Ursa Minor

I was 352 lbs drinking 10 beers a day then discovered I had diabetes. Quit drinking went on low carb diet and started
riding my bike. Now im 222 lbs and blood sugar is always close to normal (81) even after I eat it rarely goes over 100.

Charlie

mrtuttle04

One of the things I did for breakfast was started mixing in chopped onion, bell pepper and fresh garlic into my morning eggs, replaced bacon with a pork chop, use olive oil rather than bacon grease. This helped go from an obese 258 to a trim 195.

Sixty Fiver

I don't cook with olive oil, heating messes it up.

Lard, butter, or a little fresh bacon fat works better and the bacon fat can add a really nice flavour as well as lots of calories.

Lard got such a bad rap and if you can can get it fresh and non-hydrogenated it has a better fat profile than butter, it is less expensive, and can handle more heat without oxidizing.

Tonight I roasted bacon; rolled it up, put it on skewers, and then baked it over a drip pan that has a little water to catch the drippings and keep things smokeless... it really brings out the smoky taste of the bacon.

mrtuttle04

I would like to see more low card food ideas. For example, my wife makes a great low-carb pizza. Rather than using bread for the crust, she uses baked spaghetti squash or sliced egg plant.

What are your favorite low=carb foods?

Sixty Fiver

We are not actually raving bacon fiends... a little goes a long way due to the nutritional density.

Our favourite low carb food has to be Greek salad... we can have this several times a week and never tire of it.

We typically have eggs or full fat yogurt in the morning with bulletproof coffee, these are usually scrambled with some cheese mixed in. Sometimes bacon is a meal in itself as it was this evening and our favourite side vegetable tends to be spinach or dandelion when those are in season.

We don't always have lunch but snack on a few hand fulls of nuts or cheese during the day... we don't have a lot of food cravings with this way of eating.

I cook rather simply and add lots of non starchy vegetables to any meat dishes we make; we cook beef heart and also have beef or pork liver once a week, will cook chicken at least once a week, have several fish / seafood dinners, and then there is the Greek salad at least twice a week.

I prefer roasted / poached, or stewed meats... heart is very good like this as it is so very lean.

We usually have another bulletproof coffee in the evening and if I am going out on my bike I make this up in my thermos.

lenA

My eating plan is very similar to Sixty Fiver and most other HFLC people.

The simple fact that I am always in ketosis eliminates all cravings and I have to at times convince myself to eat at all. Many true long term LCers will tell you the same. As a former binge eating carbo junkie, this aspect is really the most rewarding for me.

I eat one meal 5-6PM and just grab some fatty favorite snacks during the day. Nuts, cheese and sausage. I also will munch on sunflower and pumpkin seeds in the shell later in the evening.

I'm retired.... which uncomplicates this schedule.

I have an electric outdoor smoker and anything that comes out of there is yummy. I also like to invent omelette combinations.... last one was smoked gouda with shrimp and sweet onions.

I carry the same foods bike touring and hiking. No bonking... (thank the powers that be !) :-)

akohekohe

Thought you people might find this article interesting. If you want to read the whole article and don't have access to a medical library PM me. Anyway, it seems the list of neurological conditions that can benefit from ketosis continues to increase .

Ursa Minor

Interesting article how cancer cells like glucose

https://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/w...c-quirk-cancer

GeorgeBMac

I just stumbled upon 'PlantPositive.com' which present a series of videos which debunk the claims of the LCHF diet advocates...

Here is one of them discussing claims made on the Australian TV by Dr Demassi. The video is directed at one program and one advocate, but the points they make cover the overall talking points used to promote the LCHF diets.

https://www.plantpositive.com/catalys...d-1-the-histo/


I think you guys owe it to yourselves to watch it...

p.s. The site also has a series debunking the 'myth' of the Paleo diets. I haven't watched them (yet), but I suspect that they are interesting.

bbbean 

Because, after all Australian TV and commercial websites are the best sources for nutritional information...

GeorgeBMac

Since, the LCHF / Paleo people are generally getting their information from books, TV and the internet... I guess its the primary source for them.

I'm not saying everything in the video is correct -- but it presents some effective counter points to at least some of the paleo/LCHF talking points.

Sixty Fiver

There is too much radical bias from the hard core vegans and paleo adherents, too much opinion gets passed off as science.

GeorgeBMac

For the past 1,000 years or so science has been used (or should I say: "twisted, bent and mis-used"?) as a tool of religion -- religions of all sorts. Including the religion of nutrition.

Interestingly, some of Jewish dietary edicts from the old testament had some basis in 'science' (or what passed as science back in the time). I forget the details -- but there were pragmatic health reasons for many of those edicts.

Fat Boy

Monounsaturated oils, like olive oil, have a low smoke point which creates carcinogens when you get it too hot. 'Evil' saturated fats have much higher smoke points which can take a lot more heat. Coconut oil, red palm oil, grass-fed beef tallow, grass-fed ghee and lard(to a lesser extent because of a less advantageous O6:O3 ratio) are all better cooking options.

This is the grass-fed ghee I use. There's a lot of good fat there including a good proportion of Omega 3's and CLA. I'm not sensitive to dairy, but even people who are can usually eat ghee without problems.

Jared.

