Getting started on LCHF – Part 1: Clean out day
By far and away the most email, comments and questions we get are around how to start LCHF, what a LCHF whole food eating plan looks like, whether its doable for the average person, and how you know what success looks like. We’ll address this in a series of posts but here are the first three steps……
By Helen Kilding and Grant Schofield
Back in April of last year, Grant talked about what he and his family eat, but let’s go a step further and look at how you might adapt your current menu to achieve a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) lifestyle, that delivers all the nutrients your body needs, in the quantities required. Note I say lifestyle, not diet, as an LCHF way of eating can be as beneficial and enjoyable for people who don’t need to lose weight as for those who do.
First there are two things you need to get over….your fear of fat and your fear of missing carbs. We often ask people, “What is it about a burger that you most enjoy?” Inevitably it’s not the tasteless bread roll that is used to hold it. Top a nice juicy burger, two even, with cheese, avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, wrap it in a big fresh iceberg lettuce leaf and see if you miss the bun. Ditto lasagne….replace the pasta sheets with strips of eggplant and see if you even notice. One proviso, make these switches without increasing how much good fat you eat and you do risk missing the carbs. You’ll possibly lose weight, but because of calorie restriction, not an increase in fat burning, which should be the ultimate goal. And as with all calorie restricted diets, you’ll likely regain the weight, and then some.
When you take out carbohydrate you must increase fat….protein should stay about the same. Far from fat making you fat, as Grant has spoken about at length, dietary fat and body fat are two completely different things. To encourage your body to burn fat, you need to deprive it of alternative fuel sources (i.e. sugar/carbohydrate) so that it’s only option is to use fat. When you eat fat, so long as there is no sugar around, there is little or no impact on the hormone insulin (the fat storage hormone) and also no blocking of the hormone leptin. It is leptin that tells the brain you’re full. You need fat to feel satisfied, plus it tastes great and makes the food you add it to taste great.
So what exactly should you eat? Here are some tips and tricks from someone who is not a great cook, who is preparing meals for a young family and who also enjoys eating out. None of which provides any barrier to an LCHF lifestyle. For a better cook, or someone with more time on their hands, the possibilities are endless.
Step 1: Ditch these carbs
Understand which foods are out for you and then clear them all out of your fridge and cupboards. Having a defined “start day” or “clean out day” is the “cold turkey” approach, which may leave you feeling a bit rubbish for a few days, as your metabolism adjusts the way it fuels your body, but after that you’re away. It’s our preferred method but we’ll explore more gradual methods later.
The following items are out (left), with some replacements on the right:
OUT IN
| Breakfast cereals of all kinds | Nuts and seeds or No grainola |
| Rice | Faux rice |
| Potato and all other starchy vegetables | Faux potato and heaps of non-starchy, low carb veggies |
| Spaghetti and pasta | Courgetti (courgette ribbons) or eggplant slices |
| Sugar in all forms (includes honey, agave) | |
| Bread of all kinds | Big iceberg lettuce leaves or Oopsie rolls |
| Cracker, biscuits, and cakes | Seed crackers |
Step 2: Oil change
Boost your good fat component. We need plenty of fat but not too much of the Omega 6 fats which can cause inflammation. Remove the manufactured seed oils, like sunflower, peanut, safflower and canola, and replace them with:
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Cream
- Cheese
- Avocado
- Coconut milk/cream
- The fat/skin on meat and fish
Step 3: Step away from the packages
Ditch all processed foods – these are likely to be high in sugar, other carbs, and Omega 6 fats. Make sauces and dressings from scratch wherever possible. This doesn’t have to mean hours slaving over a stove but if you really must use a jar of curry sauce (because throwing some spices and a can of coconut milk in a pan is so hard!), at least check that the carbohydrate content is no more than 10 g per 100 g and ideally less than 5 g.
Load up on things that will rot in a few days – in season vegetables, meat, fish, etc and you won’t go far wrong.
Follow these three steps and the end result will be a plate/dish that is nutrient dense and packed with natural flavour. You’ll feel satisfied (full) but not bloated full.
