Ketogenic diet

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Diets do not fail due to calorie intake being too low or too high but due to not eating the right macro for that person. Calorie intake will be automatic when the cause of any over/under eating disorder is addressed.

    This is simply not universally (or even mostly) true.

    First of all, it presumes there is one right "macro" for a person (I think you mean macro ratio, as a "macro" is fat or carbs or protein, not the mix of all three). That is disproven by the fact that human societies differ dramatically as to the macro ratio, and humans seem to be able to have a healthy diet on almost any (obviously some aren't adequate in terms of meeting nutrients, but that's not really about ratio).

    Second, it presumes that people overeat due to eating the wrong macro ratio, and again that's disproven by the variety, and the lack of obese people in most traditional societies, as well as the large number of obese people with a variety of different ratios in more modern societies. There ARE things that seem to be universally positive (IMO, adequate protein consumption, lots of vegetables and other whole food plant foods is another) and other things that seem to more often than not be a problem (a sedentary society with lots of highly refined low nutrient extremely palatable foods that are easy to access with little work, sound familiar?). But none of this has to do with macros.

    It is simply not true that half (let alone more) of all people in traditional high carb societies without food excess and with active populations get T2D or some such. Instead, the numbers are vanishingly low, as they also are in traditional low carb societies. So this idea that half of people (or any particular number of people) naturally do better on a low carb diet is just bunk.

    Now, in a society like ours, where food is in surplus and some (not me, particularly, but as I understand it it was a problem for you) particularly enjoy fast food and grocery-store packaged treats that are easy to impulse buy at the store and have lots of calories as well as sugar and fat? Sure, many of us (and I'll include me too here) can find a limitation on how we eat to make things easier, and low carb can play a role in that (I find it easier not to be interested in eating between meals sometimes when low carbing, not sure why but it does have that effect).

    Does that mean I (or you or anyone else) would be fat if not eating low carb? No, that's silly, and I know from experience that I can lose and be happy on a higher carb diet (I don't care for 100% plant based, as I miss meat, but I did it for a Lent and lost lots of weight without thinking about it, and I lost most of my weight not low carbing but eating around 40% carbs and sometimes up to 50%, and tended to stay lower only because that's how I naturally eat -- I wasn't cutting out carbs, but the foods I missed least).

    This idea that people in the US only get fat due to EDs or that everyone has One True Macro is simply false.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I will add that I think that eating healthfully is important, but carb % has nothing to do with that (carbs chosen, yes, as well as sources of fat and protein chose and the amount and how nutrient dense the diet is). And probably even more than eating a generally healthy diet, what I think is important -- for myself, and for those able to do it -- is being active. Exercise. I think it's really a shame how much the thrust of the conversation on MFP (at least in discussions like this) tend to elevate the most insignificant nuances of a diet and completely ignore the importance of exercise, especially as we age.
  • lindalester
    lindalester Posts: 16 Member
    I'm keto, it's been a life line for me
  • ThatMouse
    ThatMouse Posts: 229 Member
    I lost my first 25lbs on keto, before I really learned about CICO and IIFYM.

    That being said, I've recently been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. When I first did keto, I felt a sense of calm and contentment that I would like to try to reclaim, to see if I can further control my anxiety in the wake of a huge increase in work stress.

    The fact that I'm hoping it'll help me manage IF and dropping another 20-30lbs is there, too.

    I don't plan to keep keto forever, but I do plan to use it to lose fat and manage stress during the next 6-12 months and then slowly and smartly transition out of it back into regular CICO and IF for maintenance/bulking (we'll see where I end up).
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Keto works for those it works for, nothing more nothing less. It's not magic, just one of the many many ways to eat. Find what works for you and go with it. Health benefits come from the weight loss, not the method you chose to get there...