I'm not on a Paleo diet, nor do I wish to ascribe to a HFLC one, but those videos were completely unbearable to watch, extremely boring and predictable. They were not even remotely interesting.

GeorgeBMac

Jared, the videos are not action flicks designed to entertain you.

They are meant to inform you and offer a counter point to the biased and one-sided arguments put out by some of the the nutrition "experts" that too many people have accepted as being true. The trouble is not that they aren't true -- most of those 'expert opinions' contain some grain of truth -- but only one part of the whole truth.

Anybody truly interested in a healthy diet will look at all sides of the picture -- because few experts will do that for them. They are too busy selling their particular spin on things.

Jared.

I said nothing about entertainment. You said it was interesting. I said it was not. The arguments put forward were predictable, not progressive at all.

It it looks and sounds like every debunking video out there. Debunking doesn't give "all sides of the picture" it simply tries to negate one side. It would be much more interesting to have read an article about the specific benefits of flaxseed, or the benefits of leafy green veggies, maybe something about high protein/high fat food items not derived from animals, etc...

Also, what would the end game be, to prove to everyone else in the thread that their choice in diet is wrong? How do you think that will work out for you?

Sixty Fiver

I have read the "de-bunking" that plant positive did concerning the research done on Stefansson and his Inuit diet and they neglect to point out that the initial diet was high in protein and very lean and this did caused health issues because a high protein diet is not healthy. In the absence of fuel (fats and carbs) the liver will convert proteins into glycogen which is both stressful to the body and inefficient because of the conversion of protein to energy is less than 90%.

When he and his partner modified the test diet and increased the fat intake and ate a very limited amount of carbs (vegetables) they were fine.

After this Stefansson re-joined the world and adopted a more western diet and many of the health issues he had experienced prior to his time with the Inuit returned.

My mother in law (65 years old) has had chronic pain issues for years... she has recently adopted a lower carb, higher fat diet which is very much like her mom used to make aside from cutting out bread / grains.

Her pain levels have dropped, she sleeps better, and now is seeing some extra weight coming off... my father in law is not complaining as his wife gets curvier and more importantly, has more energy to do things like going snow-shoeing in northern Michigan.

She is also enjoying some guilt free eating and has a much richer diet and expect that my father in law (diabetic) will soon be onboard with this as he battles with weight issues and diabetes is common in his family (he is from the deep south).

It does not take a radical change in one's diet to see improvements, whether you go low carb / high fat (omnivore) or vegan / vegetarian the common thing I see with people who get healthier is the elimination of processed foods and sugars and in either case, most people need to increase their fat intake as this greatly aids in the absorption of nutrients you get in all those vegetables.

If it is a matter of weight loss being a goal, lowering your carbs is the only way to go but one should avoid starvation so you have to change the fuel source... for vegans things like coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, and avocado are some excellent options to increase dietary fat.



This is hard science btw...

GeorgeBMac

No "end game" for me.

The video's were offered simply to offset some who believe the Paleo/LCHF diets are the "NEW" science that has replaced the "OLD" nutrition science. They are just a reminder that nutrition science is still in its infancy and we need to proceed with caution and be very careful about what snake oil buy into...

For myself, I follow what many consider to be an extreme diet (as compared to the standard American diet). But, while I am aware of its benefits, I also try to keep myself aware of its limitations and potential pit-falls. It is one of the reasons why I track what I eat everyday and regularly review the micro and macro nutrient levels that I am taking in -- and, as a result, I have made several tweaks to it after seeing some deficiencies that the aficionados' of that diet told me would not happen.

Jared.

What does your extreme diet consist of? If it is too off topic maybe we should start a new thread? Do you get micro/macro nutritional levels tested?

I would like to get my nutritional levels tested, but haven't done so. I feel great on my current diet but would like to quantify in some ways.

I do agree with you that nutritional information is rapidly changing, and we do have to be wary of current "trends". I just dislike the debunking videos as a means of education.

Fat Boy

Ya, the vegan-veggie-all fruit-whatever discussion is down the hall.

GeorgeBMac

The thread, and my post are about the Paleo/LCHF diets -- let's leave it at that.

But your response assumes that: If I criticize paleo/LCHF diets, then I must be advocating some other diet. I am not. I think ALL extreme diets need to be approached very carefully with an open mind -- and with the realization that it probably contains some good and some not so good.

But, it is unfortunate that: if you get away from popular media, then you are left with mainstream stuff like the food pyramid.

The popular media can be a blessing as well as a curse: not everything you read or see in it is true (usually it is either partially true or part of the truth) -- but it often DOES contain some element of truth that is not available from the mainstream sources backed by the government and agricultural and medical industries.

I think things like the Paleo diets (and others) start out based on some valid pieces of truth but then get proselytized to the point of becoming a religion -- and too many people then follow them absolutely and blindly...

GeorgeBMac

Fat Boy, you are the only one who mentioned: "vegan-veggie-all fruit-whatever".

It is true that I provided some research based criticism of the Paleo/LCHF based diets. I did not push any other diet.

Again: If you are following an extreme diet - ANY extreme diet - I think it is wise to have an understanding of the arguments both for and against that diet and to proceed cautiously.

Wesley36

+1.

lenA

what's an extreme diet? thinking outside the pyramid?