@Yvonne Smith You "fell off the wagon", a phrase my wife often uses regarding her super low carb efforts. It worked for ~ 6 months, then gradually diminished in weight loss effect. I cannot convince her that calories count. She uses heavy whipping cream only in her coffee (delicious, absolutely, health hearty, no, IMO. Frank
I just noticed this topic.. I haven't gone back to read all the posts as there are too many.. Let me tell you very briefly my story about low carbing.. I once weighed 358 pounds and went to see my doctor to tell him I didn't feel good.. He told me after weighing me that with my weight I have only 2 options and they were, lose weight or die.. I chose the first option and I went on Atkins, which is low carb.. Here I am some time later weighing around the 200 pound mark.. I lost just over 150 pounds.. I am still on low carb maintenance as I have reached my goal and am happy with the results.. I eat almost everything except I limit five (5) foods.. They are.... Flour of any kind and anything made with flour of any kind (pasta) Rice and anything made with rice Sugar and anything that has sugar Potatoes Corn and any form of corn I also drink lots of water every day.. That doesn't mean I don't, upon occasion, indulge in a small treat of any of the above, but they are generally out of my diet on a regular basis.. Life is just wonderful eating the way I do and I find it is healthy, eating lots of veggies, fish, meat and fruit.. Like I said, this is just a very brief story of my experience with low carb.. Worked fabulously for me and I still am watching my intake of bad carbs..
I frequently eat all the above. My weight has always been okay except for the last couple of years. My problem is lack of exercise. I'm used to eating anything I want because I always got plenty of exercise. But with a knee replacement, the other knee hurting and the instability caused by parkinsons, I just can't get much exercise. I need to lose about 15 pounds and I can usually do that by eating small portions 5 or 6 times per day. Got to get started ( as soon as I finish the cake and ice cream).
Yes, that is exactly what I did, @Frank Sanoica , and since both sugar and wheat are extremely addictive, it is like an alcoholic taking a drink and falling off the wagon. As I have said before, @Sheldon Scott , low carb is not the answer for everyone, we all have to learn our body, and do what works for us. Like @Steve North said, for those of us for whom it is the answer, it works fabulously. To address the calorie statement, Frank ...... yes calories DO count, but differently than just low-calorie dieting, when you are on low carb eating plan. Carbs stimulate insulin, which is the body's fat-storing hormone; so the more carbs you eat the more fat it stores. When you are eating low-carb/ketogenic, you are burning fats and not sugars; so it does not trigger insulin. However, if you are eating more fats and proteins than your body needs, then it is going to burn the fat that you are eating, and not the fat on your body. Also, if you are eating a lot of protein, up to half of that can be processed like carbs, thus triggering insulin; so too much protein is not good either. The trick is to eat the right combination of fats/proteins/carbs to not trigger insulin; and not so much of it that you just burn what you eat and not your own body fat. I use Carb Manager, and that keeps track of everything....carbs, proteins, fats, and calories, as well as the nutritional information for each meal that you eat. Here is the link if your wife is interested, Frank. They have a basic free version, and then a premium one if you want to see all of the charts and graphs. https://www.carbmanager.com/
Just this past week, decided i had gained way too weight. So downloaded a few apps to my phone to help me out. Just trying to lose 16 pounds for now will worry about the rest later. @Steve North ..carbs are my problem, but i do not eat large quantities anyway. I just cant knock out all carbs tho like some people do. But I can nip it in the bud some by not eating certain things-on a regular basis. Having battled weight all my life- but controlled very well, (when i was out dancing and carrying on like a fool) to me eliminating all or certain things , just make it harder to continue. Things I can not give up...beans and potatoes...was rasied on that and would eat more beans except hubby does not like the side effects.
@Steve North You are to be truly commended for your efforts. Intestinal fortitude at it's greatest display. I am fortunate to have been somehow able to almost never be "overweight" for my entire life. As soon as I felt kind of "heavy", or my belt buckle was demanding a new notch, I just unconsciously ate less of the stuff contributing to the excess. I've been known to binge, however, once eating 1/2 gallon of ice cream in an evening, repeating such performance some days after. Overall, though, it has lately become more of a necessary effort to "keep the gut" off. I realize metabolism has slowed, exercise has become inadequate, eating has remained mostly the same, muscle tissue has been traded for fat, and I weigh the same as 50 years ago, around 155-160 lbs. Fortunate, or maybe more likely, lucky. Frank
Today, I watched a short video that explains how to speed up weight loss when you are on a ketogenic diet. Basically, he said that we should cut down from 20-30 carbs to ZERO carbs, which means that you would be eating mainly just meats and fatty foods. He also recommends lots of greens and salads, and said that there are so few carbs in salad greens that it is not going to affect insulin at all. He explains which meats are best to choose from, and which to avoid.
I just learned that whiskey, gin, and vodka are all keto friendly. I guess that is because they generate little or no insulin response, but I cannot imagine a diet with a lot of any of those would be very healthy. Pure fructose doesn't stimulate an insulin response either, because the liver converts it directly into fat unless there is glucose with it as in sucrose.
Good point, and it would not make a healthy contribution to any diet, if used immoderately. I remember reading an article about sailors who became shipwrecked, and they tried to live on rum. They were alive when rescued, but had lost their mental abilities because of only having the rum. They might have had sugar cane, too (I read this a long time ago); but that would not have helped much either.
due to advancing OA and surgery messes, I really really work to keep down the carb and sugar intake. And I was raised on spaghetti and meatballs and bread, will save the spaget for my last supper...hope I'll have an appetite, I stopped bringing bread in my house about 10 yrs ago. Started by going first gluten free bread and didn't much care for it, so said "why not just stop it all"....when I go out for a greasy burger I get toasted buns but that's it. Same when I go for a great reuben, but neither are too often.
We have also gone pretty much low carb and stopped eating bread. (There is a sub-forum of “diets” under health and wellness, and several threads for low carb lifestyle) What I have been using, and i am really happy with, is almond meal instead of regular bread. I have a mix that contains almond meal, flax meal, psyllium husks, and a dab of Himalayan sea salt and a bit of baking powder. From this, I use a quarter of a cup of mix plus one egg and a tablespoon of coconut oil or butter, mix it all up and cook it like a flatbread or frybread, but it can also be microwaved. It has 10 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and only 3-4 grams of carbs; so it is a pretty healthy bread, and so easy to make.
Sounds delightful, standing in the kitchen now for me is a challenge, so everything is easy easy easy, but the flatbread sounds nice. I use lovely romaine when I need to make a sandwich type wrap.
Joy...... I don't and can't exercise at all...... NO WAY !!!!!!!!! I still can lose weight by going on induction of low carb.. I mean induction and not just some version of it....