Low Carb Guide-Group Review Needed

baconslave

I've been working on a quick introductory guide to low-carbing for newbs or the low-carb curious as part of the new FAQ. I really want to get something up on the group here for New Year's. People are evaluating their lives right now and after the first, and I want something available for the people investigating low-carb to chew on.

So here is what I'm working on. Please skim it and give me some feedback on what needs added for the newbie. It isn't meant to be an exhaustive guide. We'll add links later for more in-depth topics as we get them ready. But I'm hoping this will be a good starter.

All this "low-carb" business can be confusing. It is quite simply complicated. Careless media practices have given people all sorts of crazy ideas of what "low-carbing" is. Here is a brief low-down for those who want to try it for themselves or just learn how it all works.

The term "Low-carb" is a blanket generalization for any eating plan that restricts carbohydrate intake. On the individual level, there are many different ways to skin a cat, and there are many different ways to go "low-carb." The Standard American Diet (SAD) often contains 300g or more of carbohydrates per day and while sites like MFP recommend that 40% to 50% of your intake be carbohydrates, which can technically be lower than the SAD, that is not really accepted as low-carb. Diets like South Beach, the Zone, or Sugar Busters tend to be lower in carbs than the SAD, and are great plans, but are not low-carb diets.
So what IS low-carb? Medical recommendations for those with insulin resistance, diabetes, and PCOS often are in a range of 150-100 grams of carbs per day. So we can draw our line there. Underneath this imaginary line, however, dwells a plethora of differing plans and levels, depending on your needs.

Low-carb diets, in general, focus plans around meats (poultry, fish, beef, pork), eggs, low-carb dairy (cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream), fats, and the low-carb, non-starchy vegetables (like leafy greens and brocolli), however the plans that allow higher carb levels also allow for legumes, fruits, starchy vegetables, and whole grains. Generally they avoid added sugars (table sugar and corn syrups, for example) and limit (if not eliminate altogether) white flour, pasta, and rice. However, each plan is different, differing in carb level and restrictions.

On the Level: Low-carbing by Carb Level:
The lowest carb plans are ketosis plans. Here carb intake ranges from zero to 50g daily. The aim of these plans are to decrease carbs so greatly that your body enters ketosis, the process in which the body switches from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat. This process has many health benefits, including aiding those with insulin resistance, epilepsy, and some autoimmune issues. It is also reported to help curb cravings and increase energy in those who follow these plans. Atkins and keto are ketosis plans and begin with cutting carbs to 20g daily for a period. Atkins slowly increases their carb count by readding certain foods it had restricted in certain phases, until the person discovers their personal carb threshhold. Many keto folks do increase theirs as well, though keto doesn't usually specifically restrict thing.

Ketosis plans, due to the very low carb count, keep food consumption to proteins, fat, and non-starchy veggies, low-carb dairy and a small amount of nuts. Those closer to 50g occasionally add low-carb fruits.

The next bracket, which range from 50g-100g daily, have a greater variety of foods available. They often can add, in addition to their non-starchy vegetables (which they may eat more of) add low-carb fruits, more nuts, and in cases of careful carb-budgeting in the higher levels, can add small amounts of legumes and whole grains.

Lower-carb plans: range from 100g-150g daily (45-60g per meal is the American Diabetic Association recommendation.) These usually encourage you to keep tabs on your carb count by choosing carbs that are low on the Glycemic Index. Those on these plans may choose low-carb, fruits, appropriate servings of whole grains and starchy vegetables.

Carb count is very important to the low-carber, but the quality (kind) of the carb is crucial as well. Most old-timers in the low-carb scene would recommend you would be wiser to choose foods with a low Glycemic Load, that is, they cause less of an insulin response than other foods. The whole reason low-carb diets are pursued is this: lower carb intake decreases the insulin response, which urges the body to fuel itself from stored fat instead of glucose (sugars) and to discourage the body from storing extra energy as fat.

