Carbs and Weight Loss
It’s no big surprise that, just like everything else, especially everything related to health and dieting, there is a big ol’ controversy surrounding cutting carbs for weight loss and lots of confusion, too.
Here are a few of the questions I’ve been asked…
- What IS a carbohydrate anyway?
- If you’re cutting carbs, which foods should you avoid?
- What about fake sweeteners?
- Do we even need to eat any carbs?
- What if I'm diabetic, I can't cut carbs can I?
- Should we ever cut out a whole food group and deprive ourselves? How natural is that? Shouldn’t we listen to our bodies and give them what they crave?
- Isn’t eating carbs traditional?
- Is low-carb best for everyone?
- How do low-carb diets compare to paleo, primal, and gluten-free diets?
- Are there other health benefits to cutting carbs and grains or sweets from your diet?
That’s a lot of ground to cover, and I’ll do my best to answer the questions without this post getting too long, but I hope you’ll help me out in the comments. Correct me where I’m wrong, disagree with me when you feel the need, share your own experience, etc. This is how we learn, by hashing all of it out together. And as always, remember, there’s a lot I don’t know about all of this. I’m still learning, too, so don’t blindly follow whatever you read here or anywhere. Let this post motivate you to research more for yourself. 🙂
1. What IS a carbohydrate anyway?
Wikipedia says this: Carbohydrates are the most common source of energy in living things. Proteins and fat are necessary building components for body tissue and cells, and are also a source of energy for most organisms. Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients in humans: the body can obtain all its energy from protein and fats. (Be sure to see the link to read the follow up to that statement, though.) Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Most such foods are high in starch.”
My scientific understanding of carbs doesn’t stretch far, but I do remember a very basic fact from nursing school nutrition class: all carbs break down to make sugar in your body. Complex carbs, such as those in whole grains, turn into sugar slower than when you get a direct rush of sugar to your blood stream after eating Simple carbs, such as those in refined breads, pastas, white rice, candy, etc. The “glycemic index” refers to the how quickly the sugar hits your blood stream and causes the natural insulin response. Things like fiber and saturated fats help slow down this response. (Another good reason to eat more butter and other healthy fats!)
I realize that’s a super simplified explanation, so if anyone would like to share more in the comments, feel free. There’s a very good scientific yet simple explanation of all this in the movie, Fat Head. He shows you how too many carbs can lead to obesity and diabetes, and I apologize to my regular readers who are sick of me posting this clip…
WHY YOU GOT FAT:
2. If you’re cutting carbs, which foods should you avoid?
Carbs are anything with sugar, including natural sugars like those in dairy or fruit, all grains/breads (soaked, sourdough or not), pasta, oats, corn, rice, some veggies, especially starchy ones like carrots and potatoes, and other starchy foods, like beans. (Did I miss any?) So if you’re doing extreme low-carb, you would avoid all of the above, but you may not feel well. Listen to your body, you may need to add back in a few good carbs. (More on that below.)
Notice that if you are eliminating those foods, you are also eliminating soda pop, most fast foods, sugary foods, processed foods, etc., and eating only whole foods. (Foods with only one ingredient.) That alone will account for the majority of your weight loss and/or improved health!
When I'm really trying to lose weight, I’ll do minimal dairy (in the beginning only), no root vegetables (until later), no rice or grains (later I’ll add a few back in but I’m getting better about eating only a few of these on normal days, and usually only when properly prepared), hardly any fruits (at first only), a small amount of crispy nuts, a moderate amount of cheese (I’ve heard that nuts & cheese account for most weight loss plateaus), and LOTS of eggs, butter, meat, and veggies.
Exactly how low carb you want to go depends on a few different things. If you have a lot of weight to lose, and know that losing a lot all at once will give you good motivation to continue, then really limit carbs for a couple weeks, and at that point add a little back in slowly, watching how you feel, the scales, and your blood sugars if that applies to you.
If you don’t have much to lose, and are generally striving to get more healthy overall, then you may want to focus on avoiding grains and sweets. (You’ll still lose this way, especially if you were a big grains and sweets eater, but not as quickly.)
Be sure to see this post with many low-carb food ideas! (I’ll be adding more recipes to that list soon and I’ll keep putting the links up there.)
3. What about fake sweeteners?
I would highly suggest that you avoid artificial sweeteners. Your body sees them as “real” and you get a similar response to them, only with an extra dose of scary chemicals that you don't need. Stevia is different though, that one is totally fine if you can do it. (I don’t like it at all.) Be sure and read my post, Sugars Best to Worst, to learn more about your favorite sweetener.
4. Do we even need to eat any carbs?
There are varied opinions, but one thing is for sure, we don’t need them as much as we’re eating them now. You know that old food pyramid that suggests you eat mostly grains and a tiny bit of fats each day? That thing needs to be seriously turned upside down.
Watch another video that my regular readers are really probably sick of, but it’s just sooo good…
5. What if I'm diabetic, I can't cut carbs can I?
Here's where I could use your help again, readers. From all I've read, diabetics can and should be drastically cutting carbs, but they need to do so much more carefully than others, especially if they're on oral diabetic meds or insulin, but exactly how they should do this is what I like you to jump in and clarify for us. I'm sure many of you have done it successfully and could share your tips. They obviously should ask their doctor about this, but sadly, most doctors and dietitians will tell them to keep their carbs level and avoid saturated fats! This is another one of those areas where I need to stress that you do not do this without researching it much more.
6. Should we ever cut out a whole food group and deprive ourselves? How natural is that? Shouldn’t we listen to our bodies and give it what they crave?
This is a comment that came in on a post from the other day, and it’s a good point. It sounds like we’re being set up to fail, but here’s my take on that: It depends. If you are overweight, yes, you may need to “deprive” yourself of carbs, for a while anyway, but if you’re eating enough healthy fats, then you won’t have cravings so bad. (This seriously works!) Later, once your body is healthier, you can slowly add back in a few carbs (if you decide that’s best for your body), while you watch your weight and your blood sugars carefully, and preferably only the “good carbs”. (Whole milk dairy, fruits and veggies, and maybe a small amount of grains or beans if properly prepared, like sourdough whole grain bread, soaked oats, rice or beans).
At least for a couple weeks I’d suggest really limiting them to give yourself a jump start on the weight loss, and then at the end of this 21-Day Weight Loss and Wellness Adventure we can all evaluate where to go from there.
Many do well long-term on a low-carb diet, though, and just feel better. For myself and many others, a good long-term goal is to seriously limit the grains and sweets, but continue to eat everything else. I’m much better at this than I was even a few months ago, but like most people, December was baaaaad, and I want to use the next week or two to get back on track.
Eating this way not only keeps my weight normal without even trying, but it also keeps my hormones level (no PMS symptoms!), and is better overall to prevent any future health problems that are so rampant these days. (More about the benefits of limiting grains and sugar below.)
Eating low-carb with kids:
If you have kids you know this is tricky to implement with them. For myself I don’t even miss a bun on my burger, or toast with my eggs. If we’re having a meat and veggie stir fry, I’m fine without the pasta, but not them so much. In the summer this is much more simple with all the fresh fruit and veggies around, but I don’t do well with this in the winter around here at all. I don’t feel too bad, though, as long as they’re eating good carbs and with plenty of fats. Maybe this is something you can share your tips about in the comments!
