LOW CARB diet

MoNiKa2113

protein and healthy fats take the place of carbs in a LC lifestyle. Eat fat to stay satieted (avocados, coconut oil, etc) in the place of carbs.

This!! I eat animal fats and coconut oil to get full and stay full. Vegetables help to fill you up and keep you full also.

So, include ample fats (animal fats, coconut oil, nuts, avocados, maybe add some olive oil). Snack on fresh, raw veggies - if you can have dairy products then get some sour cream and make yourself a decandent ranch dip. I have some recipes.........

Drink lots of water, herbal and green teas. Black coffee.

The best thing that also helps me out is to stay away from added sugar and artificial sweeteners. They cause great hunger in me.

All of these things sound great but I would be careful taking in animal fat as a way to get nutrition.
Based on a 2000 daily caloric intake you should only consume 20 grams of saturated fats. If you constantly are going over your bodys need for saturated fats the liver can no longer clean the blood of the saturated fats causing clogged arteries over time. Butterfat foods such as sour cream, ice cream, milk....ect should be monitored and taken in moderation
ex: sour cream has 14 grams of butter fat per 4oz serving thats only 6 grams short of an average daily intake

GREAT video about effects of animal fat
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/18.html

There is no evidence that saturated fats are bad for us and they are natural occurring. There is no evidence that saturated fats cause heart disease and quite the contrary, heart disease is caused from chronic inflammation.

I have almost completely cut out dairy products and use a bit of butter from time to time, but most of my saturated fat comes from animal fats (like coconut oil, chicken skin and fat on my steak, etc). I may also eat some full fat greek yogurt on occasion. I don't like the extra mucus, phlegm and yuck that dairy causes me to have. I also have far less seasonal allergy symptoms since cutting out most dairy products. I am not a cheese lover either, so I don't have it very often.

Here is some reading I have done in regards to saturated fats...........

http://trusted.md/blog/vreni_gurd/2007/04/06/saturated_fat_the_misunderstood_nutrient#axzz0zknkn0yT

http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/saturated_fat.htm

http://www.preventionisbest.com/site/saturatedfat.html

http://www.health-report.co.uk/saturated_fats_health_benefits.htm

well to each their own..i would say lookup info on both topics and see which one works best for the diet your looking for.

smithak2

I apoligize since this is much longer than what i first intended. I watered the biochemical science down so hopefully it is easy to understand. But first I'd say you need to ask yourself what your goals are. Are you trying to just drop weight or are you trying to drop weight and trim/tone up which seems to be what most people want to do. If someone was on a 2000 cal diet and ate 70% fats, I would not be surprised if they lost weight. But what are they actually loosing? Fat? Muscle? The correct answer is some of both but more of one than the other.
Your body does not run on glucose but runs on a molecule (i'm sure you've heard of it) called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In fact almost all animal life on earth requires ATP to live, they just have different ways of converting molecules to get to ATP. Your heart (can use other molecules if need be), brain (only uses ATP), liver, stomach, and all skeletal muscle require ATP to get anything done. Without ATP, you would have a very very hard time doing anything. In the simplest form, your body gets energy from ATP by breaking one of the phosphate bonds off the ATP molecule resulting in adenosine diphoshate (ADP) and energy. Your body now needs energy from another source to re-attach this phosphate back to the ADP to create ATP. It gets this energy from....glucose ( not fat, not protein). You might be asking yourself why your body doesn't keep large stores of ATP avaible, but in reality a molecule of ATP is much much heavier than a glucose molecule and it becomes cost effective to store ATP in large amounts.

The number one source of glucose is....carbs! Either from glycogen (stored glucose in animal tissue, also present in human muscle tissue and the liver) or plant sources, carbohydrates are the perferred choice of your body to get glucose. You can get glucose from other sources. There is very little glucose to be found in any type of muscle tissue that we consume especailly when you compare it to starches in plants. You can create glucose in your body though by converting other substances together that result in glucose (gluconeogenesis) but come with an abundance in other waste products that are harmful to the body if they are not removed through the kidneys.

When you dont take in enough carbs to create glucose, your body will break down fat tissue that you have either just consumed or have stored AND muscle tissue to create glucose that it can use. This protein (which is actually a specific number of amino acids) comes from only one place, your body's skeletal muscles. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as your body breaks down its own muscle tissue, your bathroom scale will report a drop in weight. BUT you will not tone up and you will probably become more flabby than you were before since your body fat percentage has actually gone up!

