Life After Carbs

A real person eating (mostly) real food

Obesity is about what we eat

By

I was obese for several years before I began eating low-carb high-fat in March 2011, with a body mass index hovering in the neighborhood of 33 - 34. That's not a great neighborhood to hover in. A person with a BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese. Most of my extra weight was around my middle, too, which is the worst place for it. I have managed to keep my BMI under the obesity line for the past four years. Just barely, at some points, but I've done it. For the past four years, I've been … [Read more...]

My LCHF week in review: May 17 – May 23

By

Starting Weight = 219.2 lbs. Ending Weight = 220.4 lbs. I gained back a pound this week. (OK, 1.2 pounds, but if you were a true friend, you'd let me say "a pound" and leave it at that.) How did this happen?! The average daily intake statistics provide an explanation. My percent of calories from fat dropped by about 5% and my percent of calories from carbs increased by the same amount. But how did that happen?  Easy -- I let it happen.  In fact, I did it deliberately. I was conducting … [Read more...]

The world goes paleo

By

Saturday Short Takes My focus this week is on the Paleo Diet, which gets a lot of press all over the world, pro and con. The basic premise of paleo eating is that the 10,000 years of the agricultural era has been too short a span for evolution to adapt us to farmed foodstuffs. So the paleo dieter avoids grains, dairy, and legumes. Cutting grains generally means cutting carbs, whether or not cutting carbs is the stated goal. Therefore, I view paleo as in the family of LCHF diets. Frequently, … [Read more...]

An about-face on fat in the diet

By

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which calls itself the "world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals" and probably is, recently broke ranks with the anti-fat brigade, urging that the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans "deemphasize saturated fat from nutrients of concern, given the lack of evidence connecting it with cardiovascular disease" (Press Release). The wording is awkward. I think what the Academy means to say is that we should stop bad-mouthing saturated … [Read more...]

Obesity, exercise, and magic bullets

By

Saturday Short Takes Here's a selection of web articles on weight loss and related topics that caught my eye this week. 1. Looking for Magic Bullets to Fire at Obesity According to an article on the MedicalXpress site, "a number of magic bullets" are needed to fight obesity. It's more like magic shotgun shells. After recounting the usual statistics about the extent of the obesity epidemic and its human and financial costs (in this case, with a UK focus), the article moves on to the "bullets." … [Read more...]

Avocado in the morning

By

Avocado in a low carb diet Pictured is my low-carb breakfast this morning: two eggs fried in coconut oil, three small and crispy strips of bacon, and the flesh of half an avocado. It's a fairly typical breakfast for me these days. I eat other things in the morning, including a goopy mixture of chia seeds, almond butter, walnuts and (LCHF purists avert your eyes!) oatmeal. But day in and day out, my breakfast is likely to include eggs. If I'm fortunate enough to have an avocado on hand, … [Read more...]

My Ketonix has arrived (updated)

By

Unboxing of my Ketonix 2015 I opened the mailbox today to find that my Ketonix 2015 Blue had arrived from Sweden. The arrival of a new gadget is always a cause for celebration. In this case, I was also relieved. I ordered the Ketonix via the company's website on April 23, selecting the regular "letter" type shipping, so I figured it would take a while to get here. But as the days, and then the weeks, went by, I started to wonder. It's a long way from Sweden to Michigan (as my great great … [Read more...]

My LCHF week in review: May 3 – May 9

By

Starting Weight = 220.6 lbs. Ending Weight = 220.0 lbs. It was neither the best of weeks nor the worst of weeks for me. I got 70% of my calories from fat, and kept my average daily net carbohydrates to 26 grams. My body weight dropped by six-tenths of a pound, putting me at an even 220 pounds. Two months into my low-carb high-fat diet reboot, I have lost 12 pounds. I have also lost an inch or more around the middle (where I tend to store most of my body fat) and can now wear a few pairs of … [Read more...]

Goodbye to bread!

By

Saturday Short Takes Google Alerts has brought me a diversified set of low-carb stories from around the world. Let's take a look! 1. Goodbye to Bread First up is Kim Poindexter writing in the Tahlequah Daily Press, who testifies that "Low-carb diets work, but say ‘bye to bread." Kim was told by her doctor that she had Type-2 Diabetes and needed to lose weight. So she went on a low-carb diet and has so far lost 32 pounds. She notes that although she practices yoga, swims, and lifts weights, … [Read more...]