"Life Without Bread"
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I'm making my way through this thread. When I am done, I will go to the ketogenic thread. My first step is eliminating wheat, potatoes, and tomatoes. I haven't gotten to getting rid of cheese and ice cream, and I already don't drink milk.
For my young one, I've been cooking egg yolk that I break in the pan, but I saw the comments about keeping the yolk intact. I will have to start doing that.
What is occurring to me is that the attitude towards food is wrong. If food was treated only as fuel and nothing else, I think it would be easier for people to eat the high fat some protein no carb diet. But people think of food as pleasure, leading to eating all sorts of bad things for the taste good and momentary feel good.
For my young one, I've been cooking egg yolk that I break in the pan, but I saw the comments about keeping the yolk intact. I will have to start doing that.
What is occurring to me is that the attitude towards food is wrong. If food was treated only as fuel and nothing else, I think it would be easier for people to eat the high fat some protein no carb diet. But people think of food as pleasure, leading to eating all sorts of bad things for the taste good and momentary feel good.
hlat said:
I think, with time, as you make the transition, you'll find your tastes changing pleasantly in the fat/meat direction. And cooking/prep gets so much easier. The big thing about carbs is the craving that comes along with - to keep the glucose pump running. With the craving gone, fat for fuel, and tastes changing, the diet becomes pleasant and natural. That doesn't mean some of the old dishes won't taste good - but eating them will have a much greater negative effect.
mcb
The Living Force
Inga said:
It belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), the edible members of which contain anti-nutrients that can cause some people a lot of trouble. (I understand "Deadly Nightshade" to refer to one particular non-edible plant in the family -- belladonna.) Another concern that I have is that ordinary tomatoes have been messed with genetically (through breeding) to the point where they have lost their flavor. (See, for example, this newspaper article.)
While it's not something that the mass media are likely to pick up on, lost of flavor should tell us something. Our sense of taste evolved to detect foods that are nutritious, and while it can be fooled by industrial manipulation of food, I don't think the loss of flavor in tomato breeds should be ignored. It might be possible to locate and grow "heirloom" varieties of tomatoes at home, but they are still nightshades and if you are sensitive to their poisons then you will pay a price. You might be able to detect sensitivity through food testing, or you might not (especially if you are already dealing with multiple other sensitivities).
I don't know what role genetic manipulation may have played in the development of the anti-nutrient properties of nightshades, or if specific cultures can be more or less sensitive to heirloom (traditional) varieties. My personal rule is, if you have arthritis then avoid them, and I do.
Brenda86
Jedi Master
So I'm 8 days in. I've lost 7.5lbs so almost 3.5kg already 
and am feeling really good. For me, I think it was much easier cutting out all grains at once like I did. With the stuff I cut out immediately I actually find it very hard to get higher than 20-30 carbs every day. I am guessing I will have to be careful to get my fat intake higher as I get closer to my goal weight. But I really think this is the best I have felt in a LONG time. I am only 27, though, so I wonder if that is making the transition a little easier? My mood is getting better, I find I have more energy and drive to get things done during the day. I am not losing my patience so easily with my 2 year old. I am just generally experiencing much more stable energy and moods.
Before the diet change I was experiencing some joint pains, excessive heart palpitations (skipped beats from what I could tell by checking my pulse manually), insomnia, headaches. After I got past the first two days, everything started getting better. I haven't had a single heart palpitation and my sleep is amazing.
I ate ONE, just ONE french fry today and it immediately made my mouth itch. Interesting to see how things I thought I could eat just fine... well... I really couldn't, I was just USED to it, I guess. Anyway, no more "cheats" like that for me. My body needs to keep adjusting and healing, and I do NOT want to go back to feeling the way I was before.
Oh, also, my 4 month old, for a while now has had a large red patch of eczema on his cheek. Well... after 8 days of mommy's new eating, it's almost completely gone!! :D And his bowel movements are more yellow and curdy again - they had been more green and mucousy. Something I was eating was definitely irritating him!
Still reading Primal Body, Primal mind and going over this entire thread and the Ketogenic Diet thread, but I am just so happy with the changes already.