However, carbs aren't everything in a low-carb diet. We are concerned with the other macros (fat and protein) as well. The proportion in which you consume these other macros will impact you. You may see the acronym LCHF (Low Carb/High Fat) associated with many low-carb diets. What does this mean? This means that to be successful and healthy while low-carbing, and in addition feel generally more satisfied, you need to make sure to eat enough fat. Isn't fat bad? NO. It's not. The medical community is discovering that the studies that lead us to believe that nonsense for decades was misreported and misrepresented. Too little fat will leave your appetite unsatisfied and will make you tired. Too much or too little protein can affect your health as well causing you to strain your liver and kidnety (protein too high) or become too tired and potential lose lean muscle (protein too low).

Another important concern for those following a low-carb diet are dehydration and electrolyte balance. Asking your body to fuel itself with fat instead of sugar causes your body to need more water. Water is the best beverage for your body's health. We realize a lot of people don't like to drink water. There are many zero-carb, zero-calorie flavors we can now add to our water to make it more palatable. So no excuses! And as we drink more water, our electrolyte consumption should increase. Drinks like Powerade Zero and water flavors like Mio Sport can help you keep your electrolytes up.

Artificial sweeteners can help low-carbers to mitigate any remaining flare-up of the sweet tooth. Many of them are zero-carb, however, powdered sweeteners generally have 1g carbs (and 4 or 5 calories) for 1 tsp due to the bulking agent added (usually maltodextrin or dextrose)since they are too lightweight on their own. A better solution is to look for liquid versions of the artificial sweeteners. These are super concentrated and usually zero-carb. Some plans shun artificial sweeteners however. And unfortunately, some people find that their use may either stall their progress, adversely affect their blood sugar, or cause them gastric distress. YMMV. Your Mileage May Vary.

What if you don't like any of the low-carb plans? Or if you just want to get started now while you are still nailing down which plan you want? All of the above information seems like a lot of confusing do's and don'ts, and some plans may seem complicated, but low-carbing can be simply reduced to the following to get you started:

Carbs: set your carbs to a realistic goal for you. If you have a medical condition, you should follow the carb gram recommendation given to you. But if you are pursuing a low-carb diet for weightloss (or for the other benefits this diet provides), we generally recommend a 100g ceiling for beginners. Set your sugar to 30-40g. Try not to exceed either of them. You can jump down to 100g immediately, or if you'd rather, set your goal to 150g and decrease it slowly over time. This level generally provides enough challenge for beginners coming off the SAD, but is still easily attainable once you learn to center your meals around something that isn't pasta, bread, or white potatoes.

Protein: set your protein to .5-1g per pound of lean body weight, or about 100g, and try to get close (it's okay if you're a little over or a little under). This is generally a good starting point for most people, as you can easily reach this goal with 3-4oz of a protein source per meal, which is reasonable for most people without trying to artificially inflate or deflate the amount. Beware of eating too much protein if you are a diabetic or on a ketosis plan, as excessive protein can be converted in to glucose by the body (glucogenesis) affecting blood sugar levels, insulin production, and for the ketosis-folk, possibly kick you out of ketosis.

Fat: After setting your protein level and carb level, fill the rest of your intake with fat. This can look like a scary number at first, but it isn't bad. Fat is not bad. We can't say this enough. Fat fills you up, makes food tasty, and when paired with the appropriate amount of protein, can keep you satisfied for a long time and give you energy.

Also, if you guys would let me know where you all fall on the LC spectrum and/or suggest plan links to go with it until we get a more formal post on Plans ready, that would be awesome.

TIA.

deansdad101

baconslave wrote: »

I've been working on a quick introductory guide to low-carbing for newbs or the low-carb curious as part of the new FAQ. I really want to get something up on the group here for New Year's. People are evaluating their lives right now and after the first, and I want something available for the people investigating low-carb to chew on.

So here is what I'm working on. Please skim it and give me some feedback on what needs added for the newbie. It isn't meant to be an exhaustive guide. We'll add links later for more in-depth topics as we get them ready. But I'm hoping this will be a good starter.

All this "low-carb" business can be confusing. It is quite simply complicated. Careless media practices have given people all sorts of crazy ideas of what "low-carbing" is. Here is a brief low-down for those who want to try it for themselves or just learn how it all works.

<snipped>

Also, if you guys would let me know where you all fall on the LC spectrum and/or suggest plan links to go with it until we get a more formal post on Plans ready, that would be awesome.

TIA.

Bacon;

Looks "great" to me.