Someone may argue that if you are taking in animal proteins with the fats, then your body won't break down its own muscle because you are supplying the amino acids you need with the fat you are eating. That does sound correct doesn't it, but in fact it is not. Your body can not store protein or amino acids. It just doesn't work. So while the protein that you just ate is in your body you could in fact create glucose without breaking down any tissue of your own. But this "surplus" of protein in your body will not last for very long and before you know it you will once again be breaking down your own tissue for protein. Don't forget that your body also needs protein every day for maintance and repair so now your body is fighting itself to use protein for energy and to use it for body functions and repairs. Your body can also only absorb so much protein at a time, so eating a 10 oz sirlion steak, which usually has around 70-80 grams of protein, doesn't mean you are abosbing all that protein.

If you want to diet and loose weight you need to maintain a balanced diet of carbs, protein, and fats. Saturated fats (besides trans fats) are the worest for your body and there is not a single health instiution in america that does not agree with this. They need to be severly limited. They do play a role in your body by serving to help create needed hormones for body developement, but eating a diet in over 30% saturated fat is a very bad idea. Just because something is naturally occuring does not mean its good for the body. Intstead eat a diet with poly and mono saturated fats, coming from fish oils, flax seed oil, and other plant oils. Your proteins should come from lean sources and should be eaten in small amounts throughout the day. Fish is a great source since it provides almost no saturated fat and is a greate source of mono and poly saturated fat (be careful for mercury). Your carbs should be consumed throughout the day but the largest consumption of carbs should occur in the first 2 meals of the day (breakfest and lunch). When you wake your blood sugar is extremely low. Your liver has slowly been releasing glucose into the blood for your organs to use. This means that most of the carbs you eat in the morning will be used to restock the glycogen stores in your liver and muscle, not stored as fat. BUT what most people do is eat large amounts of carbs throughout the day. If you body doesn't need these carbs they are stored as fat. To help curb hunger and to get vital vitamins, phytochemicals, and minerals, you should eat 8 to 10 servings of fruits and veggies everyday.

Having an exercise in your life also helps out but nutrition is the most important. I hope this helps, I am 6'8" and eat around 3200 cals a day on non workout days and around 4000 cals on workout days. I split my meals up into around 6 meals a day, each consiting from 600-900 cals depending if I am including a workout that day or not. I used to get extremely hungry but since I stared including 2 to 3 servings of fruits and vegetables with every meal, my hunger stays at bay longer. Protein shakes also help. Since I have started dieting in this fashion I have dropped my body fat % by roughly 1 percent and gained 2 lbs of muscle to my overal weight in a month. If you want lasting results they are going to come slowly. Fad diets usually dont work. But stick with it and in a year you will be transformed.

cuz86

the zone is a great way from what ive been told by lots of trainers and fellow dieters...40 percent carbs 30 percent protein 30 percent fat..:)

arezou_vancouver

@smithak2: Thanks

Grokette

I apoligize since this is much longer than what i first intended. I watered the biochemical science down so hopefully it is easy to understand. But first I'd say you need to ask yourself what your goals are. Are you trying to just drop weight or are you trying to drop weight and trim/tone up which seems to be what most people want to do. If someone was on a 2000 cal diet and ate 70% fats, I would not be surprised if they lost weight. But what are they actually loosing? Fat? Muscle? The correct answer is some of both but more of one than the other.
Your body does not run on glucose but runs on a molecule (i'm sure you've heard of it) called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In fact almost all animal life on earth requires ATP to live, they just have different ways of converting molecules to get to ATP. Your heart (can use other molecules if need be), brain (only uses ATP), liver, stomach, and all skeletal muscle require ATP to get anything done. Without ATP, you would have a very very hard time doing anything. In the simplest form, your body gets energy from ATP by breaking one of the phosphate bonds off the ATP molecule resulting in adenosine diphoshate (ADP) and energy. Your body now needs energy from another source to re-attach this phosphate back to the ADP to create ATP. It gets this energy from....glucose ( not fat, not protein). You might be asking yourself why your body doesn't keep large stores of ATP avaible, but in reality a molecule of ATP is much much heavier than a glucose molecule and it becomes cost effective to store ATP in large amounts.

The number one source of glucose is....carbs! Either from glycogen (stored glucose in animal tissue, also present in human muscle tissue and the liver) or plant sources, carbohydrates are the perferred choice of your body to get glucose. You can get glucose from other sources. There is very little glucose to be found in any type of muscle tissue that we consume especailly when you compare it to starches in plants. You can create glucose in your body though by converting other substances together that result in glucose (gluconeogenesis) but come with an abundance in other waste products that are harmful to the body if they are not removed through the kidneys.

