Ketosis, LCHF, Paleo, Atkins, Mediterranean, etc...

[Undertaker #59*]

Inspired by the discussions about Brady's health regimen, but this is really a much broader topic, and it seems there are a lot of people here knowledgeable about these topics.

I'll post my full personal story about this at some point, but in summary, by permanently changing my diet (but not restricting how much I eat), I experienced the following results within 1 year:

• Stopped high blood pressure and no longer need medication for it.
• Stopped Acid Reflux and no longer need medication for it.
• HDL went up, LDL went down (very simplistic summary, suffice to say, all blood markers that doctors traditionally look at improved)
• Cured Sleep Apnea
• Sent a skin condition into remission
• Cured* Type 2 diabetes and no longer need medication for it (*remission might be a better term, but fasting blood sugar is now 85 when before diet change it was 160. A1C went from 8.2 to 4.3)
• More energy and clearer thinking
• Oh yeah, lost 100 lbs without worrying about calories or being hungry, and without crazy exercise.

There were other benefits too, but this is a good start.

Now, I am not one to easily believe in conspiracy theories or look outside of the main stream too often, but in my research on this topic, I really started to think differently about what we have all been led to believe about diet. Ultimately, it is not a religion, I do not need to preach about it, I just know that in my "n=1" experiment, what I did is much better for me than the Standard American Diet.

What did I do? In the absolute most simplistic way of summarizing it, I stopped eating Sugar, Grains (yes, wheat), and "vegetable" oils. That is it.

popcorn

 

[Big/Sky/Fly]

I stopped eating Sugar, Grains (yes, wheat), and "vegetable" oils.
popcorn

All of the above are pro inflammatory fwiw...

 

[bishbash]

Good Job, UT!
I've found this book to be helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Belly-Diet-Lose-lbs/dp/0345547950
http://www.zerobelly.com

 

[Dwight Schrute]

That's freakin awesome UT.

You didn't star on Biggest Loser unbeknownst to us, did you?

 

[16-0patsfan]

major props to you,,,I am on many of the meds you are (or were) on..I just can get my blood sugar down one day its90 the next 250 or higher I get so unset its like the harder I try the worse my health gets...I have to keep trying ..................thanks for the post it gives me hope that if I keep at it things will change..

 

[Undertaker #59*]

All of the above are pro inflammatory fwiw...

Absolutely.

Good Job, UT!
I've found this book to be helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Belly-Diet-Lose-lbs/dp/0345547950
http://www.zerobelly.com

Looks like it may be similar to the books by Dr William Davis as well.

That's freakin awesome UT.

You didn't star on Biggest Loser unbeknownst to us, did you?

Heh no. But I went from 300 lbs to 200 lbs. At about 210 now 2 years into it, but what is amazing about it, is I am pretty sure if I wanted to push a little, I could easily get to 180 without much suffering.

And I LIVED on pasta. Couldn't do without it, but I discovered that not only CAN I do without it, I thrive without it, makes it all worth it and very easy.

 

[deec77]

All of the above are pro inflammatory fwiw...

You're 2 for 2.

~Dee~

 

[deec77]

Absolutely.



Looks like it may be similar to the books by Dr William Davis as well.



Heh no. But I went from 300 lbs to 200 lbs. At about 210 now 2 years into it, but what is amazing about it, is I am pretty sure if I wanted to push a little, I could easily get to 180 without much suffering.

And I LIVED on pasta. Couldn't do without it, but I discovered that not only CAN I do without it, I thrive without it, makes it all worth it and very easy.

Most processed food are bad for you in some form or another. Congrats to you. It's truly not a diet it's a lifestyle change.

~Dee~

 

[Annihilus]

Absolutely.



Looks like it may be similar to the books by Dr William Davis as well.



Heh no. But I went from 300 lbs to 200 lbs. At about 210 now 2 years into it, but what is amazing about it, is I am pretty sure if I wanted to push a little, I could easily get to 180 without much suffering.

And I LIVED on pasta. Couldn't do without it, but I discovered that not only CAN I do without it, I thrive without it, makes it all worth it and very easy.

