Alright health nuts, speaking of FAT....Lets talk LCHF

[mammasita]

What are your favorite keto/LCHF meals? Or just low carb if that's your thing.

[Emilia]

No need for any of that. Just cycle your carbs to have most on exercise days, go for complex carbs and cut out sugar. Don't need anything more fancy than that.

[Robert Z]

What are your favorite keto/LCHF meals? Or just low carb if that's your thing.

 

 

Heh, I lost 70 pounds eating bacon-guacamole burgers as a staple, with no bun, or course! Lots of vegetables, pure peanut butter, protein mix, V8... I tend to eat very simple meals. For several years it was just protein mix for breakfast, vegetables for lunch, and vegetables and meat or cheese for dinner.

[mammasita]

Heh, I lost 70 pounds eating bacon-guacamole burgers as a staple, with no bun, or course! Lots of vegetables, pure peanut butter, protein mix, V8... I tend to eat very simple meals. For several years it was just protein mix for breakfast, vegetables for lunch, and vegetables and meat or cheese for dinner.

 

I think that's awesome. I remember you talking about that in another thread. My mother is diabetic and has to watch what she eats but I don't think she really follows the principles properly. I have(had?) PCOS so eating this way works great for me too.

 

I personally love it. I like simple, but I am a total foodie so cooking with coconut flour, almond flour, ghee and coconut oil is freaking fantastic.

[Robert Z]

I think that's awesome. I remember you talking about that in another thread. My mother is diabetic and has to watch what she eats but I don't think she really follows the principles properly. I have(had?) PCOS so eating this way works great for me too.

 

I personally love it. I like simple, but I am a total foodie so cooking with coconut flour, almond flour, ghee and coconut oil is freaking fantastic.

 

It completely changed my life. But you do have to stick to the plan or you can do yourself harm. The main thing is if you plan to stay ketogenic for a time: It is super important to do things like drink lots of water. Ketosis is highly effective but not something to be taken lightly. It can kill you if you just wing it - kidney damage and the potential for liver damage. Ketosis sucks the water out of you so dehydration is a constant threat.

 

If you consume more than 100 grams of carbs a day, then things are not too critical. 100 grams per day keeps you safely out of ketosis.

 

But to the point, it is tough cooking low-carb. I have done about every variation of stir fry one can imagine.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Robert Z

[SomeDude16]

My motto: Eat dirty, train dirtier.

 

I don't worry about it...

[whirl3daway]

I LOVE keto! It's the best. A lot of people naysay it and tell you don't need to but I think it's a very personal decision. Some people naturally work better with lower carbs. I have SO much more energy when I keto, fewer menstrual cramps, fewer sugar cravings, it's just the best.

 

I love that Linda's Low Carb recipes site, and ruled.me has great recipes too. The reddit keto sub is fantastic also.

 

Trader Joe's has excellent frozen riced cauliflower for 1.99 a bag now... such a timesaver! Use those to make pizza crusts. You can also make low carb bread using peanut butter. Almond flour is excellent for baking, etc - I also use EZ sweetz drops [liquid sucralose]. LC

[whirl3daway]

Lately I've been into making chicken salad mayo and green onions with chunks of avocado on top for lunches... yum! Breakfasts are a bake made with eggs, meats, spices, cheeses, etc... varieties like taco, thai, etc. I eat a ton of frozen burgers with frozen veggies.... trader joe's [my staple shopping place] has lots of excellent meats like pork belly, chicken in red curry, rib bites, that cook quickly and are fairly inexpensive and low in carbs. The pork belly is soooo good!

[Phoe]

Several years ago when I started making changes in my diet, I had to plan out every little detail. I had to measure my food down to the ounce, count every calorie, count every gram of sugar, massively dial in the macronutrients.

 

I had to do this for several weeks, until my body and brain got more accustomed to what I was doing, and now it just comes naturally. I don't measure or count anything anymore... well, if I'm on a short term cut I will count calories just for accuracy, but other than that I don't bother.

 

I just focus on protein and veggies. The carbs and fats are limited in comparison, but come naturally when I eat them as sides to complement whatever protein I'm eating.

 

The funny part is that my body craves protein. I don't have a sweet tooth. I don't crave candies or sweets. I crave meat. Sometimes I crave popcorn (which is random as hell), but that's about as bad a craving as I will get anymore.

[empresario]

I know the point of this is to get keto recipes...