A weekly menu
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Breakfast | Yoghurt, cream, berries, nuts and seeds (YCBNS) | Cheesy scrambled egg | YCBNS | YCBNS | YCBNS |
Whatever |
Bacon, eggs, creamy mushrooms and spinach |
| Lunch | Chicken Super Salad | Seed crackers and platter | Leftover Bolognese with salad and cheese | Left over frittata | Tuna Super Salad | ||
| Dinner | Salmon fillet, pumpkin mash and Asian veggies | Courgetti Bolognese | Asparagus and feta frittata | Burger with all the trimmings | Chicken curry and faux rice | BBQ (meat, fish, salad/veggies) or Roast Dinner (no potato) | |
| Extras | 10 almonds3 squares of dark chocolate | Apple slices and nut butter | 10 almondsGlass of wine | 3 squares of dark chocolate | Apple slices and nut butterGlass of wine | Seed crackers and dips[1] |
Other Breakfast Ideas
- Greek yoghurt with No Grainola
- Eggs and bacon
- Omelette
- Creamy mushrooms on spinach
- Coconut cream smoothie
Super Salads
I wish I could come up with a different word to describe an LCHF salad (Mark Sisson calls them “Big Ass salads”), as to me the word salad says deprivation, sacrifice, boring, unsatisfying. But in the absence of anything better, I’m going to call them Super Salads. Yes they may and should include plenty of greenery, but what else goes in is only limited by your imagination. Favourites of ours are Chicken, Cos lettuce, hard boiled eggs, shaved parmesan, walnuts and plenty of creamy Caesar dressing, or Canned tuna, with green beans, rocket, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, avocado and lots and lots of olive oil.
Extras
An LCHF lifestyle that includes enough fat usually results in little or no hunger between meals. If hunger does strike, first make a mental note to ensure fat and protein intake are both adequate in future. Second, check you’re actually hungry and not just bored or thirsty. And third, have the following on hand: nuts such as almonds, macadamias, walnuts and brazils; an apple and some nut butter; hard boiled eggs; seed crackers.
And at night, especially if weight loss is not such a priority, a few squares of good dark chocolate and/or a glass of wine can be nicely accommodated in an LCHF lifestyle.
The “Whatever” day
The “Whatever” day might be LCHF or it might not. The jury is out on whether having the odd ‘treat’ or a weekly blow out delays adaptation to an LCHF lifestyle. It’s something we plan to study in the near future. You might find that you don’t want or need it, especially as the benefits of LCHF start kicking in, but knowing that it’s there as an option can be just what some people need to make the whole concept more appealing/achievable and enable them to give it a go. If you’re physically active, a re-feed of “better” carbohydrates once a week (perhaps on a heavy training day) may also be beneficial.
So there it is….an LCHF lifestyle is a long-term decision to fuel your body in the way it was designed to be fuelled – to make it a more efficient fat burner rather than a carb dependent sugar burner. In an upcoming post we’ll look at the nutritional content of a menu like the one above and compare it to a typical Standard American Diet (SAD) and a low-fat, whole grains one. In the meantime, all we can say is give it a try. Never has the old adage “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it” been so appropriate.
Summary of Foods to eat:[2]
- Meat – grass fed (which is fortunately most meat in New Zealand)
- Fish – fresh and canned
- Vegetables – especially those grown over ground (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, eggplant, cucumber, lettuce, capsicum, etc)
- Coconut oil and coconut cream
- Butter
- Eggs
- Cream, sour cream and full fat Greek yoghurt
- Olive oil
- Cheese
- Nuts and seeds – especially almonds, walnuts, macadamia and brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and linseed
- Seasonal fruit in moderation
Summary of Foods to avoid:
- Bread, pasta, cereals
- Pastries, cakes, biscuits and desserts
- Sugar in all its forms – plain sugar, castor sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, honey
- Jam and other preserves
- Sweetened yoghurt
- Lollies and chocolate
- Beans and legumes
- Dried fruit
- Fruit juice
- Beer, cider and liqueurs
[1] Make your own guacamole, pesto, salsa or sour cream dips or choose ones with as few ingredients as possible and less than 5 g of carbohydrate per 100 g
[2] For certain individuals, some of these foods may not be advisable. This list is a starting point which is proving effective for a large proportion of people. By experimenting, you can find the carbohydrate intake that works for you – it might be <50g a day, 50-100g or up to 150g – and the foods that your body tolerates well and not so well.
The Science of Human Potential 
Reblogged this on Just ME in T's Health Stuff and commented:
IMPORTANT: When you take out carbohydrate you must increase fat….protein should stay about the same.