You certainly could. I was at 210 and super unhealthy back in 2007 and started walking three miles per day. With no diet change whatsoever, I dropped 40 pounds in a little over a year. I have since changed how much I eat over the years (but I still eat whatever I want) and have gotten to 170. I know I should probably change my diet for health reasons, but I absolutely hate vegetables, so I'm not sure I could pull that off.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

major props to you,,,I am on many of the meds you are (or were) on..I just can get my blood sugar down one day its90 the next 250 or higher I get so unset its like the harder I try the worse my health gets...I have to keep trying ..................thanks for the post it gives me hope that if I keep at it things will change..

For me anyway, it was all about that insulin roller coaster. Getting that under control led to everything else.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 and immediately went on Metformin (which is actually a very interesting drug and has some other benefits). 1 MONTH into changing my diet, my blood sugar had stabilized and I was able to go off the medication.

Now, I might have been lucky to treat myself early enough before I did too much damage to those beta cells in the Pancreas, so mileage will vary with different people, but I believe everyone, diabetes or not, can get health benefits from controlling insulin levels.

You can definitely improve your levels and your life.

 

[benhamean]

Most processed food are bad for you in some form or another. Congrats to you. It's truly not a diet it's a lifestyle change.

~Dee~

High glycemic index is the killer. There's WAY too much damn sugar in our diets, and processed food is essentially equal to sugar.

Pasta is actually not too bad, if it is al dente.

Pay attention to that, cut down on sugar, carbs, and processed 'junk' and you'll start feeling awesome very quickly. My wife got me on board with this about a year ago, and I speak from experience.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Most processed food are bad for you in some form or another. Congrats to you. It's truly not a diet it's a lifestyle change.

~Dee~

It absolutely was and I viewed it that way from the beginning. I have become an expert at reading food labels and yeah, most "processed" food is gone.

You certainly could. I was at 210 and super unhealthy back in 2007 and started walking three miles per day. With no diet change whatsoever, I dropped 40 pounds in a little over a year. I have since changed how much I eat over the years (but I still eat whatever I want) and have gotten to 170. I know I should probably change my diet for health reasons, but I absolutely hate vegetables, so I'm not sure I could pull that off.

Yeah, that is pretty much all I would need to do is ramp up walking. And then, if I was really ambitious, add some interval weight training.

I hate most vegetables too, but try to get some in an occasional salad. For me though, it was more about not eating certain things (sugar and wheat), then adding "healthy" foods.

But someone else interesting happened. My palette changed. I found myself liking foods that I never liked before (like seafood, I LOVE steamers now, hated them 3 years ago.) :shrug_n:

 

[HSanders]

Congrats UT and Anni, great stories!
UT, when you say no veg oils, how does that affect cooking? What is used instead? Pure butter?

 

[deec77]

High glycemic index is the killer. There's WAY too much damn sugar in our diets, and processed food is essentially equal to sugar.

Pasta is actually not too bad, if it is al dente.

Pay attention to that, cut down on sugar, carbs, and processed 'junk' and you'll start feeling awesome very quickly. My wife got me on board with this about a year ago, and I speak from experience.

I mentioned that in the other thread. Salt isn't one of the best things for ya either. I take that back sea salt and kosher salt if you must are better. I've been doing some form or another for about 3 years now mine is more of inflammatory/auto immune issue so it's to lower pain levels. Beats the heck out of pain meds. :shrug_n:

~Dee~

 

[Annihilus]

It absolutely was and I viewed it that way from the beginning. I have become an expert at reading food labels and yeah, most "processed" food is gone.



Yeah, that is pretty much all I would need to do is ramp up walking. And then, if I was really ambitious, add some interval weight training.

I hate most vegetables too, but try to get some in an occasional salad. For me though, it was more about not eating certain things (sugar and wheat), then adding "healthy" foods.

But someone else interesting happened. My palette changed. I found myself liking foods that I never liked before (like seafood, I LOVE steamers now, hated them 3 years ago.) :shrug_n:

I'm seriously considering the weight training thing myself. I'm not interested in being a gym rat or anything, but it doesn't take a lot.

As for walking, the thing that helped me was to do it during my lunch break at work...killing two birds with one stone by not eating fast food and getting my three miles in. It became so ingrained that it drives me nuts if I can't escape work for an hour during the middle of the day. I do jog about half the distance now, but am not trying to become a long distance runner or anything.

Some of my friends say 'I couldn't do that' (talking about the 3 miles/day), but it's really not a big deal. I am far from a health nut and my motivation is not like someone who hits the gym every day.

