[Darbro]

Hi all, I'm a newbie here so forgive me if this question has been debated forever. I since diagnosis of D2 last week I dropped all sugar/starch and switched to a south beach diet as I was already very familiar with. However, in reading posts here it seems the many (most?) folks are doing LCHF. I figured I would give myself a treat and frankly love eating cream, butter, bacon etc, it's better than carbs anyday!

The question is whether there has ever been a poll to find out how many here are doing the high fat part? I feel guilty eating all these things that I used to avoid. For those who have been doing it for some time, I'm wondering how long before significant weight loss starts (assuming decent exercise), it's just hard to wrap my mind around losing weight while eating all the butter and bacon lol. Based on discussions here, I bought some Nutiva Coconut oil, and WOW! it is sooo good. I wish I knew about this product before.

My other question concerns baking bread-like creations. I failed at making the oopsie-things, but made some really normal tasting/textured muffins using eggs, cream and almond flour. Is there any drawbacks to this mixture that I don't know about? What other bread/wrap/muffin ingredients do people here use?

 

[Shanny]

Browse our recipe board - there are scads of things from cookies to muffins to jwags' bagels & optimist's crackers. And no drawbacks that I can see . . . another good baking ingredient to monkey around with is cream cheese.

There's no reason to feel guilty if you were taken in by the bad fats propaganda; now you know the truth, so you can shake off the past & get on with your new lifestyle. I don't LCHF for weight loss, I do it for diabetes control. But if you intend to low carb, and have a pleasant time of it, you'll be thankful to include high fat along with it, because low-carb AND low-fat is a miserable combination. You need the high fat to ensure that you get enough calories for good energy.

 

[moon]

I ate low-fat for years, which meant I ate high-carb as that replaced all those fat calories I was avoiding. Now, I look down at my plate and don't recognize the food I'm eating (except veggies) as it's so different!

I've lost close to 50 lbs since eating LCHF, and that's without even attempting portion control, it just happened naturally since fat is so much more satisfying than carbs, and longer-lasting. My biggest challenge is to eat more (healthy) fats and not replace too many of the carb grams with excess protein.

It's an adjustment, no question. I still marvel at deliberately adding fat to veggies and meats - but it works!

 

[Shalynne]

CONFESSION: Waaayyy back in the mid-70s, I knew low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) worked, because I lost 50 pounds with my own modified Atkins-type diet. Most of that weight stayed off for years. But, over time, Atkins became "discredited," and high-carb low-fat was crowned king. Despite my skepticism, I partly bought into the "new wisdom."

Less than a week after diagnosis, I realized that I just can't do high-carb ... even though I'm on insulin.

So I'm back on low-carb, high-fat, this time without my homegrown cheats. My weight loss is slower than I'd like (I blame the insulin), but it's still happening. My glucose levels are near-normal most of the time, and I feel better all around.

More important, my innate tendency to question authority has grown much stronger.

 

[jwags]

I was always a pretty skinny kid, well into college and beyond. Having 6 pregnancies in 11 years really messed up my metabolism. I guess having a baby at 39 really didn't help either. I think I was the queen of dieting and had lost weight on low carb diets, but I didn't understand how they worked and typical me , once I lost the weight I would go back to old ways of eating. It took me getting diabetic to look for a permanent way of eating. I experimenting with different levels of low carb and different levels of fat. Quite frankly it wasn't until I raised the fat level significantly that I saw my weight go down and stay down. I found Nutiva about 18 months ago and you are right. I use it in everything. As far as low carb baking, I like to start with an established recipe. So many things can make a difference. Sometimes it took me several times to get a recipe right. A lot depends on your oven temperature, microwave power and termperature of ingredients. Room temperature eggs work a lot better. My basic ingredients in my pantry are Golden ground Flaxseed, Chia Seeds, Sesame seeds, Almond Meal, Blanched Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Baking Powder, Cream of Tartar, Erythitol, Splenda and Stevia. I also have lots of nuts on hand that I use in baking as well as low carb whey powder.

 

[Daytona]

There is a great book, Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taubes which explains really well why we still lose weight on a high fat diet without counting calories.

I have lost over 60lbs doing LCHF and having done low-fat before, I must prefer this way. I have much more energy and enjoy my food.

 

[jwags]

It will usually take several weeks to several months for your body to switch from burning carbs to burning fat for fuel. Lots of people give up on LC/HF because they don't see immediate results but don't give up. Even though I was not a lot overweight I lost another 30 pounds on LC/HF and now am in a maintenance mode.

 

[Darbro]

Thanks

This board and the folks that participate are awesome. Essentially then I ought to continue enjoying the fatty foods and maybe some weight effects will appear in a month. I understand that the main motivator is to control bg, but my understanding is that losing some lbs is important for that end also.

I don't crave sweet, I'm enjoying fat too much, but do like sweetener in my coffee. Is there a consensus here regarding the use of Splenda?

 

[jwags]

I think with all of the sweeteners just test to make sure. Some splenda is bulked up with Dextrose so read the labels. I think the powdered packets are OK. Some like Stevia, which is a natural product. For baking I like Erythitol mixed with splenda or stevia. As far as balancing your diet, the only thing I count is carbs and I do keep those usually below 10-15 per meal. Some find protein will spike glucose 3-5 hours after you eat so don't overdo it on the protein. Like everything it is trial and error. Once you start to kick into Ketosis, you should start seeing a big difference in your body composition. The only thing to watch for is your bgs. Having Ketones and normal bgs are OK but if you have ketones and high bgs that could indicate DKA so be careful.