    The bolded can be incorrect. Often when people switch to a keto or LCHF diet, the health benefots come before weight loss. Those with IR will often see better BG numbers before there is annty real fat loss. Cholesterol numbers will change if you add more fat, often for the better. Inflammation will go down if you avoid foods that cause it - often sugars.

    Weight loss can improve some things but so can a healthy diet, which for many people may mean keto.

    some peoples cholesterol will change. for those like me the numbers raise.

    @CharlieBeansmomTracey you bring up a valid concern. Once I told the results of the test below my doctor showed no concern about my 300+ cholesterol number. I ordered it online so I paid for it but I wanted to know if the base cholesterol numbers had any real health value info and they did not in my case.

    lifeextension.com/Vitamins-Supplements/itemLC123810/NMR-LipoProfile-Blood-Test



    for me I have familial hypercholesterolemia so not only were my triglycerides high but my LDL-C and LDL-P were high. my HDL is good and usually is. some of my other numbers were high, when I was first tested for cholesterol my triglycerides were over 2000. some of the other numbers were over that., so for me cholesterol and fats arent properly filtered out and used like a person with just high cholesterol and no FH, my body stores it and then my body will signal to make more cholesterol even though what I take in isnt being used and processed properly. which is why I have to be low fat and cholesterol. as for having any real health value info, I would say for me the numbers tell a bigger picture. maybe for others they are just numbers. my dr also tests my insulin resistance as well and those numbers are in the normal range.

    you dr should have shown concern with cholesterol that high. for me they were concerned even before they knew I had FH,because I was in my early 20s when I had high numbers,they were really high like I said. for me not watching my diet and taking meds I could have had a heart attack,stroke,TIA by my 50s. Im 43. I didnt want that so I now do the low fat,low cholesterol and high fiber. Not to mention those with FH (there are more than one type)if they dont watch their diet ,can also end up with type 2 diabetes and other health issues. its hereditary too.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Keto works for those it works for, nothing more nothing less. It's not magic, just one of the many many ways to eat. Find what works for you and go with it. Health benefits come from the weight loss, not the method you chose to get there...

    The bolded can be incorrect. Often when people switch to a keto or LCHF diet, the health benefots come before weight loss. Those with IR will often see better BG numbers before there is any real fat loss. Cholesterol numbers will change if you add more fat, often for the better. Inflammation will go down if you avoid foods that cause it - often sugars.

    Weight loss can improve some things but so can a healthy diet, which for many people may mean keto.

    I don't disagree with you. I guess my overall point is there are so many ways to eat and be healthy. If keto does not sound like something you could do don't sweat it. Choose something that you can do.

    Agreed. Keto is not the end all be all diet for everyone.... just for some of us. Up to around half would probably do very well on it for their health's sake. For long term keto'ers it is mostly about health. There are a few who stick with it because they don't love carbs, but most stick with it because they feel so much better.

    Let's be honest here, anyone who makes changes to their diet (especially drastic changes) is doing it for the health. Its not exactly exlcusive to just those following lchf.. there are literally thousands of studies showing benefits from all types of diets.

    In most cases I would agree. Most people consciously make an effort change their diets for health reasons. I never said that was exclusive to LCHF or keto. I said most people who stick with it are doing so for health reasons. Let's face it, it can be a restrictive diet -especially if you don't cook- so people often need a strong reason to stick with it.

    I imagine it would be similar with veganism - you feel much better or it validates a belief enough that people are happy to put up with any inconvenience.

    Now dietary changes that just seem to "happen" tend to go the other way. Sugary foods and less healthy choices can be easy to slip back into. Going healthier seems to take more awareness of food choices. It's harder and less convenient.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Keto works for those it works for, nothing more nothing less. It's not magic, just one of the many many ways to eat. Find what works for you and go with it. Health benefits come from the weight loss, not the method you chose to get there...

    The bolded can be incorrect. Often when people switch to a keto or LCHF diet, the health benefots come before weight loss. Those with IR will often see better BG numbers before there is annty real fat loss. Cholesterol numbers will change if you add more fat, often for the better. Inflammation will go down if you avoid foods that cause it - often sugars.

