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Originally posted by Rev. Jim:
I've just finished a breakfast of two eggs, two strips of turkey bacon, and a HUGE plate of lo-carb high fiber vegetables (my usual) and now (an hour later) I'm still ravenously hungry, and craving a stack of pancakes of waffles,

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Posts: 43 | From: CNY | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Rev. Jim:
Thanks for your reply. I think I figured out what caused those cravings. My birthday was Thursday, so I included one of those little 50 cent pecan pies with ice cream as my carbs for my dinner (reward meal)....I find that if I keep my carbs to whole grains I seem to be OK. I guess maybe it was all that sugar...!

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As far as your other recommendations, I am astounded! I came on this diet from the CA Heart Healthy Program book, so the idea of going high-fat is surprising. Drs. Heller suggest a diet low in saturated fats, and moderate in monounsaturated fats as well.

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Jim, I didn't suggest "going high fat," but rather adding better healthier fats to your meals, in in reasonable quantities. And actually, I'd suggest you increase your *protein,* which is not automatically a fat intake increase. As for heart health, it's important to do a little fat research if you're going to spend much time doing low carb. Even the AMA, long an advocate of high carb, low fat eating, has started to recognize that certain fats actually contribute to *better* heart heath. Unrefined extra virgin olive oil, and unrefined coconut oil will actually improve your lipid panels by increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol and providing medium chain triglycerides to lower your triglyceride level. You might wasnt to pick up Fran McCullough's book, "The Good Fat Cookbook." It will explain even more about how vital good fats are to a successful low carb plan, AND to a healthy heart. And relax, there's nothing wrong with eating moderate amounts of butter, or natural nut and seed butters either.

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Where did you get the info about all that protein? I'm 6' 0'' and weigh a little over 200lbs. It's mostly belly fat -- I've always been slim except for the belly which started encroaching in my 30's. I'm 56 now, and I could use losing 25lbs or so. I think I need more info on the protein aspect. I was really surprised when you suggested I wasn't getting enough...

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Jim, I got the protein numbers from the baseline amounts that were recommended to me when I started resistance training. When I checked his recommendations out, I discovered that bodybuilders and personal trainers have used these numbers as a baseline for a couple decades. Then I compared them to the minimum protein intake recommendations of the Drs. Eades, who wrote the l/c plan I follow (Protein Power), and the numbers were very close. While the conventional recommendation of Atkins plan is to increase fat intake if you're hungry, the Eadeses recommend increasing lean protein intake first, and they make a pretty good case for eating protein at body builder minimums if you want to reduce fat and increase lean muscle mass.

Using the bodybuilder's baseline, your minimum protein per day would be around 100g, and using the height/weight protein estimate charts from the Protein Power Lifeplan, a 200lb 6ft. tall man would need a minimum of 120g protein/day. Their BF% calculations might put you a tad lower, but you'd still be in the 100g/day range. Keep in mind that even 120g protein per day is only 480 calories. Depending on your carb intake, you'd still need to take in around 750-1000 calories in fats, or 80-110g of fat, just to be eating between 1600-1800 calories/day.

Again, for reference, I aim for around 1500-1600 calories per day, although I don't really 'count' calories in the old Weight Watchers sense. I am still reshaping and losing--and since I only eat around 40-45g of carbs a day, 50% of my calories come from healthy fat sources like nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, butter and fish oils. 30-35% of my calories come from protein, and 12-15% come from carbs, mainly carbs from fruit, vegetables and limited amounts of grains/legumes. I don't eat a lot of red meat, but I do include fish, eggs, curd cheeses and fermented dairy like kefir, and some poultry--again, all relatively lean protein sources compared to things like hamburger and sausage and bacon (the cuts of red meat that I can usually afford)

Hope this helps; while I no longer follow CAD, I've found that the science of doing low carb well is bigger than any individual plan. And bottom line, if you try to limit *two* of the three macronutrients (carbs *and* fats), you will find yourself taking in too few calories, and/or find your diet choices too boring to continue eating this way for the long haul.

Have a good holiday--and careful about those high sugar 'rewards'!

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'A bend in the road isn't the end of the road--unless you miss the turn.'

Posts: 43 | From: CNY | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged |