Is it safe to permanetly stay LCHF (Low Carb/High Fat) as a lifestyle?

bekah818
bekah818 Posts: 179 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I started a low carb high fat diet a few days ago after being inspired by the Keto Diet. I don't think I'm 100 % keto or perhaps I may be considered "moderate or liberal' keto since I consume close to 90 grams of carbs per day. ( I haven't given up Chobani yogurt yet which is a bit high in carbs,13 grams per cup) but other than that I eliminated all bread, grains, pasta, and rice. My carbs primarily come from the non-starchy veggies I eat and some mixed nuts ( feel free to look at my diary, the last three days is what's most current). But anyways-- I just wanted to say that so far I am really loving this LCHF Diet. Although I do get hungry quickly, I do find that the meals so far are very satisfying. I have not experienced 'The Keto Flu' from the lack of carbs, but I do have frequent urination (which is so annoying) which i read was a side effect from going on a low carb diet... I know it's only been a few days, but I'm loving this so much that I think I want to eat this way permantely.

I feel this way because over the years I've always struggled with my weight. I would diet and exercise, lose the weight and gain it all back. Most recently in the last two years, I went from 160lbs (which I know might be too much weight for some women, but it looks fantastic on me, I'm 5'7). Today, embarrasingly, I weigh 230. I gained 70lbs!! It always bothered me and even made me depressed because I never felt like I 'ate that badly'. I don't like juice or soda, I drink my coffee black and I'm noit big on eating out at fast food restaurants. So why the heck do I gain weight so easily!? Fine, i haven't been working out, but still, 70 lbs?! I even had a nutritionist tell me one time after telling her how much I gained weight so quickly, she said that I may have a 'Thyroid issue'... * eye roll *. Needless to say- I do NOT have any thryoid issues, and I know you must be thinking "she's in denial if she thinks she doesn't eat bad. I mean how else could someone gain that much weight within a year or two?' Thanks to MFP- I had an 'Aha!' moment. Before starting this LCHF diet, out of curiously, I logged what I would typically eat on a daily basis, and when I tallied up my calories, I was shocked at how much carbs I consumed in a day. I was consuming 300 carbs a day!! Keep in mind I work in an office, so I'm pretty much sedentary, which doesn't help :s:(

Here's a typical example of how I normally ate:

Breakfast: Oat Meal with sliced fruit, usually bannas and strawberries/blueberries) Which isn't terribly, but very high in carbs

Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with a bag of sun chips and a small spinach salad (again, high carb meal)

Dinner: Brown rice (I never stuck to the serving, I'd usually have 2-3 servings on one plate) with chicken and some mixed veggies

Snacks in between meals: Perhaps some tortilla chips & Salsa, Frozen yogurt or ice cream, a few oreo cookies (okay maybe not a few, I always ate like 6, LOL)

When I totaled all of this up, I was consuming close to 3,000 calories, and 300 carbs plus I was sedentary. I logged this on Jan 2nd 2018, if you're curious to see the totals for yourself. It didn't feel like I was eating 3,000 calories, but it was definitely a rude awakening to see that, I was. So yes, I was in denial. Although i wasn't eating mcdonalds, I was eating badly :neutral:

I know carbs aren't completely terrible, and your body needs them. But beacause of my history with it, I am strongly considering doing this LCHF diet as a permanent way of life. I swear, I feel like my body thrives off of storing carbs and turning it into fat, lol. Even at my smallest, I always had a little pouch that I was self- concious about, which I now believe has to do with my carb intake. I've read up on others that have stories like mine, and switched to LCHF permanetly and Becoming gluten free and avoiding grains. I've even discovered so many fun recipes that I can't wait to try. :) It's only been a few days, but at my last weigh in, I already lost 6lbs. 64 more to go! I want to be 160 again.

Any one doing this as a way of life? Or do you think its completely nuts? I know some people who could never give up carbs, and yet their bodies don't store fat the way mine do...I'm not aiming for no carbs, just keeping it low on a daily basis, like under 100 grams. Thoughts?

Replies

  • BhangraPrince
    BhangraPrince Posts: 123 Member
  • bekah818
    bekah818 Posts: 179 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I believe low carb, even keto, like any other diet or lifestyle, is healthy if you do it right and unhealthy if you do it wrong.

    I believe ketosis is something you either are in or not, and that 90 grams of carbs is too much to be in ketosis.

