whole wheat bread with ICBINBL and homemade jam, and 12-16 oz of nonfat milk

Our church has just introduced a new weight loss product. It's a communion wafer called ICBINJ - "I can't Believe It's Not Jesus"

 

[haha]

Conclusion
I plan to keep carbs low. I'm going to do more research to make sure I'm not just a fad-diet wacko. Just from the standpoint of avoiding diabetes, keeping carbs low makes sense to me.

DW misses the carbs more than I did. Last night she prepared the bread machine so that this morning at 6 AM a loaf of bread was available for her to celebrate the end of six months of low carb. However, she plans to keep carbs somewhat low (e.g. quarter serving of rice with meal).

This seems to be not only a low carb diet, but also a very low calorie diet, particularly for someone who is as active as you are. I am quite active, but likely less so than you are, and also I am older than you and about the same size and build.

For example, my smallest breakfast might be 3 thick slices of Whole Foods pepper bacon, two eggs with cheese, a couple tablespoons of peanut or almond butter and maybe a few segments of grapefruit.

This lasts me usually 4 hours or so, and then I am ready to eat again. On a "diet" like this, I neither gain nor lose weight. My lunch and dinner are proportional, usually 1/2 poound or so of fresh meat or fish, and a large amount of low carb vegetable. (Spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, salad, etc.)

I drink a little, usually wine, sometimes booze but never beer. When I snack it is mostly almonds, pork rinds and cheese. I have no idea how many calories I eat per day, but I know it is less than prior to my beginning low carb 13 years ago.

After going low carb I quickly lost 15 pounds, from a 33 down to a 31" waist, and really have stayed about the same both as to weight and shape ever since.

I read recently that there is a genetic marker for those who respond well to low carb diets, vs. those who may be better off on a low fat diet. Since I could not follow low fat anyway, I didn't really mark the citation or even evaluate how sound I thought that it was.

There is some good Swedish research on a relatively unwesternized group called the Kitavans. I believe the researcher is Staffan Lindeberg. Anyway, these people are very healthy on a diet high in carbs of the roots and shoots variety.

I loved my winter squash, but they kill my blood sugars so I gave them up. We used to buy out a farmer's end of season squashes for 3 cents a pound, I'd get maybe 150 pounds, and give a little away but mostly my family and I ate the rest over the winter. Love those Hubbards and turbans, and their beautiful colors.

Ha

 

[Bestwifeever]

Our church has just introduced a new weight loss product. It's a communion wafer called ICBINJ - "I can't Believe It's Not Jesus"

I am so stealing this comment.

 

[Alan]

I am so stealing this comment.

You are very welcome - I heard it from The Vicar of Dibley herself

 

[TromboneAl]

I read recently that there is a genetic marker for those who respond well to low carb diets, vs. those who may be better off on a low fat diet.

Yes, I saw that. Probably this one:

But new research out of Stanford University has indicated that even the success of a diet could be predicted by your genes.

Recently Waltham, Mass.-based Interleukin Genetics, Inc., paid for DNA testing of 138 women who had taken part in a diet study in 2007. In the previous study women were assigned to a low-carb, low-fat or general diet.

Stanford researchers then compared the women's weight loss success with their genetic profile of three genes that show a pattern for metabolizing fats and carbohydrates, according to the Associated Press.
​

They found that if women's genes indicated they would metabolize fats better, they lost more weight on a low-fat diet than a low-carb diet. The reverse was true for women whose genes indicated they metabolized carbs better,​

 

[RAE]

I switched to a low-carb way of eating about 6 weeks ago, after reading Johnny Bowden's book "Living the Low Carb Life" (great book, by the way). He reviews several of the low-carb plans that are out there and gives you his opinion/rating of each of them. Anyway, after really watching carbs for the last 6 weeks, and also generally avoiding any food out of a box or a can (with a few exceptions, tuna being one), I am impressed with the results. I dropped about 15 lbs in the first 3 weeks (went from 173 to 158), with virtually all of that coming off of my gut (was able to tighten up the belt a notch). The really big change, though is in my blood pressure. Prior to going low-carb, my BP was consistently around 138/90, and sometimes over 140/90 - never could get it much lower than that, despite quite a bit of exercise. After a month on the low-carb plan, by BP is now never higher than 124/82, and yesterday it was 115/75. I am VERY pleased about that, as I have no desire to go on BP medication.

I have a big vegetable garden, so most of my meals these last 6 weeks have consisted of fresh garden veggies, plus some kind of meat or fish. Lots of garden salads. I do not eat processed meats at all (bacon, sausage, lunchmeat), as I don't want all the nitrates and salt that come along with processed meats. I eat a fair amount of salmon, chicken, beef, venison (we hunt deer), and fish that we catch around here. I do eat cheese, but don't drink milk. I do eat a lot of nuts (walnuts, almonds especially). I usually have a few small pieces of dark chocolate after a meal. I do drink red wine and beer.......haven't really cut back on either of those. My resting pulse rate is around 64, which I guess is pretty good (I am 55 years old). I do take a 2-mile walk with the dog each morning, plus mow my own grass with a push mower (big yard), work in the garden, etc..

At any rate, I'm pleased with the BP and weight results (and I feel really good), so I plan to stick with this. I basically eat as much as I want......don't feel hungry at all. The one thing I REALLY missed the first week or so was tortilla chips....used to eat them all the time, often in the evening as a snack. No more chips, and now I don't miss them at all. If I am hungry in the evening, I have a handful of nuts. No pasta, no bread, and I don't miss those now either.

I am looking forward to my next blood test to see what my cholesterol/HDL/LDL/triglyceride numbers are. Cholesterol was 220 prior to going on the low-carb plan (and HDL/LDL/triglycerides were not too good either), which is probably the thing that got me to do some research on low carbs, and eventually read Bowden's book.

 

[haha]

The one thing I REALLY missed the first week or so was tortilla chips....used to eat them all the time, often in the evening as a snack.

Congratulations on your great results. I ahve been low carb for 13 years now, and would never go back. If you still might enjoy a crunchy snack, look at pork rinds, or chicharrones. If you look around you can find pretty low salt varieties, and in fact if you can find a Mexican carnicería you can get them with no salt at all.

Very delicious, and 0 carbs.

Ha

 

[HFWR]

No bacon? The humanity...

 

[ClassOf2010]

I am glad to see that others on this board are also doing the low carb way of living (WOL). I hate to call it a diet since it should be a WOL for those of us who do not process carbs very well. I have been off and on Atkins, South Beach and now Protien Power over the last 10 years since cutting carbs is the only way that I can lose weight. Actually I have to stay under 20 grams of carbs a day to lose weight, once I sneak up to about 35 carbs I just maintain. As long as I am under 20 grams I am not hungry at all, usually I just eat breakfast and dinner. I also have lots of energy even though I am eating about 1200 calories a day. I do not like fish so it is egg beaters and sausage for breakfast and a grilled chicken salad for dinner. Yes I know, really boring. I don't seem to mind until the first slip up and then its back to no energy, craving carbs and an immediate 5 lb. water weight gain. I have been back doing this for about 3 months now and have lost 20 lbs., from 225 to 205 and need to go to about 175. I figured this may be my last chance since I am 58 and weight loss sure gets harder. Currently I have a desk job, but as soon as I retire sometime in the next 6 months exercise will be added.
Ha I have to admire you for staying with this WOL for 13 years, I hope that I can stay on it as well.