Low Carb diet actually works!

[BurnItDwn]

So, i was at one point around 330 pounds, which is not healthy for my height.
Over 3 years, I was very slowly losing weight after some diet improvements. Went down from 330 to around 290. (cooking meals at home, using fresh ingredients instead of making things from a box.)

I switched to a low carb diet early in Feb 2022 when i got my T2 diabetes diagnoses.
Essentially, i try to keep my net carbs under 100gm per day. And I keep track of everything i eat.

I use a lot more low carb veggies in place of pastas, breads, and rice mostly.
Like, i will still eat small quantity of rice, but it will be loaded with veggies.
We go through a ton of Cauliflower, Onion, Zucchini, Green Beans, Peas, Cilantro, Bean Sprouts, Rutabaga, Broccoli, Cabbage, Peppers, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Avocados, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Celery, Radishes, and Tomatos. I try to mix it up by buying different varieties of stuff.
Hardest sacrifice for me has been to cut out most pizza and stuff like chicken pot pies.
Switched from real tortillas to the low carb tortillas.
Switched from rye bread to keto bread.

Eating more fresh veggies is not particularly expensive, as most tend to be pretty inexpensive. But, all the "keto" versions of food just seem damn expensive. Low carb snacks like Parmesan Crisps are like 10x as expensive as a bag of doritos, and monk fruit sweetener is way way more than sugar. Also, Almond flour is way more than regular wheat flour. The Rebel Keto Iced Cream is like $6 for a little pint vs the $3-4 for almost half a gallon of normal iced cream.

However, i've been losing like 10-15 pounds per month, and the food i eat is still very delicious and filling. (currently weigh around 260)


Anybody else who struggles with weight, maybe some of this might possibly be helpful.
Also, I still don't like broccoli, as it is IMO the second worst vegetable after the dreaded "false pea pods" (aka edamame), but, a little bit of broccoli that isn't overcooked mixed in with better tasting veggies and some meat can still be quite good. Onion + Garlic + butter + salt makes everything better

 

[purbeast0]

Congrats on the weight loss. However I am not sure why this would be a surprise to anyone. This has long been known to work. I think the main "issue" with it is that it is hard for many people to actually sustain this type of diet. Most don't realize just how many foods have carbs in them. People also think it means they can just eat loads of butter, bacon, and steak and still be healthy.

Every time I leaning up I always just change to a low carb diet. I still will cheat on the weekends quite a bit but during the week when I'm more in a routine of working and exercising it's much easier to control it.

If you can get down to like under 50g of carbs you will see even better results. When I lean up I don't really carb count to specifics but it's usually around like under 30g a day aside from the weekends. I'll probably start with this again in a couple weeks.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Congrats on the weight loss. However I am not sure why this would be a surprise to anyone. This has long been known to work. I think the main "issue" with it is that it is hard for many people to actually sustain this type of diet. Most don't realize just how many foods have carbs in them. People also think it means they can just eat loads of butter, bacon, and steak and still be healthy.

Every time I leaning up I always just change to a low carb diet. I still will cheat on the weekends quite a bit but during the week when I'm more in a routine of working and exercising it's much easier to control it.

If you can get down to like under 50g of carbs you will see even better results. When I lean up I don't really carb count to specifics but it's usually around like under 30g a day aside from the weekends. I'll probably start with this again in a couple weeks.

The surprise to me was that it wasn't that much of a sacrifice to get down to 100gm or less.
The surprise was that "ohh, this isn't really that hard to do and stick with."

I wish I had learned how to eat properly when I was younger, and I wish i had taken it more seriously when i was younger.

 

[balloonshark]

Not sure how many carbs are in the low carb ice cream but you can make healthy "nice cream" from frozen bananas.

The Ultimate Guide to Nice Cream

Nice cream is a treat that totally lives up to its name. Read on to learn how to make it.

www.forksoverknives.com

I don't follow a recipe and use my magic bullet and just guess the proper amount of liquid. Too little liquid and the blades creates a cavity and won't blend. Too much liquid you end up with a smoothie. Most of the time I end up using vanilla and walnuts. I usually throw a little bit of old fashioned oats, veggies like carrot, etc. or spinach if I have some on hand.

