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What is a low-carb diet? Don’t ask Harvard!
The Diet Doctor ^ | Jan 23, 2020 | Dr. Bret Scher, MD

Posted on 01/26/2020 5:47:10 AM PST by BobL

At Diet Doctor, we are very clear about defining low-carb. We define ketogenic low carb diets as less than 20 grams of net carbs per day, moderate low carb as 20-50 grams per day, and liberal low carb as 50-100 grams per day. Assuming a 2,000 kcal diet, that equates to <4%, <10% and <20% of total calories.

-snip-

The latest nutritional epidemiology study out of Harvard, published this week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, is another misrepresentation of low-carb diets.

-snip-

The lowest of the low-carb eaters still sourced 46% of their calories from carbohydrates. That was the lowest! That is more than twice the amount of our highest level, the liberal low-carb diet, defined as less than 20% carbs. That is really all we need to know about the study. It is painfully clear that any of the conclusions have nothing to do with a low-carb diet.

(Excerpt) Read more at dietdoctor.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: carbohydrates; dsj02; harvard; keto; ketogenicdiet
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To: Yaelle

Excellent post, Yaelle. Good job!

The only thing I might add is to be sure to get enough salt, magnesium and potassium.

Many people do not get enough because our soils are so depleted from factory farming. This will help with leg cramps and any other odd symptoms. Bone broth is wonderful. I try to have a cup a day.


141 posted on 01/26/2020 9:24:33 AM PST by jacquej ("You cannot have a conservative government with a liberal culture." (Mark Steyn))
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To: central_va

“So the impression that keto diet gives to me is “Hey, I can eat 10 Filet Mignons every day, not exercise and lose weight!”

We agree on this.

“Even on KETO the amount of daily calories consumed has to be kept below the daily calories needed to meet resting metabolism. THIS IS FACT.”

No, it is not. Not precisely. Resting metabolism is a variable. And cravings are a variable too. If you’ve never felt like your body was STARVING for some bread, you may be like my sister - who does fine just eating moderately and has no need to consider keto.

If you like counting calories and it works for you, great. Many of us hated counting calories, particularly since many of us remember the feeling of craving some bread. Or a cookie. And getting a headache when we disciplined our bodies.

Resting metabolism is partially a function of hormones like insulin and estrogen (for females, mostly). Insulin spikes when one eats candy bars. Or bread. Or potatoes. It rises some with protein. Doesn’t rise with fat. Control the carbs, increase the fats, and your body will stop producing so much insulin.

There is another problem. Once fat is stored, insulin affects WHERE the body insists the next calories are burned. Too much insulin and your body will ignore the stored fat and may even convert muscle to calories to meet its needs. Those of us who have taught our bodies to adapt to constant, high insulin need to change our hormone profile. Until we do that, cutting calories will NOT burn off the fat.

Been there and done that. 5’8” male, once dieted down to 120 lbs - and still had a thick layer of fat around my waist. SKINNY arms and legs. But the FAT was not going away. I have a much leaner waist now at 150 lbs using a higher fat, IF approach - and no cravings.

You are not totally wrong. And for some people, your approach DOES work. Works fine for my sister, so why would she change? I think diets are individual. I won’t tell others how they NEED to eat. Only tell them how changing what I eat has worked for me. Their choice to follow or not.


142 posted on 01/26/2020 9:25:36 AM PST by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: central_va

“In the end that is what it is all about.”

No. No. NO!

There are good studies of people increasing their calories and losing weight. Deal with it!


143 posted on 01/26/2020 9:26:52 AM PST by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: Mr Rogers

I am not cutting down or belittling the keto diet. I my try it but I will still manage my daily caloric intake. And I refuse to fast, ever. You cannot take your eyes off the speedometer, ever.


144 posted on 01/26/2020 9:29:07 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: Mr Rogers
There are good studies of people increasing their calories and losing weight. Deal with it!

Really? Who is that? If true, which I doubt, then they are increasing their metabolism through exercising or lying.

145 posted on 01/26/2020 9:31:01 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: Mr Rogers
There are good studies of people increasing their calories and losing weight. Deal with it!