A very good "balance" between being "general" enough to cover all the bases but with just the right amount of "detail and specifics" to define what is essentially impossible to define because we are not describing the "rules" for any one specific regimen, but rather the overall "philosophy" of LCHF in general.

While I (and I would guess most others), might take exception to a couple of the "specifics" - that's "just me" and I suspect that it's inevitable that no matter what anyone attempts compose, 100% agreement with 100% of the content is simply never going to happen (except, maybe for the author him/herself).

All in all, yours is an exemplary effort and you are due a hugh debt of gratitude on behalf of all "groupies" - present and future. THANK YOU!!!

One (very small) edit:
"Many keto folks do increase theirs as well, though keto doesn't usually specifically restrict thing."

I'm guessing the "s" (in "things") was just a typo, but even with that I'm not sure that the sentence in its entirety is what you really are trying to convey.

"Most" "keto" plans actually do "restrict" certain things. Not "prohibit" per se, but "restrict" (carbs in general, grains, sugars, "processed foods", etc).

On the "links" issue.

Rather than specific links to the individual "plans" embedded in the body of your FAQ, I'd suggest one "general" link as your concluding paragraph - to the "library" which will include a complete listing of links to "all" of the available options and be updated and added to as time goes on.

Gets the reader to all available info and saves having to "update" and "revise" the links in your work. More of a "process" comment than a "content" one, and just a suggestion.

shadesofidaho

Looks great to me. I am not really sure what plan I am on so I just plugged in Atkins. But I am leaning more towards the book Loose Weight by Eating by Sten Sture Skaldeman
Skaldeman, Sten Sture (2011-12-01). Lose Weight by Eating (Kindle Locations 8-9). Little Moon Publishing. Kindle Edition. Recipes are wonderful.

Deansdad recommended this book and it is very good for me. I like that I can add the protein and carbs together and divide them into the Fat and come up with a number that shows I am doing it right. Quote from book. I eat 100 g of fat. I divide the weight of the fat by the weight of the remaining portions (80 g of protein and 20 g of carbohydrates). 100 divided by 100 is 1, so the fat burning quotient is 1. The goal is to keep your GI to Zero so it is called the GI ZERO diet/plan.

There was a general recommended of a protein verses fat verses carbs percentage I picked up from some one. I forget who and I set my MFP goals to this standard. I will have to look it up if you want it. Anyway it all seems to work for me and it easy to figure with out taking up too much of my day. I do not want my life to revolve around every bite I put in my mouth.

One thing I do do and some may catch me doing this and wonder. I use MFP to plan my meal. I try to get each meal to the magic figure of the GI Zero number to one or above. SO I take some foods I have I might like to eat and mentally put the meals together and check them out on MFP foods to see if it will all work. Tweak what I need to then go fix my meal. So if some one would see one thing on my foods and 10 minutes later there is some thing else I am not cheating I am just planning. I also use my MFP foods to check macros of anything even if it is some thing I am just curious about. So do not watch me too closely. LOL Not that any one is.

FIT_Goat

I am on the extremist side for very low carb. Basically, I follow my interpretation of Bear's seven rules here:

1) Eat only from the animal world.

2) Eat nothing from the vegetable world whatsoever. (Very small amounts of flavourings such as garlic/chillies/spices/herbs which may be added, are not ‘food’).

3) On dairy: avoid milk and yoghurt (heavy carbs- lactose), use only pure (not ‘thickened’- heavy) cream (read the label), cheese and unsalted butter.

4) Don’t cook your meat very much- just a little bit on the outside- for flavour- blood-rare or bleu. For this reason I advise against eating pork.

5) Eat liver and brains only very infrequently- they are full of carbs.

6) Be sure to have plenty of fat of animal origin at each meal and eat mostly of the fat until you feel you have had enough- you can eat more lean at this point if you like- calories are not important, nor is the number of meals/day. Vegetable oils are not good food.

7) You do not need any supplements of any kind. Drink a lot of water and do not add salt to anything.