I am a Type 2 Diabetic living the LCHF lifestyle – happily 🙂
What I have found intriguing is protein consumption and my fasting BGL’s (am)
This happened last (cold weather) year also. But now that the weather has changed and I have begun making stocks, soups and stews (minus high carb veggies) my fasting BGL’s drop dramatically. I have postulated that it maybe because we are eating *perhaps* less protein per serve in the soups/stews, than we would normally serve on a dinner plate. Nothing much else has changed. What are your thoughts on this please?
Cool stuff.
I’ve got an update to the “Oopsie Roll” thing, it actually works really well as a pizza base, wrap, batter, and pancake mix.
http://highsteaks.com/zero-carb-pizza-base-bread-batter-pancake/
Oh I’ll definitely give that a try!
My husband and I have been following the LCHF lifestyle since your article on Stuff back in November. We have had some positive results – my husband has lost 7 kgs and the pain of arthritis has diminished which is fantastic, however, I am still struggling to lose weight. I have stuck to the LCHF way and have tried reducing amounts of cream in coffee, sticking to the lowest of the low carb veges, having bacon every second day instead of everyday etc and I still don’t seem to be winning. I also exercise regularly. Could it be that I taking anti depressants, anti inflammatory’s and panadol on a daily basis that I find this process more difficult????? I would love some ideas please as I love the LCHF way but still desperately want to lose some weight to help with arthritic symptoms etc. : )
Yes a very common question- that husband does well and wife doesn’t so much. I think you are doing all the right things but what is important is your current weight – how far that is over an ideal weight and how long you have been overweight if indeed you are. My observation is that many women are actually at a reason “homeostatic” weight and just need to acknowledge it. Other factors like being overweight for decades can undermine thew eight loss.
Have you considered trying acompresed eating window for a few eels? e.g., just eat betwe say midday and 7 PM? That may help
Other tips:
1) Cut out dairy (except cheese and butter). Contains quite a bit of carbs.
2) Skip the whatever day and restrict your diet to contain NO rubbish. At least until first year is done and you understand your body a little better. I believe the whatever day will knock you out from a possible ketosis especially if it contains “food types” such as candy, cakes, biscuits, pizza, hamburgers etc.
3) Exercise. Take walks, runs, bike rides, swim in the ocean etc.
In principle I suggest you experiment with yourself with a strict LCHF diet for some time.
Note: a lot of women writing on forums in Sweden seem to have the same problem, sometimes they have been dieting (wrongly) several times in the past and they mention that it takes time for the body to find out that you are not starving it. Patience (over a year or a few) is therefor important.
Good luck.
Patience certainly seems to be important Glen, which can be frustrating for those most keen to see change. And experimentation is certainly a sensible approach – cutting out dairy may be beneficial for some, but totally unnecessary for others. Ditto the cold turkey approach versus a more graduated process. Yes, a whatever day where the ‘treat’ is some rice, oats or potato would be preferable to a Big Mac and Fries or a box of donuts, but if a ‘whatever’ day/meal helps more people make the right choices 80% of the time, rather than not at all, that has got to be a good thing. In this post we’re talking about a low carb lifestyle not a ketogenic one but either way, totally agree, no rubbish and sensible exercise is the way to go.
Thyroid problem? I’ve read on a thread elsewhere a lady having the exact same problem and it turned out she had an under active thyroid. Might be worth checking.
I’ve got some recipes and ideas on my blog. I’ve been living this lifestyle since Oct 2011 so people are welcome to start reading from there if they want to see how my life has changed.
Thanks Lynda. I’ll definitely check it out.
Just click my gravitar for the link 😉
While you are ditching things, why not ditch one of your daily meals? I have been LCHF for over 1 year and I noted that I was less & less hungry. I wake at 5 AM, have a coffee with lactose-free whipping cream & coconut oil. I workout, cook my lunch and go to work. My lunch is bacon and eggs. The coffee, the workout & the cooking all seem to suppress my hunger. So I have brekkie for lunch and late evening I have supper. I think 3 square meals per day now would be too much for me to handle comfortably. We exercise to train ourselves to endure more physical effort – LCHF can help train us to endure a little more daily hunger. I think it is good for us – it seems to sharpen my mind! Naturally, there is no guarantee that it will work for anyone else.
Definitely something to experiment with once fat adaptation has kicked in, which we will talk about in a future post.