Edited to add:
Almost forgot one other thing... I am having some odd, vivid and intense dreams the last few days too.
and am feeling really good. For me, I think it was much easier cutting out all grains at once like I did. With the stuff I cut out immediately I actually find it very hard to get higher than 20-30 carbs every day. I am guessing I will have to be careful to get my fat intake higher as I get closer to my goal weight. But I really think this is the best I have felt in a LONG time. I am only 27, though, so I wonder if that is making the transition a little easier? My mood is getting better, I find I have more energy and drive to get things done during the day. I am not losing my patience so easily with my 2 year old. I am just generally experiencing much more stable energy and moods.Before the diet change I was experiencing some joint pains, excessive heart palpitations (skipped beats from what I could tell by checking my pulse manually), insomnia, headaches. After I got past the first two days, everything started getting better. I haven't had a single heart palpitation and my sleep is amazing.
I ate ONE, just ONE french fry today and it immediately made my mouth itch.
Interesting to see how things I thought I could eat just fine... well... I really couldn't, I was just USED to it, I guess. Anyway, no more "cheats" like that for me. My body needs to keep adjusting and healing, and I do NOT want to go back to feeling the way I was before.Oh, also, my 4 month old, for a while now has had a large red patch of eczema on his cheek. Well... after 8 days of mommy's new eating, it's almost completely gone!! :D And his bowel movements are more yellow and curdy again - they had been more green and mucousy. Something I was eating was definitely irritating him!
Still reading Primal Body, Primal mind and going over this entire thread and the Ketogenic Diet thread, but I am just so happy with the changes already.
Edited to add:
Almost forgot one other thing... I am having some odd, vivid and intense dreams the last few days too.
mcb
The Living Force
Brenda86 said:So I'm 8 days in. I've lost 7.5lbs so almost 3.5kg already
It can work out OK, and you are young enough that you may not run into complications, but many of us here had problems of one sort or another after going down into the ketogenic range, which is where you are now. The initial weight loss is normal when dropping your carb intake that low; it's mostly water.
At that carb intake level you need to be consuming extra salt.
Personally I would add some more starch back in -- which could include avocado, sweet potatoes, and root vegetables -- and give your body a chance to thoroughly detox from the grains before you go ketogenic, but if you want to stay down there at least read and have on hand the New Atkins book. Some of its food recommendations are pretty bad, but if you know what to include and exclude then it will provide the basic information you need to successfully initiate a ketogenic diet.
Brenda86
Jedi Master
Megan said:Brenda86 said:So I'm 8 days in. I've lost 7.5lbs so almost 3.5kg already
It can work out OK, and you are young enough that you may not run into complications, but many of us here had problems of one sort or another after going down into the ketogenic range, which is where you are now. The initial weight loss is normal when dropping your carb intake that low; it's mostly water.
At that carb intake level you need to be consuming extra salt.
Personally I would add some more starch back in -- which could include avocado, sweet potatoes, and root vegetables -- and give your body a chance to thoroughly detox from the grains before you go ketogenic, but if you want to stay down there at least read and have on hand the New Atkins book. Some of its food recommendations are pretty bad, but if you know what to include and exclude then it will provide the basic information you need to successfully initiate a ketogenic diet.
I have made sure to get extra salt in, as I did remember reading that. I should be able to get the New Atkins book immediately on kindle. It looks fairly cheap. I am leery about going back up on carbs some because I do not want to re-trigger food cravings. Food cravings are what have always held me back from eating healthier and I'm afraid of them coming back. :( I am spending almost all of my free time right now catching up on these threads to get up to speed because after I cut out all of those other things, I really am not WANTING most carbs. The ones I have been eating have been pretty much smothered in fat from the meat I cook. I do love sweet potatoes, but I have not really had the desire to eat it.
Do you think without any negative symptoms so far I should still go ahead and try upping the carbs again? Or would it be better to just keep working extra hard to get up to speed on all the info?
mcb
The Living Force
Brenda86 said:
The two things that bother me the most about the New Atkins book are the food recommendations, as I mentioned, and the idea that very low carb is for weight loss. They (Westman, Phinney, & Volek) recommend that as you reach your weight goal, you increase your carb intake until it is just low enough to avoid cravings and such. Not only does that not make sense to me, but Phinney & Volek, the co-authors, later came out with a follow-up book, The Art and Science of Low Carb Performance, that recommends staying down at induction levels.