I add salt to stuff. I eat pork and other meats, some of them cooked well (chicken, ground beef, etc.) and I sometimes eat things off this plan. The Bear was also opposed to drinking alcohol, which I will do from time to time. Although, to be completely honest, 99% of the time, my diet conforms to all these except the salt.

tq33702

"...I am leaning more towards the book Lose Weight by Eating by Sten Sture Skaldeman
Skaldeman, Sten Sture (2011-12-01). Lose Weight by Eating (Kindle Locations 8-9). Little Moon Publishing. Kindle Edition. Recipes are wonderful..."

Me, too, Sten Sture Skaldeman has made it
very simple to understand:
(Fat grams) divided by (Protein grams + Carb grams)

"...It is based on the tenet that the fat in our food
should weigh at least as much as the protein, and
the carbohydrate portion should be low. It is even
better, if the fat weighs twice as much as the protein..."

Skaldeman, Sten Sture (2011-12-01). Lose Weight by
Eating, Little Moon Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Using MFPs Food Diary for meal planning and electrolytes
monitoring is a great help, too.

tq33702

baconslave:
Very nice to see the principles
of Low Carb so well organized.
Well done.

cindytw

I think it is good but cant it be made simpler? I am a 100 or less carber depending on season. I CAN'T avoid great fruits in season, but I do rounds of 20-30g in winter. I feel eating and moving seasonally is natural. I also burn up those carbs in summer where I may not in winter.

happylifex10

Hi folks, new to the group and would love your help and guidance. Carb's are my huge downfall and know that this is my downfall and therefore think that I could benefit with your group. I have been reading the posts above and would like to request friends so that I can see your menus and better understand the way of life. I would really be happy losing 27 pounds but certainly could do another 10. Thanks in advance

Dragonwolf

cindytw wrote: »

I think it is good but cant it be made simpler? I am a 100 or less carber depending on season. I CAN'T avoid great fruits in season, but I do rounds of 20-30g in winter. I feel eating and moving seasonally is natural. I also burn up those carbs in summer where I may not in winter.

Do you have any suggestions for what you mean by "simpler"? We'd love to, by all means, make the introduction simple, but our goal is also to not get too specific on the "rules" of executing a low-carb diet until the more detailed sections (we actually have a fairly extensive outline that we're working on filling out, which includes more specific details of the more specific plans).

happylifex10 wrote: »

Hi folks, new to the group and would love your help and guidance. Carb's are my huge downfall and know that this is my downfall and therefore think that I could benefit with your group. I have been reading the posts above and would like to request friends so that I can see your menus and better understand the way of life. I would really be happy losing 27 pounds but certainly could do another 10. Thanks in advance

Welcome, happylife! You'll find a lot of great resources in this group, and I recommend perusing the past posts for the all kinds of information they contain. That said, you'll probably be best off creating a new thread with your introduction and possibly any specific questions you have. That way, your introduction and questions don't get lost in this thread, which wasn't really started for that purpose.

baconslave

Dragonwolf wrote: »

cindytw wrote: »

I think it is good but cant it be made simpler? I am a 100 or less carber depending on season. I CAN'T avoid great fruits in season, but I do rounds of 20-30g in winter. I feel eating and moving seasonally is natural. I also burn up those carbs in summer where I may not in winter.

Do you have any suggestions for what you mean by "simpler"? We'd love to, by all means, make the introduction simple, but our goal is also to not get too specific on the "rules" of executing a low-carb diet until the more detailed sections (we actually have a fairly extensive outline that we're working on filling out, which includes more specific details of the more specific plans).

happylifex10 wrote: »

Hi folks, new to the group and would love your help and guidance. Carb's are my huge downfall and know that this is my downfall and therefore think that I could benefit with your group. I have been reading the posts above and would like to request friends so that I can see your menus and better understand the way of life. I would really be happy losing 27 pounds but certainly could do another 10. Thanks in advance

Welcome, happylife! You'll find a lot of great resources in this group, and I recommend perusing the past posts for the all kinds of information they contain. That said, you'll probably be best off creating a new thread with your introduction and possibly any specific questions you have. That way, your introduction and questions don't get lost in this thread, which wasn't really started for that purpose.

That IS the simple version. If all low-carb diets were the same, then it could be 3 paragraphs. Unfortunately, a guide for Atkins by itself would be as long, or keto, or a diabetic diet, or.... There are so many versions of low-carb diets, since "low-carb" is an umbrella term, it's difficult to be too concise, otherwise we leave out an important section of low-carb eaters or important information. I'll look it over again.