 

[purbeast0]

Not sure how many carbs are in the low carb ice cream but you can make healthy "nice cream" from frozen bananas.

The Ultimate Guide to Nice Cream

Nice cream is a treat that totally lives up to its name. Read on to learn how to make it.

www.forksoverknives.com

I don't follow a recipe and use my magic bullet and just guess the proper amount of liquid. Too little liquid and the blades creates a cavity and won't blend. Too much liquid you end up with a smoothie. Most of the time I end up using vanilla and walnuts. I usually throw a little bit of old fashioned oats, veggies like carrot, etc. or spinach if I have some on hand.

That recipe is flat out lying that it is sugar free. Fruits have sugar in em.

 

[BurnItDwn]

The fructose and starch in fruits is generally a lot better than cane sugar or corn syrup.

The "Rebel" ice cream is sweetened with Monkfruit and Sugar Alcohol.
It is a full flavor, full fat ice cream, doesn't taste like that garbage "light" ice cream at all.
The carbs mostly come from the Lactose in the Cream. Its something like 5gm per pint of "net carbs". I try to limit myself to half a pint at a time, and no more than like 1-2 pints a week. So far, so good.

I also enjoy the 95% cocoa Lindt chocolate bars. They are bitter, and may not be for everyone, but, its super super chocolatey tasting, and has like 1gm of sugar per serving.

 

[purbeast0]

The fructose and starch in fruits is generally a lot better than cane sugar or corn syrup.

The "Rebel" ice cream is sweetened with Monkfruit and Sugar Alcohol.
It is a full flavor, full fat ice cream, doesn't taste like that garbage "light" ice cream at all.
The carbs mostly come from the Lactose in the Cream. Its something like 5gm per pint of "net carbs". I try to limit myself to half a pint at a time, and no more than like 1-2 pints a week. So far, so good.

I also enjoy the 95% cocoa Lindt chocolate bars. They are bitter, and may not be for everyone, but, its super super chocolatey tasting, and has like 1gm of sugar per serving.

Not disagreeing with that.

But the first line in that article states it is "sugar-free" which is just false.

 

[balloonshark]

That recipe is flat out lying that it is sugar free. Fruits have sugar in em.

I'm pretty sure they meant added sugars.

 

[purbeast0]

I'm pretty sure they meant added sugars.

Whether they did or not, they didn't say that, and there is already a bunch of "no sugar added" ice cream you can buy in the grocery store so that's nothing special.

 

[ksheets]

I lost 100lbs almost 15 years ago on low carb and I usually go back on at some point near January to recover from the holidays.
It's nearly may and I'm still keeping my net carbs to between 50-75 a day pretty easily.

I've been buying the low-carb bread from aldi's which is reasonably priced and making homemade bread crumbs with it in the oven/food processor. This has been great for coating for things like chicken, pork chops and cheese sticks.

The rebel ice cream is pretty decent and has a ton of different flavors but man, if I eat too much of my body can react in some painful ways.

I've also found that Aldi's,Wal-mart and Big lots have a decent selection of low-carb shakes and snacks which get me through most of my snacking needs. Wal-mart has some "doritos" in nacho cheese and cool ranch- theyre both decent (a little dry), but they cost like $2 for a TINY bag...

 

[BurnItDwn]

I lost 100lbs almost 15 years ago on low carb and I usually go back on at some point near January to recover from the holidays.
It's nearly may and I'm still keeping my net carbs to between 50-75 a day pretty easily.

I've been buying the low-carb bread from aldi's which is reasonably priced and making homemade bread crumbs with it in the oven/food processor. This has been great for coating for things like chicken, pork chops and cheese sticks.

The rebel ice cream is pretty decent and has a ton of different flavors but man, if I eat too much of my body can react in some painful ways.

I've also found that Aldi's,Wal-mart and Big lots have a decent selection of low-carb shakes and snacks which get me through most of my snacking needs. Wal-mart has some "doritos" in nacho cheese and cool ranch- theyre both decent (a little dry), but they cost like $2 for a TINY bag...

