Looking for patterns in weight loss and consumption Low Carb Nugget 64 The main lesson of my diet so far is that weight loss is a complex and perplexing topic. It's one of the great mysteries of life. But if a method is working for you, stick with it. … [Read more ...]
Weight gain, weight loss in two short periods
Last weekend, Anita and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary with a short trip and a stay in an historic bed-and-breakfast. I did my best to be true to both my wife and my diet. The B & B provided me with eggs, meat, and coffee in the morning. I ignored the platter of chocolate-chip cookies available 24 hours a day. (Anita did not.) We picked restaurants where I could put together tasty low-carb meals. All in all, things went fine, until I weighed myself the morning after our return. Did I discover that romance was an aid to weight loss? … [Read more ...]
Intermittency in diet (LCN 65)
Intermittency: a dietary change-of-pace Low Carb Nugget 65 When it comes to diet, "intermittency" means making frequent, significant changes in how much you eat. You need to throw your body a dietary change up, and not let it adjust to a single continuous level of intake. (Programming note: I won't be releasing an episode of this podcast on Saturday, October 7th. Just two nuggets this week.) … [Read more ...]
Optimal protein (LCN 62)
Optimal protein on an LCHF diet Low Carb Nugget 62 There's a difference between minimal protein intake and optimal protein intake. The minimum daily requirement for an inactive adult is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight. You can live on that. But more is probably better, even for the sedentary. The goal is not just to survive, but to thrive, and that means eating an optimal amount of all nutrients, including protein -- not too much, and not too little. So how much protein is optimal? Show Links "More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Protein & Gluconeogenesis." Amy Berger. Tuit … [Read more ...]
Beliefs can cause inflammation of the brain
How dangerous is that beef-steak? Beliefs, dogmas and habits of mind are powerful things. I'd sooner have them on my side in an argument than the puny forces of reason and evidence. Take the belief that saturated fat is the source of all evil in the modern diet. It's a deeply and widely held notion in the Western World. Somehow, we all just know that eating red meat will kill us by clogging up our arteries with its saturated fat. Doctors, nutritionists, media pundits and ordinary people have repeated the idea so often that it has taken on the aura of folk wisdom. You could hardly be blamed … [Read more ...]
Control what you can
Weight control vs. diet control No one has direct control over their body weight, percentage of body fat, or waist circumference. Indirect control, maybe, but not direct control. For example, you can't tell your body "lose five pounds" and expect it to obey. You can't wake up and decide your waist-size for the day will be 36 inches. Sure, you could decide to pull out size-36 pants, and try to squeeze into them, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to. … [Read more ...]
Low-carb road-trip eating
When my wife was 11 years old, she was mesmerized by Peter Tork, a member of the Monkees. Depending on whom you ask, the Monkees were either actors in a TV comedy or musicians in a rock-band. Or both. My wife would say both, and more, but her focus was always on the blond, hazel-eyed Mr. Tork. It still is. All of this explains why she and I drove to Merrillville, Indiana, yesterday to watch the Monkees (three of the four, anyway) perform at the Star Plaza Theatre. It was a stop on the group's 45th anniversary tour. Since "the guys," as Anita calls them, were in their early to mid-twenties … [Read more ...]
High-carb, low-fat diets associated with increased risk of early death
A major new study has found an association between low-fat diets and an increased risk of premature death. The large epidemiological cohort study, published in The Lancet, followed more than 135,000 people in 18 countries around the world to uncover the relationship between dietary macro-nutrients and cardiovascular disease and mortality. High, middle, and low-income groups were included. The researchers documented nearly 5,800 deaths and 4,800 major cardiovascular disease events in the cohort during the follow-up period. … [Read more ...]
Coffee = Life = Coffee
Early on in my low-carb adventure, I ran across the advice to stop drinking coffee. That nearly ended my low-carb adventure right then. There are some things you can't give up. Coffee's at the top of my list. Repeat after me, friends: "Coffee is life, life is coffee." That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Coffee is low-carb -- right? There are carbs in black coffee -- about a tenth of a gram in a cup. S0 coffee is low-carb, though not quite as low-carb as plain water. In fact, black coffee has very little in terms of macro-nutrients of any kind. So why would low-carb … [Read more ...]
Low-carb diets and dental health
Examining the relationship between low-carb diets and dental health Last updated: April 2017 When you eat a healthier diet and lose weight, you can reasonably expect good news from a medical exam. I've gotten such good news in the past few months: lower blood pressure and improved blood lipid numbers. But I wasn't expecting diet-related good news from my semi-annual dental cleaning and exam. I got some anyway. My teeth were fine. I have a bunch of fillings from years ago, and sometimes one needs replacing, but new cavities have been relatively rare in recent years. Even before going … [Read more ...]
Avocado in the morning
Avocado in a low carb diet Pictured is my low-carb breakfast this morning: two eggs fried in coconut oil, three small and crispy strips of bacon, and the flesh of half an avocado. It's a fairly typical breakfast for me these days. I eat other things in the morning, including a goopy mixture of chia seeds, almond butter, walnuts and (LCHF purists avert your eyes!) oatmeal. But day in and day out, my breakfast is likely to include eggs. If I'm fortunate enough to have an avocado on hand, breakfast is likely to include that, too, in one way or another. Eating LCHF, I've banished most … [Read more ...]