But if we can find good ways to cut any chaff from it, then I'm all for that. I tried to keep my witty commentary to a minimum and keep the bare bones. There will definitely be "in-depth" for the various diets by themselves. But in the interest of the New Year time crunch, I'm going to put it up as it is as of Wed. It can be changed after that, but I wanted help up for those who'll be looking for it on/after the 1st.

I'll probably add a couple of links for the time being to Atkins, to an LCHF site, a Keto FAQ, Glycemic/Load Index, and the Diabetic Association, just temporarily so it's there for those who need it. It can be relocated at a later date. If any of you have particular suggestions to that effect, I'm all ears.


As far as low-carb plans go. I'm Keto-folk, but have done other low-carb diets and have already "rolled my own" maintenance plan that is also low-carb (probably 50 g net carbs) but possibly not as hardcore as Keto. We'll see. I have to lose the last 30lbs first.

Life is intruding to my interwebz time right now, so I'm off to wrangle brats and run errands. Keep suggestions coming if you have any.

shadesofidaho

Thank you so much for working on this Baconslave. It is a challenge for sure.

GaleHawkins

Yes thanks to everyone involved. Simple is better in my view. We are going to all evolve into a plan that works for us but it needs to be simple to start.

Actually I was into nutrition ketosis without knowing what it ready was just because I went heavy on coconut oil looking for pain manage for my joint and muscle pain. While it helped I decided to cut sugar but that to go cold turkey on most all carbs to get rid of the carb cravings which by default put me into ketosis.

I have 40 pounds to go on losing 75 to get to a BMI of 25 but should be 29.9 by this weekend. A BMI of 27 as a long term thing would make me happy. I do not want to be under 25 ever based on what I learned over the weekend.

baconslave

Just bumping and posting some quick guide links for beginners to add tomorrow.

LCHF
Atkins
American Diabetes Association-What to Eat
Glycemic Index/Load List

Any additions to this "Getting Newbies Started" links or any opposition to the ones I list or better suggestions, please make the suggestions. TIA!!

Sajyana

I've been away for a few days so I've missed this. Could I make one request?

Can we please, please, please change the header pic? It's pixelated and awful to look at. I'd be happy to search for some possible replacements.

baconslave

Sajyana wrote: »

I've been away for a few days so I've missed this. Could I make one request?

Can we please, please, please change the header pic? It's pixelated and awful to look at. I'd be happy to search for some possible replacements.

YES YES YES! We'd love suggestions. We'd like it changed, too.

deansdad101

Sajyana wrote: »

I've been away for a few days so I've missed this. Could I make one request?

Can we please, please, please change the header pic? It's pixelated and awful to look at. I'd be happy to search for some possible replacements.

Saj:

As BS said, all of the mods are in total agreement and we do have it on the "radar" but so far, at least, we've tried to stay focused on some of the more "pressing" issues and it's kind of been placed on the back burner.

So I'd agree, wholeheartedly with her comments and urge you (and anyone else interested) to offer any/all suggestions.

We truly believe that this is YOUR group and we welcome (and need) all the help and input we can get.

A couple things I would ask those looking for alternative graphics to keep in mind;

First, be aware of any copyright "issues" that might exist on the graphics you consider, and,

Second, part of the reason for the "pixelation" (not to mention the general "what the hxxx IS that, anyway?" <g>) is because the original graphic was "square" and when whoever decided to use it they apparently didn't realize that MFP would "auto-crop" it the banner format arbitrarily so it "cut off" the top and bottom and what was left is.....what you get.

So when looking for a replacement, it's best if the ones you consider are already formatted in the "banner" style or if not, they can be "cropped" to that format and retain the meaning and impact you are looking for.

The "cropping" option though has some drawbacks of it's own since it too can introduce pixelation so if going that route, try to stick to graphics with relatively higher resolution if you can.

Trust me when I say that we are "anxiously" awaiting ANY and ALL suggestions and will make the change just as soon as the "group" can agree on one that "works" for the majority.

The more suggestions - the merrier!!!

We'd LOVE to have the problem of deciding between a "whole bunch" of "candidates".

Thanks for the offer.