Oh thank heavens such a plain, simple easy to read email, hooray! Keep up the great work, I love it
Thanks Glenda
Does that include leaving out chickpeas
Check out Grants’s post about beans last year https://profgrant.com/2013/04/13/why-beans-could-make-you-fat-and-cheese-wont/ If you’re insulin resistant, chickpeas and other beans and legumes would be best replaced with lower carbohydrate foods, but for metabolically healthy individuals, and especially vegetarians, moderate intake could be accommodated.
Chickpeas quite high in carbs
Thanks professor still getting to grips with diet.
Do you recommend this eating plan for pregnant women?
My answer to that is No. Not because I think that following a LCHF lifestyle in pregnancy is dangerous, but because I can’t provide you with evidence to the contrary. What I will say is that if I got pregnant tomorrow I would have no qualms about continuing with a LCHF lifestyle, unless I saw any signs that either I or the baby were suffering. Beginning LCHF involves a period of adjustment where the body relearns how to use fat instead of sugar for fuel – we don’t know how this may affect a growing embryo. If it was me, I would either start LCHF before getting pregnant, or wait until after. I adopted LCHF while breastfeeding my son without issue.
The most important thing throughout both periods is to ensure adequate energy intake, from the best sources possible, to meet the nutritional demands of both mother and child.
I think we should think about indigenous societies and see Weston A Price work for this. Pre-pregnant and pregnant women usually receive special nutrition strategies which focus on nutrient density, including things like fish and eggs in my part of the world. I think that a focus on nutrient density is wise but carbs may or may not be important. We need more work. Pregnancy induces insulin resistance probably you develop gestational diabetes then its a natural process that might not need tampering with as long as the foods are whole food.
Diet Doc’s wife (I believe) lives this was … including thru her pregnancy…….. http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf ask him………..
My wife was diagnosed with gestational diabetes early in her second pregnancy, and her midwife and nutritionist advised adopting an LCHF diet to manage it and facilitate her goal of a VBAC. She Succeeded! As always, consult a medical professional before making diet changes during pregnancy. For my wife, adopting LCHF meant she gained no weight during pregnancy, which her providers determined was apporporiate for her given her starting weight. Soon after the baby was born, she dropped 20 pounds of baby weight.
When my weight loss stalled, I logged everything in MyFitnessPal to see where my carbs were coming from. The stricter I become, the easier it is and most days I don’t have lunch, or maybe an avocado or creamy coffee to see me through to dinner. Cut back on large quantities of nuts, milk, yogurt as the carbs soon add up. Snack on coconut cream, or dare I say, slices of butter. Now my weight loss averages half a kilo a fortnight.
Just decided to try the diet if it will work for me as I cant loos that last 3 kg for a long time already.
After reading almost anything on the blog I still have a few quetions. I would appretiate if you could answer it
1. I dont feel hungry for a long time. And if I have only 2 or 3 meals throughout the day, is it ok? Not going to damage any other organs?
2. you said to exclude beans from the diet. Does it include green beans as well?
Also what about soy beans and soy souse, miso soup, tofu and Japanese kitchen in general as they use a lots of soy
3. What is the max amount of fat I can eat per meal/day
4. We like to have a few glasses of wine sometimes. If we not limit it to 1 glass couple of times a week will the diet going to work or it better to stay on MCLF diet?
Thanks
Great that you’ve decided to give it a try and good idea too to make sure you have answers to all your questions first.
Not feeling hungry for long periods and only needing 2-3 meals a day is a good thing and we are not aware of any risk to organs of doing this.
Green beans are the better of the legumes and are more pod than bean. Most green veggies are generally good for us.
Tofu is generally very low carb but it is an unfermented soy product. Soy sauce, tempeh, miso etc are fermented soy products which is preferable for health. Check the labels on all products though to avoid any that have had sugar added.
Fat fills you up (when it’s not consumed as part of a processed carbohydrate-rich food) so you will find that good fat is hard to overeat. Achieving more than 75% of your energy from fat is a good target. An app like easydietdiary can help you track this until you get to learn what the food you eat contains.
We can’t say consuming more than a glass or two of wine will or won’t stop an LCHF diet working. Everyone is different. LCHF is low carb not no carb though so if you choose to have some of your carbohydrate intake for the day to come from the sugar in wine, then try it and see what happens. We wouldn’t recommend doing this everyday though, not because of the sugar content but because of the other effects of alcohol on the body. Start by taking your carbohydrate intake down to less than 100g per day and see what happens. For some, intake may need to be less than 50g to really see the benefits. Remember to replace most of the carbohydrate with fat, not protein.
