Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Super_sally on March 26, 2012 at 12:15am

Hi Tim,

I found that eating low carb ala Bernstein allows me to easily lose weight - this is not generally easy for me at all (particularly if you add hypothyroid to the mix).... when my carbs go up the weight loss stops. For me there is a very fine line on how many carbs I can eat between losing / maintaining/ and gaining.

However, on low carb I find that I really can eat fat and protein and it is satisfying.

I didn't get to explore that fully as I got pregnant. I did however eat mostly low carb the whole pregnancy (generally < 60 - 80 g/day) and only gained 6 kg the whole time up until the last week when I gained an extra 2 kg of swelling.

I am looking forward to exploring how low carb works for me with breastfeeding, and also with getting back into triathlon / more active lifestyle over the next few months.

I do know that I look and feel far better now than I did when I was following a more traditional higher carb low fat diet.

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Permalink Reply by timmy on March 26, 2012 at 4:41am

im very interested to see how things progress, particularly with triathlons. I dont know anyone who does these with such low carbs of 60-80. Keep in touch with it all :)

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on March 26, 2012 at 1:33am

When I first started, I lost too much weight that I couldn't afford to lose. I had to increase protein to gain & maintain weight. So, I'd say that not eating excess protein is a part of the weight loss equation. Dr. Bernstein's (& Atkins)recommendation is moderate protein. Since Dr. Bernstein also stresses portion control, both carbs & protein, it's also not super high calorie.

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Permalink Reply by timmy on March 26, 2012 at 4:42am

ahhh, i did not know this. So bernstein says to use portion control. Well that makes a bit more sense

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Permalink Reply by Jeannie Wagner on March 26, 2012 at 8:55am

I don't think Dr Bernstein believes in unlimited calories. He actually says he prefers you not to snack between meals. If you look at his suggested menus the portions are normal, not unlimited. A lot of people use Dr Bernstein as a framework and add in other low carb diets. I count carbs and am pretty close to Dr B's, but I find I need to snack for better bg control. He does believe in using medications and insulins to achieve that optimal 83 bg. I would rather use less medication so my average is closer to 100 than his 83. I doubt I could get to 83 without using insulin. I have been at my optimum weight for 2 years. The only time I lost too much weight was when I was on a Statin drug. I lost way too much muscle. Going off the statin let me gain back those 10 pounds of muscle. Dr B also believes in a ton of weight bearing exercise to keep muscle tone.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Riley on March 31, 2012 at 8:13am

FYI: Jonas Colting is a famous triathlete from Sweden who follows LCHF
http://colting.se/
You will find a similar POV I'm sure coming from the Palo ideologue Mark Sisson http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
a world champion triathlete.
LCHF magazine in English one off edition
http://eatlikeaswede.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/swedish-lchf-magazine...

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Permalink Reply by drsoosie on March 31, 2012 at 9:08am

I do low carb but I do watch the fats. I found that the higher fat intake was leading to some weight gain. My meals are mostly made up of veggies and protein and I do keep an eye on calories. I am currently training for a half marathon which I will run next week. So as far as impact on that, the low carb thing has been working fine. I really do it for one reason only...blood glucose predictability and decreased insulin amounts. The less bolus insulin I take, the less chance for the roller coaster ups and downs and the better I feel.

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Permalink Reply by Cosumne Jan on March 31, 2012 at 12:17pm

I've been on low carb since 2007 and doing well with BS, but started gaining weight last fall. I did low carb plus low calorie (900 a day) between Thanksgiving and New Years. Did not lose a single stinking ounce. TuD people said eat more fat. Well yuck, I don't like fat. But I did it, and stopped paying attention to calories (though habit does keep me from excess) and have lost 10 of those pounds. So, for me it works. I think Gary Taubes is more responsible for the "calories don't count on low carb" theory. Bernstein recommends small portions for good BS control.

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Permalink Reply by drsoosie on March 31, 2012 at 6:18pm

Interesting! Could you share the kinds of fat you incorporated into your diet? Maybe my recent few pound weight gain was due to not getting enough fat.

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Permalink Reply by timmy on March 31, 2012 at 7:27pm

i would say that may be the case in Jans case. 900cals is very low. You body needs energy to burn fat. A double edged sword, but if you dont get anough calories to fuel the fire, it can be hard going.

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Permalink Reply by Cosumne Jan on April 1, 2012 at 9:39am

Full fat Greek yogurt with sugarfree whipped cream on top. Bacon. More bacon. Butter on everything or just eat a cube of it, it makes my vegetables slimy. Nuts, but not peanuts except for peanut butter on celery. Fatty cuts of meat. I make my low carb flaxseed muffin with two teaspoons of oil and 2 eggs (takes 90 seconds in the microwave) and then put lots of butter or cream cheese on it. Eggs (I get 10 a day from my hens). More bacon. I add feta cheese, bacon and hard boiled eggs to my salads. And when I can't seem to make myself EAT any more fat, I take capsules: salmon oil, flaxseed oil, etc. (My cholesterol is 123, with all the pieces in the right place.)

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Permalink Reply by Cosumne Jan on April 1, 2012 at 10:07am

Avocadoes! How could I forget that? I'm trying some of the really great low carb recipes online (corned beef hash made with cauliflower instead of potatoes is a recent good one). I'm learning to buy the cheaper cuts of meat that aren't so lean, chicken thighs instead of breast, higher fat hamburger. I really have no problem cutting out the carb, though I'll go a little nuts on fresh veggies (broccoli, green beans, spinach...yum). If I could afford good salmon every day, I'd eat it.

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