146 posted on 01/26/2020 9:32:12 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: central_va

“I am not cutting down or belittling the keto diet. I my try it but I will still manage my daily caloric intake. And I refuse to fast, ever. You cannot take your eyes off the speedometer, ever.”

I think fasting is fine, but I’m not here to tell you or others that you need to do it. My longest is 10 days, with many in the 4 to 9 day range. In fact, that’s the ONLY way that I’ve actually removed significant weight. And my fasting isn’t like a Jesse Jackson hunger strike*, instead, just water, salt, and black coffee.

Yes, some hunger, but mostly at the beginning and when I have to smell food prepared by others (such as at work), but otherwise just low-level stuff.

*years ago, Jesse Jackson went on a long hunger strike for ‘civil rights’. After a few weeks, a reporter asked him why he didn’t appear to lose any weight. He said that he gets ‘help’ during his hunger strike and rotates in others to continue it. Figures.


147 posted on 01/26/2020 9:37:34 AM PST by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart - I just don't tell anyone.)
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To: Mr Rogers

Good point, MrRogers.

Something that we haven’t touched on yet, that really matters when eating a well-formulated ketogenic diet is the loss of hunger. I find, for myself, switching to “fat-burning” instead of carb-burning stops the desire to “snack”, and eliminates the fluctuation in blood sugar levels.

Marathon athletes (runners, cyclers) have found that they do not “hit the wall”, or “bonk” when eating ketogenic diet. I have also read that the Navy has determined that putting Navy seals/deep divers do much better when eating this way. Something to do with their breathing equipment and the bends.

It was a bit over my head, but they have had good results.


148 posted on 01/26/2020 9:37:53 AM PST by jacquej ("You cannot have a conservative government with a liberal culture." (Mark Steyn))
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To: BobL

So if you averaged your daily caloric intake of say over 30 days that included the 10 days of fasting what would it be?


149 posted on 01/26/2020 9:39:03 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: central_va

“So if you averaged your daily caloric intake of say over 30 days that included the 10 days of fasting what would it be?”

Heck if I know! But it would still too much. My problem, of course, is on non-fasting days.


150 posted on 01/26/2020 9:44:28 AM PST by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart - I just don't tell anyone.)
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To: central_va

Going to church. Will try to respond later today. The studies DO exist and they work because it is NOT just calories. But I don’t have time to look them up right now and there is a business meeting after church...

;>(

Love being a Christian. Hate church business meetings!


151 posted on 01/26/2020 9:53:15 AM PST by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: central_va

“I will still manage my daily caloric intake. And I refuse to fast, ever.”

If it works for you, I’m happy for you. Didn’t work for me.


152 posted on 01/26/2020 9:54:51 AM PST by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: F450-V10
Anyone have any ideas for Keto for a 62 year old heavy broad that suffered on it before?

Ease into it. Try cutting x grams of daily carbs per week until you get down to 20 grams/day or less. Make sure you're getting more calories from fats to ease cravings, also try to increase the between-meal times.

153 posted on 01/26/2020 9:56:21 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

I’m for whatever works.

For me it’s keto and/ or paleo. With the caveat of enough occasional cheating to avoid totally depriving myself.

For most of my adult life, simply eating light worked just fine. And then after 60 that no longer worked for me.

Lastly, if you just cut out all sugar, all processed food that comes in cardboard boxes, and seed oils ( canola oil, safflower oil , corn oil ). Switch to avocado oil and olive oil—- if you do all that , and continue eating your bread and pasta and potatoes, then at the very least, you will be doing yourself a world of good. And also lighten up on the alcohol.


154 posted on 01/26/2020 10:14:09 AM PST by Chuzzlewit
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To: central_va

The human body is not a closed thermodynamic system.


155 posted on 01/26/2020 10:38:40 AM PST by ican'tbelieveit
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To: bluetick; BobL

% calories and grams to reach the calories are two different values.

For instance, I want to lose weight, so I am going to decrease my fat intake on keto. But, I still need to reach a calorie value to keep my body from going into preservation mode.

