OT: Carbs Fuel Body & Brain

[Noctuary]

I did a whole year eating only meat. I didn't lose, but I didn't gain either; never counted calories. It did get my appetite under control, and I was able to eat a strict three meal a day diet. I ate a lot of pork butt steaks.

I still had to cut calories to lose though. This I did by using the Stillman Diet, low carb, low calorie and low fat. I mostly ate boiled eggs. I lost about 13 lbs. in two weeks, and eventually got down to 145 lbs. My bod was ripped, but my face looked like a hatchet. Plus my cholesterol went up to 700.

[49er]

The world is full of people who eat grains, rice, tubers, etc. and are not fat. I did low carb for years, but its really no better than the high carb vegan diet I'm doing now.

Whatever you eat, eat REAL FOOD!

Yup, there are societies that do very well on a high carb diet and are extremely healthy. Obviously, there is not a one size fits all type of solution and everyone has to figure out what works best for him/her. Unfortunately, I am still in the experimental stage but I will get there eventually.

On a lighter note, I totally enjoyed the high carb brownie as part of the cheap package of 4 I got at the dollar store yesterday for breakfast. Gave me the energy I need.

49er

PS - No, the brownie will not be part of my ideal diet.

[SewTired]

First, I am happy to admit I'm wrong. I only talk low carb with those who are interested.

Ok, I am weird maybe that I don't like other stuff in my banana bread. Maybe I'm a purist. But hey, what a great idea for my Twinkie pans. I'm going to try that! Now with summer heat, the bananas sometimes ripen before we eat them, so I just break them into 1-2 inch pieces and freeze in the banana Ziploc. Use for smoothies or banana bread.

OMG only meat for a year! You did read the rest of the Atkins book, didn't you? You aren't supposed to stay on no carbs endlessly. I have diabetes and try to maintain about 100 gms carbs a day during the warm months but don't actually limit vegetables, mostly starchy stuff, flour and sugar. Yes, calories have to be limited as well. I'm a bread addict.

One of these days, I will figure out how to shut auto correct off.

[BlackSpinner]

The world is full of people who eat grains, rice, tubers, etc. and are not fat. I did low carb for years, but its really no better than the high carb vegan diet I'm doing now.

Whatever you eat, eat REAL FOOD!

Yup, there are societies that do very well on a high carb diet and are extremely healthy. Obviously, there is not a one size fits all type of solution and everyone has to figure out what works best for him/her.

Those societies don't sit around all day watching tv or playing computer games. They are working physically and on their feet all day. It is more then just food. When the first books on "paleo" diet came out they were not just about diet but about walking 10 miles a day caring 40 lbs of meat or vegetables or toddler.

[Noctuary]

Those societies don't sit around all day watching tv or playing computer games. They are working physically and on their feet all day. It is more then just food. When the first books on "paleo" diet came out they were not just about diet but about walking 10 miles a day caring 40 lbs of meat or vegetables or toddler.

Not the one's I read. Audette's book just advocated moderate exercise.

[SleepWrangler]

Those societies don't sit around all day watching tv or playing computer games. They are working physically and on their feet all day. It is more then just food. When the first books on "paleo" diet came out they were not just about diet but about walking 10 miles a day caring 40 lbs of meat or vegetables or toddler.

Not the one's I read. Audette's book just advocated moderate exercise.

Walking 10 miles per day carting 40 lbs is moderate on the MET scale. Hopefully Audette also recommends the number of MET minutes too.

Personally I have found that a high carbohydrate Vegan diet requires about two hours moderate exercise per day to maintain my weight and good glucose control. This is consistent with BlackSpinner's recommendation. In addition I supplement with an additional two hours per week of weight training. Keeping body fat at a healthy level is important too.

Whatever diet you choose I think taking frequent measurements are critical. My stats include postprandial glucose measurement, A1C, apoB (LDL-P), triglycerides, % body fat, and overall weight. My doctor insists on adding LDL-C to that list. Most of the "healthy eating" editorials make recommendations based on ridiculous population studies with confounding factors or based on emotional arguments. It's all a bunch of crap.

[Julie]

Noctuary - you seem to miss Black Spinner's point re societies that eat high carbs - e.g. rice, because those societies are generally made up of people who otherwise are way more physically active than we are all day long, and whose 'high carb' meals are probably half the size of what we eat. It's not about Audette's book, but sociology. They need high carb to survive their lifestyles the way athletes load up prior to races.