Low Carb diet!?!?

[Guest]

It's all in my head, but I've decided I need to diet. Don't think it really help with body image, as I'm unlikely to be content with my own appearance at any point...but it's something I haven't really done much in the past, so could be interesting to try.

Heard about the concept of a "low carb diet" which sounds promising, but it's hard to wrap my head around the concept. As defined by wikipedia, the low carb diet is a diet with 20-60 grams of carbs per day. Granted, that assumes you are eating 2000 calories per day, which is probably less than I eat, but it creates enough of a concept for me to look into it. That said, adding up foods at the grocery store last night. Getting to 2000 calories without going over 60 grams of carbs is really, really hard.

Anyone else tried this?

As far as I can tell, diet requires eating a ton of red meat. Other meats and meat-like items too, but just a ton of them. There's vegetables in there too, but getting to 2,000 calories is really hard without just excessive quantities of meat-group items is near impossible. The other end is that I'm both picky and poor, so a good chunk of viable options for this diet are a "no-go" for me.

[jollyork]

Eat Less, Exercise More.

[Raindog]

Eat less sugars. Eat less simple carbs. Drink no juice or pop. Exercise. Drink water.

[DisruptiveConduct]

one food: bacon

[Romans832]

https://www.dietdoctor.com/dr-dagostino-talks-keto-joe-rogan-experience-podcast

 

 

Keto is doing amazing for my friends who are on Keto

[Guest]

So, anyway, this one lasted about 3 or 4 days for me. I concluded that it was suicidal for me. I can't have dairy and I'm rather picky, already, so switching to no carbs results in unhealthy starvation (not to be confused with fasting). The low carb diet also seems to require lots of expensive foods (like meat), as I am rather poor/frugal when it comes to food. A friend also pointed out that the low carb diet isn't designed around the idea that you are exercising a fair amount.

I lasted until Saturday (which was actually sunday at 5 am when I when to sleep) and broke it the following day (day is the period after you sleep...).

[Torg]

Start simply... pick one thing to change ... like ...no pop or juice ... just water.  Do that for awhile... until it’s your new “normal”. 

Then decide on the next thing for change. Like ... maybe more walks - jogs disc golf ... or similar exercise for a few hours a week.  Work that a couple times a a week ... then more .... to each day if schedule allows. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Torg said:

Start simply... pick one thing to change ... like ...no pop or juice ... just water.  Do that for awhile... until it’s your new “normal”. 

Then decide on the next thing for change. Like ... maybe more walks - jogs disc golf ... or similar exercise for a few hours a week.  Work that a couple times a a week ... then more .... to each day if schedule allows. 

Oh, no, I understand how to lose weight. Diet was more a way to try new things. And body image is all in your head. Acceptance of you as you are is the key - personally, I'm still disappointed I grew up as a human, so negative body image isn't related to weight.

I just need to do sit ups and push ups more often (it's gotten pretty close to zero times per week...). And I should get back on my once per week hike that I used to be doing.

Anyway, this diet did get me trying a new food: raw ground beef, which I eyeballed at the store, but never bought in the past. I've eaten it (cooked) when others prepared it, but wasn't until this diet when I gave it a shot. Surprisingly easy to cook. I know, really common food, but something about raw meats and my overthinking mind don't mix well at the store.

[Romans832]

Best wishes Pax...

As someone who's lost 160#s I'm not sure I exactly follow...

but based off your replies to us all trying to cheer and encourage you... would seem you're not as interested in it as the Original Thread implied.

OK, I was wrong, your OT was halfhearted in the first place.

I hope you find what you're looking for...

We Americans suck at anything "good for you" unless we choose to completely change how we think.

I still struggle with that

[Guest]

58 minutes ago, Romans832 said:

Best wishes Pax...

As someone who's lost 160#s I'm not sure I exactly follow...

but based off your replies to us all trying to cheer and encourage you... would seem you're not as interested in it as the Original Thread implied.

OK, I was wrong, your OT was halfhearted in the first place.

I hope you find what you're looking for...

We Americans suck at anything "good for you" unless we choose to completely change how we think.