 

 

But consider if keto is the right type of diet for you. It depends on your body type and what calories your body needs. When I tried keto (I do various things just to try them out...I like new experiences) I gained 10 lbs of fat. And I usually can't put on any weight. Turns out, my body stores high-fat diets and burns weight on high carb diets. Why? No clue. My goal was to cut for the summer...that went poorly.

 

 

But, if you're serious about it, just plan out your meals ahead of time. Every time I do a special diet it fails in the first 2 days unless

 

 

1) I throw out all food not related to my current wants

2) I plan out meals

 

 

When I did it, I ate a lot of beef, chicken, sausage, bacon, pistachios, etc. A lot of raw, unexciting foods. With any repetitive diet...it's important to train your brain to see food as fuel. Just like the good ol' days.

[xxoo]

Trader Joe's has excellent frozen riced cauliflower for 1.99 a bag now... such a timesaver! Use those to make pizza crusts.

 

I've been wanting to experiment with riced cauliflower. I had some in a salad recently, and it was so delicious! It was this salad: Cauliflower + Roasted Garbanzo with Avocado, Apples, Radishes, Herbs - Fleet Feet Atlanta

 

How do you make pizza crust with it?

[Robert Z]

I LOVE keto!

 

But are you truly ketogenic? That requires staying below 25 grams of carbs a day - what you get in about two tortillas or a large glass of milk, IIRC. Normally one only stays ketogenic for limited periods of time.

 

It is an important distinction - "low carb" is not necessarily ketogenic.

 

 

If you are ketogenic, then it constantly tastes like you have a mouth full of rust [that's the ketones] and you are constantly dry as a bone and struggling with dry mouth.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Robert Z

[whirl3daway]

But are you truly ketogenic? That requires staying below 25 grams of carbs a day - what you get in about two tortillas or a large glass of milk, IIRC. Normally one only stays ketogenic for limited periods of time.

 

It is an important distinction - "low carb" is not necessarily ketogenic.

 

 

If you are ketogenic, then it constantly tastes like you have a mouth full of rust [that's the ketones] and you are constantly dry as a bone and struggling with dry mouth.

 

 

 

Yep! I can actually go up to 60g of carbs and stay in ketosis. I use the sticks to check.

[whirl3daway]

I've been wanting to experiment with riced cauliflower. I had some in a salad recently, and it was so delicious! It was this salad: Cauliflower + Roasted Garbanzo with Avocado, Apples, Radishes, Herbs - Fleet Feet Atlanta

 

How do you make pizza crust with it?

 

Mix it with egg, cheese, spices and bake it in the oven without toppings to "harden", and then add toppings and bake a little longer. It's a pretty good sub!

 

That salad looks delicious.

[Robert Z]

Yep! I can actually go up to 60g of carbs and stay in ketosis. I use the sticks to check.

 

 

Impressive!!!

 

How long have you been in ketosis? I never went more than about six months at a time. I assume you are in a very light state of ketosis? At 60 grams I don't think you can completely avoid the glucose-insulin reaction, which is probably not a bad thing! It's not really an either-or thing anyway [ketosis or not ketosis]. It is all a matter of proportion.

 

I generally try to keep things around 100 grams a day. But I should probably go ketogenic for a time to reset my system again.

 

One thing about this diet: I just got a family photo from my relatives in another State. They are all HUGE!!! And they're all on diets all the time.

[whirl3daway]

Impressive!!!

 

How long have you been in ketosis? I never went more than about six months at a time. I assume you are in a very light state of ketosis?

 

I generally try to stay in ketosis about 3/4 of the week, but yeah it's light most days. Being too deep into ketosis makes me ungodly thirsty constantly and gives me some trouble sleeping at night [so much energy!] so I try not to go super low most of the time.

 

I also lift heavy weights, so this moderate state seems to be good for maintaining strength gains.

[Robert Z]

I generally try to stay in ketosis about 3/4 of the week, but yeah it's light most days. Being too deep into ketosis makes me ungodly thirsty constantly and gives me some trouble sleeping at night [so much energy!] so I try not to go super low most of the time.

 

I also lift heavy weights, so this moderate state seems to be good for maintaining strength gains.

 

 

I pushed too hard working out while in heavy ketosis and landed myself in the hospital for an afternoon. First ride ever in an ambulance! I got a runners high while highly ketogenic and just pushed too hard. Luckily I had gone in for a blood test right after working out and that's when it hit. My bp was 50/30 when I got to the hospital. And by then I was feeling much better!

