7 most common reactions to a High fat low carb diet

[SEA]

If you are living Paleo , you will get these questions !! 

Here are some , you can read the whole article at the link below

“Isn’t all that fat gonna glom onto your arteries?”

“Isn’t all that cholesterol gonna raise your cholesterol?”

“Isn’t all that fat gonna make you fat?”

“Where do you get your energy?”

“But isn’t fat totally free of nutrients? How do you get your vitamins if you’re eating all that fat?”

“Doesn’t the brain run on carbs, not fat?”


Read answers below : good stuff

www.marksdailyapple.com/high-fat-diet-healthy-safe/

[paidmydues]

you have to be sure that you take in enough fiber,not easy with all that fat.25 gm min for women,38gm min for men,it takes effort to get that,add up what you honestly take and you will be surprised.in order for your body to make and burn ketones,you cannot take in more than 50gm of carbs.getting enough fiber from fruits and vegetables instead of pills and powders and if you truly want to stay low carb enough to be ketogenic is a challenge,not easily maintained day in and day out.the good thing is that you can substract the fiber carbs from the total carb count to get actual carb count.

[SEA]

I have not figured out how many carbs are in my BIG ASS salad but it cant be much and it has a lot of fiber !! I eat that daily   I stayed well under a 100 grams of carbs a day mostly around 75 gr and I lost about 60 pounds in about a year.  It was not hard at all once you get a routine down and figure out what you can and can't eat. Now to maintain I stay around 125 to 150 grams of carb and I usually fail at that ( im always under) when I was training for the Molokai race I really had to pound carbs the last 4 days before the race and it was hard. I normally don't eat a whole lot of fruit but I pounded the blueberries in my shakes and also ate a lot of purple sweet potato !!  surprisingly 1 cup of sweet potato is only about 30 grams of carbs. I gained 4 pounds in 4 days and race day . I have dropped 6 since after the race cause I went back to about a 100 grams of carbs a day again.

[supsurf-tw]

Carbs are not the enemy. Too many calories are the enemy. When you drop your carbs you're dropping your calorie intake. This is what causes fat loss.

[skibike]

I had a severe rise in LDL cholesterol from being too low carb/high fat for me. This is a danger that is actually not so uncommon amongst HFLC eaters once you start looking for people who experience it.

[pdxmike]

Carbs are not the enemy. Too many calories are the enemy. When you drop your carbs you're dropping your calorie intake. This is what causes fat loss.

That's what I always believed--a calorie is a calorie.  It's what we've all been taught.  But I no longer believe it.  All calories are not equal in the real world.

Unfortunately, it's such an ingrained belief that it goes almost unchallenged, and when evidence arises that it may not be true, people (nutritionists) look for excuses to dismiss the evidence.  

But what the calorie is does matter, and many people here will tell you from experience that they have lost weight and fat switching from high-carb, lowfat diets to lower carb diets with more fat and protein, even though they are eating just as many or more calories.

Even more people will tell you they've cut calories and fat and NOT lost weight.  

Ironically, if you look at diet advice prior to around the 1960s, a lot of it focused not so much on cutting overall calories, but on cutting bread, pasta, desserts, etc. because it was those types of food, not just the calories in them, that made people fat. Then "science" kicked in and brought us ideas like a calorie is a calorie, the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in (that sounds crazy to question that one also, I know), eating cholesterol creates cholesterol, eating fat makes you fat (again, sounds crazy to question that) and all kinds of other beliefs that I believe will be overturned.  

After all, the same "science" has brought us all kinds of ideas that are already being overturned--eggs are bad, the food pyramid makes sense (which one? it changes every few years)...The country is full of fat people who have followed mainstream nutritional advice diligently.  

[MJF]

Carbs are not the enemy. Too many calories are the enemy. When you drop your carbs you're dropping your calorie intake. This is what causes fat loss.

That's what I always believed--a calorie is a calorie.  It's what we've all been taught.  But I no longer believe it.  All calories are not equal in the real world.

Unfortunately, it's such an ingrained belief that it goes almost unchallenged, and when evidence arises that it may not be true, people (nutritionists) look for excuses to dismiss the evidence.  

But what the calorie is does matter, and many people here will tell you from experience that they have lost weight and fat switching from high-carb, lowfat diets to lower carb diets with more fat and protein, even though they are eating just as many or more calories.

Even more people will tell you they've cut calories and fat and NOT lost weight.  