When you dont take in enough carbs to create glucose, your body will break down fat tissue that you have either just consumed or have stored AND muscle tissue to create glucose that it can use. This protein (which is actually a specific number of amino acids) comes from only one place, your body's skeletal muscles. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as your body breaks down its own muscle tissue, your bathroom scale will report a drop in weight. BUT you will not tone up and you will probably become more flabby than you were before since your body fat percentage has actually gone up!

Someone may argue that if you are taking in animal proteins with the fats, then your body won't break down its own muscle because you are supplying the amino acids you need with the fat you are eating. That does sound correct doesn't it, but in fact it is not. Your body can not store protein or amino acids. It just doesn't work. So while the protein that you just ate is in your body you could in fact create glucose without breaking down any tissue of your own. But this "surplus" of protein in your body will not last for very long and before you know it you will once again be breaking down your own tissue for protein. Don't forget that your body also needs protein every day for maintance and repair so now your body is fighting itself to use protein for energy and to use it for body functions and repairs. Your body can also only absorb so much protein at a time, so eating a 10 oz sirlion steak, which usually has around 70-80 grams of protein, doesn't mean you are abosbing all that protein.

If you want to diet and loose weight you need to maintain a balanced diet of carbs, protein, and fats. Saturated fats (besides trans fats) are the worest for your body and there is not a single health instiution in america that does not agree with this. They need to be severly limited. They do play a role in your body by serving to help create needed hormones for body developement, but eating a diet in over 30% saturated fat is a very bad idea. Just because something is naturally occuring does not mean its good for the body. Intstead eat a diet with poly and mono saturated fats, coming from fish oils, flax seed oil, and other plant oils. Your proteins should come from lean sources and should be eaten in small amounts throughout the day. Fish is a great source since it provides almost no saturated fat and is a greate source of mono and poly saturated fat (be careful for mercury). Your carbs should be consumed throughout the day but the largest consumption of carbs should occur in the first 2 meals of the day (breakfest and lunch). When you wake your blood sugar is extremely low. Your liver has slowly been releasing glucose into the blood for your organs to use. This means that most of the carbs you eat in the morning will be used to restock the glycogen stores in your liver and muscle, not stored as fat. BUT what most people do is eat large amounts of carbs throughout the day. If you body doesn't need these carbs they are stored as fat. To help curb hunger and to get vital vitamins, phytochemicals, and minerals, you should eat 8 to 10 servings of fruits and veggies everyday.

Having an exercise in your life also helps out but nutrition is the most important. I hope this helps, I am 6'8" and eat around 3200 cals a day on non workout days and around 4000 cals on workout days. I split my meals up into around 6 meals a day, each consiting from 600-900 cals depending if I am including a workout that day or not. I used to get extremely hungry but since I stared including 2 to 3 servings of fruits and vegetables with every meal, my hunger stays at bay longer. Protein shakes also help. Since I have started dieting in this fashion I have dropped my body fat % by roughly 1 percent and gained 2 lbs of muscle to my overal weight in a month. If you want lasting results they are going to come slowly. Fad diets usually dont work. But stick with it and in a year you will be transformed.

I will have to agree to disagree with you as I have previously lost over 100 pounds on a low carb (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) way of eating and I had very little muscle loss and an extreme amount of fat loss...........

Grokette

This is taken from an article that my Doctor e-mailedto me...........

THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANTAGE OF THE LOW CARB DIET:

A low carbohydrate diet is highly thermic! This means that by consuming meals that have more protein and less carbohydrates you will increase your metabolism and burn more calories.

Protein has the highest thermic effect of any food, with 30% of the calories that come from this nutrient, being burned off during the digestion and utilization process.

Natural complex fibrous carbohydrates (vegetables) have the second highest thermic effect, with 15% of the calories that come from this nutrient, being burned off during the digestion and utilization process.

When the majority of the calories in your meals come from these two nutrients, your body simply has to work harder to digest them and the net caloric value is much lower than the actual calories that are contained in your meals.

This is why conventional low carb diets recommend to consume large amounts of protein and vegetables!

By consuming these foods there is less calories for your body to burn once it is finished digesting these two nutrients and because of this a calorie deficit is created.

Of course, this can happen only if you consume the right amount of calories, and this is why the statement that you can eat as much protein and vegetables as you want and not gain weight is completely not true!

If you consume more calories than your body burns during the day, the surplus will be mostly stored as body fat!

OTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE LOW CARB DIET:

A low carbohydrate intake controls insulin, because insulin is mostly released by your body in response to the consumption of carbohydrates.