Edited June 19, 2015 by Robert Z

[pureinheart]

I have no clue what you guys are talking about, but it sounds dangerous. IDK, to me it's simple. Stay away from processed foods, sodas and colorings. Drink only water. Eat as many fresh fruits and veggies possible (I eat only fresh and NOTHING canned). Work hard (physically) and I mean hard. Sweat a lot and drink a lot of water.

[Robert Z]

I have no clue what you guys are talking about, but it sounds dangerous. IDK, to me it's simple. Stay away from processed foods, sodas and colorings. Drink only water. Eat as many fresh fruits and veggies possible (I eat only fresh and NOTHING canned). Work hard (physically) and I mean hard. Sweat a lot and drink a lot of water.

 

Humans have two basic metabolic states for energy - the one we know where we survive mainly on glucose, which comes from carbohydrates, and the other which is ketosis, in which fatty acids [fats] are the primary source of energy [and compounds produced as a result of ketosis].

 

Ketosis may be the state that is historically normal for humans. High carb diets and processed grains have only become common in the last few thousand years. So it may not be as radical as it sounds. Modern diets are in fact radical compared to the diets on which we evolved! Ketosis can be dangerous, but maintaining light ketosis and going in and out of ketosis isn't the problem. When you go for dramatic weight loss as I did, and drive yourself into heavy ketosis, which requires eating less than 25 grams of carbs a day, you have to be very careful. However, it is extremely effective and a powerful tool for weight loss if you do your homework and stick to the program.

 

I just overdid it working out while highly ketogenic.

 

Interestingly, there is significant evidence mounting that ketosis kills cancers. It is now being used experimentally as a tool in cancer treatment. Research papers are coming out on this almost daily.

 

I have to wonder if high carb diets are responsible for some significant percentage of cancers. Cancers require glucose and insulin to grow and spread, which are abundant in high carb diets. Also, ketones, a byproduct of ketosis, kill tumors.

 

I can't eat fruits. They are loaded with sugar! I do sneak a bit now and again but treat it like candy.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Robert Z

[Robert Z]

Here is the abstract from one recent paper

 

 

Over the last years, evidence has accumulated suggesting that by systematically reducing the amount of dietary carbohydrates (CHOs) one could suppress, or at least delay, the emergence of cancer, and that proliferation of already existing tumor cells could be slowed down. This hypothesis is supported by the association between modern chronic diseases like the metabolic syndrome and the risk of developing or dying from cancer. CHOs or glucose, to which more complex carbohydrates are ultimately digested, can have direct and indirect effects on tumor cell proliferation: first, contrary to normal cells, most malignant cells depend on steady glucose availability in the blood for their energy and biomass generating demands and are not able to metabolize significant amounts

of fatty acids or ketone bodies due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Second, high insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels resulting from chronic ingestion of CHO-rich Western diet meals, can directly promote tumor cell proliferation via the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway. Third, ketone bodies that are elevated when insulin and blood glucose levels are low, have been found to negatively affect proliferation of different malignant cells in vitro or not to be usable by tumor cells for metabolic demands, and a multitude of mouse models have shown antitumorigenic

properties of very low CHO ketogenic diets. In addition, many cancer patients exhibit an altered glucose metabolism characterized by insulin resistance and may profit from an increased protein and fat intake.

In this review, we address the possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer prevention and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the role of insulin and IGF1 signaling in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs

of cancer patients

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-8-75.pdf

[pureinheart]

Here is the abstract from one recent paper

 

 

 

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-8-75.pdf

 

Thanks Robert. Is this paper speaking of all carbs, complex or otherwise? If it is, I would strongly disagree. I think we should eliminate all refined sugar from our diets though.

[autumnnight]

Look at the research linking ketosis and ketoacidosis.

 

It's the great secret that riles people up when you mention it.

 

Ketoacidosis is what causes a diabetic to become dehydrated, suddenly lose tons of weight, and die.

[123321]

Quiche or sugar free custard without a crust .....

[Brigit]

Look at the research linking ketosis and ketoacidosis.

 

It's the great secret that riles people up when you mention it.

 

Ketoacidosis is what causes a diabetic to become dehydrated, suddenly lose tons of weight, and die.

 

Corpses are quite thin.

[123321]

Corpses are quite thin.

 

When fresh, they approximate the heft they had in life. Eventually they do lose weight.