Low Carb/ Intermittent Fasting/ Keto/ Plant Based oh my...

MarcA1218 · March 2018

I have been on a plant based diet for a few months now. But I noticed it’s hard to keep carbs low. I read about intermittent fasting and was thinking of adding that to my current plan. I hear about Keto all over this app but not sure I understand it all too well. If you have changed your eating habit whether for health, to lose weight etc. please share your experience and maybe we can all share & learn a little something together.

cwolfman13 · March 2018

You don't need to keep carbs low...and typically plant based diets are higher carb...'cuz plants are largely carbs.

IF is just a meal timing thing...nothing more, nothing less...nothing magical.

Keto is ultra low carb and very high fat...it works the same way any diet works, which is a calorie deficit.

Personally I'm an old fashioned, lots of whole foods, balanced diet kinda guy. My grandma used to talk about that a lot...but yeah, it doesn't have a clever name or anything.

fb47 · March 2018

MarcA1218 wrote: »

I have been on a plant based diet for a few months now. But I noticed it’s hard to keep carbs low. I read about intermittent fasting and was thinking of adding that to my current plan. I hear about Keto all over this app but not sure I understand it all too well. If you have changed your eating habit whether for health, to lose weight etc. please share your experience and maybe we can all share & learn a little something together.

Your mindset is wrong, you put too much importance to diets. Your goal when you begin your weight journey is to find what is your caloric deficit number, that is the most important thing.

Once you established that...then you chose a diet that you can stick with and actually enjoy. Don't pick a diet based on hearsay and which one people tell you is the best diet for weight loss. I am going to tell you one thing, there is no best diet, many studies show that in the long run, if you're in a caloric deficit, the fat loss rate is similar from diet to diet. They are all equal calorie for calorie. A diet is only a tool that you use to help you achieve a caloric deficit, but you chose a diet based on your personal preference.

In my case, when I cut, I prefer doing intermittent fasting (yes I eat carbs too and do no cardio), but that is a personal choice. I do not think Intermittent fasting is any better than any other diet out there, it's on par with anything else. My main focus is simply to make sure I am at a deficit even if I am fasting for 16 hours. I only do Intermittent fasting simply because I prefer eating bigger meals over smaller meals, that's it....no other reason than that.

janejellyroll · March 2018

Why do your carbohydrates have to be low?

dopeysmelly · March 2018

All I can say is check out Plant Nutrition for Idiots (version 2) and learn about the Food Triangle by Ray Chronise. It explains about the various terms and what they actually mean. It really helped me understand how you need to focus on food rather than macros, and filling up on leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, stems, mushrooms (to get nutrients) and then supplementing with fruits, cereals, starchy vegetables (think potatoes) for energy. I've never really spent any time thinking about carbs, proteins etc. I prefer real food.

I've eaten plant-based for a few years (to remedy cholesterol issues) and have just started losing a few more pounds by intermittent fasting, which I never really considered before.

But the Food Triangle is the best explanation of plant-based eating I think I've ever seen.

lemurcat12 · March 2018

Are you happy with plant-based? Are you getting enough protein and fat? Then why worry about carbs?

I tried keto as an experiment and didn't find that it was helpful for me, but I was already pretty happy with how I was eating before, and one huge drawback of keto is that for me it only makes sense if I am consuming lots of meat (or in the alternative lots of eggs and some dairy).

IF is mostly a strategy if you find it hard to control calories.

If you aren't struggling, none of this stuff is necessary.

nvmomketo · March 2018

As others have said, keto is not needed unless you feel better doing it, it helps with your health, it aids in appetite control, or you really like the food. I've been mostly ketogenic for a few years. It helped me with weight loss and health issues. For me it worked well but it is not for everyone.

Likewise, you don't need to go plant based either unless it works well for you. An animal based diet can be another option that can work well for some.

The same goes for IF. Some find it works well (I find it works well with keto if you benefit from the appetite suppressing effects of the diet) and others prefer small frequent meals.

I'm all for experimenting with different woes to find what diet works best for you. I just think it is helpful to NOT feel that you must eat a certain WOE - like paleo, plant based, everything in moderation, ketogenic, vegan, etc. - unless you have a medical need for doing so. Experiment and stick with what works best for you.

Low Carb/ Intermittent Fasting/ Keto/ Plant Based oh my...

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