Another low carb diet study

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solman

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Nov 13, 2015
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I've been on a keto diet with <20g carbs per day since the start of 2019 in order to lower my triglyceride to HDL ratio. A recent blood test confirms it's been working. I suggest everyone to re-examine their most recent blood tests and double check their Tri/HDL ratios. Even if all the numbers are within range or just slightly above normal, High Ratio of Triglycerides to HDL-Cholesterol Predicts Extensive Coronary Disease. "Elevation in the ratio of TG to HDL-c was the single most powerful predictor of extensive coronary heart disease among all the lipid variables examined."

https://www.newsweek.com/low-carb-diet-reduce-risk-diseases-1444962

"The diets on average contained 2,950 calories, with 420 grams of carbohydrates in the high carb diet per day; 234 in medium; and 45 in the low. Compared to the high-carb diet, the low-carb diet contained 2.5 times more saturated fat.

"For the low-carbohydrate diet arm, that meant they were eating a lot of fat," Volek told Newsweek. "Nevertheless there were robust improvements in many of the markers of metabolic syndrome. This not only highlights the importance of restricting dietary carbohydrates, but also points to concerns about high-fat being harmful as having no merit."
 
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Yep...the "fat bad for you" myth has been debunked. Too bad Drs still tell people "eat less fat" when diagnosed with diabetes or high cholesterol
 
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people may be accepting high fat as ok, but they're still intaking a lot of carbs and may not understand that high carbs is causing a lot of the health issues today.
 
Yep, My endocrinologist is a paleo diet phd and she says her diet is up to 40% fat, we have it wrong in this country about fat. She told me to not steam my veggies but cook them in real butter. I also asked about how I usually I skip breakfast and her reply was that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" BS was made up General Mills to sell more cereal.
 
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People have been fasting for thousands of years. Skipping a meal, two or three is not bad habit. Especially if one eats carbs, a regular break from the insuline roller coaster allows the body to deal with low level inflammation - which is what triggers high cholesterol, not the dietary fats.
 
Look at the Mayo clinic's dietary advice for diabetics: wholegrains and avoid drinks with added sugar. Wholegrains might be healthier than say white flour but they still have enormous amounts of carbs. How does that help a diabetic?

The highly marketed fresh fruit smoothies are ok - despite the fact that they have as much sugar as Coke.
 
I avoid all grains, drink vodka and diet cream, I really have cut back on the IPA's. Have not had Pizza since January...kills me as living 45 minutes from Brooklyn and having some of the best pizza around me everywhere.

My wake up call came in January when the Hospital for Special Surgery failed me for a rotator cuff pre-op due to my A1C being at 9.6 (s/b 6). I made some changes and dropped 25lbs and A1C was down to 7.0 in 2 months. I also take 1 - 24 hour period a week to do my intermittent fast.
 
I have been on the keto diet since Novmber and have lost 35 lbs and my blood pressure is back down to the "normal" level. We smoke a bunch of meat every weekend and enjoy it all week.
 
Wow, I can't imagine myself on a diet! I could even kill a mockingbird like this and grill it if I'm hungry:emoji_astonished: But sometimes it is useful to read stories and recipes about diet. Hope I would not eat poor mockingbird while I'm at the job. Meat is amazing, folks!
 
I have a ton of respect for people that can stay on a Keto diet. I tried it last year for a couple of months and thought I was going to die. Going from a carb diet to a fat diet just didn't agree with my body.
 
I have a ton of respect for people that can stay on a Keto diet. I tried it last year for a couple of months and thought I was going to die. Going from a carb diet to a fat diet just didn't agree with my body.

I've been Keto for 17 months tomorrow, and when people ask me what the key is I tell them willpower. Now that isn't necessarily just a necessity for Keto, but it helps a lot when you have to avoid one of the most easily obtainable food types out there.
 
I've been Keto for 17 months tomorrow, and when people ask me what the key is I tell them willpower. Now that isn't necessarily just a necessity for Keto, but it helps a lot when you have to avoid one of the most easily obtainable food types out there.

I salute you sir! Willpower wasn't the problem. I smoked cowboy killers for 30 years and kicked that habit. Keto just knocked out too many foods that I like to eat.
 
I have a ton of respect for people that can stay on a Keto diet. I tried it last year for a couple of months and thought I was going to die. Going from a carb diet to a fat diet just didn't agree with my body.

I've been Keto for 17 months tomorrow, and when people ask me what the key is I tell them willpower. Now that isn't necessarily just a necessity for Keto, but it helps a lot when you have to avoid one of the most easily obtainable food types out there.

i've been on it for almost 8 months now, and i feel my body is still adapting to it. i think it helps that i love savory foods, and eating smoked meats i don't have to worry about picking off the fat. one thing i love about the keto diet is that i no longer have sugar crashes. i just feel steadily hungrier throughout the day.

i had thought i could maintain a keto diet forever but i miss pizza, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread too much. my plan now is to try different lifestyle changes and measure my cholesterol level at each stage to see if i can maintain a healthy triglyceride to HDL ratio, which is my ultimate goal.

stage 1: keto, calorie deficit, no exercise
lost 25 pounds

stage 2: keto, maintain calories, exercise 4x/week
each stage is 16 weeks, and i'm currently nearing the end of stage 2. i'll get my blood tested again, then start stage 3

stage 3: original diet, maintain calories, exercise 4x/week
if at the end of stage 3 my cholesterol levels go back up, i can assume that increased carb intake is what caused the levels to increase since that would be the only change between stage 2 and 3.

anyway, this is probably more info than anyone is interested in reading, but figured i'd share in case anyone else is interested in pursuing keto for health reasons.
 