7. Isn’t eating carbs traditional?
While eating carbs is certainly traditional (depending on how many years you go back), here are some points to consider:
- Even the good carbs we eat these days are different than the ones our ancestors ate, due to the differences in the crops and especially the differences in the soil quality.
- You also need to factor in how many carbs we're eating now, especially in proportion to how active we are compared to even a few decades ago.
- The very biggest part of all this is that most people are eating crappy refined carbs (fake sugary drinks, super processed foods, fast food, etc.), and that explains the sad stats showing astronomical increases in how many are obese and sick these days.
8. Is low-carb best for everyone?
It's important to know your own body…
- Some can eat properly prepared grains, and maybe even a few refined carbohydrates once in a while and their weight and health stays just fine.
- Others have said that they must keep a certain amount of carbs in their diet or they don't feel well and their adrenal glands suffer.
- Still others, and especially those with blood sugar issues, need to be vigilant in watching their carbohydrate consumption even with the good carbs, and not just with grains, but starchy vegetables and sugary fruits throw them off, too.
Everyone is so different, and I wouldn’t want to put a blanket statement out there, but I will say that for the vast majority of people, they could severely limit their carbs, especially grains and sweets, and be better off for it. Yes, some do just fine on grains, but if you have any sort of health issue, you owe it to yourself to at least try giving up grains and sweets. (More on that below.)
Two kinds of fat:
Drs. Mike & Mary Dan Eades explain in their book, The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle: The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast!, that there are two types of fat, and while neither are attractive, one is more dangerous to your health than the other. There’s a simple way to see which kind you have around your middle: measure your waist standing up, then lay down and measure the same area. If it changes, that means you have the less dangerous fat: subcutaneous fat. If it stays the same, you have the more dangerous fat: Visceral fat, the kind that surrounds your abdominal organs and is associated with heart disease and other health problems, and if you have this kind, you should especially consider a lower-carb diet.
(By the way, along with a low-carb diet, I love how the Drs. Eades recommend getting plenty of saturated fats from red meat, butter, eggs and cream, and how it’s good, even essential, for abdominal weight loss, as are coconut and palm oils. They also caution against omega-6 vegetable oils such as corn, safflower and sunflower, and explain how they help pack on the abdominal pounds and should be avoided. I was hooked for most of this book, until they started recommending Splenda and their protein powder shakes…bummer. Instead I recommend Real Food protein shakes!)
The Controversy:
A few readers have commented here at various times with their concerns about low-carb diets, and I’m hoping you will all jump into the comments here again so we can get a good discussion going. I know that one of their concerns is wondering if low-carb can be maintained long term, and I think it definitely can, especially if you’re not limiting ALL carbs, but just grains and sweets. (I know many who eat that way and have for years.) The other concern is the effect it can have on our adrenal glands, and this is something that I haven’t researched and haven’t had problems with myself, so I hope they’ll elaborate on that more in the comments, too.
All I know for sure is something a reader friend, Anna, says, “There are no carbohydrate deficiency diseases. NONE.”
9. How do low-carb diets compare to paleo, primal, or gluten-free diets?
To read more on how low-carb compares to a Weston Price type diet or paleo & primal diets, read this guest post from Jeanmarie, who did a great job explaining all that.
Gluten-free diets are different in that they focus on only eliminating the gluten. Gluten is a type of protein found in grains, but it’s not in rice, and obviously not in fruits or vegetables or any of the other carby foods. Many people with many different health issues are healed simply by eliminating gluten from their diets. More on that next…
10. Are there other health benefits to cutting carbs and grains or sweets from your diet?
For this one I’d really like to hear from those of you who have been healed from various ailments by going grain free or grain and sugar free. I know you’re out there, because I hear from you all the time. Those of you who have been healed of migraines, bowel and digestive issues, anxiety and depression, diabetes, allergies, asthma, frequent illnesses, hormonal problems, skin issues, ADHD or learning problems in kids, and the list goes on!
For some just eliminating grains and/or sweets does it (grains are very difficult for our bodies to digest and this can lead to other problems along with a weakened immune system), for others they need to add in cod liver oil (everyone should be taking that anyway), homemade bone broth (it’s easy), probiotics, or even do the full-blown GAPS Diet for healing.
If you are ready to feel good again, to lose weight and feel comfortable in your clothes again, to move without pain, to get your sex drive back, to get off those medications, to have the energy to get off the couch, then think about your carb intake and how you may need to adjust!
Related posts:
- Low-carb recipes and ideas
- OVERWEIGHT KIDS – 16 Ways to Help
- Complete list of posts on losing weight
- Update!! I just found two more good videos on this whole topic: one from Drs. Eades about Dieting and Hunger and One from Sally Fallon on healthy fats.
Just Trixie says
I would love to have a conversation with Melissa about how, specifically, she was able to reverse her Type 2 Diabetes. Kelly, could you contact her and ask her if she’d be willing to talk to me? My email is trixie(at)justtrixie(dot)com. Thanks.
KitchenKop says
Trixie, I’ll try!
Kelly
Shelly @ Of Sound Mind and Spirit says
Six months ago I joined a gym and everyone there was talking about Paleo eating. I’d just come off a year of WW and was learning to maintain my goal weight. After two months of listening to them, I stopped drinking all sodas (diet or regular) and haven’t missed it. Eventually I started modifying other small goals in my eating habits and in November I did my first Whole30 (30 days strict Paleo – no dairy, no grains, no legumes, no sugar, no processed food of any kind). I lost about 3 more pounds, but combined with my workouts, I lost body fat, built muscle, lost inches, my acne disappeared, and I felt great all the time. (I also started sleeping better – no lights at all in the room.)
I slid a little during December – especially the week between Christmas & New Years, but ten days ago my gym is doing another Whole30 detox this month – to reset good habits. I’m struggling this week with sugar & bread cravings, but I know it will disappear by the end of next week and I’ll feel so much better. And I really like having clear skin again.
I encourage everyone to check it out. There are great websites to help – if you’re interested in getting kids to eat Paleo, check out Everyday Paleo website. I’m not very strict with my own kids, though they know what’s allowed and what’s “special” instead of being “everyday.”
Kelly says
I love my sweets, but found that I lost the afternoon intense craving after starting on coconut oil. I think my body adjusted or something because the cravings are back. I’m increasing the amount of coconut oil to see if that helps. We’ve also had to cut back on eggs and raw dairy in the colder months, as our animals don’t produce as much.
My chiro says I have adrenal fatigue and I’ve been trying to overcome it for almost two years. It’s hard to take out all the stuff that contributed. I thought to myself earlier today that it’s like asking a fish not to breathe water. It’s everywhere and you can’t just stop eating! We’re trying to clean up what we eat, but that can come with a hefty price tag, so it’s been baby steps.
I don’t think I’ve ever seriously reduced carbs to really know how my body responds, but I’m ready to at least cut out all refined sugar and severely limit refined white flour, while learning to properly prepare other grains. Thanks for the great discussion starters!
Sarah says
Uh-oh…I think I missed the part about the root veggies earlier. I’m sitting here snacking on carrots while trying to catch up on some reading! 🙁 Guess that has to go.
I’m trying to limit my carbs–no grains, no legumes, no potatoes–now no root veggies period. Guess that includes sweet potatoes. 🙁 What about squash? I have some acorn squash I was planning on eating for supper one night this week.