    Weight loss can improve some things but so can a healthy diet, which for many people may mean keto.

    some peoples cholesterol will change. for those like me the numbers raise.

    @CharlieBeansmomTracey you bring up a valid concern. Once I told the results of the test below my doctor showed no concern about my 300+ cholesterol number. I ordered it online so I paid for it but I wanted to know if the base cholesterol numbers had any real health value info and they did not in my case.

    lifeextension.com/Vitamins-Supplements/itemLC123810/NMR-LipoProfile-Blood-Test



    for me I have familial hypercholesterolemia so not only were my triglycerides high but my LDL-C and LDL-P were high. my HDL is good and usually is. some of my other numbers were high, when I was first tested for cholesterol my triglycerides were over 2000. some of the other numbers were over that., so for me cholesterol and fats arent properly filtered out and used like a person with just high cholesterol and no FH, my body stores it and then my body will signal to make more cholesterol even though what I take in isnt being used and processed properly. which is why I have to be low fat and cholesterol. as for having any real health value info, I would say for me the numbers tell a bigger picture. maybe for others they are just numbers. my dr also tests my insulin resistance as well and those numbers are in the normal range.

    you dr should have shown concern with cholesterol that high. for me they were concerned even before they knew I had FH,because I was in my early 20s when I had high numbers,they were really high like I said. for me not watching my diet and taking meds I could have had a heart attack,stroke,TIA by my 50s. Im 43. I didnt want that so I now do the low fat,low cholesterol and high fiber. Not to mention those with FH (there are more than one type)if they dont watch their diet ,can also end up with type 2 diabetes and other health issues. its hereditary too.

    I am glad you found a way of eating that works for you because the familial hypercholesterolemia sounds very serious.

    LCHF knocked my triglycerides below 100 but they were not too much above normal initially and lifted my HDL to 60 giving me a great ratio for heart health. Thankfully the NMR Lipo Profile showed my LDL is made up mainly of the larger particle size (as is expected for most eating LCHF) meaning my high cholesterol count is not a concern health wise at this point but I do retest annually.

    I accidently got into LCHF when I tested cutting out all added sugar and food containing any form of any grain for pain management. It knocked my pain level for 7-8 to 2-3 in the first 30 days three years ago. Now my pain level is more like a level of 1 and I am Rx med free.

    It sounds like I am lucky that just cutting out sugar and grains is reversing my major health decline that started about 40 years ago in my mid 20's. It short I am off of most all processed food so it is simple to do.

    Testing 4 months showed my risks of heart attack, stroke and diabetes thankfully with may be in part due to heavy fish oil usage for over 20 years and my ketogenic diet for the past three years.

    Best of continued success with your health.

    Thank you and yes its serious for me. I have to get tested every 3 months. I am glad you found something that works for you too. my numbers are thankfully now in the normal ranges. so hopefully my health will continue to improve and stay that way
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    jdlobb wrote: »
    here's 2 different meals from friday. both were huge.

    56j0n5igl7yw.png

    here's a picture of a typical lunch for me

    tungu8lh2gq3.jpg

    See, when I have a salad, I eat it out of a mixing bowl. My vegetable portions are a lot larger than that.

    Yeah, when I have greens of any kind I'm usually having about 150-200 grams.

    Yup—I had 125 grams of Brussel sprouts with my egg whites at breakfast.
  • hillarymouse
    hillarymouse Posts: 69 Member
    Keto is perfect for me. It helps with my PCOS symptoms, makes it so that I can actually lose weight, gives me more energy. Seriously it's like magic for me. But like everyone is saying, it's not for everyone! I do miss carbs and sometimes go above my 20g limit (okay a lot of the time), but even reduced carb helps me feel better and less foggy.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    The best diet is a balanced diet - high protein, moderate fats and carbs. Honestly carbs are the worst group though - please watch "that sugar film" for more details. Your body produces protein and fat so it knows what to with those types of foods. Carbs are a very quick source of energy for your bod - so not good for a sedentary lifestyle.