For me, my daily calorie intake is just under 2000 calories, so I will use 2000 to make it easy.

Typically, keto is 70% fat/25% protein/5% carbs. Since I am dropping fat down some, I am 60% fat/35% protein/5% carbs.

Calories: 9 calories per gram fat, 4 calories per gram protein and carbs.

So, 35% of 2000 = 700 calories need to come from protein. 700/4 calories per g = 175g of protein a day.


156 posted on 01/26/2020 10:50:16 AM PST by ican'tbelieveit
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To: jacquej
a well-formulated ketogenic diet is the loss of hunger.

^ THIS. Most of the time I DON'T fell hungry. Allows me (and others doing Keto) to fast easily or eat 16/8, 20/4 or OMAD...36hrs is a little tougher, but I've gone 48.

157 posted on 01/26/2020 12:57:18 PM PST by Drango (1776 = 2020)
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To: xenia
I'm an older woman, too. 20 carbs a day for me on most days, works but on Keto I found that I NEED some yellow veg in addition to the green veg. So I allow myself some sweet potato, winter squash, rutabaga. Even less often..carrots. I went full keto for 3 months, lost a ton of weight and generally felt good. My A1c went from 8 to 6. Insulin needs were less than half of what I'd been taking pre-keto. But I got to where I hated the taste and smell of coconut flour and oil. I've never been a huuge fan of it any way, but geeze Louise the stuff made me nauseous. I hate kale and can stand only a few chopped up leaves in a salad. I've never liked sauerkraut and other pickled veg except cucumbers. I like to make my own brined cukes. The thought of just one more keto pancake was a total turn off and then the supplements. Magnesium was bad...very bad. I tend to be magnesium deficient but once my body was satisfied..I began having accidents in my sleep. Stuff leaked out without my knowing.😱🥵 I thought Id go out of my mind! So i went off, gained a bunch of weight, had to increase my insulin to combat the increasing blood sugar and began to go down hill again. It showed in all my bloodwork. Was I doing something wrong? Yes. I had to back down on the magnesium. It continued to hive me trouble. Now I only take it once or twice a week. I wasn't consuming enough vegetables. I needed the psyllium and didn't know it. So I had to modify things a bit. Now I use sprouted grain bread. I allow myself one sandwich a day with it. I've included one or two meals a week containing one of the yellow vegs. Found some mtc oil that I use instead of coconut. I love my bullet proof coffee! The point is..I think some of us older folks do need a few modifications. Our bodies simply don't work the same as they used to. One of the lasting affects is a clear liver. I used to have a fatty liver and I don't have that any more. But I do have circulatory problems..severe...so I need to do something to cause my body to fix itself. The only thing I can think of is keto. I no longer use coconut oil or flour but I do use the almond flour. I also use xanthan gum to thicken gravies. Chia seeds? I think Id rather grow them! That is whay I had to do for me. What you might need to do cor you could be different. Maybe start at 50 carbs a day and let your body work with that for a while and see how that goes. It's a start. You will just have to play with it for a bit and see how it goes. I also enjoy pudding(custard) so I make that with eggs and cream. You can use that swerve to sweeten it. It tastes good. They make both granulated and confectioners. I found mct oil in the coffee section of walmart up on a top shelf. And I found swerve in the flour section of Dillons. That's where they keep their artificial sweeteners. Anyway..those are some ideas and I hope they stimulate ideas for your own needs (which may be very different from mine.) But DO let go of all white flour containing products, soda oa any kind and increase green or low carb veg.
158 posted on 01/26/2020 1:17:00 PM PST by PrairieLady2
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To: BobL

Bob, please put me on your ping list. I went onto intermittent fasting (16 - 8) two weeks ago and tomorrow plan to add low-carb diet onto the regimen.

By the way, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it has been to remain strictly on the intermittent fasting.


159 posted on 01/26/2020 1:48:16 PM PST by House Atreides (Boycott the NFL 100% — PERMANENTLY)
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To: southern rock

You don’t seem to be doing a very good job of it.


160 posted on 01/26/2020 2:03:03 PM PST by Mr. Lucky
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