Not A Lifestyle
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For me this is definitely a lifestyle. I am a carb/sugar addict and there is no such thing as moderation/balance for me or I would never have gotten obese to begin with. I can't imagine going back to the stuff that almost killed me.0
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I've been eating this way for at least three years now and I imagine I'll continue to eat this way for the rest of my life. I keep my carbs under 50g and I eat vegetables everyday and usually fruit as well. I also eat higher carb whole foods like bananas, black beans and potatoes on occasion and fit them in just fine.
If I wasn't eating a satisfying amount of fruits and vegetables I wouldn't want to sustain a low carb diet either. My goal is to eat as many carbs as I can while still maintaining the benefits of low carb -- which luckily enough under 50g allows for any produce I want as long as I'm mindful. I understand where you're coming from but fruit and vegetables fit if they're a priority.
Best wishes working out the balance that works for you because you're absolutely right in that you need to enjoy and feel good about the way you eat for it to be sustainable.
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Everyone has to find their happy place. I've found mine through LCHF and am in for life! I feel it's completely sustainable and don't miss any foods anymore. Everyone is different though, and that's okay. I just know that I won't ever go back to eating the foods that make me feel like crap!0
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I've been hanging around 50g of carbs a day for 4 months and lost about 25 pounds. I've experienced a lot of different, unexpected health benefits. I'm finding that this is entirely sustainable and don't have a problem with grabbing a caramel or eating carrots or grabbing some sushi when the mood strikes. I get chocolate every morning in my primal coffee, love my wasabi almonds every day. I may raise or lower my carbs on occasion to meet so health goals but low carb is my way of life now. No regrets.
The most difficult problem I have is not preaching to everyone about it. lol0 -
SlimBride2Be wrote: »Once I'm at maintenance I'm going Paleo and adding in some legumes and sweet potatoes. I'll let you know how it goes. That's my plan for life!
You might want to check out the WAPF guidelines for handling legumes. Paleo generally excludes them due to the anti-nutrients in them (lectins, phytates, etc), but following the WAPF guidelines for preparing them can deactivate a fair bit of them for the most part.I also forgot to mention....from the book Well Fed....they have a chart that shows any nutrient that you get from grain you CAN get from vegetables. And like a normal amount of vegetables, not if you ate a bucket of them. So you really don't need grains. Also look up "grain brain" and documentaries like "King corn", "food matters" and "forks over knives"....they will change your life!
Oh please not Forks Over Knives. That's such a horrible documentary.
A far better one is The Perfect Human Diet.0 -
This is a lot of great information. I am a sugar addict and going lchf has been the best decision of my life. I finally understand what it means to eat until you are satisfied INSTEAD of full. Like most on here I'm concerned with blood work in the long scheme of things. At 39 I'm no longer someone that can afford to create health concerns. I've seen a lot of debate on here about cholesterol numbers. I will eventually find a good balance. For now...I need to get through month two.
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Thanks for the Paleo info. Even as I was typing I wasn't sure legumes were okay! As it happens I don't particularly like them and didn't eat them in the old days much so no loss there.0
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^^ Same here, I love being 'satsified' and just automatically knowing when to stop! Who knew, my body always had the wisdom. Fellow sugar addict here. I plan on eating LCHF for life, but I am allowing room for the very infrequent slip up, like birthday cake. Just doing what is sustainable right now, which is 50-100 carbs daily. So if I want an apple or banana, you'd better believe I'm going to have one. Today I want dark chocolate, so I'm going to allot enough in my carb total to have it. I always aim for lower carbs though, and hopefully with more frequent cooking I'll find it easier. I think that is the key to making it work for life; finding your balance.0
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_jayciemarie_ wrote: »This is a lot of great information. I am a sugar addict and going lchf has been the best decision of my life. I finally understand what it means to eat until you are satisfied INSTEAD of full. Like most on here I'm concerned with blood work in the long scheme of things. At 39 I'm no longer someone that can afford to create health concerns. I've seen a lot of debate on here about cholesterol numbers. I will eventually find a good balance. For now...I need to get through month two.
If you're eating a lot of saturated fat, that's potentially a valid concern, but you can stay low-carb without a lot of saturated fat intake or even animal fat intake if that's a concern.
My goal from the beginning was to make this diet sustainable for the long term, and that meant only eating what I like (i.e., not forcing myself to make extreme changes) and eating what improves my measurable health markers.
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I'm not missing pasta, bread ,rice, potatoes etc., but am planning to increase carbs a bit over the summer (at <16 now) cause of fresh produce in my garden. Still will try to stay <50 I think. My downfall is baked goodies & I think I won't be able to add them without binge frenzy. (Don't know what I'll do at son's wedding in July).0
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It is a eating LIFESTYLE for me. The doctors wanted me to start Enbrel injections for my pain. In my mind in my weakened body that was Cancer for sure. A month before my visit to start Enbrel injections I when off most all carbs (<50 grams daily from like almonds, coconut and other whole foods). Pain levels dropped from 7-8 to 2-3 on a 1-10 scale within 30 days and I escaped Enbrel side effects and gained a new life physically and mentally.
After 40 years of abusing Carbs of all types my life light was growing dim.
Others may have no diet related health concerns so I do not claim LCHF is for everyone but it is for ME. 0 -
Dragonwolf wrote: »SlimBride2Be wrote: »Once I'm at maintenance I'm going Paleo and adding in some legumes and sweet potatoes. I'll let you know how it goes. That's my plan for life!
You might want to check out the WAPF guidelines for handling legumes. Paleo generally excludes them due to the anti-nutrients in them (lectins, phytates, etc), but following the WAPF guidelines for preparing them can deactivate a fair bit of them for the most part.I also forgot to mention....from the book Well Fed....they have a chart that shows any nutrient that you get from grain you CAN get from vegetables. And like a normal amount of vegetables, not if you ate a bucket of them. So you really don't need grains. Also look up "grain brain" and documentaries like "King corn", "food matters" and "forks over knives"....they will change your life!