Interesting about your palette changing. I might have to think about doing some diet tweaks, but I'm not all that optimistic about my willpower in that area.

 

[bishbash]

Congrats UT and Anni, great stories!
UT, when you say no veg oils, how does that affect cooking? What is used instead? Pure butter?

Olive and Coconut are 2 great alternatives.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Congrats UT and Anni, great stories!
UT, when you say no veg oils, how does that affect cooking? What is used instead? Pure butter?

The reason I put vegetable oils in quotes is because most main stream vegetable oils are actually seed oils. Corn is technically a grain. Canola (a made up name short for Canada Oil) is rapeseed.

So yeah for cooking it is usually either butter, coconut oil, or olive oil, the latter two are very good sources of MCT's (short for medium chain triglycerides), which you'll often see touted as a great energy source, or as some sort of silly supplement.

For some cooking we use clarified butter (also known as ghee).

Deep frying, the choice would be animal fat.

 

[deec77]

The reason I put vegetable oils in quotes is because most main stream vegetable oils are actually seed oils. Corn is technically a grain. Canola (a made up name short for Canada Oil) is rapeseed.

So yeah for cooking it is usually either butter, coconut oil, or olive oil, the latter two are very good sources of MCT's (short for medium chain triglycerides), which you'll often see touted as a great energy source, or as some sort of silly supplement.

For some cooking we use clarified butter (also known as ghee).

Deep frying, the choice would be animal fat.

I'm impressed. Do you use bacon fat from uncured nitrate free bacon?

~Dee~

 

[Undertaker #59*]

I mentioned that in the other thread. Salt isn't one of the best things for ya either. I take that back sea salt and kosher salt if you must are better. I've been doing some form or another for about 3 years now mine is more of inflammatory/auto immune issue so it's to lower pain levels. Beats the heck out of pain meds. :shrug_n:

~Dee~

I have had no issues with salt since my change and do not worry about adding as much as I like to taste, but I am sure with the vast reduction in "processed" food, my overall sodium intake has gone down anyway.

There is some information and studies out there that call into the question the general consensus of sodium intake having an affect on blood pressure.

I'm seriously considering the weight training thing myself. I'm not interested in being a gym rat or anything, but it doesn't take a lot.

As for walking, the thing that helped me was to do it during my lunch break at work...killing two birds with one stone by not eating fast food and getting my three miles in. It became so ingrained that it drives me nuts if I can't escape work for an hour during the middle of the day. I do jog about half the distance now, but am not trying to become a long distance runner or anything.

Some of my friends say 'I couldn't do that' (talking about the 3 miles/day), but it's really not a big deal. I am far from a health nut and my motivation is not like someone who hits the gym every day.

Interesting about your palette changing. I might have to think about doing some diet tweaks, but I'm not all that optimistic about my willpower in that area.

Yeah I am not consistent enough with the walking and should be. I know I can do it, but I get lazy. I know what you are talking about though. For awhile I was doing it pretty good every day, and I would get antsy if I couldn't get to it. But yeah, once you are doing it consistently, 3 miles is easy.

"Sprints" have been shown to have amazing benefits too. Sprints being going all out in running, bicycling, rowing, whatever for say 30 seconds and then backing off for a couple minutes, and then sprinting again.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I was an athlete as a kid/teen, but sort of slacked through much of my 20s. Sort of reinvented myself in many ways over the past year, including a bigger commitment to a healthy diet and regular exercise.

I haven't consumed non-diet soda since December 2014 (still have diet from time to time). I've cut out pretty much all sugar and switched from white to rye bread, white rice/pasta to whole wheat, etc. Drink alcohol maybe once a month, probably less. Focus on low GI foods, eat almost nothing processed. I also count calories in my head to ensure my weekly numbers are within targets.

Gym 3 times a week, run 3 times a week. Hoping to complete a half marathon next spring. Ran 16km yesterday for new personal best.

All in all, the results have been far more satisfying than the sacrifices. I still eat pizza because I love it, but I've learned to commit to moderation in terms of both portion sizes AND indulgences. I've not made truly drastic changes, but I'm healthier and happier with my appearance than I've been since my teens. Not that I was really overweight before, but I wasn't toned and felt sluggish.

5'10" and down to ~155lbs from around ~170lbs with better muscle mass/toning.

Will power is the most important thing, not a trendy diet.