Ironically, if you look at diet advice prior to around the 1960s, a lot of it focused not so much on cutting overall calories, but on cutting bread, pasta, desserts, etc. because it was those types of food, not just the calories in them, that made people fat. Then "science" kicked in and brought us ideas like a calorie is a calorie, the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in (that sounds crazy to question that one also, I know), eating cholesterol creates cholesterol, eating fat makes you fat (again, sounds crazy to question that) and all kinds of other beliefs that I believe will be overturned.  

After all, the same "science" has brought us all kinds of ideas that are already being overturned--eggs are bad, the food pyramid makes sense (which one? it changes every few years)...The country is full of fat people who have followed mainstream nutritional advice diligently.  

Your putting science in brackets "science" is a little troubling to me, a scientist! After all, what you are describing is the scientific method. Propose a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, propose a revised hypothesis, and on and on.  If we understood all of the amazing intricacies of the human body, we would be much further along in our treatment of disease, extending life, etc etc.

Don't blame the "science" for doing what science does and is supposed to do. Blame people who take the science and apply it incorrectly or draw too many far reaching conclusions.

Live your life in moderation and you will be generally happy. Indulge in every excess, well, then you are going to throw something out of wack.

Mike

[pdxmike]

Mike--don't worry, didn't mean to put science in a bad light--in fact the opposite.  I used the brackets because I think a lot of the science (or "science") behind a lot of standard nutritional beliefs of the last several decades doesn't really deserve to be called science.  The "scientific method" for some seems to be propose a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, etc. but interjected in there is also the step of "dismiss the results that aren't what you wanted or expected somehow". 

I also used the quotes in reference to all the standard advice passed on to the public through schools, articles, etc.--things like the food pyramid, or what we learn in school about nutrition, from people who repeat what they've learned from other people who've repeated what they've learned....

Also, nutritional information is way too strongly tied to industry--dairy associations, grain growers, etc.--all pushing particular views, and it gets labeled as "science" when it really isn't.

If you read any article about say, exercising not leading to weight loss in a group of test subjects, you're 10x more likely to read comments--even from the researchers themselves--why the results are suspect.  "Subjects didn't exercise as much as they thought..subjects were sneaking desserts and not reporting them...subjects were eating larger proportions than they thought...." But you'll rarely read the obvious "Maybe we did the test correctly and the exercise really doesn't lead to weight loss to the extent people think".

So even if scientists are well intentioned, if results are far different than ingrained opinions would lead one to expect, it becomes more likely that the scientific method isn't weeding out preconceptions that distort interpretation of the results. 

[paidmydues]

 I have been proven wrong and it's true that a calorie is not a calorie,when it comes to weight loss,(we know that is not true when it comes to nutrition).For years my wife struggled to lose weight after having to go on heart meds.She would exercise for ever and always be hungry,watching calories.I would stress a calorie is a calorie,just keep cutting your calories.About a year ago,she started a ketogenic diet,same total amount of calories,but low(50gms)carbs,medium protein,low fat.Way less exercise.Her weight loss has been dramatic.I was wrong about amount of exercise,calories,everything.Myself,I thrive on a high carb( very high fiber),low fat,med-high protein.And lots of ocean .

[skibike]

Everyone reacts to different types of food differently. I just don't believe there will ever be a one diet that fits all. Our genetics ensure that.

[supsurf-tw]

Everyone reacts to different types of food differently. I just don't believe there will ever be a one diet that fits all. Our genetics ensure that.

TRUE!

Most  people don’t count calories. They  may GUESS but that’s not counting. Counting is weighing everything that goes in your mouth and this is not something most (99%) of people are willing to do.
 Certain body functions run soley on sugar (carbs). The brain for example and it uses a LOT! With no or very few carbs the energy needs to come from somewhere. Protien is broken down and used as a fuel source. This depletes the protein necessary for proper maintenance of lean tissue (muscles).  Going low carb will cause quick weightloss, however that’s water weight as the glycogen in the muscle tissues is used up and not replenished.  Going too low in the carb department also disallows fruits and vegatables which are carbohydrates from being consumed in a healthy amount.
As far as calories not being the same this is true but the differences are minor, especially for carbs and fats which botH have a TEF of between 5 and 15%. Not enough to be concerned with. Protien TEF is 15 to 20% so this is the macronutrient that we want to be the most aware of not really from a TEF standpoint but from the ability to maintain lean mass.