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Hey Alex. Really good points made on your post. We’re going to do some research comparing a progressive introduction versus a strict initial period. My thoughts are that if someone is up for it, that they should go all out on it for 4-6 weeks, but not beat themselves up if they have the odd digression. However, if there’s no way someone will even try it without there being something like a whatever day, I think they should do it that way as it’s got to be better than a Standard American Diet. Hopefully they’ll quickly see how much better they feel and not need or want the whatever days. I think I should look at our wording though to make sure we give the best message 🙂
Can a person with Osteoporosis get sufficient Calcium on a LCHF diet as dairy is not being highly recommended? Yoghurt and cheese do provide some of the RDI for calcium but I find milk is a convenient source of calcium, however milk is high in carbs?
Although milk, cheese etc are good sources of calcium, green leafy vegetables, brocolli, kale, canned salmon, sardines are arguably even better. You might find this article of interest too https://whole9life.com/2012/02/what-about-calcium/
Humans got enough calcium for 1000s of generations without dairy – eat the bone – bone broth etc?
Too Right Grant….. so many people are unaware of the necessity of Vitamin K (K2 in particular) which does the miraculous job of putting the calcium into the bone where it belongs…. would highly recommend people do their research on this….
Reblogged this on Joyful Living and commented:
Reblogging because this is vital information!
read this on first bro before the others
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I dont have a gallbladder. Any ideas on whether this amount of fat will affect me or give me pain, which I still get from time to time.
You should be fine on fat even with no gall bladder
I have been on the LCHF eating plan for just under 3 months now and not losing any weight. I’m sooo frustrated. Granted I’ve been overweight for most of my life, since I was a child. I lost about 20 kgs over a couple of years, but then started suffering from IBS and GERD. This caused me to become terribly depressed and I found it very difficult to exercise and stay on a proper eating plan. Started comfort eating big time, hence a weight gain of 15kgs. I’m still having IBS and GERD flare ups once a week (it’s either one or the other). I’ve cut out most dairy (only have butter and cream) and hardly have any carbs. Could it be that my body is still adapting. In the past I’ve always eaten healthy food ie vegetables fruit etc., but also loads of carbs and sweet things. I need to lose about 20kgs. HELP!
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Reblogged this on FitToServe and commented:
Start your week well, reap the rewards by this time next week!
I’m still confuse. On lchf, will the need for calories expensed > calories consume matter? I get it that too much carbs, sugar and protein is bad as its converted to glucose and insulin but what about too much fat? What will the body do with the extra fat consumed that is not used?
Hi jill,
I’ve been on a LCHF for 15 months and I can tell you you don’t have to worry about calories. Read this and this and this).
This is not a theory: my body fat percentage is 8-9% eating a lchf diet. I was obese before that.
how did you do that? in my first week of lchf my body fat % shot up from 26 to 38. Another two weeks later and i’ve only lost 1% of that gain and lost 1 kg. my husband has lost 3 kg’s but gained 1% body fat. getting worried.
Hi Kim
38 is a typo, right?
I tell my experience here. And here I posted a couple of pictures.
Your results are possible but are weird. Carbohydrate restriction has consistently shown that you lose more body fat than with other diets, calorie for calorie. And that is also my own experience.
Hi Kim,
38 is a typo, right?
I tell my experience here. And here I posted a couple of pictures.
Your results are possible but are weird. Carbohydrate restriction has consistently shown that you lose more body fat than with other diets, calorie for calorie. And that is also my own experience.
Hi Jill. It’s quite hard to overeat fat when carbs are low, as it is so satisfying, but if you are not seeing your weight reduce and you have weight to lose, reducing your fat intake may help. For some people it takes a while for their appetite control mechanism to start working as it should. In time, once the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness are back in kilter, it becomes very hard to overeat and the body will get the nutrition it requires to achieve or maintain a healthy weight without intentional calorie restriction
I just cannot go completely sugar-free. Can Splenda or Natvia still be used in salad dressings and for coffee without too much damage? (I’m guessing pumpkin and sweet potato are a no-no for the carbohydrate density.)