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i've been on it for almost 8 months now, and i feel my body is still adapting to it. i think it helps that i love savory foods, and eating smoked meats i don't have to worry about picking off the fat. one thing i love about the keto diet is that i no longer have sugar crashes. i just feel steadily hungrier throughout the day.

i had thought i could maintain a keto diet forever but i miss pizza, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread too much. my plan now is to try different lifestyle changes and measure my cholesterol level at each stage to see if i can maintain a healthy triglyceride to HDL ratio, which is my ultimate goal.

stage 1: keto, calorie deficit, no exercise
lost 25 pounds

stage 2: keto, maintain calories, exercise 4x/week
each stage is 16 weeks, and i'm currently nearing the end of stage 2. i'll get my blood tested again, then start stage 3

stage 3: original diet, maintain calories, exercise 4x/week
if at the end of stage 3 my cholesterol levels go back up, i can assume that increased carb intake is what caused the levels to increase since that would be the only change between stage 2 and 3.

anyway, this is probably more info than anyone is interested in reading, but figured i'd share in case anyone else is interested in pursuing keto for health reasons.
If you don't mind me asking (and you don't have to answer) what have you lost thus far in stage 2? your age? and starting weight? I went from 229 to 207 on low carb diet and hit a wall. I then did intermittent fasting of 1 day per week and got down to 202...sporadic exercising. What did happen is my A1C (diabetic sugar level) went from a dangerous 9.8 to 7.0 in the first 3 months...getting tested in a couple weeks.
 
If you don't mind me asking (and you don't have to answer) what have you lost thus far in stage 2? your age? and starting weight? I went from 229 to 207 on low carb diet and hit a wall. I then did intermittent fasting of 1 day per week and got down to 202...sporadic exercising. What did happen is my A1C (diabetic sugar level) went from a dangerous 9.8 to 7.0 in the first 3 months...getting tested in a couple weeks.

stage 2 is my maintenance stage. the only thing i changed was to increase my calorie intake to maintenance level (mostly by increasing protein, gluconeogenesis is demand driven and excess protein doesn't just magically turn into glucose) and started a 4x/week exercise routine (a variation of a 5x3x1 routine from exrx.net. age 47, starting weight 155ish, currently maintaining 130. i also do intermittent fasting, 18 hours fast, 6 hours eat most days, but usually end up doing 16/8 instead.

so going in stages will help me figure out which change has the most effect. stage 1 to 2, i lost weight. stage 2 to 3, i added exercising. stage 3 i'll stop counting carbs and add it back into my diet but maintain weight and exercise.

i'm clueless about diabetes, but isn't going from 9.8 to 7.0 a good thing?
 
i've been on it for almost 8 months now, and i feel my body is still adapting to it. i think it helps that i love savory foods, and eating smoked meats i don't have to worry about picking off the fat. one thing i love about the keto diet is that i no longer have sugar crashes. i just feel steadily hungrier throughout the day.

i had thought i could maintain a keto diet forever but i miss pizza, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread too much. my plan now is to try different lifestyle changes and measure my cholesterol level at each stage to see if i can maintain a healthy triglyceride to HDL ratio, which is my ultimate goal.

stage 1: keto, calorie deficit, no exercise
lost 25 pounds

stage 2: keto, maintain calories, exercise 4x/week
each stage is 16 weeks, and i'm currently nearing the end of stage 2. i'll get my blood tested again, then start stage 3

stage 3: original diet, maintain calories, exercise 4x/week
if at the end of stage 3 my cholesterol levels go back up, i can assume that increased carb intake is what caused the levels to increase since that would be the only change between stage 2 and 3.

anyway, this is probably more info than anyone is interested in reading, but figured i'd share in case anyone else is interested in pursuing keto for health reasons.
Carbohydrates in diet lead to accumulation of advanced glycation end products - known infllammatory agents. Inflammation causes high cholesterol levels. For overweight people (likely suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or insulin resistance) the effect of AGEP is even more pronounced.

Serum cholesterol is not the problem, it's a body defence mechanism like fever. Is what causes high serum cholesterol: inflammation.
 
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yes very good, a non diabetic is in the 5-5.7 range. I hope to be in low 6's on my next blood work. I am a type 2 (non insulin), my real goal is to get off oral meds if possible and drop below 200. I am 6' with a good size frame so going to like 180lbs is not realistic.
 
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I've been low/no carb for a little over two years after being diagnosed type 2. Didn't realize I was going keto until a Dr. friend of mine told me that's what I was doing, I was just following my dr.s orders. Dropped from an A1C of 10.4 to one of 6 in about a year and a half. Best side affect was dropping 65 pounds, and losing the blood pressure meds. Was it rough giving up bread and pasta and rice and potatoes? YES! Am I glad I did? YES! Once I got rolling, there was no way I wanted to go back to feeling like crap all the time. Or suffer the side affects of diabetes, lost too many relatives. It is doable.
 
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