The Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve
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Yesterday, low-carb blogger Dr. Michael Eades (he of Protein Power) posted a message from his friend and fellow low-carb guru Richard Feinman as sort of a call-to-action in public policy-making for upcoming 2010 USDA guidelines. Dr. Eades and Dr. Feinman have suggested that we ought to quickly find a way to help the USDA arrive at a sensible recommendation for carbohydrate consumption. Feinman asked:
“how can the benefits of carbohydrate restriction that you have experienced personally or in your immediate environment be translated into reasonable recommendations that the USDA could put out?”
In conjunction with my forthcoming book “The Primal Blueprint”, I have been working on an easy-to-understand explanation of how carbohydrates impact the human body and the degree to which we need them (or not) in our diet. I have also developed a chart (not the one above) that is intended to assist those who want to go “Primal” in visualizing the impact of carbs consumed within certain ranges. I was going to hold off on releasing this information until my book is published, but decided to introduce it here in response to Dr. Eades’ post. Since the choice of how many and what types of carbs in one’s diet depends on the context of one’s life (current weight, disease condition, activity levels, etc), I see carb intake as a “curve” ranging from “allowable” to “desirable” to “unhealthy”.
The following descriptions illustrate how carbohydrates impact the human body and the degree to which we need them, or not, in our diet. The ranges represent daily averages and are subject to variables like age, current height and weight and particularly training volume. For example, a heavy, active person can be successful at a higher number than a light, moderately active person. In particular, hard training endurance athletes will experience a greater need for carbs and can adjust their personal curve accordingly. This is a topic I address further in the book (e.g. – experimenting with adding 100g of carbs per hour of training per day), on MarksDailyApple.com and in a future “primal” book dedicated to endurance athletes. Here then is my “Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve.”
300 or more grams/day - Danger Zone!
Easy to reach with the “normal” American diet (cereals, pasta, rice, bread, waffles, pancakes, muffins, soft drinks, packaged snacks, sweets, desserts). High risk of excess fat storage, inflammation, increased disease markers including Metabolic Syndrome or diabetes. Sharp reduction of grains and other processed carbs is critical unless you are on the “chronic cardio” treadmill (which has its own major drawbacks).
150-300 grams/day – Steady, Insidious Weight Gain
Continued higher insulin-stimulating effect prevents efficient fat burning and contributes to widespread chronic disease conditions. This range – irresponsibly recommended by the USDA and other diet authorities – can lead to the statistical US average gain of 1.5 pounds of fat per year for forty years.
100-150 grams/day – Primal Blueprint Maintenance Range
This range based on body weight and activity level. When combined with Primal exercises, allows for genetically optimal fat burning and muscle development. Range derived from Grok’s (ancestors’) example of enjoying abundant vegetables and fruits and avoiding grains and sugars.
50-100 grams/day – Primal Sweet Spot for Effortless Weight Loss
Minimizes insulin production and ramps up fat metabolism. By meeting average daily protein requirements (.7 – 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight formula), eating nutritious vegetables and fruits (easy to stay in 50-100 gram range, even with generous servings), and staying satisfied with delicious high fat foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds), you can lose one to two pounds of body fat per week and then keep it off forever by eating in the maintenance range.
0-50 grams/day – Ketosis and Accelerated Fat Burning
Acceptable for a day or two of Intermittent Fasting towards aggressive weight loss efforts, provided adequate protein, fat and supplements are consumed otherwise. May be ideal for many diabetics. Not necessarily recommended as a long-term practice for otherwise healthy people due to resultant deprivation of high nutrient value vegetables and fruits.
Drop me a line in the comment boards. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Further Reading:
The Definitive Guide to the Primal Eating Plan
The Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar and Type 2 Diabetes (and You’ll Understand It)
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
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You hit the nail right on the head with the grams of carb’s consumed for your goals.0 to 50 grams thats where the obese should be and thats where i am at.When i get bored or feel i want to lose a little slower because ive lost alot already i will go to 50 to 75 grams to see how i lose ect.I have to tell you carb’s are so addictive when you cut way back you feel like you lost a friend.
lol……aint that the truth…. I feel like my best friend stabbed me in the back…lol
Love it. Part of my beef with Atkins and extreme ketosis (less than 20 carbs/day) is it really limits variety, even one salad can put you over the limit. But I typically maintain 75-80 carbs a day, which allows for the occasional “sensible vice” like dark chocolate without the accompanying fretting that I’ve totally fallen off the wagon.