I’m also increasing my water take. I’ve got a 1/2 gallon pitcher that I fill the night before and sqeeze a lemon wedge into it. I drink that during the day. Sometimes I drink a cup or two of hot herbal tea (usually a raspberry leaf blend or green tea)–and I do add honey in that. It’s the only sweetener that I’m allowing myself and then only in the tea, which is at the most 2 cups a day. Does anyone think I’m sabotaging myself with this?
chuck says
sarah:
depends on what you goals are. based on what you said, you are better off than 99.9% of americans. get plenty of good fat and a moderate amount of protein and you will be feeling great. that is unless there are some unusual things you have going on.
KitchenKop says
Hey everyone, I just added three new videos to the bottom of this post, they are SO good, you have to check them out! 🙂
Pavil the Uber Noob says
Kreb’s Cycle is the furnace where our body produces energy. The main input is Acetyl Co-Enzyme A. Acetyl Co-A is a product of the digestion of hydrocarbons like carbohydrates and fats. Kreb’s Cycle doesn’t care how Acetyl Co-A got there. Cholesterol and saturated fats from natural sources are a beautiful, under appreciated fuel.
Jeani says
This discussion actually came at an interesting time for me. I’ve been studying out the different health diets that are available. I currently follow mostly the WPF diet, but limit my carbs somewhat.
I have some friends who have recently joined the low carb world. What scares me for them, is what happened to me when I was on a low carb diet, which is why I recently began to study out this diet again.
The first time I went on the low carb diet, I felt great, lost 20 pounds, and slowly gained the weight back in a 2 yr. period of time, while still eating reduced carbs. The second time I went on the diet, I didn’t fair so well. Although I was taking a potassium supplement at the time, I could feel that my body was being drained of potassium, causing lethargy, and heart problems. It was so bad that I called my husband home from work, as I literally thought I was dying. A woman who was seeing the same diet Dr. in town and was on the same low carb diet actually did die of the same symptoms I had.
For my body, even though I was eating a ton of complex carbs such as veggies, and then going on a very, very small amount of carbs from grains, potatoes etc. after phase 1, they were not enough carbs for me. When I started eating small amounts of brown rice, or a small potato at every meal, that’s when I started not having the symptoms I mentioned, and felt so much better.
So what I have been trying to research is why I had the low potassium problems from the low carb diet. My research has shown that the low carb diet is extremely diuretic. Meaning that you lose a ton of water. This is great when you have a lot of water gain in the tissues, but when it is still draining your body of the water that is so necessary for life, it causes complications. You lose too many minerals. Water is so very important to healing, and is what keeps us from having so many diseases. A very interesting book on water is “The Body’s Many Cries for Water.”
So for me it was a very scary learning process, which is why I eat mostly WPF with traditional foods, but I limit my still very healthy organic grains.
chuck says
Jeani:
Check out this site. They recommend removing all food toxins from your diet but also recommend moderate carbs. Might work for you. I have been reading their stuff for a while. They have a book out that has gotten some good reviews.
https://perfecthealthdiet.com/
Jeani says
Thank-you, Chuck, but my diet Does work for me. I just eat fewer carbs, and less food in general, it is a very very healthy diet, filled with traditional foods….lovely butter, raw milk, and whatever meat I want that has not been given hormones, antibiotics or has nitrates in it, etc. It’s interesting to me that the low carb diet I was on limited the milk, but you could have cream. The Bible doesn’t say “The land of Cream and honey”, it says Milk and honey. The Bible also talks avbout bread, and I eat sprouted grain breads, but I also eat Buttermilk biscuits from freshly ground organic flour that hasn’t been sprouted. I just limit it and don’t over indulge. I eat all organic as much as possible, and feel great. I don’t get sick, and I enjoy life.
So my diet is “low” carb to some degree, but with the added Coconut oil, and other healthy fats that WPF recommends, I have no need for a very low carb diet….I keep off the weight because I limit the amount of food I eat. I rarely feel hunger pains, because my body is satisfied with the nutrients I feed it. When you feel hunger pains, it causes your body to convert foods into fat that causes you to gain weight.
I also use raw honey from our own bees, organic evaporated cane sugar in things such as homemade freezer jam (on my biscuits) and other healthy sweeteners. God said honey is good. How can you argue with the foods that God has said are good for you. The only time honey is bad for you is when you eat too much of it, just like it warns in the Bible. The key to my health diet that keeps my weight at a healthy level is moderation, and cutting out all refined foods.
Jeani says
This is my diet in a nutshell. https://ahealthiermeinalaska.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-health-diet-in-nutshell.html
I forgot to mention when I wrote this up that I do limit my carbs, and probably should mention that on it.
chuck says
Jeani:
So what, you just added more water? Was that the solution?
Jody says
Jessica,
This is definitely a more expensive way to eat, but we(my family) has found that over time, we tend to eat less, actually, than we did when we were eating “filler” foods, so once the adjustment and feeling of needing to eat all the time wanes, the higher cost may too.
Kelly has a few posts on eating on a budget, as does OrganicThrifty.com.
We eat cheap cuts of meat–chuck roasts, hamburger, whole chickens, which helps.
Jessica says
I’m looking at reducing my carbs after reading your recent posts, my only problem is we have a very limited food budget so I often use things like rice and starchy vegetables as fillers. I don’t think we could afford to have meals of just meat, veggies and fats. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Nicole Rice says
Fats! Seriously- when you eat enough fat in your diet- you are not only getting the nutrients you need, but eating less volume. Plenty of butter in your veggies, plenty of butter and coconut oil in your eggs. I love doing braises for dinner. It’s a cheaper cut of meat- and I always take the liquid left over, reduce until thick like a sauce (if needed), and add a couple tablespoons of butter. In our food budget- I’ve noticed it’s really not changed much. But WHAT get bough it different. Milk and meat is about the same, a little more veggies- and ALOT more butter, eggs and cheese. Also- soups with cream, or creme fraiche are great starters. This “fritatta” is a favorite for a quick fast lower cost meal – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnkVPZ7naxI
Another go to meal- Bunless burgers – 1 pound ground meat ($6/pound in my area – great place to sneak grated liver in), cheese (we love bleu, or goat), veggies, and a lactofermented pickle. We smoother the burger in cheese (almost as thick as the burger itself). Anyways- feeds my family of four.
Hope that helps~
Spicy Paleo says
I know that not everyone eats Paleo, but Whole9 has a really good article on eating on a budget: https://whole9life.com/2011/01/paleo-poor-your-guide-to-the-grocery-store/.
Jody says
Coconut oil is recommended for all nursing moms. Be sure to read WAPF recommendations for adding it to your diet–you have to start really slowly. Milk and veggies have carbs, so I wouldn’t say “carb free,” nor would it be easy to go totally carb free when nursing a baby. However, once you get past the first few days, it will definitely get easier! I would just say, remember that low carb doesn’t mean being hungry–EAT when you are hungry, especially in these first few days, because if you don’t and hit a point where you feel like you’re starving, you’re more likely to wind up giving up.
Kristi says
I know I have a sugar/carb addiction. That’s why going carb free is so hard. But I know it needs to be done to help my body and health. Most of my aunts and both my parents are diabetic with all sorts of health problems. I want to prevent it from happening to me. I have about 80 lbs to lose. My family has gone with pastured meats and whole milk and milk products from a local dairy, and home made breads and pastas. Doing this the past few months, I’ve gained weight. The carbs have to be causing it. Today is only day 2 of carb free but I can do this. So far, today is easier than yesterday. I will add back in fruits and starchy potatoes eventually.