Artificial sweeteners can prolong sugar/sweet cravings for some people so if this is you, avoiding may be hard but worth it in the long run. Depending on how insulin resistant you are, you may be able to include small amounts of pumpkin, sweet potato etc without issue. These have the benefit of containing other beneficial nutrients that other carb-rich food choices may not
My husband is a type one diabetic, 61 years old and had it since he was 14. He has good control and I am concerned that if I give this a go I will end up cooking two lots of meals. Will this just mean he will end up lowering his insulin?
Less insulin and even better control is the usual result. You can both do well on this. Typical; “good control” defined by most diabetes specialists os still too high
I started this diet about three weeks ago and I have to say I’m loving the results! Not just weight wise, but mainly in the fact that I feel full. I eat so much less during the day that I was actually worried I wasn’t doing it right at first, but I couldn’t eat more ben if I wanted to. All signs of those stabbing pains of hunger were gone in a few days. I never realized how much my food intake revolved around that!
The only issue I’m having is at work and I was wondering if you could offer some advice. My usual get-me-going drink used to be any assortment of energy drinks. I used to be up to two, maybe three a day. I’ve since cut back to one red hull total zero a day. I was wondering how total zeros play into he diet since they hav no sugars? And if not allowed, what are some drink alternatives? I’ve heard tea and coffee are choices, but I’m not overly to d of tea and despise coffee and often find myself craving carbonation. Are there any solutions for this?
Also I’m usually stuck at work for six hours before I get to go to lunch. Are there any easy snack foods I could keep in my pocket to sate my hunger until I get to eat?
And one more. How does beef jerky play in? I’ve been buying these little meat and cheese packages at break that say they have no sugar, but I’m not sure if they’re allowed still.
Thanks for the help!
~Luci
Add some nuts, almonds are the easiest to get
For fizzy drinks I use a Sodastream to make plain fizzed water, and there are some you can now buy in cafes, supermarkets and shops.
Can I ask what is the YCBNS on the breakfast days?
Hi there Proffesor Grant, my name is Charlie I am very new to this and studying my cert 3 in fitness, so I have a few questions, will you be making up a weekly, fortnightly or monthly meal plan, I really need some inspiration, I am sooooo bored with what I have been eating. How much and how vigorous should our exercise be, I have put on 2 kg since I started two months ago so I am clearly doing something wrong, I have a medium metabolism, I’m thinking my protein sizes are wrong so I will rectify that as of this evening, any advice you provide would be very welcome.
Our book what the fat? coming very soon with all of that!
Hi Charlie, i have a similar story to yours, however my increase of weight spanned 1 year.
Just after Christmas I knew I had to get serious, as i was about to hit triple figures, and I wasn’t happy. I sat down one afternoon and got “Googling”. The results – It was suggested that I use a Keto Calculator, so I found one that suited. This helped me work out how many calories I should be eating per day. I then joined My Fitness Pal and entered my details – I have been tracking (its really easy) what I eat ever since and have lost 8 Kilos since Christmas (I had one not so good week where I put on nearly a kilo, but have lost that again). There has been no cost to use any of the above programs. I eat very little but because of the high fat content I never feel hungry : )
Looking forward to seeing your book Prof. Grant, as it was your article on Stuff in November 2013, that got me working onto this LCHF lifestyle.
All the best Charlie
Thanks thats great keep up the great work!!!
Grant
Ive got the 32k Routeburn run in 6 weeks and worried how I’m going to get enough glycogen in on my big training runs and on the day. Over 5 hours in a carb world I would budget for 25g of carbs per hour in drinks or gels
How do I get ketosis kicking in to avoid bonking?
Thanks
John
Keep in mind that the rate of mortality has become higher ever since we stopped consuming high fat animal products. Why? The stress hormones released into the animal’s body as they are killed are released into the muscles in which we later consume. Before humans easily had access to animal flesh, they had to hunt. Hunting does not have the same effect on the animal’s body because it doesn’t know it’s going to be killed. Steroids and growth hormones are also plenty when you’re consuming animal products.
I am just today starting my journey with LCHF, I have high cholesterol and have been working on getting my total and bad cholesterol down. How does this diet affect cholesterol? I need to lose 60 pounds.
Can I drink castor oil for constipation while on the banting diet
Don’t know. I’d want to make sure protein isn’t too high first
Hi, for many years I have followed the low carb diet with much success. For the past 2 years I’ve started doing marathons and triathlons so I started adding more carbs back to diet for energy. last year lost done to 101lbs and was considered skinny fat and became very week and had to back off of my training. This year I have put on 9lbs. I met with a nutrionalist and was told my body fat was a little high for my size and I was still considered skinny fat. She recommended going back to the LCHF. So 4 days ago I did so. I still run and bike a considerable amount, I’m confused about how to fuel during these activities. Usually I would use gels and waffle stingers with sugar and carbs. Should I still do or do you have any suggestions.