I am 5′2″ and am over weight by 30 pounds. On low carb should I still count calories?
Deborah,
You won’t gain more weight on a true low carb diet…but to lose what you are still carrying, you will have to create a deficit (so you burn off a bit of stored body fat every day). The book has details on how to create that deficit
Randy, yes, the point here is that if we know what happens at different levels, we can choose to go from one to another level, fully cognizant of the impact.
I love it.. it looks great. I don’t see the USDA going for it by any means though. Especially when grain and corn farmers put most of them in office.
The SoG
A nutritionist doesn’t know of any other sources of B vitamines other than grains? Whoever they are charging should ask for their money back.
This reminds me of the argument I had with a nutritionist friend last night. I made the mistake of telling her I didn’t eat grains, ever. She was stunned. How did I get my B vitamins? And fiber? It was like there were no other sources of either anywhere in the food chain. Sigh. So much misinformation has been perpetuated for so long…
Your recommendations as to amounts of carbs is very good, but your rationale for the lower ranges is fairly weak.
Isotopic bone analysis of H. Sapiens sapiens paleolithic hunter-gatherers in temperate latitudes shows about 96% animal sourced nutrition (Neanderthals show 100%). Plant material was primarily high calorie nuts and seeds and to a lesser degree fruits (and paleolithic fruits bear no resemblance to those of today). Only in equatorial latitudes did any degree of starchy tubers or other vegetation enter the diet.
A human being does not require a single gram of dietary carbohydrate and can obtain every necessary micronutrient from whole-carcass animal consumption.
Even today when we follow only a model of the paleodiet (and generally don’t consume whole-carcasses…) all necessary micronutrients can be derived from animal sources. Particular attention can be paid to lightly cooking meat to preserve Vitamin C analogs and preparing bone broths to obtain minerals.
Extreme ketogenic diets (as Randy above characterized it) are paleo-historically the norm. Grok would have been in ketosis the vast majority of the time, with the obvious exceptions when he discovered honey or fruiting trees.
Note that I’m not claiming carbs are evil – I’m just attempting to show there’s a more accurate view of paleonutrition than the one Cordain et al presents.
bla bla bla who r u trying to impress? the basic info laid out on this web site was right and understandable
Sam, thanks for that. Maggi what’s the problem? That was good info.
lol… tell um
Excellent Guideline.
So, are these effective carb numbers or are you counting fiber in your carb continuum?
Gary Taubes describes a study of low-carbohydrate dieters where one individual couldn’t even eat an apple without immediately beginning to gain weight again. He also claims that the Inuit would avoid all vegetables unless they were starving.
Maybe the zero carbohydrate diet is healthiest. Of course, tens of thousands of years of evolution have given certain populations (like Europeans and Asians) a certain amount of resistance to the problems of carbohydrates, and these grounds develop much less diabetes, etc., on the “Western diet.” Perhaps they are also somewhat dependent on carbs for health by now? After all, with larger populations due to agriculture, evolutionary change has sped up a great deal in the recent past. (The number of new mutations in a population goes up linearly with population size, and the total number of fixation events goes up linearly with that.)
Probably worth it to study the problem before setting anything stone about public health recommendations below 100 grams of carbs. Hasty recommendations are what got us into this mess, after all.
Are you seriously using something Gary Taubes has said to justify low-carb? No one has ever rapidly gained weight by eating 1 apple. That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
What needs to happen is people need to stop buying these bs diet books and actually go to college and take some classes in nutrition. There’s a reason that the information in college costs thousands while the information the general public has is just a $20 book in their favorite book store…..
hhahaha ya…. because college nutrition classes are spot-on! I think you need more $20 books of your own picking in your life, as opposed to the $200 books shoved at you by colleges to ensure you are brainwashed to “go with the grain.” Maybe branch out.
The best thing about a good college education in nutrition science is understanding the underlying biochemistry of digestion and nutrition, which you can then apply to any theory and see if it rings true. A lot of $20.00 diet books don’t stack up when it comes to biochemistry – but unless you have studied it you would know and go along with them thoughtlessly.
