An interesting observation... page 2

[Legerity]

I love hearing things like this. I'm so fascinating by the benefits of reducing carbs, and it's always nice to hear that people are able to eat a rich satisfying diet of nutritious foods without having to obsess about the calories.

[Kane]

Thats great dfast, really impressive. Could you post a few things like age, gender and an example of a days eating plan?


When I have a larger budget(student) I really plan on upping my calories a lot and really cutting the carbs down. I'm going to have to get over my fear of cream it seems!


-Kane

[john_e_turner_ii]

Dfast, what are you eating for carbs? Only 15g per day or less is keeping you in ketosis. Your body is having to use anything it can for energy it sounds to me.


By the way, cream right out of the carton is so good!

[dfast]

@Legerity: My diet is certainly rich and satisfying!


@Kane: I am 21 years old and male. My previous diet history goes like this:


Overweight from 10-15, due to excessive sugar consumption. Vegan from 16-18 (I'd go for days just eating new potatoes covered in salt - don't ask why, I don't know!) coupled with chronic coffee consumption, no exercise and twenty cigarettes a day. I was verging on anorexic.


At 18 I started eating meat again, and experimented with various high-carb low-fat diets. I just ended up in a binge cycle - eating three or four boxes of cereal and then starving myself for three days and performing chronic cardio to 'offset the damage'. I got ill a lot.


Now, I walk 4-7 miles a day (to and from work) and lift weights 2-3 times a week. I also occasionally go for a 20 minute run when I'm staying at my flat in Brighton (as it's by the sea - love running along the seafront as the sun is coming up).


My diet for the past two weeks has been like this:


Breakfast - 1 pot (300ml) double / heavy cream, whipped if I'm feeling adventurous. 1 cup of coffee with another two tablespoons of cream. 10oz of fatty meat - I've had pork, beef, duck, chicken. 3-4 slices of cheese - I like strong cheeses. Cream cheese is also a regular addition - I can eat a whole tub quite easily.


I usually skip lunch, as we don't have a fridge at work and I usually don't feel like it. I sometimes go and get another coffee with some cream in it.


Dinner: Last night was a pork shoulder (~1000 calories) with home-made sage butter and some fried sliced of halloumi cheese. I had another pot of cream for dessert, and also snacked on Roquefort cheese (had around 100g).


So that's roughly 5,200 calories. And I did it every day. Most of my carbs come from the cream and soft cheeses - have been averaging 10-15g a day. On at least four days I was under 5g - eating just fatty meat (bought a massive pork belly the other day and ate nothing else). It's not been that expensive, as the meat has mostly been on special offer (there's a Sainsbury's on my walking route) so I buy it and eat it on the day.


Hope that helps.

[dfast]

@john_e_turner_ii: The carbs came from either the cream or the soft cheeses I have been eating. I ate no other source of carbohydrates - no fruits or veg. Just meat and cream and cheese. No nuts or anything like that.


Yes, cream is amazing. I would like to bathe in it for sure.

[dfast]

Also forgot to add; my Ketostix are not showing that I am in ketosis.

[kennelmom]

@dfast...interesting results. I wonder how long you could continue on at that rate without weight gain and how much age will affect it. I consumed massive amounts of calories in my 20s and maintained a slim figure (even with a lot of those being carbs/sugar).


@jo Regarding calorie restriction and PB - My take after reading the book is that calorie counting is not generally recommended...unless you aren't seeing the results you expect.


I think the important thing is to listen to your body...eat when you are hungry and make sure the calories you eat are within the PB guidelines most of the time.

[dfast]

@kennelmom: Thanks for your comments. I am usually not the kind of person who can eat what they like and not put on weight. Actually, I put on weight easily. It's disturbing how fast I can put it on. But it's not happening at the moment - I certainly feel leaner and lighter than I did a couple of weeks ago.

[eva]

the effect you describe could be explained by ATP production and futile cycles for example.

[dfast]

@eva: Please elaborate - I read a brief description about futile cycles but would like to know in more detail (and in lay terms) how it would play out in this situation? Thank you.