Did you ever get an answer to this question? I too do marathons and want to know what I can fuel my runs with. Thanks. Shirley
Can you eat lemons and drink herbal tea on LCHF?
I can’t really find enough information on what I can and can’t eat.
Thanks 🙂
Yes go for it
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As soon as you said no breads (pastries, cakes, etc,), pastas, beans, and the whole bit about missing the bun on a burger,,,I LOST INTEREST!!! I absolutely WILL NOT eat a burger without a bun. Breads and pastas DO have a rich, mouth watering flavor, at least to me they do. To tell me I can’t have these food is PURE TORTURE!!! I am one of those people who do not even drink anything, including water, with my meals. I wait till after I have finished my meal, because if I do have to drink something, my foods taste different than before I took that drink. I can’t eat a lot of salads because they cause my stomach to cramp up and I end up rushing to the bathroom within an hour. I’m already restricted by not being allowed to eat nuts, corn, and a few of my other favorites due to an intestinal issue. Why can’t someone come up with a sensible diet that actually lets you eat real food and not feel like a rabbit!!!
Hmmmm….hard to follow this on
try FODMAPS, google it. this may be the issue?
Haha, this has to be a joke right?
Seems a bit whiny and exaggerated. There are Oopsies for burger buns, Zoodles and soy noodles for pasta substitutes, Seems as if you are carb addicted. Salads cramp you up? To get over the addition and to get past the cramping you need to maintain the diet faithfully for 2-7 weeks. Your body WILL Adjust. How do I know? Because you are human and we all work similarly. Do rabbits eat slabs of bacon, roasted chicken and mounds of cottage cheese? No, they don’t, so don’t say that the Ketogenic Diet is for rabbits.
wish i could agree on some of the items listed, but if you are using LCHF to lose weight, I’d stay far FAR away from avocado fruit and berries. avocado’s have 17g of carbs per fruit, and raspberries have 12g of carbs per cup. if you think you can eat a fraction of each, you’re just kidding yourself. yeah, sure each has fiber that you can deduct to get net carbs, but i’m not willing to take that risk, especially if your body decides to quickly absorb the sugars first and let the fiber slowly go through your digestive system.
also, meat makers are putting sugar into raw meat. i was going to buy a Cooks smoked whole ham shank portion and some Premio brand raw italian sausage only to find 3g of high fructose corn syrup per serving for both. so eggs, whole chicken, beef, pork, and fish/tuna with kale or spinach is all you should be eating if you really want to lose the weight. just be careful when you buy the meat. some raw meat is now tainted with sugar!
Its a carb restricted not a zero carb diet, we have people eating all the foods you have issues with and doing well….
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Hi
I have been on LCHF for 26 days, I am enjoying my food and as promised hunger is not an issue. I have had a couple of days of bad breath and some palpitations but a check on my fluids and a multi vit appears to have sorted that out. I experienced a few days of headaches and some tiredness when I first came off the sugar but that too has passed. All in all I feel good and in control of my eating without feeling deprived. This would be enough if I was already at a healthy weight but unfortunately at 5ft 3 and 201 lbs I have some weight to shift. My exercise routine has remained the same, I swim and do a spin class. I also do some trail mounting biking probably 15 miles twice a month. Over the last 26 days weight initially dropped (fluid with the amount I was peeing) and has now risen to a pound above my starting weight. This I could probably be relaxed over if my waist hadn’t increased by 1 inch in the same period. I can’t afford to gain weight.
I am keeping my carbs sub 50 grams a day, sometimes my protein goes over 100 grams but I average around 90-95 grams and my fats are making up the greatest percentage of my food intake sitting at 60-65% of my total intake.
I don’t want to bail, I enjoy the food and have no desire to return to deprivation diets with sugar highs and low, but I need to know if this gain in size and weight continues for some people?
I didn’t get a chance to read through all of the comments, but would someone mind letting me know what “YCBNS” means? I couldn’t find where it explained the acronym in the article. Thanks so much!
Yoghurt, cream, berries, nuts and seeds 🙂
Thanks so much!