Right on!! Preach it sister!!!
Aren’t the academics who teach the nutrition classes the same ones who devlope The Food Pyramid? Buyer beware!
I think the key element here is not so much whether an apple can cause weight gain as it is that:
People need to listen to their bodies.
Yes, some people can eat cake and cookies and be fine. Others might blow up like a balloon on one apple. These guidelines are bogus for SO MANY reasons (faulty science, corruption and political influence, basic human biology).
Thras: Where did you read about this?
I have the same question as Patrick. Do these guidelines refer to overall carb grams or “effective” carbs (I believe that is the correct term) – grams of carbs that are left after you’ve removed the fiber.
A good example is an average avocado. It has 20grams of carbs, but 16 of those are dietary fiber (or so says the nutrition database). So do I count it as 20 or 4?
I know this is getting picky and the overall message is lots of protein, veggies and some fruits, but it would definitely help me understand the PB plan a little better. Thanks!
It would be useful to have a reverse BMI calculator to estimate lean body mass and assess a carbohydrate load from that. For example, if we assume your lean mass is a BMI of 18 given your height, then we can say you should ingest around 1 g carb/day per 1 kg lean body mass.
C’mon Mark: 150-300- Steady Insidious Weight Gain? Maybe if it is coming from sugars and processed grains. You do realize that many fitness buffs thrive on that amount of natural low-GI amount do you not? Besides, by timing it just right you can consume 300+ grams of carbs each day and be at single digit bodyfat year-round, like this guy: http://leangains.com
Or this bloke: http://fitnessblackbook.com
Or this fella: http://cbass.com
Plus, did you not remain at 10% bodyfat year-round when consuming carbs? I’m not knocking your wisdom, because your lifestyle has done wonders for me and many readers, but the opposite has gotten people ripped.
Exactly. Because it’s calories that matter more than anything else. You can eat zebra cakes all days but as long as your in a negative energy balance you will lose weight. Though you will probably be hungry all the time because your getting no fiber and no protein…. So it will be almost impossible to stay in a negative energy balance eating zebra cakes all day just because of the hunger that will come.
So, can someone give me an idea of what 50 to 100 grams of carbs looks like in terms of real food? When I think I’m going really low carb (i.e., only veggies and like one or two pieces of fruit per day) I still end up around 150 grams when I plug it into fit day. Is it ok to eat some meals that are purely protein and fat (e.g., chicken breast and almonds, eggs and avacado, simply steak)? Maybe I’m still too hung up on the zone/balance thing…But I always thought I had my bases covered with just fruits and veggies–no counting necessary. I’ve found I can’t get below 12% bf with this approach and am consistently more like 14%. So, to get lower bf I have to get sub 100 grams I’m assuming? Again, what would this look like in terms of real food?
Enrique, my advice for ideal health/fitness includes NOT doing so much cardio that you burn through 300 grams of carbs every day. If you are, you can probably maintain a given body fat level for years, but it’s a never ending treadmill of burning carb calories and then replacing carb calories. Yes, I did it for 20 years and regret it now (inflammation issues mostly). The above chart was meant to suggest that someone who is not an avid exerciser consuming that amount WILL steadily gain fat over the years.
Sam, part of my rationale suggests that for the majority of the populace, a zero-to-50 gram diet is unrealistic and, furthermore, all bets were off when the available forms of meat, fish and healthy fats got contaminated in 21st Century farming methods and starting lacking all the micronutrients paleo meats had. Better to rely on some amount of veggies and fruits – at least most of the time.
When you say “…protein requirements (.7 – 1 gram per lean bodyweight formula)…” do you mean pounds of lean bodyweight or kg?
Traditionally, I think Ive seen it has pounds, but that would be 195 grams of protein a day, that seems like a lot. Ive done the math, Im barely getting above 100g with two meals of meat, veggies and fat and a low-carb protein shake, and that combo leaves me stuffed and I dont even feel hungry until about 1, 2PM the next day.
Brandon, I mean pounds. If you have 195 pounds of non-body fat lean, that’s your range. If your carbs are low (like 125, say) then your total calories from those two are only 900. If you get 120 grams of fat, you are at under 2,000 calories a day. That’s not much for a big guy.
