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A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

nytimes.com

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Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#21

Post by buss »

sb23 wrote: post #12
buss wrote: post #9

For anyone who has access to the paper ( http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1900694 ) and is skilled in reading medical research papers, I would love to know if they account for snacking. When I briefly tried a low-carb diet (just out of curiosity, not to lose weight as I'm already quite healthy) I found that I was unable to snack because almost all snack foods are loaded with carbs. I can only eat so much beef…

I have been on a low carb diet for over a year now, and I have a handful of nuts. Almonds, cashews, whatever. They have an acceptable amount of carbs in them and make you feel full enough to make it to the next meal. The biggest issue is the expense, I spend about $20-30 a fortnight on nuts alone.

True, nuts were a good choice. Unfortunately the cashews and almonds supplied at my office were all unsalted and I couldn't be bothered to buy my own for the brief trial.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#22

Post by afafsd »

latch wrote: post #11

It'd be nice to have this squared with research in vegetarianism (high-carb, low-fat) which long term studies indicate has a number of health benefits [1] My own take, which I've mentioned before, is that the the starting point is so bad (refined carbohydrates) that you can pretty much walk in any direction and get positive results. That is, what people are eating doesn't matter nearly as much as what people aren't.…

Pretty much. You could probably come up with a diet that says you're not allowed to eat anything starting with a letter in the first half of the alphabet, and anyone who stuck to it would lose weight, because all of a sudden they'd be thinking carefully about what they ate rather than eating whatever took their fancy at any given moment.

Sticking to these diets is the hardest thing. I spent a few months on a paleo diet and got a bunch healthier, but it was really hard to find things to eat, and pretty expensive as well. I don't think dietary changes are worth it unless you can reasonably stick to them for the rest of your life, and anything that says "no X ever again" is likely to fall into that category.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#23

Post by [deleted] »

alrs wrote: post #10
nicklovescode wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe you would be downvoted less harshly if you provided a few reputable sources to back your statement.

This subject freaks people out, vegetarians especially. A huge part of identity for some people is based on the knowledge that they're living on a healthy plant-based diet. It turns out that said diet is less healthy than subsisting on bacon grease. This causes cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance causes knee-jerk downvotes. Citations? How about the study spelled out in the article?

[deleted]

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#24

Post by sliverstorm »

bhousel wrote: post #8
erikpukinskis wrote: post #5

To bad it's environmentally unsustainable. There's no way our ecosystem can survive all of us eating eggs, tuna, and chicken all day. We need to consume less animal products not more. Low carb is fine for a few wealthy people who want to lose weight but it's not a responsible solution to the public health problem. What about a low-junk food diet? No cqlorie restrictions but no refined carbs? I don't think we need ti…

Low carb doesn't necessarily mean more animal products. It can mean that you replace the carbs with nuts and veggies, so that you are getting more of your calories from protein and healthy fats.

Nuts are hardly our saviors. Most nuts are expensive & environmentally unfriendly. Which is not to say you shouldn't eat some nuts, but they can hardly step in as a global staple.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#25

Post by Killswitch »

beachstartup wrote: post #15

i've been on a ketogenic diet for about 3 months now. i've lost around 20 pounds (5'10, 220 starting -> 200 current -> 180 goal) and will probably lose another 20 before reaching my 'ideal' weight. it works. whether it works because i naturally eat less, or because there's something magical going on w/ my hormones, it doesn't matter because i can simply remove carbs and eat until i'm full every single time. eating we…

Yup, and apparently everyone has a degree in nutrition and go on to tell you that what you're doing is wrong and what they think you should do is right.

- fellow Keto guy

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#26

Post by drcode »

I know this is just anecdotal coincidence (and not really that interesting to most people other than myself) but today when I weighed myself I had my ideal body weight for the first time in my life. This is after following a low carb diet for six months and losing 50 pounds... so throw another vote in the "yes, low carb seems to be effective" bucket. The findings in this article are certainly music to my ears.

(Here is the version I followed http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of...)

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#27

Post by afafsd »

bhousel wrote: post #8
erikpukinskis wrote: post #5

To bad it's environmentally unsustainable. There's no way our ecosystem can survive all of us eating eggs, tuna, and chicken all day. We need to consume less animal products not more. Low carb is fine for a few wealthy people who want to lose weight but it's not a responsible solution to the public health problem. What about a low-junk food diet? No cqlorie restrictions but no refined carbs? I don't think we need ti…

Low carb doesn't necessarily mean more animal products. It can mean that you replace the carbs with nuts and veggies, so that you are getting more of your calories from protein and healthy fats.

100 calories of nuts or broccoli costs a whole lot more than 100 calories of bread or rice, and this is reflective of the greater agricultural demands of pretty much everything else versus bread and rice.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#28

Post by kibibu »

buss wrote: post #21
sb23 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been on a low carb diet for over a year now, and I have a handful of nuts. Almonds, cashews, whatever. They have an acceptable amount of carbs in them and make you feel full enough to make it to the next meal. The biggest issue is the expense, I spend about $20-30 a fortnight on nuts alone.

True, nuts were a good choice. Unfortunately the cashews and almonds supplied at my office were all unsalted and I couldn't be bothered to buy my own for the brief trial.

Man, unsalted cashews are delicious! Try getting used to the lack of salt.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#30

Post by joelrunyon »

afafsd wrote: post #22
latch wrote: post #11

It'd be nice to have this squared with research in vegetarianism (high-carb, low-fat) which long term studies indicate has a number of health benefits [1] My own take, which I've mentioned before, is that the the starting point is so bad (refined carbohydrates) that you can pretty much walk in any direction and get positive results. That is, what people are eating doesn't matter nearly as much as what people aren't.…

Pretty much. You could probably come up with a diet that says you're not allowed to eat anything starting with a letter in the first half of the alphabet, and anyone who stuck to it would lose weight, because all of a sudden they'd be thinking carefully about what they ate rather than eating whatever took their fancy at any given moment. Sticking to these diets is the hardest thing. I spent a few months on a paleo di…

> I don't think dietary changes are worth it unless you can reasonably stick to them for the rest of your life

Curious if you could name one food that was particularly difficult to cut out.

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