Ahh, didnt know Aldi had a low carb bread. I should hit them from time to time since they usually have everything pretty affordable!

As far as snacks go, I'm hooked on the Peatos crunchy onion snacks. Also like the Hilo brand chips (they are kinda like a knock off doritos, but made with almond flour so very low net carbs) ..

Sugar alcohols can be kinda harsh on the GI for sure, the worst one I think is Sorbital which tends to be used a lot in some of the "sugar free" candies. Had York Sugar Free Peppermint patties, tasted like the real thing, but, felt like I swallowed a grenade!

 

[Torn Mind]

The fructose and starch in fruits is generally a lot better than cane sugar or corn syrup.

The "Rebel" ice cream is sweetened with Monkfruit and Sugar Alcohol.
It is a full flavor, full fat ice cream, doesn't taste like that garbage "light" ice cream at all.
The carbs mostly come from the Lactose in the Cream. Its something like 5gm per pint of "net carbs". I try to limit myself to half a pint at a time, and no more than like 1-2 pints a week. So far, so good.

I also enjoy the 95% cocoa Lindt chocolate bars. They are bitter, and may not be for everyone, but, its super super chocolatey tasting, and has like 1gm of sugar per serving.

The chemicals are the same in fruit. Just that when there's giant mass of fiber, you wind up eating less caloric material overall.

Dark Chocolate comes with stearic acid, which actually has been proven to cause mitochondria to fuse and improve fat metabolism.

Doesn't sound like you eat much shellfish or wild fatty fish though.

 

[BurnItDwn]

The chemicals are the same in fruit. Just that when there's giant mass of fiber, you wind up eating less caloric material overall.

Dark Chocolate comes with stearic acid, which actually has been proven to cause mitochondria to fuse and improve fat metabolism.

Doesn't sound like you eat much shellfish or wild fatty fish though.

I did not realize that Fructose metabolized the same as Glucose. But, i understand, fruit has sugar + starch, but yes, a lot of fiber too, so less overall net grams of carbs ... makes sense!


We eat shellfish a few times per week. Almost any kind of shellfish is good, though it seems like for the last few years, my stomach doesn't handle Scallops well, so I don't eat them any more.

We usually eat farmed fatty fish once or twice per week. (but sometimes I buy wild caught. (seared salmon or broiled swordfish are two of our favorites here.)

 

[Torn Mind]

I did not realize that Fructose metabolized the same as Glucose. But, i understand, fruit has sugar + starch, but yes, a lot of fiber too, so less overall net grams of carbs ... makes sense!


We eat shellfish a few times per week. Almost any kind of shellfish is good, though it seems like for the last few years, my stomach doesn't handle Scallops well, so I don't eat them any more.

We usually eat farmed fatty fish once or twice per week. (but sometimes I buy wild caught. (seared salmon or broiled swordfish are two of our favorites here.)

Fructose is not metabolized the same as glucose. It gets sent to the liver and gets converted to glucose. Where the issue lies is that with a huge load of fructose, the liver can't handle it harmlessly...then some de novo lipogenesis occurs in the liver...and eventually it becomes a fatty liver.

The ancient method of making foie grais involves force-feeding the bird a ton of figs.

Fructose gets sent to the liver all the same in the end whether it starts off as sucrose, is in HFCS(55%/45% fructose/glucose ratio), or comes naturally from fruit.

Common table sugar is sucrose, which is one glucose molecule bound to one fructose molecule. An enzyme breaks apart the bonds, turning them into free monosaccharides.

Dextrose is actually glucose. Maltodextrin is a complex carb that gets broken down into glucose. Even table salt has maltodextrin.

Fruits have a mix of sugars. So there usually is fructose, glucose, and sucrose, sugar alcohols, etc depending on the fruit. Watermelon sugar alcohols don't jive with me. I soiled my shirt once because I ate until satiety...being a sweet lover was not a good thing that day(or for my teeth).

Some plants have amylase inhibitors. Amylase is the enzyme that breaks down starches, saliva has amylase enzymes.

