Changing Attitudes on Fat in Our Diet

[Rojo]

Are you guys doing "low carb" or "slow carb"? To me there's a difference, I've done both and I did find "low carb" miserable. On slow carb I haven't had the hunger issues.

Depends on what you mean by "slow carb". I'm dubious of "whole" grains and glucose index ratings. Eat veggies, you'll get full before you can consumer a ton of carbs. That's the problem with grains, it's a great way to get a bunch of carbs in your body.

[Rojo]

This has been an inspirational thread. It has me re-thinking on my approaches to my health. I believe it will have a positive effect. I'm really going to try to lessen my carb intake...we'll see. Interesting about the various head-ache comments through the first week of carb-fasting.

No headaches for me, but definite brain fog.

[Rojo]

I purchased a jump rope for sprints. We'll see how this goes.

[Razor Shines]

Depends on what you mean by "slow carb". I'm dubious of "whole" grains and glucose index ratings. Eat veggies, you'll get full before you can consumer a ton of carbs. That's the problem with grains, it's a great way to get a bunch of carbs in your body.

I don't eat any grains. I eat beans and vegetables at almost every meal. The beans are really important, they provide the carbs I need so I don't have the headaches and hunger pangs.

I would recommend at least checking out Tim Ferriss' blog or book on the Slow Carb diet. I may seem like an infomercial for him but it's honestly incredibly easy. In my everyday life I recommend it to anyone who brings up the subject of diet or losing weight and I'm not normally a person to recommend anything.

[Redsfaithful]

I did 5x400 at the track tonight. Amazing that it's been 15 years since high school cross country and I still get sick to my stomach before doing a track workout.

[Kingspoint]

I did 5x400 at the track tonight. Amazing that it's been 15 years since high school cross country and I still get sick to my stomach before doing a track workout.

Funny.

[919191]

I did 5x400 at the track tonight. Amazing that it's been 15 years since high school cross country and I still get sick to my stomach before doing a track workout.

I did the exact same thing a week ago. Haven't done speed work in maybe a year. I am 53. I had a touch of Achilles tendonitis before. It isn't just a touch now. I am too old for that I guess. Maybe I will stick to distance.

[Sea Ray]

I am definitely with you all on carbs being the enemy but I also feel we need fiber for colon health. It's awfully hard to get fiber w/o the accompanying carbs. For example I like high fiber breads and corn as well as a really high fiber cereal. I eat two bowls of a high fiber cereal once a week to flush things out and I don't do it for the taste. It tastes like sawdust but it does do what it's supposed to.

[Hillsdale87]

So I actually started the slow carb diet again on Tuesday, and I'm sitting here at work with a headache... I can't wait to get past this first week. I think part of my problem is that I actually need to eat more food when I go on this diet and am not getting filled up by carbs. But it takes me a little while to get into the habit of eating more frequently. For instance, I've been eating 3 - 4 eggs every morning for breakfast around 7:30, but by 9:00 I'm starving. I'll eat a little bit around then and try to hold out for lunch, but that didn't work at all today.

[Rojo]

I don't eat any grains. I eat beans and vegetables at almost every meal. The beans are really important, they provide the carbs I need so I don't have the headaches and hunger pangs.

I would recommend at least checking out Tim Ferriss' blog or book on the Slow Carb diet. I may seem like an infomercial for him but it's honestly incredibly easy. In my everyday life I recommend it to anyone who brings up the subject of diet or losing weight and I'm not normally a person to recommend anything.

That sounds right. I think if you cut out the bread and refined sugar, you're fine. You don't even need to count carbs or anything else.

[Rojo]

I am definitely with you all on carbs being the enemy but I also feel we need fiber for colon health. It's awfully hard to get fiber w/o the accompanying carbs. For example I like high fiber breads and corn as well as a really high fiber cereal. I eat two bowls of a high fiber cereal once a week to flush things out and I don't do it for the taste. It tastes like sawdust but it does do what it's supposed to.

It's not that carbs are "bad", it's that the grains and refined sugar can load massive amounts of them into our bodies quickly. With veggies, you're going to get full before you can get that many carbs down. Notice the difference with real foods vs. packaged stuff. You just won't gorge yourself on veggies, eggs, meat or even fruit like you can with cookies or cheetos.

Re: fiber. I read somewhere that not all fiber is the same, that the fiber in veggies is what our bodies like, the fiber in grains is good for filling the toilet bowl.

[mdccclxix]

Great thread. My wife and I are hopeless sugar and carb addicts. I'm going to come up with a shopping list that cuts out the carbs and try sticking to it that way. It's really a phenomenon how much a slice of bread seems so tempting and necessary once you're off it for a day or two. I doubt we've ever made it past 1 or 2 weeks with restrictions in place, but very early on you can start to feel different and the pounds start coming off. For me, it's about the quick lunch and quick snack. I need those two things. Most of what is at the store for those purposes is full of carbs and/or sugar.

[Kingspoint]

So, I tried to do without carbs/sugar altogether, except for beans. I did it Day 1. Day 2, I failed later in the day. Day 3, today, there was company, so I had some bread, potato chips and cheesecake.

After three days, I'm thinking that I would like to try to keep my no carbs/sugars to 4 or 5 days per week, giving myself two or three days a week to take in sugars/carbs. What kind of results should I expect from something like that? Monday through Thursday is much easier for me to do no carbs/sugars. It's weekends that are difficult.

I've always been mentally able to balance my week out with food keeping a running total of the types of foods I have in my head with the intent of balance always being the goal. So, I'm thinking that if I could get rid of carbs/sugars four or five days per week, I should see a significant health benefit from that.

[Kingspoint]

Just read Ferris' "slow carb" suggestions. Glad to see that he gives himself Saturday's as his "go wild" day, where he eats anything he wants and goes out of his way to get ice cream.

That makes it more feasible. I'm going to try for 2-1/2 days instead of one, but I won't "go wild", except for maybe just one weekend day. Like Ferris, he picked a weekend day. I enjoy food too much to not have at least one of these days per week.

[Hillsdale87]

After three days, I'm thinking that I would like to try to keep my no carbs/sugars to 4 or 5 days per week, giving myself two or three days a week to take in sugars/carbs. What kind of results should I expect from something like that? Monday through Thursday is much easier for me to do no carbs/sugars. It's weekends that are difficult.

It really all depends on the amount of carbs you're taking in on your cheat days. You'll definitely see positive results regardless, but your progress may not be as fast. I think you'll also find that the longer you do this, the easier it will be to skip carbs. The first week I did it last summer, I looked forward to Saturday all week and ate horrible food all day. By the fourth week, I was pretty measured in what I ate, and I didn't really take advantage of the cheat day because my body was no longer craving the carbs. It is tough though when you go over to people's houses or have people over.