Oh please not Forks Over Knives. That's such a horrible documentary.
A far better one is The Perfect Human Diet.
lol ya I read that sentence and was thinking, "one of these things is not like the others".............
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Dragonwolf wrote: »SlimBride2Be wrote: »Once I'm at maintenance I'm going Paleo and adding in some legumes and sweet potatoes. I'll let you know how it goes. That's my plan for life!
You might want to check out the WAPF guidelines for handling legumes. Paleo generally excludes them due to the anti-nutrients in them (lectins, phytates, etc), but following the WAPF guidelines for preparing them can deactivate a fair bit of them for the most part.I also forgot to mention....from the book Well Fed....they have a chart that shows any nutrient that you get from grain you CAN get from vegetables. And like a normal amount of vegetables, not if you ate a bucket of them. So you really don't need grains. Also look up "grain brain" and documentaries like "King corn", "food matters" and "forks over knives"....they will change your life!
Oh please not Forks Over Knives. That's such a horrible documentary.
A far better one is The Perfect Human Diet.
lol ya I read that sentence and was thinking, "one of these things is not like the others".............
https://youtu.be/o7coHS27fYU?t=42 0 -
Dragonwolf wrote: »Dragonwolf wrote: »SlimBride2Be wrote: »Once I'm at maintenance I'm going Paleo and adding in some legumes and sweet potatoes. I'll let you know how it goes. That's my plan for life!
You might want to check out the WAPF guidelines for handling legumes. Paleo generally excludes them due to the anti-nutrients in them (lectins, phytates, etc), but following the WAPF guidelines for preparing them can deactivate a fair bit of them for the most part.I also forgot to mention....from the book Well Fed....they have a chart that shows any nutrient that you get from grain you CAN get from vegetables. And like a normal amount of vegetables, not if you ate a bucket of them. So you really don't need grains. Also look up "grain brain" and documentaries like "King corn", "food matters" and "forks over knives"....they will change your life!
Oh please not Forks Over Knives. That's such a horrible documentary.
A far better one is The Perfect Human Diet.
lol ya I read that sentence and was thinking, "one of these things is not like the others".............https://youtu.be/o7coHS27fYU?t=42
LOL!0 -
Jaycie, why do you not think that this is not a balanced way of eating? Many renown nutritionists do not have a problem with the LCHF lifestyle. You can get the carbs form non-starchy vegetables. The brain functions well on fats.
Harvard University has come out with a study that states that heart disease does not come from fats, but rather from Carbohydrates, Alan Keye's research (which touted fat as bad) has been disproven.
High Triglycerides and cholesterol can come form thyroid dysfunction.
YMMV.
This is a nice video about low carb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkdFkPxxDG8 0 -
@Dragonwolf, lol!!0
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Jaycie, why do you not think that this is not a balanced way of eating? Many renown nutritionists do not have a problem with the LCHF lifestyle. You can get the carbs form non-starchy vegetables. The brain functions well on fats.
Harvard University has come out with a study that states that heart disease does not come from fats, but rather from Carbohydrates, Alan Keye's research (which touted fat as bad) has been disproven.
High Triglycerides and cholesterol can come form thyroid dysfunction.
YMMV.
This is a nice video about low carbhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkdFkPxxDG8
I guess I was saying it isn't a lifestyle, because I do love fruits and vegetables. I mean, I'm from Nebraska where corn is everything. Nothing better than steak, corn on the cob, and watermelon in the summer time. I guess I never really thought that "fruit" or "vegetables" are now going to be considered a "cheat" for me. I understand fitting food into your macros for the day. I've done CICO for nearly 2 years, so I can budget.
Also, I am in taking saturated fat and not really sure how to reduce it and that does scare me in the long run.0 -
After 5 days, this is where I was at:
Down 6.6 pounds
Stomach is not as bloated
My digestive system isn't constantly cranky (although it has had its moments)
My wrists don't hurt
The constant ringing/itching in my ears is less
I have more energy (as in, I went for a walk in the park and boxed up another box of books to get rid of yesterday)
My muscles aren't aching
I'm not freezing all the time (just part of the time)
Depression/anxiety is lifting more and more
I'm on Day 10 now
Some people do choose to cycle their carbs and allow more for special events and such and stick to low carb the rest of the time.
Is the ONLY result you're seeing weight loss? Nothing else?
'cause for me, even if I don't lose any more weight, the benefits are definitely worth sticking to it. I might fall off every once in a while (and have!) but keep coming back because this is the way I feel the best.
Use the way you feel to determine how you should eat, not government guidelines that were made up to encourage people to use more agricultural products. You can slowly add in more fruits and veggies to determine the level where you maintain your weight without much effort and use THAT as your balanced diet.
Yes, yes, and yes!!
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@pedidiva that video was useful!
I want to stay low carb for life, it just works for me and now that I don't feel like I have to eat loads of protein I find it much more enjoyable as well. When I get to maintenance I'll add occasional fruit and wine but hopefully I will never go back to the way I was eating. When you think about it LCHF really is amore natural WOE for humans, I just hope that guidelines will change eventually though I know there will be a lot of resistance to it!0 -
Saturated fat is awesome and you shouldn't be looking at reducing it. There is a reason your body stores energy as saturated fat, and that reason isn't because it is harmful. Even all animal fats aren't completely saturated. So, it is practically impossible to get unbalanced with it. You should aim for a balance of saturated fat that represents human body fat. Or, just get all your fats from animal sources and the balance will take care of itself.0