Great question, Patrick. Take a look at this:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fitday-results/
and this:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/two-minute-salad/
And I may try to do a post with this in mind in the future.
Mark -
Your two-minute salad post was great and I’d welcome more diet hints like that.
I’m a distance runner which I know makes living PB somewhat more difficult. I’d love to see some sample days that fit the 100gr net carb guideline much like you did in the fitday results post.
I’ve experienced many benefits since switching to a high protein, and veggie diet. My runner friends can’t believe that I don’t live on bagels and pasta, but my race results have proven to me that Primal is the way to go. I do find that my increased aerobic efforts get my sweet tooth going, but I try to make my vices Primal-friendly (coconut milk with fruit, etc.) Anyway, great post and I second Patrick’s request for several samples of what a 100 gram carb day would look like.
Heather – Congrats on your Primal successes and thanks for the comment. I’ll see if I can work in some sample menus early next week. Cheers!
I started the P90X program a few weeks ago and really am enjoying it. Prior to that, I spent the last 5+ years doing a combination of cardio and weight training. I started this process losing ~35 pounds 5+ years ago and have maintained ever since by keeping to a fairly low carb diet plus the exercize. I have not, however, been able to get visible abs. That is one reason I have started P90X. I noticed the the P90X nurition plan promotes more carbs than I would have expected. And bases that on how hard the program works you, thereby needing some more carbs. For example, I purchased the recovery drink that you promote — and I like it. But, I noticed that it has 39 carbs. How do I reconcile that with the 50-100 carbs that you describe for weight loss?
Jim, I am no longer involved with P90x (it is a great program, for sure). I designed the Recovery Drink to their specs, not to PB specs.
Thanks for the informative post Mark. I’m still not fully decided on carbs. A lot of what you say on this blog makes sense but I need to do some more reading on it from different sources. However, this post has helped me a lot because it quantifies the level of carbs I would be shooting for if I went primal.
I’m going to say, that you left quite a bit of range in that continuum. Plus you have to factor in a whole bunch more for a person before you can just assume they fall into a number category.
“By meeting average daily protein requirements (.7 – 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight formula), eating nutritious vegetables and fruits (easy to stay in 50-100 gram range, even with generous servings), and staying satisfied with delicious high fat foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds), you can lose one to two pounds of body fat per week and then keep it off forever by eating in the maintenance range.”
That quote alone tells me its more about protein than the carbohydrate amount. Seems another attempt to go after carbs, when in fact a good nutrient balance all around is the real key.
Mark -
Thanks for the descriptors of each of the ranges. It’s good to see the differences.
About a year ago I switched to a Paleo/Primal diet. Keeping in the 75-100 grams of healthy carbs each day and 20lbs easily melted away. I’m back down to just a bit heavier than I was in my teens, but I know I’ve put on more muscle since then.
Now, I digress from the Primal Lifestyle in that I’m an endurance athlete, because that’s what I enjoy. But I can attest that sticking to a Primal Diet, I was easily and comfortably able to complete a 40-mile run last September. And will be doing another this March.
Please keep the great articles coming.
How does the carb continuum change for a 25 year old male trying to gain muscle mass/healthy weight? It seems inaccurate to broadly categorize carb consumption in this manner?
How feasible is Primal consuming only fish and shrimp for meat with eggs and dairy for main protein sources?
It would be great to see a sample menus!
Thanks for all the information.
Very interesting stuff. I probably weigh in at about 100g a day considering I eat mainly protein/fat/veggies with 2-4 pieces of fruit maximum, so not counting fiber my daily carbs probably come in at about 150g on higher days and 75g on the lower days…..
It would be good to see some sort of table or at least rough calculation on carb intake vs. activity. I can live pretty comfortably on < 50g/day if the most strenuous thing I do all day is walk a mile…if I’m doing repeated max-effort sprints (as in my preferred sport, ice hockey) I’m not sure 100g is enough to avoid degraded performance.
That sounds about right. I carb cycle: most days in 50-100 and a few days in 100-150 range. Feels great, works nicely, and doesn’t limit you as much. I could eat in primal maintenance level for ever easily.
I love it!
This is in stark contrast with conventional wisdom related to endurance athletes that suggests that one should eat between 7-10 grams of carb each day for every kilo of bodyweight.
That would mean that I should ingest up to 850 grams of carb during serious training. Every day!
