I have not been on here for a long time - since I crocked my Achilles tendon last March. My problem is that the running was so very very good to help me lose weight and control my BS (T2 diabetic)
I was gradually losing weight and my appetite was controlled. Since being on the couch (injury bench) I am struggling to find a way to exercise efficiently. I decided to try the 5:2 way of eating because my son and daughter-in-law had both lost lots on it. I am finding it very slow going. My energy levels are at rock bottom too. (I used to be one of those people with boundless energy). If left to my own devices I don't wake up until 11.00 +. I do sleep all night.
I keep seeing the blurb about LCHF but I'm hesitating because fats have high calorific values, although the blogs suggest it works.
Can anybody tell me their experience of this way of eating, and does it work?
Many thanks in anticipation of your help.
Written by
Beek
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Thank you so much, bigleg for taking the time to send such a comprehensive reply. I bought Dr Briffa's book some time ago and found it very useful. The link you sent me has even more useful information which I can use. I am allowed to walk now as long as I take small steps. No running of course until the ruptured tendon has fully healed (18 more months in the air boot ) It was the diet doctor site where I first read about LCHF.
You have been at it long enough and it obviously works for you. We have all been spun the line about animal fats being bad for us and that seems to have been a huge misinformation event. We (I) have become obsessed about eating no fat like butter and cream, although I never eat 'low fat' anything though because I am aware of trans-fats and the like. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that processed foods are our main downfall, as well as carbs of course.
I really appreciate your response and fortunately my big shop today was done with LCHF in mind. (Although I've just had a nice slice of home made fruit cake whilst my husband is out.)
So from breakfast tomorrow I shall kick carbs into touch, except for fruits, and watch this space as they say! It is time for me to take the bull by the horns and stop worrying about fats.
Hi you could have a look at a book by Joel Fuhrman - Eat To Live
Are you working out with your upper body ? It is suprising how much you can do and it can help with energy levels, cardio, calorie burning etc etc
Hi Ondine, Thank you for telling me about Joel Fuhrman - I've not come across him before. He has some very interesting titles and I will probably buy his 'Eat to Live' quite soon (Bought 2 Kindle books today to read first) - That 'One click buy button' is just too easy!
We have a Wiifit and whilst not particularly cardio, it may be useful for pilates and core stability moves.
Thank you so much for replying. I feel a lot less alone with it now!
I've been following a strict LCHF regime for almost a year now and it's been a real eye opener for me and I love it, I really do.
I lost a huge amount of weight a few years ago through what I guess you would describe as conventional dieting, using an energy/calorie deficit, my journey was quite a long one as I lost around 18 stone in total, along the road I changed the types of food I was eating several times, jigging my diet as my knowledge expanded. I always tried to eat for health but the diet did include Carbohydrates all be it mainly complex ones.
I then had about a year of maintaining that weight loss and it was here that I really found the pressure mounted, I managed to keep the weight off but it was not easy, I had to continue to be very strict if not stricter about what I ate and I found I was having to do more and more cardio exercise each day, some days this would amount to as much as 3 hours plus, at one point I was running 12km every morning! The other problem is that despite continuing to eat Healthily, I was just constantly hungry and from what I now think I know, I had basically killed my metabolism, anyway it was this that lead me to LCHF.
For me the biggest benefit of LCHF is the satiety levels, I'm no longer hungry all the time and when I am hungry I know that I am genuinely hungry, not spuriously hungry as with a Carb rich diet. My weight has been the most stable it has ever been in my entire life, seriously, I was someone that even before I became morbidly obese, would still own several sizes of clothes because even then my weight would go up and down like a YoYo. With LCHF I have been + or - 1KG of my Maintenance Weight for most of last year.
The concept of eating this way can be a little hard to grasp at first and it took me a few months to get to grips with it fully. Reducing Carbs is the easy part, the hard part is getting enough Fat into your diet without excessive protein. If you are trying to lose weight and you have too much protein this usually gets converted to Glucose and put you back into what's commonly referred to as a "Sugar Burner" instead of a "Fat Burner" which is where you want to be. You also have to be quite strict, there is no room for cheating, if you are eating a High Fat Diet and if you cheat with Carbs then you have the perfect scenario to drive some serious fat storage/gains
Lots of people claim you don't need to count calories doing LCHF and that is true to a certain extent, however if weight loss is your goal you need to be mindful of what you are eating because if you have a excess energy from your diet then you are not going to burn fat from your body's stores. This is more critical at the start of LCHF when your Endocrine System may well be broken or out of tune, after a while though in most people this way of eating helps fix any hormonal issues you may been experiencing with your metabolism (Insulin resistance etc) which in turn means you'll only eat when you need to for nutritional reasons!
I whole heartily agree with Bigleg, you should not exercise to lose weight, if you are exercising to lose weight then your diet is wrong. Fat loss (unlike weight gain) requires your body to be in a specific bio-chemical state. We are indoctrinated into the notion that we need to Move More and Eat Less in order to lose weight, personally from my own experience we need to start encouraging people to put exercise into a completely separate box to Losing Weight. The two should not be discussed in the same sentence. Exercise for Health, which is a must, but change what you eat to lose weight.
Best Wishes and Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.
Thank you Olsbean for all the detail you've packed into your reply. I know that I can manage to get the carbs significantly lower. I was interested what you and Bigleg say about exercise not being the right way forward for weight loss. I also did not realise that modern farming techniques increase the sugar content of fruits.