I’m also nursing my 4 month old DD. I’m trying to be sure to keep my calorie intake up with butter and milk and cheeses and nuts along with the meats and veggies. I drink lots of water. Is there anything else I need to do? I don’t want my milk supply to decrease at all.
KitchenKop says
Sounds like you’re on the right track to me, just eat lots of the things you mentioned!
To be sure, though, you may want to google something like “low carb milk supply”…just a thought.
Kelly
Amanda Dittlinger says
When you are overweight and you’ve tried other diets (ah hum… Weight Watchers), it is so amazing to see weight loss, feel great and not be hungry all the time. On WW I had to count every single thing I put in my mouth and I would go to bed starving and exhausted. So when you ask, why give up carbs, isn’t just as restrictive as living a low fat diet, I say NO! When I was low-fat, I was lethargic and hungry. Now that I eat butter, coconut oil, duck fat, raw milk, etc every day AND without counting anything (carbs or not) I feel great.
I have no idea how many carbs I am eating each day, I just go on how I feel. I do eat starchy vegetables and raw milk which of course has carbs. I wasn’t as careful with my diet in December and interestingly enough the only times I was hungry was when I ate carbs. I either wanted more and more sweets/breads or the next day while my body was regulating again, I’d be hungry. Just my personal observations. Oh and one other thing, after a carb-y meal I’d feel so bloated and miserable I’d swear never to eat that way again. After a fat/meat/veg meal I feel full satisfied and energized.
Cara says
I think it’s hard- we can have sort of a sugar/gluten/carb addiction (lots of ASD kids self restrict their diets to only gluten and casein- foods that act like opiates in their system) or we can be craving/nutrient deficient. I know when I was a vegan I felt *off* but I didn’t think about red meat all the time. Now, I love butter, but I can switch to coconut oil and not think of butter 24/7. When I first went on GAPS and eliminated grains, I dreamed about *bread* in any form, it was more of an addiction than a craving.
That said, I’ve never really been counting-your-carbs low carb. Without grains we’re naturally a little lower than most, but whenever I’ve tried to cut out carbs completely I’ve gone into acidosis and had to stop.
Jody says
I am finding this discussion very interesting, and it is definitely good to, at the least, put what I am doing to question and consideration, especially as I get down to a good weight and determine the best way to feed my family. For me, grains seem to be a problem. When I eat them, even having cut sugar and properly preparing them, moderation doesn’t seem to be an option. I am constantly hungry, and want them in mass quantities. When I cut them from my diet, serving sizes started making sense to me (you know the pictures of 1950’s serving sizes compared to today’s sizes?). After having followed Atkin’s (avoiding, as much as possible the artificial crap), I have turned toward a Primal Blueprint (with a solid leaning toward WP minus grains and beans) sort of diet because it appears to be what will best work for me. I have continued to eat fairly low carb because I’m still working on weightloss. Prior to low carb (I’ve been doing this for 9 months), I had obvious yeast issues and was actually feeling a little dizzy after meals. I weighed my last full-term pregnancy weight, not dropping a pound (even when dropping sugar for two months) for 3 years, solidly, not even losing the 7.5 lbs that was my daughter! When I do eat carbs or too much dairy, I see the yeast symptoms return, almost instantly.
I will definitely take a look at this info and give it consideration, but low carb has definitely been beneficial to me in the past nine months!
Anna @ Antihousewife says
I’ve been off and on a low-carb diet (of many different variants) for a little over 2 years now. One thing I am completely healed of is my hypoglycemia. It took a while, but now if I don’t eat every 2-3 hours I don’t get shaky, nauseous or irritable. My PCOS is improving, and my period has actually gotten to the point of being regular enough that I can pin-point the week it’s going to happen within a few days, and I am completely medication free. As a matter of fact, as of my last check-up I didn’t even have any “visible” cysts. I still have some PMS but not to the point of PMDD (which I was also diagnosed with); as a matter of fact I feel better that I have since I was 15 (at least according to feminine health!).
I’ve also learned I need to cut gluten, if not to be low-carb all the time. My migraines disappear when I am gluten-free, as well as my IBS. This diet is just a cure-all for me. Even my morning arthiritis, which was bad enough they tested me for RA, has practically been eliminated.
I would recommend this to EVERYONE. As a matter of fact, I know people with T-2 diabetes who have come completely off their meds too, because of low-carb. 🙂
Amy says
Chelsea, I highly recommend spending some time on Matt Stone’s website, https://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/. A lot of it has to do with repairing your metabolism, which gets damaged by low-carb and other sorts of dieting. Personally, I think 100 grams carbs/day is a bit low. Maybe it’s okay for some but it could still cause issues. The bad news is, repairing the metabolism can cause weight gain, but it does come off. Some people avoid the weight gain by doing high carb and low-ish fat (using some butter but not crazy amounts). Basically it comes down to listening to your body.
I come from an eating disorder background and I did put on weight in the recovery from that. Then more when I did the lower-carb (or rather afterwards). But, in eating all real food, and listening to my body and frankly not going too crazy with fat, I do well. I still use cheese and butter and whole milk and fatty steak but not in the quantities some people do.
You may find a meal of a small quantity of steak/fish (or liver or whatever meat), plus a larger quantity of boiled potatoes with a pat of butter and some steamed veggies with a little butter is far more satiating and friendlier to the waistline than a meal of a large steak soaked in butter and veggies soaked in butter. I do at least. Think what your grandmother would have eaten.
It varies though. Tonight I had a bowl of brown rice pasta and peas with an ounce or so of cheddar cheese grated on top so that was really high-carb. And yummy. Overall, I try to use common sense and also eat what my body really wants. It takes time to tune in but I’ve had nothing but benefits from it. I don’t count calories ever. And if I want more meat at a meal I have it; if I just want more carbs I eat them. When you trust your body it naturally regulates.
Anna @ Antihousewife says
Some of us have metabolic syndrome, which means the body doesn’t self-regulate any more. If we eat what our body tells us to eat, we get WORSE, not better! As for the comments about heading down a bad path, being the voice of reason, and 100 grams of carbs a day being too low, there’s plenty of evidence that shows that this lifestyle is just as healthy as the one you describe. As a matter of fact, it repairs metabolisms that are damaged, not causing it! “Most” healthy world cultures don’t have a high carb intake, they have a moderate one, which is NOWHERE near as high as what the average American eats. In order to reverse insulin resistance, the body needs to have some sort of reset, which is what a low-carb diet provides. After that, if you damage isn’t too high to completely recover from, most people can go back to a diet similar to what you describe. But we all know there is nothing wrong with healthy fats, which you also seem to comment against, and which also help keep the carb percentages lower since the room for fat has to come from somewhere.
chuck says
@Amy
Let’s put it this way. I have seen way more examples of healthy outcomes when people change to a low carb diet than I have seen examples of bad outcomes. I am not saying high carb won’t work for some people. I feel high carb is what got people in trouble in the first place. If you think of things in a evolutionary light you will see that carbohydrates in the diet were either an occassional treat, a laborious process with little caloric or nutrient payoff, or a very low glycemic vegetable. Most likely based on physiology and the foods available, the blood sugar of our ancestors rarely went above 100. Today it rarely goes below 100. That kinda change will wreak havoc on one’s metabolism if sustained. This is why half of America is predicted to have diabetes by 2020. Not because they are eating low carb and thus causing insulin resistance.
