This is going to be a touchy subject and probably my most controversial post yet.
For the last two to three years I have been experimenting with carbohydrates. I read all I can because I must figure things out, It is my nature. I have found out so much about the body and nutrition over the last eight years and I'm glad I have. I still have infinite things to learn.
If you are a person that gets along fine with any food or any lifestyle and has hit the genetic lottery, you will not care so much as people that are suffering from very bad health issues. Still I think down the road you will pay from eating too many carbs no matter what body type you were born with.
Taking carbs out the diet is considered a fad or a diet that someone has made up. Their are cults for everything and there is science and history. Marketing and rumors keep carbs running strong in the world. America runs off carbs and it shows. I will not try to convince you that carbs are bad for most of us I will simply tell you my experience.
First I started experimenting with taking carbs down or out to get leaner. When I realized that glucose had something to do with my depression getting worse things changed for me.
If you take the carbs out, the calories have gone way down, so now I was eating more fat. This is where it gets complicated. Too much polyunsaturated fat bogs me down and too much fat period bogs me down. So I have to count my fat grams at each meal. Fat almost doesn't raise insulin levels at all and so the body doesn't really know when you have had enough of it. If I eat too much butter, coconut oil or palm oil I will get very sick at night when I'm sleeping. I will wake up feeling puffy and want to vomit. I fight it off for a half hour then get back to sleep. Butter, coconut oil plus palm oil have fatty acid chains that go straight to the liver from the small intestine and this is why I think this happens. It is a fat in the liver overdose. Going mild with these food products doesn't case a problem for me.
Like I mentioned this is very tricky and there is way more to it than simply eating bacon. It is very involved and you have to put effort into it if you want to make it work right. The benefits are endless to count. The trade offs are there. Life is not the same with the carbs, life is better and you have to look at it that way. If you look at it like you are missing out, you are seeing it the wrong way. If there are family members hovering over a cake, look at their bodies and think about all the health issues they might tell you about. It is all around us and if you can live without carbs you will have to enjoy what you have in life instead of thinking food is the source of enjoyment.
I think the best way to learn about carbs is to go down to 200 grams a day counted each day along with one gram of protein per pound of lean weight that is on your body. Then take the carb grams down about 25 grams a week until you have gotten down to 150. At this point you have to decide if you want to go the extra mile and go through a tough week or two until your body has adapted to the fats instead of carbs. If you're ready to take the plunge any lower than this you're brain will be switching over to more ketones for the brain to function. Small amounts of coconut oil will deliver ketones to your brain to help out with transition. So each week continue to take 25 grams of carbs out until you are all the way down to 25 a day. At this point you are eating a little bit of green vegetables, your usual amount of protein and more fat. Each week you take away the 25 grams of carbs a day you will need to add about 25 grams of fat to your diet.
Once you have gone two weeks battling on 25 grams a fat a day you may decide to go back up to 75 grams or maybe even 100 grams a day. Your body will be adjusted now and you might get along better this way. Even at 100 grams of carbs a day you will still have the benefits of good health, much better than life before limiting carb intake. If you find yourself binge eating one day like I eventually do from time to time, try not to get down on yourself because looking back on months clear of binge eating is a triumph and you should be proud of yourself for what you have achieved. Pick yourself up and get right back on track. It's that simple.
A Kitchen scale is crucial. Here is my favorite scale.
When you eat high carbs you eat low salt. When you eat low carbs you eat more salt. As you progress your way down the carbs each week up the salt a bit more. You will need it. If you don't take in enough you will feel like a zombie. This might lead you to think that you need more carbs which is not the case, you need more sodium. Trust me and do it, you will thank yourself later.
Since it is very detailed what must be done I recommend reading the art and science of low carbohydrate performance. Use the book as a guide and keep it close by to help troubleshoot problems. You may have to go back to it a hundred times until things are running smooth. The book has helpful recipes in the back to give you ideas of what to eat and might come in handy for you if you enjoy cooking. Everybody has a different body so take any health issues that you might have into consideration and figure out the best approach.
For the last two to three years I have been experimenting with carbohydrates. I read all I can because I must figure things out, It is my nature. I have found out so much about the body and nutrition over the last eight years and I'm glad I have. I still have infinite things to learn.
If you are a person that gets along fine with any food or any lifestyle and has hit the genetic lottery, you will not care so much as people that are suffering from very bad health issues. Still I think down the road you will pay from eating too many carbs no matter what body type you were born with.
Taking carbs out the diet is considered a fad or a diet that someone has made up. Their are cults for everything and there is science and history. Marketing and rumors keep carbs running strong in the world. America runs off carbs and it shows. I will not try to convince you that carbs are bad for most of us I will simply tell you my experience.
First I started experimenting with taking carbs down or out to get leaner. When I realized that glucose had something to do with my depression getting worse things changed for me.
If you take the carbs out, the calories have gone way down, so now I was eating more fat. This is where it gets complicated. Too much polyunsaturated fat bogs me down and too much fat period bogs me down. So I have to count my fat grams at each meal. Fat almost doesn't raise insulin levels at all and so the body doesn't really know when you have had enough of it. If I eat too much butter, coconut oil or palm oil I will get very sick at night when I'm sleeping. I will wake up feeling puffy and want to vomit. I fight it off for a half hour then get back to sleep. Butter, coconut oil plus palm oil have fatty acid chains that go straight to the liver from the small intestine and this is why I think this happens. It is a fat in the liver overdose. Going mild with these food products doesn't case a problem for me.
Like I mentioned this is very tricky and there is way more to it than simply eating bacon. It is very involved and you have to put effort into it if you want to make it work right. The benefits are endless to count. The trade offs are there. Life is not the same with the carbs, life is better and you have to look at it that way. If you look at it like you are missing out, you are seeing it the wrong way. If there are family members hovering over a cake, look at their bodies and think about all the health issues they might tell you about. It is all around us and if you can live without carbs you will have to enjoy what you have in life instead of thinking food is the source of enjoyment.
 |
| He took the carbs out. CONVINCED? |
Once you have gone two weeks battling on 25 grams a fat a day you may decide to go back up to 75 grams or maybe even 100 grams a day. Your body will be adjusted now and you might get along better this way. Even at 100 grams of carbs a day you will still have the benefits of good health, much better than life before limiting carb intake. If you find yourself binge eating one day like I eventually do from time to time, try not to get down on yourself because looking back on months clear of binge eating is a triumph and you should be proud of yourself for what you have achieved. Pick yourself up and get right back on track. It's that simple.
A Kitchen scale is crucial. Here is my favorite scale.
When you eat high carbs you eat low salt. When you eat low carbs you eat more salt. As you progress your way down the carbs each week up the salt a bit more. You will need it. If you don't take in enough you will feel like a zombie. This might lead you to think that you need more carbs which is not the case, you need more sodium. Trust me and do it, you will thank yourself later.
Since it is very detailed what must be done I recommend reading the art and science of low carbohydrate performance. Use the book as a guide and keep it close by to help troubleshoot problems. You may have to go back to it a hundred times until things are running smooth. The book has helpful recipes in the back to give you ideas of what to eat and might come in handy for you if you enjoy cooking. Everybody has a different body so take any health issues that you might have into consideration and figure out the best approach.
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