    I also believe you don't have to be in ketosis or go low carb in order to lose weight.

    I also believe 1450 calories is too low for you at your current weight, and you're not short either.

    You don't need to eat "badly" to gain weight - just a little more than you burn every day and it adds up over time.

    You aren't imagining things, but there's also nothing special about you - human bodies are great at ingesting, storing and saving energy. 3000 calories isn't hard to eat if you eat tasty, semi-digested, calorie dense food.

    300 grams of carbs is only 40% of the energy in a 3000 calorie diet, and that's less than what MFP suggests as a start.

    Do you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance?


    You’re right! It’s very easy to consume 3,000 a day. I don’t know if I have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease. And I’m considering even consulting with a doctor to make sure I’m dieting correctly. All I know is that I gain weight so easily and it’s frustrating
  • bekah818
    bekah818 Posts: 179 Member
    @lemurcat12 thank you for this. I'll definitley keep this all in mind. This was very insightful. If you ever find that rant you mentioned earlier by a low carb nutrionist, I'd love to read it. Also, it's funny how you said "rice doesn't fill you up" and how oatmeal doesn't either. Reading your comments made me realize, for me it's definitely a culture thing. Being West Indian, Rice is a big part of what we eat, and there's no such thing as sticking to a serving, we always pile it on! Same goes for oatmeal, I didn't stick to portions with that either -- so you're right, not having portion control was a big part of my weight gain. I guess it is a little early to say that I want to do this LCHF diet permantely, but I'm worried that if I don't, I'll go right back to how I was before. In the last 7 years, I've had dramatic weight loss 3 times, and gain it all back 3 times...this will be my 4th time. I'm not at my goal yet, but I know I'll get there.. my problem is staying there once I reach my goal. Which is why I'm trying to make this a permanent life style change. Perhaps I'll compromise a little, but there's no doubt in me that somethings gotta give.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I found it! Warning, super long: http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2016/12/ketogenic-diet-rant.html
  • megs_1985
    megs_1985 Posts: 199 Member
    It seems going too low carb might interfere with your lifestyles and culture too much. What happens when you go to a family get together? Will you refuse the food because it’s high carb? Wouldn’t it be better to portion it and still
    Be able to enjoy it? If you want to try it short term then ok but 90g isn’t too low. I had 105g today without thinking about it and it included a scone and bread. You should enjoy your diet (as defined as your way of eating for your lifetime) and fit it into your daily life.
  • PikaJoyJoy
    PikaJoyJoy Posts: 280 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    ADoribs wrote: »
    I wanted to wish you lots of luck and give you a real hopeful story since lots of these comments seem negative.

    I have also been a life long dieter and struggled with food. I have been counting calories for much of my life.

    I was given the book "Why we get fat" and after I read it decided to try a low carb ( not completely keto) approach.

    I have been at it 3 months now and lost 13lbs without counting calories and mostly without feeling hungry. This approach has really worked for me better than anything Ive tried. I hope you will have good luck as well.

    Which are the comments you felt were negative, because reading through them, they seem really balanced and thoughtful...

    Not to mention insightful and truthful. No idea were negative comes into play.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    GlorianasTears wrote: »
    Trust me its never good to do any type of diet for too long!
    You'd have to define both "diet" and "too long" for this to make sense. "Too long" usually, but not always, has the implicit meaning "long enough to cause negative effects". "Diet" (as a noun) has two different meanings - "what you eat" and "a prescribed and more or less structured meal plan with a certain purpose, usually weightloss".
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    It will depend on the individual. What health issues they may have and personal goals. We won’t all feel our best in the exact same macro split.

    I did HF and moderate carb (100 Net grams) for a long time with IF. It worked until it didn’t. I have some hormonal and autoimmune issues and started developing digestive upset. The doctor I had to go see put me on a more balanced macro split and made suggestions around my meal timing that completely shifted how I eat. Now I’m learning to eat this new way. The symptoms Id started experiencing are going away.

    I have a friend I work out with who has been keto pretty strictly for over a year and it works amazingly for her.