Chelsea says
Amy, that is very interesting to me. I wondered what you thought about moderate carb, like around 100 grams per day? Also, do you have to watch calories a lot more when not lowering carbs? I know high fat, high carb can really pile on the pounds on me, healthy or not. Could you explain maybe further how you eat to maintain a healthy weight?
Anna says
I’m 8 months pregnant and at about 7 months pregnant I was feeling so uncomfortable in general (if you’ve been pregnant you know what i’m talking about). I couldn’t sit, lie down, or do anything comfortably…We’ve been following the weston price way of eating for about 2 years now, and I have to say that this pregnancy has been 100% easier than my first pregnancy and I didn’t even have much morning sickness at all (thank you raw milk!!). Anyway, my husband decided to start eating low carb to lose weight that had been put on by a medication he had taken, so in general we started cutting out the brown rice pasta, brown rice, sourdough bread (all healthy wap approved carbs) that we were eating. And omg, all of a sudden I started feeling so great, despite being pregnant!! I have energy, my heart burn greatly diminished, I sleep comfortably, i don’t feel heavy or bloated, i’m happier, I can do more things, and instead of feeling too full after eating I feel just right. My husband has lost 20 pounds and his skin has cleared up and is beautiful and he feels so great too. One night a friend came over for dinner, and I had made a curry so I decided to make rice with it as well to serve. And against better judgement I ate the rice, and about 30 minutes later all my previous complaints came back! It was almost instant!!! And it took me a day to recover. Anyway, I just think it was very interesting how low carb helps you both FEEL and LOOK better even when pregnant!!! We thrive on eating high fat (butter, ghee), grassfed and pastured meat, low starch veggies, fresh pressed veggie juices, homemade full fat yogurts, and full fat milk! that’s my story.
Amy says
It’s ironic I know, but many people’s fasting blood sugar levels go up with fewer carbs. The more carbs it’s used to handling, the better the insulin sensitivity – that’s why it can be a vicious cycle of people having to eat fewer and fewer carbs to avoid high blood sugar after meals (look what happened to Jimmy Moore, and Tom Noughton has reported similar). High-carb diets have actually been shown to improve diabetics – after a few weeks, it is not instant. Look up Mark Fuhrman’s research on this. https://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/Diabetes.aspx – the paragraph on diabetes diet gives a little info here, but there’s more info available.
A lot of the problem has to do with the fact that low-carb raises cortisol levels, which leads to high blood sugar levels and a bunch of other bad things.
Here’s a good article from Matt Stone’s site on the issues with low carb diets. https://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2010/02/is-low-carb-diet-counterproductive.html
chuck says
i have read that high blood glucose levels lead to high cortisol levels.
“Stress causes elevated cortisol levels. And those levels are significantly elevated if you consume foods that lead to a high blood glucose response after a meal.”
https://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2010/06/cortisol-response-to-stress-is-much.html
i have read this in other places too but this is the article that i immediately recalled.
chuck says
dr. fuhrman seems to recommend a relatively low carbohydrate diet for his diabetes patients. it also appears low fat.
“When one eats a diet predominating in nature
Amy says
It’s not low-carb at all. It’s actually high-carb. He’s big on legumes and starches. But yes, low-fat. And he’s had great success with diabetes. Not saying I want to eat that way either (I prefer carbs and fat), but it works.
KitchenKop says
Anything low fat is just scary. Our bodies need fat to thrive and the low-fat thing is all a big farce. (See the video in the post above and the links to posts on healthy fats.) Whether or not a person thrives on carbs and how many is *somewhat* debatable, but low-fat? No way. Like Jimmy Moore said, referring to Dr. Fuhrman’s book, “If this is how I eat to live, then kill me now.”
https://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/if-this-is-how-i-eat-to-live-then-kill-me-now/832
Amy says
I would say the same about a low-carb diet. Why can’t we just eat a whole foods diet that includes plenty of carbs and moderate amounts of fat, along with meat and veggies and fruit? That’s what most of the healthy world cultures do, and it’s a pretty pleasurable way to eat.
I know I sound like the outlier here but I’m just trying to be the voice of reason before people go down a bad path. Really think about it and a low-carb diet makes about as much sense as the pritkin diet. And will dig you into at least as big a metabolic hole.
KitchenKop says
Amy,
You said, “Why can
KitchenKop says
One more thing…
Also, there are SO many who are being healed of health issues on low-carb/grain-free/sugar-free, and for the long term (many have posted in the comments here), that it’s hard to not encourage people to try it for their health issues, too.
Amy says
For all of the success stories, there are just as many horror stories. No one wants to hear it, but if you go on a low-carb diet, you’ll come out of it unable to eat more carbs without gaining weight. And it will make you sensitive to bloating, etc. whenever you do eat carbs. To me, this is craziness. And you’ll be locked in a restrictive lifestyle.
It’s my last post. I just think people should do some research on the other side before jumping into low-carb.
Davida says
Most people HAVE researched, and live, the “other side” before “jumping” into low-carb eating.
Nicole Rice says
Moderate carbs are great for someone who is healthy. But if you are like me- then you’ve damaged your system- and you need time to heal again. I went low carb in August- and have lost 40 pounds since then. Better than that- my RSD has pretty much gone away. I think if we are healthy and strong- moderate carbs are an awesome way to eat. Unfortuneatly- many of us are reaping the results of damage from processed foods, trans fats, and “vegetable” oils. Low carb is like “medicine” to heal your system. It gives your body a chance to “reset” the insulin response. One book you might wanna read is “A life without bread”. Well written- it’s about how much carbs you really should be consuming- and the health issues the authors (doctors) were able to resolve with a lower carb diet. The only downside- they are missing the real food part….
For a really great WHOLE approach to nutrition, health, and weightloss- read ” The Liberation Diet ( https://www.amazon.com/Liberation-Diet-Setting-America-Misinformation/dp/1439207399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294161387&sr=8-1) The book is great, and covers fats, milk, real food, fiber, water, exercise, salt, meal frequency- ect ect
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama says
One small note on the artificial sweeteners: I don’t think your body DOES recognize them as “regular” sweeteners at all. It doesn’t know what it is or what to do with it. But they are broken down into chlorine and other harmful chemicals, they spike blood sugar, they are more likely to be stored as fat, and they are just bad. If you need something sweet, use a small amount of raw honey or just go for some berries. Berries are incredibly low in sugar and you can just enjoy them as much as you like. Blueberries especially are excellent. My children could eat frozen ones all day.
As for our story, we were dairy and grain free for quite awhile…and legume/nut free too. We lost a ton of weight. My husband, over 6O lbs., and me, 3O. But I had to gain some of it back because I was TOO thin and my hormones couldn’t normalize. Once I resettled in the mid 12Os I did much better. Our children had allergies which have disappeared. As long as we don’t cheat too much they remain fine. At this point we usually strive for about 1/2 our meals to be grain free, though we haven’t done so well over the last few weeks. I’m 9 weeks pregnant and have had a hard time with morning sickness and such. And eating sprouted grains is better than eating nothing! I did make sure we had plenty of raw cheese, eggs, meat, etc. too though. We’re getting back on track now, as I mostly want to eat everything in sight! I’m starving all the time! Hey…not a bad thing, right?
chuck says
Kate:
Are saying artificial sweeteners somehow raise blood glucose? I would love to hear more about this. i was under the impression that only foods with carbohydrates or protein raise blood glucose.