Hello. This is a very good learning. I am a diabetes 2, but have eaten Lchf for 3 years. I have lost 15 Kilo and did stop With medicin after a few weeks.
I may add that I changed eating habits so I only eat three meals a day.I t offers the possibility of blood glucose levels to decrease to an acceptable level before the next meal. At times combined with only two meals for dome days. To allow the internal organs restoring peace and to remove accumulated fat.
Hunger avoided by increasing fat intake. It was a new experience after removing more and more fat from food over the last 40 years!
It must be said that one should be disciplined and careful as you eat too large potions food, even if carbs are very low in my experience.
Reblogged this on Tom Bradshaw Fitness.
It’s completely ridiculous to advise ‘out’ to rice, potato, pasta and bread..how about a reality check..these foods prepared with wholesome ingredients (preferably by the consumer} are a delicious component of a healthy satisfying diet. Anyone who consumes too much of anything is most likely going to have adverse effects. LCHF is another fad..impossible for most to maintain in our society and probably popular with the Yo-Yo dieting crowd. How about a balanced diet with recommended calories and nutrition combined with daily exercise?
Thats not what the clinical trials and the science says. If you are insulin resistant then you will need to limit your carbs.
I didn’t see where the chart said insulin resistant people. I was under the impression we were talking about people without a specific health related dietary restriction. How about a link to the ‘clinical trials’ and ‘science’ that say ‘out’ to pasta, bread, rice and potatoes for a typical person; whole grains are awesome carbs. As I said, moderation is the key. Here is a great place to start https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthy_diet with plenty of great links contained within the article.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors
“A total of 23 reports, corresponding to 17 clinical investigations,
were identified as meeting the pre-specified criteria
[…]
Meta-analysis carried out on data obtained in 1,141 obese patients, showed the low-carbohydrate diet to be associated with significant decreases in body weight, body mass index, abdominal circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, glycated haemoglobin, plasma insulin and plasma C-reactive protein, as well as an
increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.”
Hi I am new here and haven’t started the diet yet. Your book is not in the U.S.? Can I still get one? I have a KOBO ereader and not a Kindle. Is it available for other readers other than kindle? Where can I go to see what carbs are in what foods? For instance you didn’t list pistachio’s as a nut to eat but I eat them more often than any other. Sorry lots of questions here…. I really want to try LCHF diet as some folks on Diabetic Connect are using it and having great results. Oh sorry, I am Type 2 diabetic on insulin…. My name is pronounced Key+ears+ten Kirsten
In the YBCNS what kind of cream?
Good low carb food Okay, so just why is everyone talking about some New Zealand mussel? The well-deserved hype around this shellfish is the fact that it carries colossally great amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. Zinc, iron, calcium, protein, manganese, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B12 and omega 3 fatty acids all occur natural in this particular mussel. Almost sounds like Medicine.
I’ve been a Dr Pepper addict for years, drinking as much as 2 liters per day. I’ve quit cold turkey, but I’m having a real hard time finding something I can drink that will cut the sore throat and bad metallic taste in my mouth that I’ve lived with for years (and was the reason I started drinking soda). I can’t stand coffee, tea is only okay if it’s sweet, I don’t like flavored waters and they don’t help with the above problems. I gave up most other carbs a long time ago due to a gluten intolerance, but my weight stays the same (way too high) because of the soda. Anyone have a suggestion for replacing the soda?
For what it is worth – I am not a scientist – but I too drank carbonated beverages & beer for the effect they had on my throat. I now use a very small amount of juice concentrate like 1 tbsp. [15 ml] of grape juice with a full can of club soda [355 ml]
Try Pineapple. Head and Neck Cancer patients suffer altered taste after treatment. Pineapple often helps.
This is really fascinating stuff.
Is there a place for milk (enough for a couple of coffees/day) and wholegrain rolled oats in LCHF?
Cheers,
Mike
Sure have your milk – it has some carbs but I use it with my doffee
Why stick to milk? On LCHF you can replace it with butter and heavy cream. 2 tablespoons of Kerrygold butter, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, 16 oz coffee and a stick blender yield the most satisfying latte you’lol ever have in your life, and you’ feel so full you won’t need breakfast.
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Is LCHF safe for someone with heart disease? My husband has had heart bypass surgery and a massive heart attack. He has diabetes and high blood pressure as well. Our hope is that this diet will be safe for him and that following it will help him be able to come off some of his meds, lose weight, and become healthier.