And according to most nutritionists in Sweden (half of them working towards athletes are paid by grain producers..)this would be my best choice for improving fitness and maximizing endurance.
For me, neither of this black or white and even though being a stickler for ingesting quality protein and fats; I still eat some bread, quinoa and the occasional pasta dish.
And if I get enough Coke to drink during a race or a really long and hard session; I can go forever! There´s isn´t a bonk in the world that can get to me while on the caffeinated sugar.
But again, that´s a case of “training low and racing high” which is a healthy way to train, live and maximizing fatburning and endurance.
Thanks for the simply stated yet powerful information Mark ! Any modifications of the suggestions in application to an otherwise healthy yet somewhat overweight 8 year old ?
Great list. I like to tell people to eat carbs based on their workout intensity, like using carbs as a turbo boost. Those who are leaner and workout harder tend to easily use carbs for muscle glycogen replenishment while those more overweight and doing lower intensity work should go with less carb intake. I also like carb timing, to use higher intakes in the pwo window and lower amounts otherwise. If I do a high carb day, then I make sure to keep the fat lower to not lead to excessive calorie intake as well. All in all…it’s fun to play with all this and see how the body responds on a personal level. We should all play around and learn from it.
I would say your take on this is spot on… my only complaint is that your carb ranges seem to assume a young, fit, active male.
Few people who needed to lose weight in the first place are going to maintain weight loss eating 100-150 carbs per day (unless the cals are rigidly controlled).
Few people who need to lose weight are going to see “effortless” loss at 50-100 per day (that is without cal / hunger restricting)
I imagine a man in his 20s or 30s who has no significant obesity might find that true, however.
As for me, 50 carbs is where I do best all the time. To control blood sugar, insanity, and weight, that’s where I should be. I often creep up to higher levels but anything more than 100 is intolerable.
Then again I’ve numerous issues carb related (pcos/hypoglycemia/obesity/mental health). I’m controlling these pretty well by following the diet (no longer PCOS, stable sugar, thin, brain doing pretty well most of the time) but my carb restriction must be a lot more extreme than it has to be for others.
I came here from Michael Eades blog and have to say my metabolism pretty much agrees with your numbers.
I have suffered from Reactive Hypoglycemia for about 50 years and what was obviously “diabetic dyslipidemia” for 30, and was only progressing gradually and insidiously towards diabetes UNTIL the dietician got a hold of me and pushed my carb input up from 150 – 300 range. Also the reduction in fat seems to have been key in causing me to put on weight for the first time ever in my skinny life.
50 – 100g carbs is my “sweet spot” where my blood glucose and lipids have pretty much normalised, the weight went away again and many of my “mental” and physical symptoms resolved. Below that and I don’t have the latitude to adjust my BG manually when required.
The most curious thing (or is it?) is that in the absence of the high BG and high trigs (and high insulin resistance and insulin levels) I convert those naughty saturated fats into HDL rather than LDL.
IMNSHO all those “Healthy Whole Grains” had turned me into a heart attack on legs, I should have been eating lard instead. The rest of my diet hasn’t changed much, plenty of protein especially fish and hordes of vegetables and salad but in the presence of too many carbs and insufficient fat they weren’t helping very much.
The Harvard Pyramid
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/index.html
would be a major step forward over the official one
ItsTheWooo, I know your site and have seen your posts here and on other like-mided sites, so I am aware of your situation. You probably have a better handle on this (and the information) than 99% of people. I see where you are coming from on the assumptions. Maybe we’ll add a caveat regarding that. Keep up your own good work.
Trinkwasser, not curious at all regarding sat fat and HDL. Several studies bear that out. Looks like you have it dialed in pretty well. From here you can choose where you want to be at any time and know what the effects will be. That’s true personal power!
“I second Patrick’s request for several samples of what a 100 gram carb day would look like.”
Patrick and Heather work it out yourself. All you need is a food scale. Its best you did it yourself with the foods you like to eat.
Trinkwasser, not curious at all regarding sat fat and HDL. Several studies bear that out. Looks like you have it dialed in pretty well. From here you can choose where you want to be at any time and know what the effects will be. That’s true personal power!
Would have been good if The Authorities had told me this instead of the opposite.