Tonight I cooked a roasting tray full of all kinds of vegetables (only 1 parsnip) mange touts, peppers, mushrooms,red onion, cherry tomatoes, courgette. I massaged an egg-cupful of olive oil into it and then laid some chicken gougons over the top and baked it all. It looked fantastic, was tasty and very filling. Filling is not something I am used to - I rarely ever feel full.
I will take notice of your last sentence: Exercise for Health, which is a must, but change what you eat to lose weight.
I feel there is a huge amount for me to fix.
Sincere thanks to you and Bigleg for your helpful and detailed replies - it helps greatly to know that others understand where I am coming from. For now I'll concentrate wholly on what I eat, then gradually sort out a way of exercising.
Many thanks for your replies!
(If you lost 18 stone you must have been quite large!) I am 75kg and need to get to 65kg.
Somethings I now do to cut my Carbs and increase fat are, I use Cauliflower Rice, instead of normal rice, which is basically just cauliflower blitzed in a food processor to the consistency of rice, to which I add spices, seasoning and maybe some veg (depending on what I am serving it with), lastly I fry it in butter. I replace spaghetti and pasta with spaghetti made from either courgettes or carrots, I have a machine that does it but you can do it just as easily with a knife. You can also make a pretty good Mash Potato substitute from a Cauliflower, Parsnips and a little butter, add some bacon for something really nice.
I eat lots of fresh raw Coconut, most days I eat an Avocado, Olives, Lots of Eggs, Butter, Cheese, Almonds, Walnuts and Macadamia Nuts. Occasionally 90% Dark Chocolate, Lindt which is reasonably priced in the major Supermarkets. I eat a lot of green leafy veg like Spinach. Then just real food, like Chicken with the skin on, liver, bacon, the occasional steak.
I cook in butter or coconut oil.
I drink coffee with cream in it and tea with full fat milk in it, I go to bed with 100% Cocoa made with Full Fat milk and I have the occasional Dram (No Carbs in Distilled Spirit) in the evening.
I was a big guy, there are some pictures on my profile, though they were not taken at my biggest, one of them is at my Wedding and I slimmed down for that
I have been leaning towards the LCHF for a few weeks since someone mentioned it. Can you recommend an idiots guide to starting this way of eating please. I have been on one of the commercial diets for years (red and green days) and my weight is up and down constantly!!! I am really keen to try something different but the mind boggles at how confusing things can be. A book of sorts would be of great help. Thank you in advance
You could try the LCHF for Beginners - dietdoctor.com/lchf? for information or if you want more of complete handholding type package and support then Zoe Harcombe provides books and an online diet club with forums etc, I should say I have not had the need to do her diet personally which works in 3 stages but she has a lot of positive feedback in general. Her books can be found on Amazon and her online club (including forum) is at theharcombedietclub.com/
If ingesting information by video is more your thing, then Sam Felton has some good videos on YouTube, his organisation is called Smash the Fat smashthefat.com/ and youtube.com/user/smashthefat
"Horses for Courses" as my old Nan used to be fond of saying I don't think LCHF is necessarily for everyone but for those of us that have become ill in one way or another from prolonged exposure to our modern refined carbohydrate dense diet, it appears to be an almost perfect solution. You have to be quite strict and forgo a lot of foods that may have become almost like family to you but if you can live that the benefits appear to good when comparing it to other lifestyle diets.
Hopefully it will help you, the main thing is never throw the towel in and you'll find something that works for you eventually.
Hi Olsbean - I did a lot of research after your last post and I opted for the Zoe Harcombe diet. I bought the diet book and started Monday. I am now on day four of the first 5 day Phase 1 and doing well, with only two small glitches
Right! Today's the day - stop the procrastination and do something positive!
Thank you OlsBean, sloggingalong and bigleg for all your replies.
I don't think anyone without T2D can understand how rubbishy one can feel on an 'off' day. I realise I'm the only one who can change this so I'm off to the shops now with my new list. OH has a lot of learning to do too but that will come in time.
Must admit to a feeling of trepidation - after a lifetime of the 'fat is bad' indoctrination! The carbs route did not work so I'll keep you posted on this.
The low fat diet high carb diet is the cause of the diabetes & obesity epidemic, & a terrible medical mistake that has had people eating all sorts of unhealthy c**p such as plastic margarine, & toxic sweeteners. Interesting read , if you have time: theguardian.com/society/201...
I have a vegetarian clean food high fat diet with lots of nuts, seeds, & full fat dairy, which make up half to three quarters of my daily calorie intake. I've known starchy foods don't agree with me since 1979, & now avoid toxic soya, unless it's fermented. Odd that I seem ok with sugars, as I'm fine eating lots of fruit. I have a good idea what my calorie intake is, at approximately 1,800 a day, but now count nutrients in meals & snacks instead.
I've never tried the 5:2 diet, though I know people that have lost weight doing this. Also from food combining, ie no carbohydrates & protein in the same meal. I've tried eating most calories in a high protein breakfast, which seemed to work, but now I have restrictive eating times, most days. This has been easier than I thought it would be, & since I first tried it, over 3 years ago, found it has more benefits than just weight control.
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) It was the diet doctor site where I first read about LCHF. 
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