    Best advice- find what works for you and be open to adjusting it if it ever stops working
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I would say keep doing it as long as it works for you and you're healthy.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    Since rice and oatmeal are part of your culture, I agree thinking about this as a "life-long" thing may be premature. From reading this thread it seems like portion control was more an issue than eating carbs (vs. other macros). When you wrote "oatmeal and fruit" you didn't say 1 serving (150 calories) of oatmeal and 1 serving of strawberries--which would be very low calorie. This would not be a problem. However, if you are eating more than 1 serving of oatmeal, and BANANAS (with plural--even one banana usually has about 100 calories depending on the size of it)... and were you making it with water or milk? I make my oatmeal with water so it adds no extra calories, but other people make theirs with MILK, some even with half and half, then it starts to be a high calorie meal--especially if it is a couple of cups of oatmeal, bananas and other fruits. Raisins, craisins, and other kinds of dried fruit and nuts add lots of calories (and people typically put these in oatmeal). But you can still eat it, you just need to measure how much, and everything you put into it and keep it within your calorie goal.

    For rice, I understand. I eat white rice a few times a week, but I have to be honest about the portions and record how much I'm eating. Any more than 1.5 servings of rice in a day is going to be a problem for me. More than a serving of pasta, as well. But I'm able to enjoy the 1 serving within my calorie goal. I think it is better than cutting it out completely.
  • alteredsteve175
    alteredsteve175 Posts: 2,725 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    ADoribs wrote: »
    I wanted to wish you lots of luck and give you a real hopeful story since lots of these comments seem negative.

    I have also been a life long dieter and struggled with food. I have been counting calories for much of my life.

    I was given the book "Why we get fat" and after I read it decided to try a low carb ( not completely keto) approach.

    I have been at it 3 months now and lost 13lbs without counting calories and mostly without feeling hungry. This approach has really worked for me better than anything Ive tried. I hope you will have good luck as well.

    Why We Get Fat was written by Gary Taubes, who is a laughingstock amongst actual evidence-based researchers. It's a bunch of tinfoil hat woo based upon cherry-picked study results and pseudoscience. Taubes has outright said that even if faced with actual science which directly proved him wrong, he would not change his mind or recant upon all the woo he has spouted.

    As to the OP's question, a low-carb and/or keto diet (as with any other diet) can be as healthy/unhealthy or safe/unsafe as one makes it. There's nothing inherently "unsafe" about it, but on the other hand there's plenty of science which conclusively proves that there is no "metabolic advantage" of a keto/low-carb diet over any other diet, with calorie and protein intake held equal.

    I also read "Why We Get Fat" and then started a low carb regimen. I didn't lose a significant amount of weight until I joined this site and started logging meals and tracking calories.

  • LexiAtel
    LexiAtel Posts: 228 Member
    Set yourself a calorie limit, and go from there. Many people are successful on lchf, but others are not.

    Research whatever plan you chose well before you start doing it, and if you think you cant live without those sweets, then you might not want to keto.

    With keto, your body uses fat as fuel, and since you're overweight, you'll want to not eat a whole lotta fat, so that it'll use what you've stored.

    Also, 90g of carbs is way too high, sadly, and if you do go on keto, understand that most of your carbs are going to have to come from veggies (there really is no room for sweets).

    Some people can be in ketosis at 45g carbs daily. The recommendation to start off in is 20g (in net carbs, which is carbs minus fiber content), this ensures that your body will start using fat, but it takes several days to do this.

    My limit is now 30g, I'm almost to my weight goal.

    Another thing you'll have to monitor are your sodium, potassium and magnesium intake, you'll probably feel like crap, and low consumption of these minerals will cause it.

    Nonetheless, no matter which diet you choose, you should buy a food scale and use it religiously, because eyeballing and even measuring it with cups and spoons allows you that potential moment to overeat (whether you intentionally do it or not).
  • Niff314
    Niff314 Posts: 113 Member
    Keto is the only thing that controls my epilepsy so it's now a long-term way of eating for me. My neurologist runs blood panels every year to make sure everything is in healthy ranges but I've already lost 120 lbs since starting in March 2017. The only thing I've had to adjust is my intake so I don't continue to lose weight. Keto is seriously the best thing I've ever done for myself.
  • dbhDeb
    dbhDeb Posts: 200 Member
    Niff314 wrote: »
    Keto is the only thing that controls my epilepsy so it's now a long-term way of eating for me. My neurologist runs blood panels every year to make sure everything is in healthy ranges but I've already lost 120 lbs since starting in March 2017. The only thing I've had to adjust is my intake so I don't continue to lose weight. Keto is seriously the best thing I've ever done for myself.

    awesome!
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