Bea Kennedy says
Hi Chuck. All I can share is my personal experience, but I had read that the maltodextrin fillers in granulated sweeteners raised blood sugar. I didn’t believe it (because it said right on the package <1 carb, duh) – until I got my hands on some liquid sweetener (https://swetzfree.com) with no maltodextrin filler. As soon as I started using that and stopped the powdered Splenda, my blood sugars dropped immediately from the 130s-140s to the 110s-120s. The granulated splenda doesn't give me the same quick blood sugar spike that real sugar does, but apparently there's a constant background noise going with the maltodextrin.
chuck says
bea:
“Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltodextrin
“Polysaccharides are polymeric carbohydrate structures”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysaccharide
Amy says
I’d just like to note, these are mostly shorter-term results stories.
I would personally recommend just switching to “good” unrefined carbs first and see how that goes before doing low-carb. Why be so extreme?
The problem with severely cutting carbs to treat diabetes is, it makes you progressively more insulin-resistant. It should be a last resort, not a first. And the fact that even diabetics need 45 carbs/meal 4 times a day should tell you something about what the rest of us need.
But, overall, it’s a really restrictive way to live. At least as restrictive as eating a low-fat diet if not more so. I would ask yourself why you would want to do that. I have no problem maintaining a healthy weight on a diet with lots of carbs and neither do lots of other people. Once you start down the low-carb path you can’t add them back in without major weight gain. If you want to take on that risk, go for it but just be warned.
Amy says
And Weston A. Price certainly never recommended low-carb diets. Nor did he associate carbs with diseases of civilization. In fact, most of the healthy people he observed ate plenty of carbs. They just didn’t eat white flour, white sugar and margarine. Maybe it’s time to revisit his teachings. How we came to associate all carbs with weight gain and health issues is beyond me. People have valued carbs for millenia.
chuck says
Amy:
can you explain how carb restriction would lead to insulin resistance?
Davida says
How, exactly, can a low-carb diet make you progressively more insulin-resistant? Insulin resistance results from long-term excessive carbohydrate intake. The body pumps out more and more insulin to deal with the high carb levels, and eventually the cells, which have become overwhelmed with the high insulin levels, become resistant to insulin. Insulin is supposed to “unlock” cells to let nutrients in and to store the excess carbs as fat. High insulin levels, after long-term high carb intake, can result in weight loss, but it isn’t a good weight loss- it tends to be associated with malnutrition. I was eating a high-carb, low-fat, medium/low-protein diet (albeit with too many sodas, but everything else was low-fat, too, and very “healthy-carb” based, aside from the sodas and some pre-packaged “health” foods) for years before I was diagnosed with diabetes over 5 years ago. I tried the diet the “diabetes educators” at the Naval Hospital suggested, which was basically like my old diet without the sodas, and it would not keep my blood glucose levels down. I was eating the “right” carbs- veggies, oatmeal, whole grains, etc.- with very little effect. It wasn’t until I reduced my carbs and cut grains almost completely that things stabilized. The docs were suggesting 45-60 carbs per meal. I try to keep daily totals under 100 carbs, and I do much, much better if they are between 30-65 total carbs. Certain foods-especially grains and rice, whether they are “whole” or refined- hit my blood glucose levels harder than a spoonful of pure sugar syrup. So I do not believe the assertion that a low-carb diet contributes to insulin resistance. It helps improve insulin sensitivity.
Amy says
Not true that high carb intake causes high insulin. Just look at the Kitavians. They eat very high carb diets all their lives and have very low fasting insulin. It’s all about your body’s metabolic state and how the cells accept insulin. In fact, ask a doctor or nutritionist and they’ll tell you diabetes is more associated with high-fat diets than high-carb. It’s backed up by medical literature. I don’t think eating a diet high in butter will give you diabetes, but neither will one with a lot of potatoes. It’s just not that simple.
Davida says
I was eating a high-carb, LOW-FAT diet when I became diabetic.
Davida says
The doctors and nutritionists were the ones who had suggested a high-carb, low-fat diet before I became diabetic, and also urged me to continue it, minus the soda, after my diagnosis. All it did was keep my blood glucose levels elevated. It wasn’t until I went high-fat, med-high protein, low-carb that my blood sugar stabilized and I started losing weight….that was after trying things the doctors and nutritionists ways for two whole years. Every diabetic I know that sticks with the nutritionists high-carb low-fat diet end up on insulin within a few years.
Connie says
Just so you know, there are only four types of calories. There used to be three, but they added Alcohol as the fourth.
If it is not alcohol, fat or protein, it is carb. This means all vegetables are actually “carbs”
https://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm
chuck says
great point. everyone thinks i don’t eat carbs when in fact i do. i always have to explain to people that i don’t avoid carbs, i avoid processed foods. i do eat corn on the cob but not nearly as much as i used to because there are better things to fill my belly with. when all you eat are meats, seafood, veggies, and fruit you are going to be low carb compared to the rest of america.
low carb is subjective too. i eat about 100 grams of carbs a day give or take 25. to most this would be pretty low carb. to the atkins crowd, this is not low carb. i tend to not avoid fruits and veggies like the atkins group advocates.
Amy Love@Real Food Whole Health says
Hey Kelly! Love this discussion! My husband and I both are huge success stories from not only eating REAL FOOD but going low-carb and gluten-free.
We help clients do this all the time and with excellent results. You are exactly right on that sometimes diabetics will need to go a bit slower, but absolutely benefit from the reduction in carbs, especially the processed and refined ones. Sometimes we’ll stair-step down with cutting out the processed/refined ones first (all the junk food goes) and just easing up on intake- especially corn, rice, etc. Then, we back off on those completely and ease up on the fruits and even natural sweeteners. The entire time, the person is monitoring their blood sugars and almost always the doctor is involved in regulating insulin dosages.
This helps people so much! I know it saved Matt and I from a ton of trouble. Increasing the fat really helps with satiety so you won’t have the cravings and making sure that digestion is working properly so that you are actually absorbing your vitamins and minerals is also vital. If you are malnourished (despite being well fed or overfed) because of poor digestion, then you will continually be hungry because your body will be searching for nutrition.
The three main organs of blood sugar regulation are the pancreas, liver and adrenals, so all of these have to be working together, supported and monitored throughout the process.
Overall, cutting out the refined and processed junk is good for EVERYBODY. Who wouldn’t benefit from that? From there, there is a lot of variation in individuals- those who tolerate a fair amount of properly prepared grains (gluten-free or not) and plenty of fruits and veggies along with meats, dairy and good fats, and those whose focus should be mainly on the meat, dairy and good fats with supplemental veggies (esp leafy ones) and some fruit (esp berries). I fall into the latter category, as does my husband. It can change depending upon your season in life and on your healing process, but no matter what, real food is the answer. 🙂
Allison says
Strongly encourage everyone to read Gary Taubes new book: “Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It.” It is especially good for anyone who wants to understand the science behind why carbs are so nasty; why the “calories in, calories out” theory is as misguided as the cholesterol myth; and precisely which foods to consider OK, given your own metabolic and nutritional type/needs.
