Low carb

[Tina W]

Thanks for the book link. I haven't read that book about fructose, but am familiar with the debate within the low carb community. It's good to limit sugars. There was even that latest article just last week with mention on that.

Processed Fructose Is the Number One Driver of Obesity & Diabetes

Some believe, for many, the greatest impact with weight loss and improved health comes from avoiding grains, wheat in particular. For example cardiologist Dr. Davis wrote a popular book about what happened after he asked his patients to simply avoid wheat. He writes about Wheat Belly and what followers experience after avoiding wheat, and sometimes/often times doing other activities, at his blog:

Blog - Dr. William Davis

Thanks for that info, I'm gonna check out his blog.

 

[Jayphilip]

low carb diet plans may perform excellent for those who are not very bulky. If one workouts regularly, low carbohydrate diet plans are not the way to go.

 

[bhsmte]

low carb diet plans may perform excellent for those who are not very bulky. If one workouts regularly, low carbohydrate diet plans are not the way to go.

A lot of people who workout regularly are not bulky, but the opposite, specifically endurance athletes.

The body can adapt to low carb diets over time, though when it comes to those who exercise with a great deal of intensity and duration, it is still a bit unclear, whether low carb diets are the right way to go.

 

[bhsmte]

Thanks for that info, I'm gonna check out his blog.

You know, everyone seems to have a book on what is causing obesity, in regards to what we consume.

To me, the bottom line is this; obesity has been and is mostly driven by sedentary lifestyles, much more so than diet.

 

[theFijian]

You know, everyone seems to have a book on what is causing obesity, in regards to what we consume.

To me, the bottom line is this; obesity has been and is mostly driven by sedentary lifestyles, much more so than diet.

True, but poor diet also has ramifications beyond just obesity. ie. diabetes, cancer, IBS, all manner of autoimmune issues

 

[bhsmte]

True, but poor diet also has ramifications beyond just obesity. ie. diabetes, cancer, IBS, all manner of autoimmune issues

The above becomes a problem of increased risk when a person reaches obesity, not simply from a certain diet.

Obesity increases the risk of a whole myriad of diseases.

Physical activity is the great equalizer in preventing obesity, because the right type of physical activity, will cause the body to burn high amounts of fats. The sedentary person, has to watch their diet much more closely, because their metabolism is so much different, than a physically active person.

Let me put it this way; the less physically active a person is, the more important diet becomes.

 

[theFijian]

The above becomes a problem of increased risk when a person reaches obesity, not simply from a certain diet.

Obesity increases the risk of a whole myriad of diseases.

Physical activity is the great equalizer in preventing obesity, because the right type of physical activity, will cause the body to burn high amounts of fats. The sedentary person, has to watch their diet much more closely, because their metabolism is so much different, than a physically active person.

Let me put it this way; the less physically active a person is, the more important diet becomes.

I agree, physical exercise is of great benefit. I was pretty sedentary, and overweight. I changed my diet and lost two stones whilst hardly being any more active. I've seen people who have run marathons with all the training that involves who are still overweight, their diet of loading up on carbs has prevented them from losing that extra body fat. Highly active people, including elite athletes, are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes all the time, these are people who have never been overweight in their lives yet their high carb diets means they've contracted this entirely avoidable disease.

 

[bhsmte]

I agree, physical exercise is of great benefit. I was pretty sedentary, and overweight. I changed my diet and lost two stones whilst hardly being any more active. I've seen people who have run marathons with all the training that involves who are still overweight, their diet of loading up on carbs has prevented them from losing that extra body fat. Highly active people, including elite athletes, are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes all the time, these are people who have never been overweight in their lives yet their high carb diets means they've contracted this entirely avoidable disease.

I have never met a person who has a practice of running marathons who is overweight.

The two factors just don't mix. If a person trains to run marathons (26.2 miles), their body is going to adapt to this physical stress, by making the body as light as possible, so the activity becomes less difficult.

I will say again, I have never met a person who has been a long distance runner for any period of time, that was overweight, because if they were overweight, their body could not sustain that activity, without breaking down.

 

[RunFX]

Is anyone else doing a low carb diet?

I prefer low fat diets to low carbs, as in low in the bad fats. Fat has more calories per gram, so I never understood low carb diets unless they were cutting out the high GI and nutrientless ones.

 

[Tina W]

When you eat carbohydrates (carbs), your body releases insulin into your blood stream. The insulin tells your cells what to do. It tells most cells to absorb the sugar out of the blood and tells your fat cells not to release any fat to burn (because there are carbs already in the blood to burn).

One of insulin's jobs is to take sugar out of the blood — the sooner the better, because sugar in the blood damages the body. The reason diabetics have such bad health problems (blindness, circulation problems, etc.) is because of the damage sugar does when the person can't make enough insulin.

When you eat something with a lot of sugar in it, the body kind of panics and usually overdoes it. Too much insulin is released to mop up the sugar. It takes all the sugar out of your blood. Then your blood sugar is too low, so you crave more sweets.

So insulin saved the day, keeping that sugar from damaging your body, but in the process, it makes your body store fat and prevents you from burning fat.

A low carb diet, limits carbs, so you don't put very much insulin into your system, so your body burns any fat you eat as fuel, and if you need more, your fat cells freely release fat into your blood stream to be burned as fuel and you lose weight.