I still struggle with that

 Getting the cheers was nice, but no, I wasn't looking for moral support on a diet. I was looking for suggestions on if the low carb diet concept is real and how to make the low carb diet feasible for me. My conclusion based on the above, my own personal experiement, and the conversations with random people in-person, is that the low carb diet is suicidal for me. Ran into the same problem when I tried being a vegetarian - I just have too many foods I won't/can't eat already to make a food-restricting diet function on a low income. 

So I did find what I was looking for. Was hoping for different results, but getting an answer is certainly better than being left without one. And thanks to all for the help, didn't mean to dismiss the help given on these boards - it was appreciated.

And for clarity, by diet, I just mean altering what you eat, not some desire to lose weight. The idea that a person could subsist on a meager 20-60 grams of carbs per day seemed fictional, and it was facinating to discover that it could theoretically work. Doesn't work for me, but I now believe it could work for others. 

As for self-image, I am serious that I remain disappointed I "grew up" into a human. Not a fan of being human. Not certain I wanted to be alive in the first place. But I have developed plenty of baseless condifidence to make up for a personal lack of a desireable appearance. And I don't look in mirrors much. It, like most problems of the mind, can be resolved by deciding you'll accept you as you are and adapt your standards. I do that to a certain extent. And it works, to a certain extent. 

[Duckman]

Remember too that carb means non-fibrous carb in all these situations.  You can eat all the high-fiber veggies you want...  Celery, for example, is fine on a low-carb diet because you discount the fibrous carbs right off the bat (since they cannot be digested).  That doesn't necessarily affect you, pax, as it still calls for lots of meat and fat to get your calories but it's how most people manage keto.

[Guest]

14 hours ago, Duckman said:

Remember too that carb means non-fibrous carb in all these situations.  You can eat all the high-fiber veggies you want...  Celery, for example, is fine on a low-carb diet because you discount the fibrous carbs right off the bat (since they cannot be digested).  That doesn't necessarily affect you, pax, as it still calls for lots of meat and fat to get your calories but it's how most people manage keto.

What about the "sugar alcohols"? Been really unclear on the distinction between sugar alcohol and sugar. Internet seems to indicated that it's a loophole specifically for people on the atkins diet - though I don't really understand how. It seems mostly be a gimmick/trick for by being allowed to list 0g sugar.

[Duckman]

Sugar alcohols are a myth created by people who are not looking at process.  Technically an alcohol is not a carb but the problem is in how it metabolizes.  It increases the release of ketones (which is what you are trying to do with ketosis) but at the same time it blocks the process by which ketosis allows you to burn fat.

So, long story short...  Why are you on a ketogenic diet?  If the answer is to lose weight, then sugar alcohols are self-defeating.  If the answer is to avoid glutens then sugar and sugar alcohol are not the problem in the first place.

 

Personally I try to eat a low carb diet for many reasons.  I've lost a lot of weight doing it.  I feel a lot better when I don't have the gluten in my system.  My blood sugar is level throughout the day because I am not eating things that metabolize quickly and result in spikes and troughs.  The problem is that I love bread as well (and many things in which bread is a fundamental component) so I keep falling back off the wagon.

[DisruptiveConduct]

pizza is my greatest enemey.....and friend.

[Romans832]

Bread pizza etc, frenemies for life

[TheBeninator]

I have heard that the start of the Keto diet is really difficult, as you have to re-tune your digestive system from carb burning to fat burning as a primary fuel source. Like most changes to your body, it comes with some discomfort during that transition.

As to the trouble of being a picky eater, my suggestion would be to go to restaurants and order things that contain the foods you are adverse to. In college, I was still at the point where I didn't want to eat vegetables of any kind, to the point that I would have an involuntary gag reflex when trying to eat it. I had a friend who introduced me to a vegetarian restaurant which would make "comfort veg food", so vegi burritos and stuff like that. It was slow going, but I found some dishes which were palatable (given the right hot sauce). This helped me get over the gag reflex, as I had positive association with dishes that contained vegetables. I got use to the smell, texture, and flavor. From there, my relationship with vegies changed.

I completely agree that good eating is incredibly expensive, especially for a diet. That is an unfortunate cost you just have to accept in order to succeed in many diets. Food pricing does not seem to follow logical patterns, such as brown rice being more expensive than white rice, despite white rice actually requiring more processing.

[Romans832]

Spot on Ben