If you were scared off from his previous book “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” because it reminded you of a college-level textbook, he shaped this new book to communicate this vital information to a broader audience. And he still kept in all the science — it’s just reader friendly this time.
KitchenKop says
I’m GIDDY reading all your stories, guys, please keep ’em coming!!! You are motivating people everywhere!!! 🙂
Lynne says
This is great stuff. I do feel so much better when I do low carb. I also am wanting to help my teens go low carb. My daughter has seen how much cleaner her skin is when she lays low with grains. I am loving reading what everyone has to say about this.
Kathleen Schlenz says
Over 7 years ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I went to the Joslin clinic in Boston, Ma. to learn how to take care of it. When an obese nutritionist started giving us advice on how to eat I knew that it was not going to be good. I then did some research on my own and read about The Diabetes Solution Book, by Dr. Richard Bersnstein. After reading his incredible story, he was diagnosed with Type l diabetes way back in 1946. Through research he found that a very low carb diet would indeed lower blood sugar. He is a doctor, still in practice, in New York City. I highly recommend his book. I do not agree with his use of artificial sugars but I just substitute stevia in recipes. I lost 100 lbs. in following his advice and I am no longer diabetic. I know that I would become a diabetic again if I start eating the carbs. It is a life style change that I made forever, but well worth it for wonderful health and low blood sugars. There is only 30 grams of carbs per DAY, not meal. It is easy to do once you get the hang of a new way of eating, and can be done very easily on the Weston Price diet. I have kept the weight off for more than 7 years now.
chuck says
that is a powerful story
Amanda Dittlinger says
Elaine- When I first went low carb back in October I totally felt like I was detoxing! I had digestion problems, lethargy, and aches and pains. Then it turned around suddenly and I was doing chores first thing in the morning (when I usually am a slow starter) and going like an energizer bunny until bedtime.
One thing I found out that I was low on magnesium at first when I went low carb. I was getting headaches every day. After some epsom salt baths and a magnesium citrate suplement I’ve been fine. I don’t even take the supplement anymore, just an epsom salt bath here and there.
I lost 20 lbs in October and November… came to a screeching halt in Dec, but plan to pick it up. I’m excited that I didn’t gain any weight this Dec!
Meagan says
Thanks for this Kelly!
I would love seeing your thoughts on eating lots of fat and butter with your meals but still keeping calories down. Calories in, calories out…
chuck says
Meagan:
You should watch the first video Kelly embedded on this post. It isn’t quite as simple as calories in/calories out. In the end though, fat and protein tend to keep you satisfied longer preventing over eating.
KitchenKop says
Hi Meagan,
A very good question and one that many wonder about, I know I certainly did until I learned more, especially since it’s the opposite of what you hear in the mainstream. It sounds cut and dry, but as Chuck said, it’s not that simple because different calories are metabolized by our bodies in different ways. Butter is actually used right away for energy and isn’t stored as fat. It also has anti-cancer properties and helps us to heal, too. A post with good links to explain all this is here: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2009/05/20-health-benefits-of-real-butter-real-food-wednesday.html
More links on why saturated fats are GOOD for us are here:
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/08/healthy-fats-oils.html
Let me know if you have any more questions! I love talking about butter. 🙂
Kelly
Meagan says
Understand what you are saying Chuck and Kelly, and I do agree. I think that eating fat can be too over emphasized though, and people who struggle with weight or come from weight loss backgrounds (like myself) still need to always be mindful of the level of calories they consume.
chuck says
Meagan:
In my experience of eating this way, fat and protein are way more satisfying long term than carbs. I find that my periods of non hunger are extended much longer after i eat a fat and protein meal with low carbs. In the end, people eating this way end up eating less calories than eating a high carb diet that makes you hungry more often throughout the day.
chuck says
Meagan (again):
I just read this on the Fathead blog where he reviewed a new book called “Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It”.
“It
Meagan says
Thanks Chuck – I understand exactly where you are coming from. Maybe you should start a blog. I saw your comments on Matt Stones 180 blog.
chuck says
Ask and you shall receive. Not sure if that was me on Matt Stone’s blog.
“Just for a moment, step back, look around at our population and tell me if we are getting healthier. Despite the myriad of diets and medications, as a whole we are getting sicker.”
https://escapetheherdblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/inaugural-post.html
Leanne says
Just like “fat makes you fat”, “calories in/calories out” is an outdated concept of how our bodies use the foods we put in it. Bodies are incredibly complicated machines and how they use fuel, and dispose or store the excess, it also incredibly complicated.
My favourite examination and refutation of calories is in Tim Ferris’ new book The 4-Hour Body.
Catherine H. says
“Calories in, calories out” and “A calorie is a calorie is a calorie” are two of the worst myths perpetrated on our society by the lipophobes. Here’s a great post where Dr. Michael Eades does a great job explaining the seeming paradox of why eating (good) fat does not make you fat: https://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/. Try Dr. Eade’s own blog for more great stuff: https://www.proteinpower.com/drmike
Angie B says
I felt bad and new something “wasn’t right” for a year and a half. No matter what I ate I always felt bad after everymeal, couldn’t go to the bathroom normally and had fibromyalgia symptoms (ached all the time.) Once I went low-carb, high fat and gluten free I began to feel better. All of the aches and pains are gone, I’ve went from a bulging size 8 to a size 4!! and lost 6 pounds. The biggest and most notable thing that happened though is that the new eating plan (not a diet!) which includes all the coconut oil I can get my hands on killed the parasites that I’ve been apparently hosting for 2-ish years!! Even when I feel my gut is healed I will not go back to a higher carb diet – it’s just not worth it!
Elaine says
There is still so much to learn! It can be so overwhelming, but certainly worth it! I have been low-carb for a week and have seen results already by losing 6 lbs. Although I allowed myself a carb at dinner time due to the convenience of food preparation, after reading this I will be eliminating that as well. A side effect I am noticing is how lethargic I am during the day, and I sleep much better, but it doesn’t ever seem like enough sleep. I suppose eventually this will go away with my body healing itself? I plan to pick up some coconut oil today and add that in daily. Good post, the video’s were helpful!
Jody says
Elaine,
What you are experiencing is known in low-carb circles as “Atkins flu.” It is, basically, withdrawal. Generally, this feeling will go away in a week to 10 days, if I am remembering correctly. Your dinner carb may also be slowing that down a bit.
After going low-carb, I found that I no longer felt like I needed a nap (or a dose of caffeine) to get through the afternoon, and I actually feel awake in the mornings, which was not true before. Making sure I have plenty of vitamin D has also made a huge difference in my energy levels.
I have lost 40 lbs since March by eating low carb! Good luck to you!
Becky says
My husband was diagnosed with diabetes last year and he has controlled his sugar levels with carb control. The diabetic nurses at the hospital told him to have no more than 45 grams of carbs per meal with 4 meals per day. Now for most low carb diets, that is going to be too many carbs per day, but if you are comparing it with what most people eat, it is low. Lower carbs have really helped him control his sugar.
chuck says
i have been lowish carb for about 4 years now. initially i lost 30 pounds doing it and have maintained for about 3 and a half years. i avoid gluten like the plague but don’t avoid sweet potatoes, fruits, and veggies. i have to eat a lot to maintain my weight on this diet and i am not particularly active. my digestion is great and aches/pains do not exist anymore. i did feel really achy over the holidays and realized i ate a bunch of sweets and alcohol the day before. i detoxed and felt great again.
the best thing is i have had only 1 illness in the last 4 years that caused me to miss work or required a doctor visit. otherwise, i have been surrounded by colds an flus but never get it. knock on wood. all this despite never getting those oh so important flu shots.
