wabmester Member

I brought this topic up when I saw Doc Naiman yesterday. Good news! He gave me a relevant study: Hyperinsulinemia as an Independent Risk Factor for Ischemic Heart Disease This strongly suggests that if you keep insulin low (via low carb, of course), high LDL and other traditional risk factors are much less risky!

I thought about keeping a blog once, but I was too lazy. I only wrote one blog post. Mucus, Carbs, and Fiber

My carb sources are basically eggs, dairy, veggies, berries, and NUTS. Especially nuts. Really the only difference between 100g and sub-50g is that you don't freak out about "hidden" carbs in sauces, onions, peppers, and bits of fruit in your meal. I don't do fake breads or fake tortillas simply because I think it would…

I went on a pilgrimage to see Doc Rockstar today. And I took my wife with me! I have not been able to convince her to go low carb, but she was willing to listen to an MD. I think it worked. Well, at least she says she's game now. We both talked to him for about an hour. He's a great guy and gave her the full spiel. Some…

They covered a lot of ground. It was great to see two nerds go at it -- I already want to see a sequel. :) In terms of dietary approaches, there was some concern expressed about both gut health and blood lipids on a traditional high fat ketogenic diet (8-10% protein), so Dom basically follows a "modified Atkins" with…

Oh, now that you mention it.... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2856606/ Only total cholesterol, LDL-C, and apolipoprotein-B demonstrated substantial increases within the 1 year interval before and after FMP, consistent with menopause-induced changes.

Low carb works best for the insulin resistant. If you don't have a lot to lose, you're probably pretty insulin sensitive. You'll need to resort to good old-fashioned calorie restriction, but lowish carb can help with body recomp. Stick with real food, high fiber veggies for carb intake. Very low carb probably won't help…

I found it interesting for the historical context. The guy was persecuted for going against conventional wisdom. Not much has changed since then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Taller The FDA's Larrick went further: "The book is full of false ideas, as many competent medical and nutritional writers have pointed out.…

It is associated with Alz, but it's also associated with how we respond to SFA intake. It's your choice to accept or reject statins, but your doc would just be following guidelines to recommend them. Personally, I'd look into it more. LDL is considered a risk mostly by association. It's unknown if it's still a risk in…

Saturated fats usually raise LDL. I'm a bit surprised your doc recommended LCHF if she's concerned about LDL. If you want to try to manipulate the numbers, switch to olive oil for your main source of fat. If your doc is really concerned, get a VAP or NMR to dig into the LDL. Chances are the particle number hasn't changed…

I always associated it with not breathing deeply enough. Use your belly to breath, if that makes sense. :)

If she loves salad, see if she's interested in paleo or something like Whole30. Basically, just drop the grains. I think it'd help if her doc told her she needed to make a change.

Could it be from heavy breathing? If so, it gets better as you adapt. Lunges are good for warmup. Toe raises might help prevent Achilles tendon issues.

All your markers look good to me. Out of curiosity, what was your prediabetes dx based on? HbA1C, fasting glucose, or both? Peter Attia writes about reasons his A1C was misleading here: http://eatingacademy.com/personal/2016-update As you can see my measured average glucose was 92 mg/dL, which imputes an A1C of 4.8%. At…

Just curious about how "junk" is defined. Does he eat a bowl of cereal with skim milk? Toast and OJ? If so, no different than a candy bar IMO. Kids don't need to be low carb, but something like "paleo" would be good IMO. Real food.

Testing blood sodium will usually tell you nothing. The body tries to maintain a concentration of around 140 mmol/L. So if you're low, your kidneys simply dump fluid to raise the concentration. The symptoms people experience are due to low fluid levels (low blood volume), not low sodium. Likewise, testing blood potassium…

Good book for those who think they'd eat too much chocolate: Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight: New Science Proves You Should Eat Chocolate Every Day

I'll do that with Baker's Chocolate (100% cocoa) -- counters the bitterness.

What brand did you try? It's kind of like wine -- try a few to find one you like. Some of my faves: * Trader Joe's Chocolate Lover's 85% -- not bitter, interesting fruity taste, and a bargain compared to most other bars. * Equal Exchange Organic Panama Extra Dark Chocolate (80% Cacao) -- smooooth! * Green & Black's Cacao…

I lost my weight at around 100g/d carbs. I would sometimes dip in the sub-50 zone for a while, but I didn't really like the side-effects of ketosis. Some people love it. The level required seems to be a function of 1) insulin resistance, and 2) magnitude of insulin response to a glycemic load. If you like science, here's a…

50g at one meal will kill ketosis for a little while. Let's calculate how long. Brain burns 150g glucose per day (if available). That's 6g per hour. So you'll be out of ketosis for about 8 hours. Less if you exercise. :) Basically all that happens is that liver glycogen gets a refill.

Welcome to the Old Guys Club. The diet is the easy part (and you've got a great start). Gaining muscle seems to be the tricky part....

New nominee for you: Dr. Phil. He just came out of the diabetes closet and is now promoting his own cure. Drugs + wholesome grains. :( https://www.onitmovement.com/home.html

You know they are, but you also know there's no going back to high carb. It's quicksand. Make the change to low-carb in a way that you can easily sustain forever. That's different for all of us, but for me it meant finding low-carb foods that I love to eat. The high-carb stuff I used to eat no longer tempts me.

It's a process, and you're executing it well. Keto (or any version of low carb) creates the right low-insulin environment for fat loss. It also fixes your appetite regulation (for most people), so you'll naturally reduce caloric intake. Exercise, especially strength training, improves glucose uptake, reduces insulin…

We're looking to you to blaze a trail, V. I've read a bunch of studies, but at the end of the day, I still just eat what I like to eat. What would you use as a short-term marker? On a related note, how about iron intake? We know women live longer than men, right? They still get heart disease, but 10 years later than men.…

Agreed on the water retention. Your muscles are soaking up glucose and increasing their glycogen reserve, which adds weight. You know that swollen feeling after lifting weights? That's from the water influx. Stop exercising for a week, and you'll see a drop. But you'll also become out of shape. :)

Try the All Animal April challenge perhaps. @FIT_Goat and I probably disagree about why it works, but it has all the elements needed to break a stall.

It is frustrating, but now you know you have a big whoosh to look forward to. :)

Insufficient sodium intake is the #1 problem for low-carbers, so the mods just made that sticky post. Don't hesitate to ask any questions, but it's a good read. :)