Why do people choose to do LCHF?

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GoCleanGoLean
GoCleanGoLean Posts: 71 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So it seems like low carb isn't very healthy because it makes people go into keto, yaddy yaddy ya.

But if this true, if low carb isn't healthy and it causes all sort of health problems, why do so many people go on low carb diets/start a low carb lifestyle?

I guess what I'm trying to ask is: just how bad is the LCHF diet? I feel like it's been demonized, but I don't know how accurate the demonization is.

Does anybody have personal experience with LCHF? I'm not planning on trying LCHF (Most of my diet is carbs due to my Esan Nigerian ethnicity; the traditional diet is carb heavy) because that won't go well but I am too curious for my own good curious.

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  • GoCleanGoLean
    GoCleanGoLean Posts: 71 Member
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    amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »
    Ketosis is different from ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition related to diabetes, ketosis is just burning fat for fuel. It is not inherently unhealthy unless you have a preexisting condition that would be adversely affected. Many people, myself included, do LCHF because we find fat satiating, making it easier to stay in a deficit and lose weight. I also find it helpful to keep my blood sugar more level instead of going on the post-carb rollet coaster.

    Whaaa?????? Well talk about a paradigm shift. I thought ketosis was when your body is feeding off of ketones and you're LITERALLY DYING ON THE INSIDE :#:#:#

    But I must have been mistaken. Thank you for being so knowledgeable. :)
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I've done keto a few times don't like the side effects and it's a lot water loss
    Week 1 can be 10lbs+ loss but once you stop for whatever reason it'll come back on as fast
    I think I'd do it if more veg was allowed lol but the carbs are so high in veg plus I've an intolerance tonight fat so that's the main reason I stopped
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,366 Member
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    GoCleanGoLean wrote: »
    amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »
    Ketosis is different from ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition related to diabetes, ketosis is just burning fat for fuel. It is not inherently unhealthy unless you have a preexisting condition that would be adversely affected. Many people, myself included, do LCHF because we find fat satiating, making it easier to stay in a deficit and lose weight. I also find it helpful to keep my blood sugar more level instead of going on the post-carb rollet coaster.

    Whaaa?????? Well talk about a paradigm shift. I thought ketosis was when your body is feeding off of ketones and you're LITERALLY DYING ON THE INSIDE :#:#:#

    But I must have been mistaken. Thank you for being so knowledgeable. :)

    Ketosis is the body's natural reaction to produce energy from fat as opposed to producing energy from sugar... it happens every time there is not enough glucose present (saved) in the liver, muscles and food consumed to keep the body functioning. Ketoacidosis is a condition that can only occur in Type-1 diabetics (whose body doesn't produce any insulin) and is not a concern for people outside of that community.
  • BrunetteRunner87
    BrunetteRunner87 Posts: 591 Member
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    My chiropractor was telling me he just started doing it, he explained (and I also saw it in Runner's World magazine) that some runners do it so that their bodies will get used to using fat to fuel instead of carbs. The idea is that by the time you go to run the full marathon your body is used to this and you don't have to eat energy gels/use Gatorade throughout the race, and you avoid hitting the wall. I can't think of any other reason to do it though, doesn't seem like it's worth it for weight loss alone since you can still lose weight without going through all that.
  • whatalazyidiot
    whatalazyidiot Posts: 343 Member
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    I just started doing a low-carb diet.. sort of. I do have more than 20 net carbs. Closer to 40 or 50 per day. This is what is comfortable for me.

    While you can ignore the calories, I have noticed by doing this, I 'accidentally' eat around my allotted calories anyway. So, it gets me to eat more lean protein (even though you can have other meat) and lots of veggies.

    Basically, this is what I am getting from it:

    Less cravings overall
    Lower sugar intake
    Increase in eating healthy
    Lower calories

    In 3 days, I have lost 6 pounds. When I did just low calorie (ignoring my carb intake), I lost 4 pounds in the first 7 days. So there is a dramatic difference, even if both times I lost a lot of water weight in the beginning. *I am 100 pounds overweight, so that has an impact on how much weight comes off in the beginning

    I think it works for some people, and maybe not others. I don't know if it will work long-term for me, but for now, I am comfortable with it. I am eating 5 times a day and don't feel like I'm missing out a ton. If I start noticing illness or negative side effects, I will go back to focusing more on my calories, but I like the results so far.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »
    My chiropractor was telling me he just started doing it, he explained (and I also saw it in Runner's World magazine) that some runners do it so that their bodies will get used to using fat to fuel instead of carbs. The idea is that by the time you go to run the full marathon your body is used to this and you don't have to eat energy gels/use Gatorade throughout the race, and you avoid hitting the wall. I can't think of any other reason to do it though, doesn't seem like it's worth it for weight loss alone since you can still lose weight without going through all that.

