A study in The FASEB Journal (which, as you probably know, well-read person that you are, is the Official Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) finds that consuming a low-carb, high-fat diet is "associated with reductions in cravings for all food categories." The researchers define a craving as "an intense desire to consume a particular food that is difficult to resist." … [Read more...]
My LCHF week in review: July 6 – July 12
The drop wasn't pronounced or dramatic, but I did lose a couple pounds over the course of "Bust the Stall" Week. I finally got off the 219 pound plateau last Wednesday, and then stayed below it for the rest of the week. I lost weight on a majority of days. The numbers in the table aren't telling me a lot beyond that, but it does seem that I need to keep my daily total carbs and net carbs under 55 grams and 35 grams respectively. I gained weighed after every day where my carbs were higher. My … [Read more...]
Goodbye to bread!
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...]
Eric Westman on low-carb science and practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toLvGpk3HLE In this video produced by Duke University, Dr. Eric Westman discusses the "science and practice" of eating a low-carb diet. Westman is director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine program, an expert on obesity, and co-author of The New Atkins for a New You. Westman worked with the late Dr. Robert Atkins, and has published studies on the use and effectiveness of low-carb diets. He sees the fear of dietary fat as at the root of our weight problems. He … [Read more...]
Net carbs defended
Calculating "Net Carbs" In following my low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet, I've always been guided by the concept of "net carbs." This is the notion that carbohydrates from fiber don't get used by the body to raise blood glucose levels, so therefore fiber content can be subtracted from total carbs. What's left, the net carbs, are what the LCHF dieter counts and pays attention to. Or so I have believed. I've lost weight by keeping my net carb intake to around 30 - 35 grams per day. For … [Read more...]
Coffee = Life = Coffee
Early on in my low-carb adventure, I ran across the advice to stop drinking coffee. That nearly ended my low-carb adventure right then. There are some things you can't give up. Coffee's at the top of my list. Repeat after me, friends: "Coffee is life, life is coffee." That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Coffee is low-carb -- right? There are carbs in black coffee -- about a tenth of a gram in a cup. S0 coffee is low-carb, though not quite as low-carb as plain water. In … [Read more...]
What is a low carb diet?
When I say that I follow a low carbohydrate way of eating, what do I mean? When you say it, what do you mean? I suspect we might all mean something a little different -- or even a lot different -- if we were to get down to specific foods we include or avoid, or to the number of grams of carbs we consume per day. The title of my blog -- "Life After Carbs" -- implies that I don't eat any carbs at all, but of course that's not true. The title ought to be interpreted as meaning, "Life after … [Read more...]
Exploring the HuffPo: Sugar, Paleo and Plaque
Man does not live by steak-and-eggs alone. Woman either, from what I can see. Having consumed plenty of editorial red-meat in recent days, I decided to venture beyond the low-carb blogosphere this weekend to see who else was writing about diet and health. There was bound to be somebody. I ended up at the Huffington Post. All Internet roads seem to lead there. The HuffPo (as we insiders call it) is the New York Times of the Digital Age, except that apparently the HuffPo doesn't pay its … [Read more...]
Great foods for a low-carb diet (part 1): almonds, avocados, macadamias
If you're like me (which you probably aren't, but let's pretend), you may find your food tastes expanding as you adapt to a low carb way of eating. Over the last few months, I have added several foods to my dietary repertoire, and I have eaten more of some other great foods than I ever did in the past. In general, I eat more whole foods now than processed/ packaged foods. Nuts, seeds, berries and fish are classes of foods that I always liked, but eat significantly more of on my low-carb … [Read more...]
Tip-toeing toward the truth
The big long-term weight gain study that the Harvard School of Public Health announced yesterday was officially published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men); it has gotten widespread press attention. My first encounter with it was on ABC World News. As I wrote last night, the ABC team, led by Dr. Richard Besser, focused on carbohydrates as the main factor in weight gain, labeling various forms of potatoes … [Read more...]