Jody says
Kelly,
I’m working on the low-carbing with kids path myself right now. For the moment, I am allowing some honey, maple syrup, and agave (mixed feelings about this–using Xgave in very small amounts) also stevia. I will be allowing some oats (I soak them and then dehydrate them and flake them) rice, and quinoa, but want to keep grains to a minimum. For the kids though, I will allow some grains, so long as they are gluten free (gluten appears it may be a problem for our family). I am currently (since about March) grain and sugar free. Our dairy is also limited. We do use some heavy cream (ack–ultrapasturized organic from Costco) and will allow some raw milk starting again at the end of January or early Feb when it is available to us again. We also include some cheese, sour cream, and occasional cream cheese.
We have had good luck with almond flour baked goods, but I’m really working not to provide a ton of subs for gluten/grain items, but to eliminate them and only have the occasional sub. We’ve also switched from white potatoes to sweet potatoes (ahh, sweet potato fries in tallow–mmmm).
I think it is important to recognize the need for them to eat often at first (just like adults) when dropping the carbs and to keep the protein high. The high carb meals really do seem to create cravings, though, so I want to try to keep them to a minimum and keep the servings small (like a condiment rather than a meal component). Also, adding fat to stuff like oatmeal and any other grains should be helpful.
Sorry, I feel like I’m just thinking aloud here. I would love to see more comments on feeding kids low carb!!!
Bea Kennedy says
Agreeing with Melissa on the diabetes front. I was diagnosed with type 2 in 2002 at the ripe old age of 39. Both sides of my family are riddled with the disease. The only reasonable/consistent blood sugar control I’ve ever gotten is from lowering carb intake drastically. Even the combination of metformin, glyburide, and Actos still had me with blood sugars in the 300s, not to mention the nasty side effects. The next step was going to be insulin, and since I’m going to be living with this disease a lot longer than even my parents who weren’t diagnosed until they were in their 50s, I’ve determined not to go down that road.
At this point, I have eliminated wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, and all sugars, including most fruits except a handful of berries now and then, from my diet. Even that left me with blood sugars still a little higher than I would like. Then I eliminated the powdered sweeteners (maltodextrin really does have a significant impact on blood sugar) and almost all processed foods. I read all labels looking for added sugars and carbs – even processed vegetables sometimes have added sugar in them – Green Giant sugar snap peas for one. This has given me the final bit of blood sugar control that I was looking for with most sugars now ranging from the 90s to the 120s.
Medications: I’m still on metformin for now, but I expect that in the long-term I’ll be able to stop this as well as my weight gets closer to goal. My only advice for other diabetics is that eating fewer carbohydrates WILL lower your blood sugar, so be careful with your medications because you likely won’t need as much. Hopefully, you have a doctor who is familiar with a low-carb approach and can work with you on your meds.
The key for me in maintaining this way of eating long term has been 1) let my blood sugar be my guide as to how many carbs I can safely consume, and 2) finding satisfying replacements for the things I used to eat like potatoes, bread, and the like. There’s a lot more information out there today than there was in 2002, so it’s getting easier. And a high-fat, high-protein diet is very satisfying to begin with, so I really don’t miss my old foods. On those occasions (like Saturday’s wedding) where I don’t have control of the menu, I can have a bite or two of cake without fear of my blood sugar going through the roof and without feeling like I need to eat the whole slice. Nice change from dreading what the finger sticks were going to show.
PS – my lipids are perfect when I eat low carb – completely out of whack when I don’t, weight is down, no longer on blood pressure medication – i.e., everything I was diagnosed with in 2002 has shown improvement on a low-carb diet.
Musings of a Housewife says
Also, for a good explanation (but rather extreme view) of how carbs and sugar affect us and why we don’t need them in our diets and are probably better off without them, I highly recommend the book, Primal Body Primal Mind. That is what convinced me to go gluten free – hearing the author speak. Reading her book encouraged me to keep going as I started on the journey.
Musings of a Housewife says
I think you’ve covered this quite well. I went gluten free, as you know, about a month or so ago, and I try to focus on good fats, protein and veggies, but I still find myself going for the sugar to satisfy my cravings. I really want to try to eat less sugar now that the holidays are over. I also find that I feel best when I don’t eat grains at all. As you pointed out above, you can go gluten free and still eat rice and corn and gluten free oats and root veggies and sugar. So it’s possible to still eat a lot of carbs. I feel so much better when I avoid those things too. Here is what I notice. When I eat anything that is high in sugar or that is corn based, I tend to over eat. Carbs are just so addicting.
All that said, I have still managed to lose, as of this morning, a good 6 to 7 lbs and I was only aiming to lose 5. I feel great and you could not PAY me to go back to eating gluten. I hope to get myself less reliant on sugar starting today! 🙂
Soli says
To add to the discussion, there are some carbs in foods which do not fall into the traditional grain/starch profile. For example, eggs have a small amount of carbs. Tracking all of what you eat is necessary if you’re doing low-carb. (My mother is currently on a super low-carb diet, which is why I know about the eggs. She eats them daily, incidentally.)
Abaddon says
Nobody knows our body better than we do. It is every individuals responsibility to care for their own health, and years of experience should tell us what works or not for our own well being. That which goes beyond our own knowledge can be gained from particular tests that will reveal the cause of the unusual. As regards weight gain, one doctor said to me ” You can eat what you like as long as you don’t swallow it.” I told him that I only eat when I’m awake, I never eat when I’m asleep. He said that I should sleep more.
We are all looking for that magic pill to cure all our problems, especially weight gain. We excuse ourselves for our being overweight by saying it “runs in the family, its in our genes.” “we are all big boned.” and so on.
There were NO fatties in auschwitz, big boned or otherwise, proving that deprivation of food will make us ALL skinny, slim, or thin.
We all possess the magic pill, it is called self control, moderation, that is the greatest and most effective diet of all. The old saying, “you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.” Likewise, WE are the means to solve our own weight problems, not others, that is why society is so problem ridden, we have given up our own decision making and handed it to others. Thats our real problem. I am not against learning from others, I believe we all have something to contribute, but it has went to far this relying on others, as is evidenced in the sickest and obese society that the world has ever known. Proving that the advice from those above has been harmful to us all.
Melissa Fritcher says
I can speak to my own experience as a Type 2 diabetic. By going low-carb I have been able to lose over 90 pounds and improve my blood sugar to the point where not only am I off all insulin and meds, but my blood sugars are now at non-diabetic levels. My last A1C was 5.2. The combination of low-carb and Primal Blueprint have saved me on many fronts. It is my fervent belief that all diabetics – both types, yes! – can benefit from low-carb – either lowering medication needs, or in some cases eliminating them. It’s important for Type 2 diabetics to have hope that reversal is possible. Because it is! I’ve seen it in my own case and in dozens of others. Not only is it safe to go low-carb, it’s essential. Life-saving.