I watched the documentary "Fat Head" ....

[abifae]

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[Dace]

Hey Me&....one thing that I wanted to point out is that you and I (and FC for that matter) probably have very similar eating styles. For me low carb is the elimination of white flour, rice, pasta and sugar. I am still on sugar but only in my 2 cups of coffee per day.

My real focus is to eat MORE fruits and veggies. 12 servings per day. I have chosen not to eat bread or other simple carbs, and am converting my family to more whole grains and whole foods.

Good luck with kicking the sugar, it is a tough one but you feel sooooo much better!

 

[me&thegals]

so here is my thought to end the debate: let's find someone with a lab and all get everything tested, levels of everything, once a year while on all our various diets and after a couple decades take a really good look at numbers. because i have yet to see any study that does a real simple: let's test it. long term. with numbers so people will consider it official and scientific.

Here's the thing. Not everyone will agree on *what* lab values are indications of health or unhealth. Seriously. Someone already mentioned on here that high cholesterol was protection for cancer and something else.

Yikes.

Biblio--thanks for your post. I hope I was not offensive to you in my comments. We all just base our decisions off what we see around us and what works or doesn't work for us.

As for labs, well my cholesterol is *high*, but so is the *good* cholesterol. After a while, I seriously believe obsessing over food is quite unhealthy in and of itself. I really do.

 

[me&thegals]

Hey Me&....one thing that I wanted to point out is that you and I (and FC for that matter) probably have very similar eating styles. For me low carb is the elimination of white flour, rice, pasta and sugar. I am still on sugar but only in my 2 cups of coffee per day.

My real focus is to eat MORE fruits and veggies. 12 servings per day. I have chosen not to eat bread or other simple carbs, and am converting my family to more whole grains and whole foods.

Good luck with kicking the sugar, it is a tough one but you feel sooooo much better!

I betcha you're right! I only buy whole-grain everything and make whole-grain everything, even desserts I love all the whole stuff. Crackers are about the only thing bought around here that is already processed. Our fridge and freezers are stuff full of local milk, eggs, fruits and veggies, including corn and other carb-containing foods. The pantry is full of beans and whole grains.

Dace, way to go! That's an exceptional amount of fruits and veggies!

As for sugar, that's my major Achilles heel. I try to eliminate it from my kids' diets, but now that they're older they like to find my stashes. I really think I'm addicted to sugar and would like to cut way back. Dace, do you think it needs to be completely eliminated, or can cutting it way back work?

 

[okiegirl1]

really, I started this thread because I'm so lost on this whole weight thing. Everyone keeps saying "just do what's best for you" but I honestly have no idea what is best for me. I don't know how to read my body to tell if carbs are ok with my body or not. I don't feel crappy after drinking a soda even tho' some people do. I can say if I'm feeling down or blue and splitting a dark chocolate bar with hubby makes me feel 100% better.

Some of the the girls on here have been talking to me about this low carb thing. I saw the film the seemed to reinforce what they've been telling me with science and doctors backing what they said.

I can tell you since I've been cutting down on my carbs, my weight hasn't gone down at all and is probably going up, but I'm too scared to get on the scale to find out. This is where I keep getting told I'm not eating enough veggies.

WW worked for me, but it came back so I just wanted to try something else.

I'm just so freaking lost on this whole thing, I'm about to the point of saying "screw it" and eating like I've always and if I get fat, so what!

 

[me&thegals]

okie--I feel your frustration. I know when I cut way back on carbs and sugar, I felt like crap. Some people said it was my body detoxing that caused the crappy feeling. But, how is a person supposed to sort out what is "the new diet" and what is "the body adjusting to the new diet"?

 

[Dace]

Well Me& that is a hard one.....the more you eat sugar and simple carbs the more you trigger an insulin response. This is the point where many have decided no carbs (based on wheat & grains not veg/fruit) but......the insulin response keeps you on the roller coaster of craving more,there are ways take control of it to some degree.

For me, morning coffee is hard to imagine living without. I have 2 cups with 1 tsp sugar in each. While my coffee is brewing I eat a handful of carrots and a handful of walnuts. The fiber and the protein/fat (not sure which) help to slow down the sugar absorption in my blood, lessening the insulin response.

Outside of that I am not eating any sugar. When I was up to my eyeballs in holiday baking I did, I think it is important to not deprive yourself when you really want something, so I had a taste here and there and felt satisfied.

I would think that a little sugar after a meal containing protein and fiber is better processed than a treat on an empty stomach.In my world sugar is not evil......just too much was making me pudgy. I find that the more I stay away from it, the easier it is to live without .

 

[abifae]

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[Dace]

When I first cut out sugar and carbs (for the record when I say carbs I mean fours, grains & sugar) for the first 4-5 days it felt odd. I know I was on a bad cycle of blood sugar highs and lows.

I loved bread, bagles, english muffins, rolls, rice, pasta, potatoes and sugar! It is a shift in mindset and it felt strange not to eat those things. I think I wrote in my journal that on day 4 I felt a little spacey. That ended pretty abruptly.

I think it takes a while to get the sugar cravings out of your body/mind. It can get so out of whack with insulin causing havoc and your body responding with moodiness, sluggishness etc. I did not know how bad I felt until I started feeling good! Very odd and that is why I keep touting this as a great way to eat.

My best suggestion would be to give it 14 days. If in 14 days you do not feel better and have not lost weight then re-evaluate.

Keys to success would be :

*Drink lots of water! Flush out the bad stuff and the fat.
*Aim to eat 12 servings of fruit and veg...heavy on the veg.
*Don't forget protein. 3 times a day....breakfast, lunch & dinner. Also walnuts, bits of hard cheese and hard boiled eggs make a good snack.

Watch out for condiments, although I ate commercial salad dressing it was no sugar/no carb. No juice...even if it is whole fruit juice....to a sugar junkie it is a quick fix under the guise of healthy, no sweetened yogurt and be aware of other things that sugar is hiding in.

 

[Up-the-Creek]

For me sugar has never been a problem. I like sweets on occasion, breads not so much, or pasta and I hate rice. My main thing is the fat. I was blew away by what these people were saying about eating animal fat. The butter, whole milks, and tallow/lard. It seams to me the harder I tried cutting these things from my diet, the more weight I would gain. As most people though I always listened to the experts,...and where has it got me? As I posted earlier many folks in my family are diabetic,..but they all have one thing in commen,...they all LOVE their carbs. I was excited to see something make good sense to me for once,...I am glad Okie mentioned it on here,...thanks!

(Sorry if this don't make much sense,...it is New Years Eve!! )