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Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

nytimes.com

31–40 of 275 posts

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#31
post #4

Because they are delicious. Life is too short, not to enjoy one of life's simple pleasures. Obviously moderation is key, but it's silly not to take advantage of being human.

I don't think anyone is for removing them entirely. But when you look at the obesity epidemic, there's certainly a case for tamping down on the avg American's intake.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#32

Preface: Over the past 12+ years I have spent a fair amount of time learning about foods/diets, at first to try to get rid of my acne (which I was successful at), but then later to stay lean and stop any diet-related dips in my mood (which I was also successful at). What I want to say: Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-gly…

> carbs in the form of two bags of "steam-in-bag" broccoli and a bag of carrots. Every day. Bags can vary greatly in amount, what weight does that represent, is it 150g or 3kg?

It's "steam-in-bag", meaning the entire package is meant to be cooked at once in a microwave.

Here's the exact brand I've been using most-recently, it's 300g uncooked: https://happyspeedy.com/sites/default/files/steamfresh-brocc...

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#33
post #4

Because they are delicious. Life is too short, not to enjoy one of life's simple pleasures. Obviously moderation is key, but it's silly not to take advantage of being human.

"Moderation" doesn't mean anything, obviously.

Moderation is usually a thought-terminating cliche. Whenever there's a conversation among of those looking to examine the details, someone is around to dismiss the inquiry with "everything in moderation".

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#34

Preface: Over the past 12+ years I have spent a fair amount of time learning about foods/diets, at first to try to get rid of my acne (which I was successful at), but then later to stay lean and stop any diet-related dips in my mood (which I was also successful at). What I want to say: Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-gly…

> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day,

I think you're mistaken. Carb is the only macronutrient that is not required. The body can make glucose via gluconeogenesis. Take someone who has not eaten a single carb for a month and measure their blood glucose level and you will find a stable 90mg/dL. This is why Type-1 diabetics still need insulin (although much much lesser than otherwise) in spite of being on zero-carb diets.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#35
post #4

Because they are delicious. Life is too short, not to enjoy one of life's simple pleasures. Obviously moderation is key, but it's silly not to take advantage of being human.

"Moderation" doesn't mean anything, obviously.

Exactly. Moderation is relative to thresholds deemed 'extreme', and there are usually no objective, culture-independent standards on which the extremes are based. Moderation can be whatever you rationalize it to be.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#36

Preface: Over the past 12+ years I have spent a fair amount of time learning about foods/diets, at first to try to get rid of my acne (which I was successful at), but then later to stay lean and stop any diet-related dips in my mood (which I was also successful at). What I want to say: Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-gly…

> That guy is a retired Silicon Valley engineer and he really knows what he's talking about.

That really doesn't increase my confidence

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#37

Is it proved that Carbs are harmful? Don't want to cut down on them only so that a study 10 years down the line lists out Carb-diet benefits just like Fat ones these days.

It's not carbs per se, whats proven is this: Insulin spikes in your body drive fat storage. "Foods with lots of carbs" are a very good approximation of the nature of foods that tend to do that. (More accurately, foods with a high glycemic load/glycemic index) So offhand we can say foods that contain a lot of carbs tend to have a high gylcemic index, some more than others. Eating raw sugar is different than slowly eat…

Carbs are actually harmful.

Uniquely damaging for teeth, nobody will disprove that.

There is even a well known problem among professional sportsmen related to energy drinks and parandentosis.

Since there is no discussion about this, carbs must be generally harmful, as to eat anything, you must use your mouth.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#38
post #4

Because they are delicious. Life is too short, not to enjoy one of life's simple pleasures. Obviously moderation is key, but it's silly not to take advantage of being human.

I don't think cutting carbs completely out of your diet is the best move, unless you have iron will and are trying to burn off body fat quick.

The problem is that most diets (in America at least) are made up almost entirely out of carb heavy foods with little macro/micro nutrients.

Personally I shoot for a 45/30/25 (protein/fat/carb) spread which works best for me.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#39

Is it proved that Carbs are harmful? Don't want to cut down on them only so that a study 10 years down the line lists out Carb-diet benefits just like Fat ones these days.

It is proven that everything is "harmful" and, eventually, leads to death. 100%. Another question is how certain things make you feel, short-term, as well as long-term. I think it's wise not to chase the extremes and latest developments in everything (not only diets), but to allow yourself to try and see for yourself. Many people, myself included, feel great without carbs. Improved mental clarity, energy, easier to wake up and better sleep.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#40

I don't know if it's exciting advancements in food science or something else, but I used to be able to make a bag of chips last a month. Now I just can't buy them because they disappear within a day. What's weird is I can eat carb-rich foods and get a very different result from what the researchers in this article found. It seems to have more to do with the composition of the meal than the exact nutritional content.…

I'm surprised you were hungry on low-carb. You can still eat just as many calories, and fat usually does a better job of keeping people satiated.

As for tired, you might have been low on electrolytes. Your need for electrolytes goes up on low carb.

Whenever I've tried a carb heavy diet, I always felt like I was starving myself to lose any weight at all (usually give up after 15lbs). With low carb, I barely keep track of calories and I still lose weight (although I have struggled through plateaus at times, those required skipping meals to help break through them).

I do have some difficulty staying with low carb perfectly for long periods of time though because I'm surrounded by tasty carbs and sometimes I just want to have a little.

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