    I don't understand, because just doing long runs or rides at low intensity will also "train" your body to use fat for fuel.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Way back in the 80s when I was in high school, our biology teacher gave us an assignment to each pick a disease/disorder, research it, and write a report on causes/symptoms/prognosis/treatment. I chose epilepsy. And I think a keto diet was mentioned as being helpful for some people with epilepsy to control their seizures. At the time (and I have no idea whether this has changed) the info I had was "it seems to help some, but doctors aren't sure how or why".
  • BrunetteRunner87
    BrunetteRunner87 Posts: 591 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »
    My chiropractor was telling me he just started doing it, he explained (and I also saw it in Runner's World magazine) that some runners do it so that their bodies will get used to using fat to fuel instead of carbs. The idea is that by the time you go to run the full marathon your body is used to this and you don't have to eat energy gels/use Gatorade throughout the race, and you avoid hitting the wall. I can't think of any other reason to do it though, doesn't seem like it's worth it for weight loss alone since you can still lose weight without going through all that.

    I don't understand, because just doing long runs or rides at low intensity will also "train" your body to use fat for fuel.

    Maybe, but perhaps they don't want to do the runs at low intensity.
  • tjones0411
    tjones0411 Posts: 179 Member
    edited March 2017
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    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    tjones0411 wrote: »
    I lost about 20 pounds eating LCHF. I include a lot of leafy greens in my diet (they are actually the main source of my allotted carbs) and don't really get where it's unhealthy. For me, it's just a more satisfying way of eating. Even at maintenance, I stick with it. I don't get as hungry, I'm not feeling the need to snack constantly and my sweets cravings have greatly diminished. I don't miss pasta and potatoes at all, so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything. Some people like it, others don't. Personal preference.

    Properly done, it's not unhealthy.

    People who think that it's unhealthy are imagining a diet consisting of nothing but bacon, sausage and cheese.

    It's the analogous position to the small number of low carbers who suggest that those of us who eat carbs are living on nothing but doughnuts, candy and cake.

    There are piles of different ways to eat healthy - high carb, low carb and in the middle.

    I will say that donuts are the one thing that I do miss!! But I'd miss them on any diet if I was trying to be careful! White frosted with rainbow sprinkles have always been my favorite. Or Oreo Cream. oh! And a good apple fritter *drool*
  • BrunetteRunner87
    BrunetteRunner87 Posts: 591 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »
    My chiropractor was telling me he just started doing it, he explained (and I also saw it in Runner's World magazine) that some runners do it so that their bodies will get used to using fat to fuel instead of carbs. The idea is that by the time you go to run the full marathon your body is used to this and you don't have to eat energy gels/use Gatorade throughout the race, and you avoid hitting the wall. I can't think of any other reason to do it though, doesn't seem like it's worth it for weight loss alone since you can still lose weight without going through all that.

    I don't understand, because just doing long runs or rides at low intensity will also "train" your body to use fat for fuel.

    Maybe, but perhaps they don't want to do the runs at low intensity.

    If you don't include long runs in your training plan, your marathon probably isn't going to be very successful -- even if you are on a ketogenic diet. Getting through 26.2 miles is probably going to require some kind of long run experience -- even if your body is good at using fat for fuel.

    If you don't want to do long runs, marathons probably aren't the best recreational choice.

    I didn't say that the people following this plan for marathon training aren't doing long runs, I said maybe they don't want to do low-intensity runs. To be low enough in intensity to be in the "fat burning" zone, assuming it's not a myth, for me as a 29 year old female, I would have to do a long run with my heart rate at 118 to 138 beats per minute. That's much lower than my usual long-run heart rate, which is about 160 bpm even when I've slowed to a minute and a half over race pace. If I ran slow enough to be between 118 and 138 I wouldn't be hitting any PRs any time soon.

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