(PDF) Berry Polyphenols Inhibit Digestive Enzymes: a Source of Potential Health Benefits?

PDF | This paper provides an overview of work that suggests that polyphenol components from berries can inhibit crucial enzymes involved in starch and... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

I believe that fermented foods(both plant and animal) confer benefits. Reading the interwebz, I came across a study that should fermented Sichuan Pickle reduced the presence of streptococcus mutans by 98%. Vitamin K2 is found in certain cheeses or natto.



Also, liver is very nutrient dense food, but many will not like the taste.

I don't eat farmed fatty fish. They really don't provide the same levels of vitamin D and astaxanthin, a carotenoid. Plus their living conditions are really crappy, which means a huge load of antibiotics. I hate fatty fish though, can't really eat more than a 3oz serving a day, so I eat canned wild salmon or sardines. But I make it point to eat some because it really helped get rid of a lot of the COVID brain fog I had. It was a random shot with WIld Planet sardines; because reintroducing sugars didn't work, fruits didn't work, red meat or chicken didn't work, nor did milk of any kind work in clearing the brain fog.

Xylitol may be the best sugar substitute. It helps kill streptococcus mutans.

I would say it is better to eat a small serving of sweet potato rather than rice due to nutrient density and more fiber to reduce total intake.

Maybe you can try broccoli+better cheeses in a casserole.

 

[David-Jack]

Yes! Low carb diet helps in reducing abnormal weight and helps you get in shape very fast. This will keep your body healthy and you will avoid all those fats which harm your health.

 

[nakedfrog]

Yes! Low carb diet helps in reducing abnormal weight and helps you get in shape very fast. This will keep your body healthy and you will avoid all those fats which harm your health.

What? Fat isn't the enemy, you're avoiding sugar on a low carb diet.

 

[skyking]

Congrats more power to ya!
To be sure, don't kid yourself about fructose. It is still inflammatory and no bueno in general. I think the fiber goodness in some fruits is great, but overdoing it will put a kink in your progress.

 

[A///]

Congrats, but I couldn't give up pasta or ice cream. I tried Atkins back in the day but it made me miserable and more of an a-hole than I already was to others.

 

[MtnMan]

My wife lost over 100 pounds over a year by limiting her carb intake. That was over 2 years ago, and has not gained any of it back. She watches her carbs, and chose low-carb options on some items, like the low-carb tortillas, and some low-carb beers, but we still go out for pizza, burgers, and beer at craft breweries where low-carb is not offered.

Some of the low-carb beer is pretty good also. Lagunitas Daytime IPA is one such beer.

 

[RPD]

The problem is most people have almost ZERO idea just how grossly high their daily carb intake is. Once you know about how many carbs a day you need or should consume, then take a look at what you used to consume, you'll be in shell shock.

 

[Torn Mind]

Effect of eating vegetables before carbohydrates on glucose excursions in patients with type 2 diabetes

The aim of this review was to evaluate whether eating vegetables before carbohydrates could reduce the postprandial glucose, insulin, and improve long-term glycemic control in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. We studied the effect of eating vegetables ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food Order Has Significant Impact on Glucose and Insulin Levels

Eating protein and vegetables before carbohydrates leads to lower post-meal glucose and insulin levels in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

news.weill.cornell.edu

Seems like food order matters with glycemic control.

Also, if I eat 50 grams of carbs...well that's actually perfectly functional. If I push to 100g or more, well, the tingling of neuropathy arises.

 

[MtnMan]

My wife lost 100+ pounds on a low-carb diet over the course of a year, and has kept it off for about 4 years now.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Weight loss is slowing down as I seem to approach some level of equilibrium. Im down below 245 for the first time since 98 when I graduated high school.

 

[Kaido]

Weight loss is slowing down as I seem to approach some level of equilibrium. Im down below 245 for the first time since 98 when I graduated high school.

Dude 330 to 245 is AMAZING! Congrats!!

 

[BurnItDwn]

Thanks all for the encouragement!

Continuing with low carb eating and light exercise on rowing machine.
Doc happy with progress and has discontinued my meds.

Hopefully glucose levels don't elevate without the metformin, but, so far so good!