So…….get in your gram of protein per lb.of bodyweight  daily and a half a gram of fats per lb.  to keep hormones in balance and fill the rest up with whatever you want and stay in a calorie defecit and you’ll lose fat. If you’re a diabetic or your insulin resistance is out of wack then the carbs will be a point of contention but this leaves most people in the category of eating a balanced diet and staying in a cal defecit and losing fat without resorting to a super low carb existence.
If you WANT to live on a ketogenic diet then that’s up to you. I love my fruit and veggies and pasta though. I’m 6 feet tall and 175 and have low bodyfat.

[pdxmike]

Everyone reacts to different types of food differently. I just don't believe there will ever be a one diet that fits all. Our genetics ensure that.

I agree also.  That's a reason I don't like the nutritional advice that we see so much of that goes like this:

"Asian people eat lots of rice and live a long time, so so should you"  or

"People in Mediterranean countries eat lots of pasta and little red meat, and have low heart disease rates, so so should you".

One thing I do like about primal diet advice is that it is pretty moderate, at least what I read.  I'm sure there's more extreme advice, and it seems like a lot of the criticism of it is based on more extreme forms.  At least with what I read here, fruit and especially vegetables are a big part of it.  You'd never know that from reading many criticisms of it. 

[pdxmike]

Everyone reacts to different types of food differently. I just don't believe there will ever be a one diet that fits all. Our genetics ensure that.

TRUE!

Most  people don’t count calories. They  may GUESS but that’s not counting. Counting is weighing everything that goes in your mouth and this is not something most (99%) of people are willing to do.
 Certain body functions run soley on sugar (carbs). The brain for example and it uses a LOT! With no or very few carbs the energy needs to come from somewhere. Protien is broken down and used as a fuel source. This depletes the protein necessary for proper maintenance of lean tissue (muscles).  Going low carb will cause quick weightloss, however that’s water weight as the glycogen in the muscle tissues is used up and not replenished.  Going too low in the carb department also disallows fruits and vegatables which are carbohydrates from being consumed in a healthy amount.
As far as calories not being the same this is true but the differences are minor, especially for carbs and fats which botH have a TEF of between 5 and 15%. Not enough to be concerned with. Protien TEF is 15 to 20% so this is the macronutrient that we want to be the most aware of not really from a TEF standpoint but from the ability to maintain lean mass.

So…….get in your gram of protein per lb.of bodyweight  daily and a half a gram of fats per lb.  to keep hormones in balance and fill the rest up with whatever you want and stay in a calorie defecit and you’ll lose fat. If you’re a diabetic or your insulin resistance is out of wack then the carbs will be a point of contention but this leaves most people in the category of eating a balanced diet and staying in a cal defecit and losing fat without resorting to a super low carb existence.
If you WANT to live on a ketogenic diet then that’s up to you. I love my fruit and veggies and pasta though. I’m 6 feet tall and 175 and have low bodyfat.

When I think of "not all calories are equal" I think not of TEF (don't know what that is) but of insulin jolts and hunger.  The lower-carb, higher-fat foods tend to avoid the spikes and be more filling in general.  The lowfat diets that are pushed as being healthy can make you feel hungry again shortly after eating, and people following them can feel constantly starved, and weight or fat loss is poor compared to how starved you feel.  The fact that many foods such as lowfat milk or yogurt have higher sugar levels make things even worse.  So people respond by cutting out even more fat and calories to get better results, and feel more starved.  They can't keep that up forever, so they binge, gain weight, feel guilty and inadequate, and start over...and if they don't feel bad enough, their doctors and friends will tell them they lack willpower.  

They key for many people who've finally lost weight and fat is realizing that one calorie is not equal to another, not perhaps in the sense of energy units or lab tests, but in the sense that one meal may have an entirely different effect on your hunger, and ultimately your weight gain or loss, than another even though they may be equal in calories.  

[supsurf-tw]

^^^^^ I hear ya.

Yes anyone persuing a fatloss diet with either a keto or non keto protocol and not understanding the concept and not following the proper macronutrient ratios will eventually fail.

[pdxmike]

One interesting thing to me is that everyone here has no trouble understanding that moderation is good, and it's the extremes that get you in trouble. And going back to SEA's article, it reminds me that the primal diet is often viewed as extreme, but when you look at the questions people ask, it's pretty clear that it's many recent nutritional beliefs that are extreme. 

I think MJF's described it well by saying that problems happen when people misapply science or make the wrong conclusions. 

So, it's come to the point where if you DON'T think you should cut out almost all fat, eggs, cholesterol, and even meat, and try to get almost all your energy from carbs, you're viewed as extreme.  But the true extreme thinking happened over the last couple decades when those same ideas somehow became mainstream, even though they are much different than how people typically ate up to then.  And the "obesity epidemic" has happened to coincide with these same ideas.