But when you eat a large amount of carbs — a hundred grams, two hundred grams, or more (most Americans get about 300 grams a day) — your body releases insulin in huge amounts, which makes it almost impossible to burn fat. And makes it really easy to gain weight. (Some people don't gain weight, of course, even though they eat lots of carbs, they are the lucky ones who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.) That is the basic process. This is why people lose weight so easily and quickly when they cut carbs, because carbs increase insulin, which leads to storing fat and preventing fat from being burned, and creates cravings.

 

[Tina W]

Other diets limit all food equally but they still include a lot of carbs in it and those carbs create cravings for more carbs which makes it harder for people addicted to carbs and sweets to stick to it because they still feel hungry. And anyone who has tried to eat less for a long time has discovered it is very difficult. It's like running uphill. What they're eating is making them want to eat more and they are trying to make themselves eat less. It's tough. It can be done, but it's tough. Low carb eliminates those cravings so you don't feel hungry because it's the carbs making you hungry, creating cravings.
One of the reasons a low carb diet works is that protein satisfies your hunger. When you eat protein, you do not crave more protein. If you had a plate of chicken, you would not continue to eat it after you had enough. You would eat a certain amount and then you wouldn't want to eat any more. You don't need a cheering section to keep you from eating any more. You're done. You're satisfied.

With carbs, you can never get enough. You can be full, topped off, completely stuffed, and you could still go for some ice cream! Eating carbs makes you crave more carbs.

Your tongue still wants carbs, but the rest of your body feels fine. And after awhile, even your tongue calms down — you aren't craving anything at all. And your fat cells steadily release their fuel to be burned. Instead of getting more difficult over time, low carb eating actually gets easier as the lust for carbs subsides.

 

[bhsmte]

When you eat carbohydrates (carbs), your body releases insulin into your blood stream. The insulin tells your cells what to do. It tells most cells to absorb the sugar out of the blood and tells your fat cells not to release any fat to burn (because there are carbs already in the blood to burn).

Correct, but keep in mind, even when one consumes protein and or fat, insulin is also released into the blood stream, just not as high amounts as carbs and specifically simple carbs.

One of insulin's jobs is to take sugar out of the blood — the sooner the better, because sugar in the blood damages the body. The reason diabetics have such bad health problems (blindness, circulation problems, etc.) is because of the damage sugar does when the person can't make enough insulin.

The other issue is not just not manufacturing insulin, but insulin insensitivity. Some people make plenty of insulin, but they have lost sensitivity to it.

When you eat something with a lot of sugar in it, the body kind of panics and usually overdoes it. Too much insulin is released to mop up the sugar. It takes all the sugar out of your blood. Then your blood sugar is too low, so you crave more sweets.

This depends on the person and their particular insulin sensitivity.

So insulin saved the day, keeping that sugar from damaging your body, but in the process, it makes your body store fat and prevents you from burning fat.

This is where exercise is crucial. People who have a high level of fitness and exercise frequently and at a high enough intensity, will store that sugar as glycogen (fuel for exercise) in the liver and in the muscle tissue. Those who are sedentary, have no need to store the same levels of glycogen and the sugar gets stored as fat.

A low carb diet, limits carbs, so you don't put very much insulin into your system, so your body burns any fat you eat as fuel, and if you need more, your fat cells freely release fat into your blood stream to be burned as fuel and you lose weight.

If one is sedentary, low carbs becomes even more important.

But when you eat a large amount of carbs — a hundred grams, two hundred grams, or more (most Americans get about 300 grams a day) — your body releases insulin in huge amounts, which makes it almost impossible to burn fat. And makes it really easy to gain weight. (Some people don't gain weight, of course, even though they eat lots of carbs, they are the lucky ones who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.) That is the basic process. This is why people lose weight so easily and quickly when they cut carbs, because carbs increase insulin, which leads to storing fat and preventing fat from being burned, and creates cravings.

Again, this depends on each person and most importantly the physical demands they place on their body. For an endurance athlete, 300 grams of carbs is next to nothing, as some consume over 500 grams, because of the need they have for glycogen storage and the insulin sensitivity, that exercise helps to promote.

Bottom line, it is a good idea to limit the release of insulin whenever you can, but this is especially true for sedentary people. Those who are very active, not so much.

 

[bhsmte]

With carbs, you can never get enough. You can be full, topped off, completely stuffed, and you could still go for some ice cream! Eating carbs makes you crave more carbs.

For a certain group of people, this is true and again, it depends on how your body metabolizes the carbs, which is heavily dependent on your fitness level and insulin sensitivity, which is improved through improving your fitness level.

I consume about 3500 calories a day (about 60% from complex carbs), I am 6 feet 2 inches and weigh 210 pounds with a body fat of 12%. I run 15-20 miles a week and do other cardio activities as well, along with lifting weights twice a week and am over 40 years old.

I don't excessively crave more carbs than my body needs, because my physiology has most of the carbs being stored as glycogen and my insulin sensitivity is good. My high fitness level, also mobilizes more fat to be used as energy at rest, so the carbs can be stored as glycogen (not stored as fat), so I have ample energy to maintain my exercise regime.

As I have already stated though, for many people and especially those who either exercise very little or are sedentary, the low carb diet is a good way to go.

 

[Blue Wren]

I lost the weight I gained when I first came to the US, by cutting down on carbs & sugary drinks. I drank all these sugar coffees, when I first came to the US. I gained a stone, in only 2 months time. Going back to plain coffee and milk, no more Starbucks pastries, it made a difference. I bought a new bike, that helped. People in the US, they don't bike as much, as in Sweden, even though the weather it is nicer.

I think, reducing carbs, it is good, yes. Counting carbs, this I think would drive you crazy. Just the simple things, cutting out pastries and sugar, that helped.