Thanks. I appreciate the info. It is hard, though, when they keep coming up with rat studies that seem to indicate that high fat diets contribute to diabetes. Of course, they don’t always mentio the amount of carbs in the study. One group tells diabetics to eat whole grains and lots of fruit and veggies, and the other says no to grains and most fruit. The worst thing of all is that after about a year, almost all dieters have given up on their diets and start regaining the weight they lost.
I’m not interested in bypass surgery, either. I know of too many people who almost died from it and experience many complications afterwards. Some folks regain all the weight they lost after surgery eventually.
I’ve been eating a high fat, very low simple-carbohydrate diet for months. Something along this line:
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
I eat all that I want any time that I want. This isn’t a calorie restriction diet. Although I haven’t bothered to measure it my calorie intake has to be much higher than what it used to be. I eat all the fats, protein, fresh fruit, and fresh non-starchy vegetables that I want. I just avoid as many sugars and starches as possible. The only bread I use is sprouted-grain, which is kind of dry so I’m not inclined to eat too much of it.
I have a physical job and this diet keeps my energy level high. I don’t get hungry. My weight is stable, waistline is smaller, clothes fit better. Eating simple carbs makes me fat, and eating fats seems to make me lean. Go figure.
I avoid low fat foods. For a snack I’ll take plain, whole milk yogurt and mix in some half and half or whipping cream to boost the fat content. Chop up an apple and eat it with some high-fat cheese. I’m sure the low-fat crowd would faint in horror, convinced that this would kill them as fast as strychnine.
The last time I had blood work done everything was great. Cholesterol was on the high side, but that is mostly because my good cholesterol is very high.
I love to eat (think volume!) but low-carb and low-fat/low cal left me craving more food and I was always hungry. I switched it up: now I stuff my face with veggies and a bit of meat, a few fruits (low glycemic index ones), some nuts and a bit of dairy. The cravings stopped. Cold. No processed junk either. I can eat all I want when I want. It just needs to be vegetables. I also avoid soda (diet or otherwise) and I always have meals planned and available so I’m not stuck with bad choices.
All the different diets and scientific findings can be frustrating and so confusing. Just go with simple common sense. Veggies are low cal, contain healthy carbs, and there has never been a doubt that they are good for you. Especially green cruciferous veggies. Most fruit is questionable because it’s bred to be super sweet...go with berries and other low glycemic index choices. Have one or two a day. Meat? Stick with chicken, turkey and seafood but if you want a steak, go for it. Just make veggies the bulk of your food for the day. Avoid processed junk all together and try to eat whole foods. Ignore all the fads.
The critical item in Atkins is to eat no more than 20 grams of carb. You can google this for vegetables, and most packaged stuff has a carb count listed on it. Also take some good well balanced vitamins along with the diet.
I had a 60 year old friend diagnosed with diabetes and they wanted him to go on medication. He called me and I recommended a diet with several salads a day, and lean fish, fowl and meat, oil and vineger dressing, and after a few weeks a small piece of fruit or small potato per day. He did that, lost about 30 lbs (he was a big man) and the doctor said he didn’t need to go on medication.
You might also want to look into fasting a few days a month, but research this and talk with your doctor.
There have been studies using whole grains, fruits and vegetables that also show weight loss, but I think the very low carb diets work the fastest. It takes about 48 hours for the ketogenic effect to kick in and then you feel very little in the way of hunger as your body starts to metabolize the fat for energy. Just remember the 8 glasses of water a day to flush the system.