It's been a long time since I have read the LWB topic, but I seem to recall that we had people at the time that just dropped down to a low (or extremely low, below 20 g/d) level and stayed there without problems, other than perhaps a bit of fatigue during adaptation. I know from other reading and listening outside the forum that some people do this without any trouble at all. For that matter, I don't have any trouble with it now myself, going on 2 years of KD. I can do near-zero, or 20 g/d, or 50 g/d, without cravings or the need to eat frequently. These numbers are all in the ketogenic range. But it wasn't always that way for me; hence the cautions.
I think you have to make your own call, but pay close attention to what's going on in your body. What concerns me is that there are people that read this forum and go off and do what they think "we" said to do and run into problems, and just keep doing what they are doing anyway, so I tend to make conservative recommendations, in line with what worked for me. My first, second, and third recommendations are read, read, and read. Learn all you can.
One thing I am aware of now that I didn't know about 2 years ago is that if your gut flora are healthy, you are probably pretty healthy. If they aren't, you aren't either and you'd better be very careful with sudden shifts in what you eat -- and a sudden shift is one way to find out how healthy they are! Mine weren't and aren't, though they seem to healthier than they were. If you develop GI symptoms, eczema, or anything that is unusual for you, you'd better pay attention.
Brenda86
Jedi Master
Megan said:
Good advice, thank you! So far, I'm experiencing nothing but good side effects, like my son's eczema actually clearing up. My own skin seems to be clearing too, I usually have a lot of redness on my forehead between my eyes and on my chin and cheeks, and my skin looked like... glowy and healthy this morning with a marked reduction in redness . As far as GI troubles, these last few days I seem to be doing quite well, less gas, no pains when having to use the bathroom, which is a good thing for me.
But yes, I'm reading, reading, reading. I don't want to miss anything. I had not really intended to go so low so quickly but my body seems to be responding so well. I will DEFINITELY be vigilant about any signs that things aren't right with my body and continue to get as much information as I can. Right now, if I'm not caring for the kids or doing housework, or sleeping, of course, I'm probably reading. :)
I definitely am looking at weight loss as more of a perk than the goal. Just from all the reading I am doing, it seems like this is the healthiest thing for the body and I am consistently amazed at the research that has been done to show all the benefits, but that it's just not getting out there to people because it's SO against what people want to hear.
First thing one of my friends said to me when he found out I was cutting down on carbs was, "Well, just make sure you stay away from eating too much meat and saturated fat! And you can still eat whole grains, though, right, cause whole wheat is good for you."
Inga
Padawan Learner
Megan said:
Thank you Megan
My probem is that I do not know English (I always say that I do not know English and I know I'm boring).
I've read the forum, I came across some information, but not as much as I wanted and how much I need.
When I translate through Google, at one point, sentences do not make sense.
Forgive me for asking questions frequently.
My father has type 2 diabetes. What is the first book he needs to read for his diet? I may only have one shot at getting him to turn around his diet, so I want to get the best one to address his diabetes.
I was thinking Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. I think this was aimed at type 1 though. I am on page 38 of this thread, so I am asking this question in case a better book has surfaced since then.
Or would he be better served with Life Without Bread, or Vegetarian Myth, or Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance? I know these are all must reads; this question is what should he read first, potentially if he never reads any other one.
It is not easy to undo all the false information, learn the correct knowledge and state of the art information, and change lifestyles to conform to new knowledge.
I was thinking Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. I think this was aimed at type 1 though. I am on page 38 of this thread, so I am asking this question in case a better book has surfaced since then.
Or would he be better served with Life Without Bread, or Vegetarian Myth, or Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance? I know these are all must reads; this question is what should he read first, potentially if he never reads any other one.
It is not easy to undo all the false information, learn the correct knowledge and state of the art information, and change lifestyles to conform to new knowledge.
hlat said:
Life Without Bread is great from the experience-based work of doctors and has a lot of impact - but it misses on some of the wider implications. Primal Body Primal Mind takes the story from low-carb through ketogenic and fills in many of these holes. Maybe the best course is to get both and have a flip-through yourself to decide which might be best.
