Metabolism Miracle

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interesting stuff!

Very interesting. How did you discover this?

My doctor first suggested that I get rid of carbs - I said "even fruit" and she said -- pretty much all carbs except green, leafy vegetables. But she didn't give me a diet - how many calories to eat, ration of carbs/fat/protein.

Now I have a dietician and we meet weekly to go over my weight loss, Body Fat percentage, measurements, etc. to see if we need to tweak it. At this point, I'm on 1300 calories a day - 62% fat, 25% protein, 13% carbs. I meet with him tonight and we'll see if I need to tweak or stay the course.

I also have to drink 1/2 my weight in water every day. I also work out at least 1 hour a day 6-7 days a week - combination of strength, Pilates and cardio.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is for everyone -- but if you are someone who has tried every kind of low fat diet eating "healthy" carbs, and have not lost weight, this might be you. I understand about 50% of overweight people might respond to this type of eating and lose weight.

Fortunately, for MOST of us this is not the case and a restrictive almost no carb diet that relies on Ketosis (high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet) for weightloss is not sustainable and most often results in a quick re-gain of lost weight.

For MOST people it would be easier to lose weight on such a diet but this does not mean this is the only way for MOST people to lose weight. MOST people, however, do need to consume fewer carbohydrates and increase their levels of exercise.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to MOST people reaching their weightloss goals is their belief that there is some extraordinary reason for their gain and inability to lose weight. MFP has shown a great many people that when they document and regulate their eating patterns and exercise they can lose weight.

I was dx with metabolic syndrome recently. I gained 40 lbs from a medication which is notorious for weight gain and causing this syndrome. I've been trying since October to lose it. I was on MFP with a different account but closed it for privacy reasons. I started at 1200 calories but figured out my BMR was higher. I changed it to 1500. I spent an hour a day at the gym 6 days a week. And I gained weight.
About a month ago I changed my carbs to 40% (I often don't make that) and my dr prescribed metformin. I've lost about 7 or 8 lbs. For me that book rings true.

I've lost 60 lbs doing something similar. I too have tried all the diets you mentioned, gave up and tried just eating healthy per my doctor but continued to gain. Did alot of reading and talking to personal trainers, non competition and competiton body builders and determined that my body very efficiently stores all those "healthy" carbs.

I do 30% carbs, 50% protein and 20% fat. I only eat all my carbs on days where I do heavy exercise. I've just recently added corn and peas and raw carrots back into my diet about once a month for each otherwise I only eat green beans, asparagus, brocoli, cauliflower, bell peppers and lettuce. I also only eat berries for fruit. Occasionally I have grapes, grapefruit and melon. I eat a whole grain english muffin with organic nothing added peanut butter and no sugar added berry jam once a week. Whole grain pasta once every 2-3 months and whole grain brown rice once every 1-2 months. Most of the time I don't miss the carbs. I have had times abt 3-4 months apart where I've craved carbs for about a week. Then I have to up my carb intake so I don't go off the deep end, knowing I'm going to go up a couple pounds but it wont be a true weight gain, I'll drop back down fairly easily.

I do most of the cooking, grocery shopping and menu planning in my family. In the begining it was hard to cook and not eat stuff I couldnt have. I had to wean myself off the "bad" stuff. Any more it's not much problem. I no longer like the taste or the way I feel after eating that stuff. I still have a problem with cake, cookies, pie and candy. If it's in the house I want it.

I had to accept that this way of eating and thinking about food is a livestyle change. I will have to eat this way for the rest of my life in order to continue to lose and then maintain once I reach my goal. Some days are tougher than others but in the long run it's worth it.

@tecallahan: thanks. how long before you saw results. I have tried lower carbs a few times and either gain or stay the same, even though i am still at a deficit.
Also how do you get enough fiber?? I need 40 g a day minimum to keep things from backing up (sorry TMI)

Some people do low carb/high protein and keep the fat low. That's not what I'm doing... my protein is moderate (25%). I am in moderate ketosis -- which means I am burning FAT!!

I started losing inches the first week... then a pound a week after that. Some people will have remarkable weight loss, but my body is so freaking efficient at burning carbs, that it still tries to resist burning fat instead.

Yeah - you can use some of your carb grams on a fiber supplement. That's what I have to do as well.

Read the book: Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It. By Gary Taubes. It's not a miracle diet-- in fact there's no diet in the book at all. It's a tough read, but it goes into great details about the science of why Calories In/Calories Out doesn't work for everyone. And why some of us are not fat because we overeat... we overeat because we are fat!

Again, it's not for everyone -- but if you have belly fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure yet you eat right and exercise -- this might be your answer. Some people are blessed with proper insulin usage and some are not. I was just lucky that my doctor and my dietician figured it out for me. Now I have to stay the course.

For anyone considering this....please do a search of the discussions about Taubes on this site.

I am learning a lot from this post

The recommendation for a low-carb diet certainly applies to all of us PCOS girls - I can eat 800 cals a day and exercise like a demon, on recommended food pyramid macros and gain weight. The only way I can lose (and most PCOS girls can lose) is on low carb. A calorie is not just a calorie.

People always say "but then I went off low-carb, and I gained it all back!" as if this is a reason not to start low-carb. If you are doing low-carb because that's the only thing that works for you, you need to treat it as a lifestyle change and stick with it forever. Same as if reducing your cals and exercising is the only thing that works (as is true for most people), when you go back to eating the way that made you gain weight you will gain it back.

Very interesting. How did you discover this?

My doctor first suggested that I get rid of carbs - I said "even fruit" and she said -- pretty much all carbs except green, leafy vegetables. But she didn't give me a diet - how many calories to eat, ration of carbs/fat/protein.

Now I have a dietician and we meet weekly to go over my weight loss, Body Fat percentage, measurements, etc. to see if we need to tweak it. At this point, I'm on 1300 calories a day - 62% fat, 25% protein, 13% carbs. I meet with him tonight and we'll see if I need to tweak or stay the course.

I also have to drink 1/2 my weight in water every day. I also work out at least 1 hour a day 6-7 days a week - combination of strength, Pilates and cardio.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is for everyone -- but if you are someone who has tried every kind of low fat diet eating "healthy" carbs, and have not lost weight, this might be you. I understand about 50% of overweight people might respond to this type of eating and lose weight.

So you really drink half your weight in water everyday? How are you not dead? I am about 200lbs. A pound of water is about 8 oz (give or take depending on the temp of the water). So I would have to drink 100 cups of water to follow your advice. That would be 800 oz or 6.25 gallons. That is well above the 4 gallons that healthy human kidneys can process in a day. Even if you were much lighter and had to drink somewhat less it would severely tax your body after just a few days.

I think she meant half her weight in ounces. So, if you are 200lbs, you'd drink 100oz.

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