    Uh, your body produces glucose too...
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    The best diet is a balanced diet - high protein, moderate fats and carbs. Honestly carbs are the worst group though - please watch "that sugar film" for more details. Your body produces protein and fat so it knows what to with those types of foods. Carbs are a very quick source of energy for your bod - so not good for a sedentary lifestyle.

    ?????????
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2017
    The best diet is a balanced diet - high protein, moderate fats and carbs. Honestly carbs are the worst group though - please watch "that sugar film" for more details. Your body produces protein and fat so it knows what to with those types of foods. Carbs are a very quick source of energy for your bod - so not good for a sedentary lifestyle.

    Carbs are not "the worst food group". It's a great macro for various reasons.

    Like vegetables.

    Really, acting as if all foods that fall within a particular macro are equivalents and as if macros can be ranked according to good or badness probably should be brought over into the woo thread, as it's deeply silly.

    And that our bodies don't know how to use carbs? LOL. We can get along without carbs (although not a good choice, IMO, again, because vegetables, among other things), because our body can manufacture them from other macros. We have essential fats and protein, as someone noted upthread.

    As for high protein, it seems to me that people don't even have a consistent idea of what this means. To me, around .65-.85 g per lb of a healthy goal weight (when at a deficit, at least) is moderate protein and getting more seems pointless to me, but if it makes someone happy I think it's probably fine. I do see too many people here who seem to think they need something like 1 g per lb of an overweight weight and who seem to be unhappy with their diets as a result.

    Anyway, not sure what high protein has to do with keto, since keto isn't supposed to be high protein, but high fat.

    And sorry for tagging all this on to your post, amusedmonkey! The first big was agreement, but the rest were just where my thoughts led. ;-)
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The best diet is a balanced diet - high protein, moderate fats and carbs. Honestly carbs are the worst group though - please watch "that sugar film" for more details. Your body produces protein and fat so it knows what to with those types of foods. Carbs are a very quick source of energy for your bod - so not good for a sedentary lifestyle.

    Carbs are not "the worst food group". It's a great macro for various reasons.

    Like vegetables.

    Really, acting as if all foods that fall within a particular macro are equivalents and as if macros can be ranked according to good or badness probably should be brought over into the woo thread, as it's deeply silly.

    And that our bodies don't know how to use carbs? LOL. We can get along without carbs (although not a good choice, IMO, again, because vegetables, among other things), because our body can manufacture them from other macros. We have essential fats and protein, as someone noted upthread.

    As for high protein, it seems to me that people don't even have a consistent idea of what this means. To me, around .65-.85 g per lb of a healthy goal weight (when at a deficit, at least) is moderate protein and getting more seems pointless to me, but if it makes someone happy I think it's probably fine. I do see too many people here who seem to think they need something like 1 g per lb of an overweight weight and who seem to be unhappy with their diets as a result.

    Anyway, not sure what high protein has to do with keto, since keto isn't supposed to be high protein, but high fat.

    And sorry for tagging all this on to your post, amusedmonkey! The first big was agreement, but the rest were just where my thoughts led. ;-)

    No problem, and exactly my thoughts and micros as well. The highest density of them in the most commonly available and eaten foods tends to come attached to carbs.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    mic1018 wrote: »
    Sad to see so much keto/low carb bashing here.

    What are you referring to that you are calling keto/low carb bashing?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    The best diet is a balanced diet - high protein, moderate fats and carbs. Honestly carbs are the worst group though - please watch "that sugar film" for more details. Your body produces protein and fat so it knows what to with those types of foods. Carbs are a very quick source of energy for your bod - so not good for a sedentary lifestyle.
    Lol, if your body produced proteins and fats, you wouldn't need to consume them.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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