Since insulin is the hormone that actually drives the excess glycogen into your fat cells for storage, obviously the less insulin that is released into your blood stream, the less fat your body will store.

A low carbohydrate intake also depletes your glycogen stores, and you are less likely to store carbohydrates (glycogen) as body fat when you are in a depleted or a semi-depleted state.

When there is a deficit of glycogen your body sends the glycogen that is available to your glycogen-starved muscles before sending it to fat storage.

This forces your body to use more fat as a fuel source, and helps you to burn more body fat!

smithak2

I have a hard time seeing a doctor perscribing a diet that was not balanced in nutrtion but was instead increasing the consumption fo fats, including saturated fats. As I said before there is not a single organization that does not agree that saturated fats are bad for you in high amounts. They are linked to a decrease in HDL, an increase in LDL, increases in inflammation of tissues, increase in blood pressure, clogging of arteries from increased blood cholesterol levels, increases in breats cancer, increases in prostate cancer, and many more.

When you use fats to create glucose in the body, your body is basically breaking down fat molecules to scavange out small carbons to use to create glucose. This results in a slow but steady build up in ketones in the blood. Ketones can be used in some organs in energy cycles but most are useless and most be filtered out of the blood. As ketone leves increase, your body enters a stage called ketosis. In ketosis your blood can become acidic which can lead to a number of health concerns on the body. You also tend to be less hungry when your body is in ketosis.

I will admit I goofed on my earlier post when I talked about how your body broke down protien from your tissues to help with the metabolism of fats for glucose. This doesn't actually happen until fat levels in the blood fall below a certain level. In other words, as long as you have a certain percantage of fat stored on you or constantly put into you, you wont break down or will break down very little protein from muscle tissue in your body. You will still develope ketones in your blood that will constantly be filtered out which is hard on your kidneys and the elevated acidic levels in your blood will can damage organs, muscle tissue, and bones.

Grokette, congragulations on your success on loosing 100lbs! I am not trying to be rude, but based on your information you have given me, if you truely suffered very little muscle loss than I am assuming that you had some extra adipose tissue and were using that for energy ( and I mean, who doesn't have some fat they want to loose). However, if someone doesn't have a high body fat percentage, cutting carbs out of their diet will most likely reuslt in a faster path to the breakdown of celluar protein for use of energy with fat.

Regardless, so much of this information is still being discovered. Our bodies are amazing machines and are so complex that we are still trying to understand how everything works. Once again its all about what you want to achieve with your weight loss goals. Im not saying a diet high in fat doesnt work. If you are trying tone up and build a muscular, athletic look you will need to consume carbs in levels greater than fats and proteins. But if you are just trying to slim down and fit into some skinner jeans, then go ahead and eat a high fat , low carb diet.

Grokette, I wish you the best of luck and hope you continue to meet your diet goals.

Grokette

I have a hard time seeing a doctor perscribing a diet that was not balanced in nutrtion but was instead increasing the consumption fo fats, including saturated fats. As I said before there is not a single organization that does not agree that saturated fats are bad for you in high amounts. They are linked to a decrease in HDL, an increase in LDL, increases in inflammation of tissues, increase in blood pressure, clogging of arteries from increased blood cholesterol levels, increases in breats cancer, increases in prostate cancer, and many more.

When you use fats to create glucose in the body, your body is basically breaking down fat molecules to scavange out small carbons to use to create glucose. This results in a slow but steady build up in ketones in the blood. Ketones can be used in some organs in energy cycles but most are useless and most be filtered out of the blood. As ketone leves increase, your body enters a stage called ketosis. In ketosis your blood can become acidic which can lead to a number of health concerns on the body. You also tend to be less hungry when your body is in ketosis.

I will admit I goofed on my earlier post when I talked about how your body broke down protien from your tissues to help with the metabolism of fats for glucose. This doesn't actually happen until fat levels in the blood fall below a certain level. In other words, as long as you have a certain percantage of fat stored on you or constantly put into you, you wont break down or will break down very little protein from muscle tissue in your body. You will still develope ketones in your blood that will constantly be filtered out which is hard on your kidneys and the elevated acidic levels in your blood will can damage organs, muscle tissue, and bones.

Grokette, congragulations on your success on loosing 100lbs! I am not trying to be rude, but based on your information you have given me, if you truely suffered very little muscle loss than I am assuming that you had some extra adipose tissue and were using that for energy ( and I mean, who doesn't have some fat they want to loose). However, if someone doesn't have a high body fat percentage, cutting carbs out of their diet will most likely reuslt in a faster path to the breakdown of celluar protein for use of energy with fat.

