Even though true vegans usually consume a lot of fiber, they must be getting enough calories somehow. Perhaps it is just easier to not eat too much when you are consuming so much fiber.

Protein in the U.S. is primarily tied to fat. I will give you that one. The only thing is that it doesn't have to be. Just because people have become addicted to the taste of animal fat, doesn't mean that it has to be that way.

Everybody always wants to automatically tie the lo-carb diet to the Atkins version of it. Atkins was an idiot or, at least, ignorant. He promoted the idea that you could eat as much fat, any type of fat, that you wanted and continue this type of lifestyle for the rest of your life. He apparently did this and look what happened to him. He just would never give in to the idea that some types of fat are a lot worse for your body than other types. Maybe he had no clue about trans fats, I don't know.

You don't have to consume a lot of fat to induce ketosis, just not a lot of carbohydrates. If you want to prove this to yourself, get some of those Ketostix that diabetics have to use and test your urine after about a 20 mile ride without ingesting any carbos during this time frame. It will come out positive for the presence of ketones at some level. Ketones are produced when your body breaks down non-carbohydrate sources for energy. This occurs with both proteins and fats but when you are exercising your body shoots for fat before it does protein. During a normal workout when you have not completely depleted your glycogen stores, you will consume approximately 60% carbos, 30% fat, and 10% protein.

Once you have ingested some carbos to replenish your glycogen stores, the ketones will disappear and your test will be negative.

Don't worry about the fact that you used 10% protein. You won't lose an entire calf muscle during a twenty mile ride. This protein is easily replaced when you consume a small amount along with your replacement carbos after the ride.

As you say, eat your protein. And as I have said your fat sources do not have to be animal fats. These can come from plant sources. So many people automatically think that if you are going lo-carb then you obviously can't eat any vegetables. No, there are plenty of lo-carb veggies out there too.

There are also sources of lo-fat protein on land. It is just that so many people out there now reject the idea. Have you ever tried deer meat? Ummmmm good, and virtually no fat if you prepare it correctly. You don't see a lot of overweight deer out there running around in the woods. I usually get two each year, have it prepared and wrapped locally, stick it in my chest freezer, and use it gradually over about a six-month period. There are so many white tail deer in my state that they are trying to entice hunters to take more than they do and to take more does to keep the population under control. Hunters that like to hunt deer but not eat it can donate it at nearly any check-in site in the state and it will be used to feed people that do not have enough to eat. It looks like they are getting a better diet than the people that live on filet mignon and T-bone steaks. Imagine that.

If they wanted to, they could raise deer on open range land in the west (there is still a lot of it out there) let them eat grass and corn rather than ground-up cow and dog meat like they do on high production beef farms and sell it for a fortune. I guess that no one with any money to invest in a project like this has ever thought of the idea yet.

I am not an advocate of staying on a lo-carb diet for your entire life either. I just do it off-and-on myself. I primarily use it just as a means of keeping my weight under control during the off-season when I am not out pushing the pedals as much as I might like to be. It is just hard to get any real mileage during the winter season here.