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Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#171

Post by xiaoma »

nf05papsjfVbc wrote: post #112
inerte wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Almost" no carbs is very different than OP's triple assertion of "you're mistaken", "not required" and "zero".

It's really really tough to achieve or maintain 0 carbs in a day's food intake. This is one of the reasons why you'll not come across many who have done it. On a keto diet, one can attain < 20g carbs per day with some struggle but to cut it out entirely is really hard without missing some other essential nutrients - because at least some carbs tag along with other things.

It's not really. Most traditional religions have fasting practices and pretty much all our ancestors did it from time to time. A 7 day fast here and there is completely natural and not that hard after the first 30-50 hours.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#172

Post by parrellel »

shadykiller wrote: post #106
kyberias wrote: post #62

It is the Taubes / Lustig propaganda again.

How is it a propaganda and what would they gain from it ? Carbs are the most commercially profitable food to produce - sourced from subsidized corn or wheat and have a high shelf life.

Book Sales and the Speaking Circuit, obviously.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#173

Post by keymone »

roel_v wrote: post #114

What is so annoying about articles like this is that they start out saying 'calorie intake has nothing to do with obesity! lol all you idiots! look at how enlightened I am!' and then go on to say that carbs mess with insulin levels so that it becomes hard to not eat more calories. Duh, that's what all those others say too, but just not highlighting that aspect as much. In the end, it's still calories. I get it, these…

> calorie intake has nothing to do with obesity

who is saying that?

> that's what all those others say too

where? the author is talking about energy balance disorder vs insulin hypothesis. first stops at "expend more than you intake and everything will be ok", second goes further and explores difference between sources of calories and why it's wrong to say that caloric number is all you need to care about.

> show me someone who can eat 1000 Cals a day and not loose weight

> show me someone who can eat 5000 Cals of bacon a day and not gain weight

except those are not the claims being made. that's a second strawman in your comment, you really should read up on ketogenic diet before criticizing it.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#174

Post by jshevek »

ksk wrote: post #163
abtinf wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day This is factually wrong. The human body ~100 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and zero carbs to stay healthy. The minimal amount of glucose required for brain function can be synthesized from protein intake. And carb deficiency is not associated with any impairment or disease.

No, Sir, _YOU_ are factually wrong. The long term effects of Keto are FAR from being understood. OTOH, All of our ancestors ate carbs, and our bodies evolved to support diets that included carbs from various sources. You should make it absolutely clear that you're advocating a position based on your personal opinion, and not scientific consensus. This is far from being settled. Our understanding of human metabolism i…

[The] statements you make above don't actually address the claims he made. While a certain diet/lifestyle may be controversial, the specific claims he made about carbs are well established by medical science, and are not controversial.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#175

Post by nicky0 »

bonniemuffin wrote: post #87
the_af wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> [...] living with my wife who adores pasta And who can blame her? I suppose you could live without pasta, but would you call that living? :)

If a life without pasta isn't worth living, then I'd rather die than get back on the blood sugar roller coaster that pasta puts me on. This is like telling an alcoholic that life isn't worth living without tequila. You know what? Turns out you can live a meaningful life without it if you have to.

What were the effects of this "blood sugar rollercoaster"? I eat 55% carbs and don't experience this... What am I missing?

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#176

Post by nzygs »

abtinf wrote: post #129
nzygs wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The human body ~100 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and zero carbs to stay healthy Could you provide source (studies not blogposts or youtube videos) on this matter? Also what is your opinion on 80/10/10 or Okinawa diet? Okinavians used to get most of their calories from carbs and they had one of the longest lifespans in the world. All things considered I am not against the keto diet but the food that people on…

My original source for those numbers is from the book Protein Power https://www.amazon.com/Protein-Power-High-Protein-Carbohydra...

I don't have the book but maybe you could provide me with some references that were used to write this? I'd like to look into it myself.

Also "An effective, medically sound diet that lets you eat bacon, eggs, steak, even cheese? It's true!"

Is just wrong. Medically sound my ass. Of course you're going to get people to buy a book that says that you can eat what you want (E.g. lots of animal fats), doesn't make it the right... far from it actually.

As I said before I have nothing against keto/high fat low carb diets but the commonly consumed foods are awful. Basically no micronutrients, mostly animal fats and excessive amounts of protein. Those really aren't doing you much good. If books on keto diet were suggesting nuts, seeds, berries, avocado and some meat that wasn't heavily proccessed as basis of it's diet I wouldn't comment at now I am sure that lots of people are going to look into keto and hop on bacon + eggs all day every day kind of regime.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#177

Post by jshevek »

thornygreb wrote: post #167
abtinf wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day This is factually wrong. The human body ~100 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and zero carbs to stay healthy. The minimal amount of glucose required for brain function can be synthesized from protein intake. And carb deficiency is not associated with any impairment or disease.

100g protein * 4 = 400 calories + 10g fat * 9 = 490 calories to stay healthy? Maybe if you are 3ft tall and sedentary.

He's making a statement about the biological need for certain macro-nutrients as such. He's not making a statement about your total calorie need. The balance of your calories could come from other sources, however there is a minimum amount of protein and fat that the body does need for non-nutritional purposes. There is no minimum amount of carbs that the body needs.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#179

Post by xiaoma »

sleavey wrote: post #153
nzygs wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The human body ~100 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and zero carbs to stay healthy Could you provide source (studies not blogposts or youtube videos) on this matter? Also what is your opinion on 80/10/10 or Okinawa diet? Okinavians used to get most of their calories from carbs and they had one of the longest lifespans in the world. All things considered I am not against the keto diet but the food that people on…

It's probably genetic. Some people can eat a high carb diet and feel fine, and not suffer the metabolic damage that others would. But that's definitely a minority of the world population. The Okinawans seem to eat a lot of a certain type of purple sweet potato which contains a good balance of vitamins and minerals, but they also have a strong social element - elders are highly respected and given responsibilities tha…

Every time I go to Okinawa, like anywhere in Japan, I see people eating either noodles or white rice with nearly every single meal. People often even have rice (and an egg) for breakfast.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#180

Post by m1keil »

I think a lot of people tend to over-think the whole cutting on carbs thing. Trying to count grams, check for ketons and so on.

I decided to give the low carb thing a try about 4-5 months ago. I cut out all bread, pasta, rice, starches and sugar I could find on my menu. Replaced it with more meat and learned to love zucchini and cauliflower. I'm far from being on the perfect low carb/keto/paleo diet. I eat cheese, have a morning latte at work, and eat a fruit or two every day. I had few "cheat meals", about once a month.

The scale now shows 10kg less. I was surprised by the ease of the process. I like it.

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