Regardless, so much of this information is still being discovered. Our bodies are amazing machines and are so complex that we are still trying to understand how everything works. Once again its all about what you want to achieve with your weight loss goals. Im not saying a diet high in fat doesnt work. If you are trying tone up and build a muscular, athletic look you will need to consume carbs in levels greater than fats and proteins. But if you are just trying to slim down and fit into some skinner jeans, then go ahead and eat a high fat , low carb diet.

Grokette, I wish you the best of luck and hope you continue to meet your diet goals.

I would suggest looking up the member of this site - his name is SteveMcKnight. He eats the same way I do and has very nice muscle tone.

There are plenty of doctors that will suggest a higher fat, lower carb way of eating. There are dieticians and nutritionists that will do the very same thing.

Go to any of the endocrinologist and registered dieticians at the Streilitz Diabetes Institute at EVMS in Norfolk, VA and have Thyroid disorders, Diabetes, or any other Metabolic or Endocine issue and they are going to put you on a higher fat, low carb way of eating. They will instruct you to buy fresh meats with the fat on it, fresh vegetables and limit the fruit intake.

My naturopathic doctor and endocrinologist here in St Louis agree with my Doctors in Virginia. Even having went as far as saying more doctors should research and learn the truth that is out there. As quoted by my Endocrinologist.

Everything you stated about what saturated fats supposedly do is incorrect and old research and old medical practice. The evidence that is coming out now is changing its stance on saturated fats.

My dad had a heart attack last summer and his doctor didn't put him on a low fat eating plan either. He put him on a moderate fat, moderate protein, lower carb plan also. Now his heart has healed with NO scarring. Fat and protein help our tissue heal.

Those so-called associations that "know so much" don't really know anything. I have posted plenty of common sense information as to why and how Saturated Fats are essential and they are good for us.

There is nothing unbalanced about eating protein, fats and green leafy vegetables and an occasional piece of fruit. My nutrition meets or exceeds the "daily recommended values" on most if not all nutrients.

There is nothing that says we need dairy or grains. The nutrients that are in those foods I can easily get from green leafy vegetables.

Also in what you are saying about ketosis is partially incorrect. You are confusing ketoacidosis and ketosis.

There is nothing unhealthy about ketosis, but has nothing to do with ketoacidosis. I will explain the difference if you would like me to.........

I encourage you to read the articles that I posted in the earlier part of this thread. They are informative and educational. :flowerforyou:

Eating the way I have been eating has my blood work perfect in every shape, form or fashion. I will continue to eat this way and you will see my toned, muscular body when my transformation is complete which at the rate I am going, will not be very long at all.

Qarol

I am on a low carb diet. I keep my carbs around 20 per day. I also try not to let my calories go over 1800 (I don't go too overboard with portions). I do eat a lot of meat and eggs but also non-starchy veggies. The cravings are very intense during the first week or two of starting, but after that, they subside quite a bit. There will always be days when you want bread, but as long as you keep enough low carb food in the house, you should be OK. Never let yourself be hungry. You'll never feel quite full like with carb diets (but also no icky carb comas, either), but you won't be hungry.

This is not the first time I've tried low carb. Last time, when I went back to regular eating, I gained it all back. I've now accepted that I have to be on this diet forever. I'll be able to have more carbs and more cheat days on maintenance, but in general, this is the diet for me.

Also make sure you're getting your 8 glasses of water (not flavored water) per day. More than that if you can. And watch for hidden carbs. Even eggs aren't completely carb free. But food makers are allowed to round down the carb content on a serving if it's below 1g. Coffee has 0.8g per 6 oz cup. So be wary of foods that say absolutely zero carbs if you're going to have 2-3 "servings" of it. And absolutely stay away from so-called low carb foods, like Atkins products. And be wary of foods that talk about "net carbs." (And don't forget to subtract your fiber from your carbs.)

bluebird321

I would suggest looking up the member of this site - his name is SteveMcKnight. He eats the same way I do and has very nice muscle tone...

I can vouch for that.

I'm on a low carb diet also, and my muscle tone seems to be fine. I am doing some resistance exercise to utililze the protein I am taking in.

Grokette

I would suggest looking up the member of this site - his name is SteveMcKnight. He eats the same way I do and has very nice muscle tone...

I can vouch for that.

I'm on a low carb diet also, and my muscle tone seems to be fine. I am doing some resistance exercise to utililze the protein I am taking in.

I was going to use myself as an example, but I am getting tired of people saying that using myself is just antcedotal evidence, that is not proof.............

I first tried low carb (Atkins) in 2003 and had fabulous muscle tone then too.