Been looking round your blog (so many blogs, so little time) and will probably point a cousin here. She is slim and exceedingly fit (marathons, triathlons, swimming, running etc.) yet already in her thirties she is showing distinct symptoms of the familial insulin resistance. I’m trying to persuade her to reduce her carbs but as a vegetarian conditioned into the benefits of Healthy Whole Grains I’m in need of allies to get through to her! (Her skinny fit and active father is only now starting to go down the same path in his sixties which I have been travelling since childhood.)
We need to find ways to NOT express these genes and so far carb control/reduction is the winning strategy
Well, i personaly just found out that I have a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome. When i first found out I thought it just has something to do with my female things, but as my doctor was explaining it affects my whole body. Basically my insulin does not work correctly, kind of like a diabetic. So i’ve been instruction to go on a special meal plan consisted of low glycemic foods. I immediately went home and cleaned out the cupboards and four grocery bags later I realized how carbogydrate-layden my cupboards were!! Along with my diet and medication hopefully i can get back to normal, but I am not understanding that even things that you think might be ok to eat aren’t really. Whole wheat is always better and as my doctor says, you can’t go wrong with food that spoils!
Brandy,
if you removed all grain for a while that will definitely help with your PCOS. I feel low glycemic doesn’t go far enough. What meds are you on – metformin?
Hi Mark and thanks for a good site!
On the “how many carbs do you need”, I see no real problem in staying at 30-50 carbs even while eating a fair amount of veggies. (Provided you avoid the carb-heavy stuff) Assuming an average of 5g / 100g of carb content, there is no problem squeezing in 500 grammes or so of veggies into your diet without leaving ketosis, a sizeable amount.
As for fruits, what micronutrients are we really talking here? They are rich in vitamin C, but apart from that their energy/weight composition is about the same as Coke (of course, it’s harder to ingest the same amount of fruit, but still…).
Oh, I should add that sadly our veggies have also been “industrialized”. That’s why I pop a multivitamin/micronutrient pill each day together with the Omega-3 supplements. Sad, but true.
I have been keeping my carbs just under 150 grams per day, and calories at close to 2500 or less per day, since Jan 1st 2009 and I have lost 10lbs in the last 3 weeks, so you can lose weight, especially if you are as overweight as me, (6′5, 499 lbs). As I progress I will adjust it accordingly.
Something that is almost always overlooked in these stories and articles and is also overlooked in the above article, is the issue of the person’s size, for instance a 6′5″ guy wanting to maintain a 220 lb weight can eat more carbs than say someone who is 5′10″ and wants to maintain weighing 165.
Steve B, that’s why we give you a range. If you are way bigger or way smaller, you can also go outside that range a bit
Yeah, in a way I felt like I was being told I could not lose weight on 150 carbs or less per day above, but being how obese I am, I can lose this way for a long time. I am 33 yrs old by the way. A co-worker in his late 50s found out he had type 2 diabetes and he went on a plan of 150 carbs per day or less and he went from weighing about 260 to about 180 in about 8 months on his 5′10″ inch frame by eating that way. Inspired by his success I am now succeeding at it too. This is the longest I have succeeded on an restricted eating plan in years.
Congratulations on your success so far, Steve. Keep it up!
Mark,
I consume a lot of carbs- averaging 250-300 grams per day, about 150 grams of fat and about 70 grams of protein average day. Weight 68 Kilos at 6 feet.
Almost all my carbs comes from carrots ( i eat raw carrots about a kilo for lunch at times), bananas, sweet potatoes, oranges, apples. I do have digestion issues if i eat too much wheat or grains. a slice of bread sometimes is ok. my question is..are grains real issue or carbs in general?
Amit, Depends. How old are you? Do you exercise a lot? What is your body comp or body fat? Grains are definitely a big part of all this, but excess carbs from other sources are still a potential problem. If not now, then maybe iinto the future. OTOH, you may be a lucky one who lives comfortably on the higher end of the carb curve.
Mark,
is there a protein curve? or can we basically eat protein ad infinitum (slight exag. there, but provided we eat it with fat, fruits and veggies)
funny that fats are not good for you!
For the last 2 weeks I have not eaten refined sugar, white flour etc, but my carbs do creep up, the average is 130-180g per day.
is this OK? I hate attached todays nutrition here: http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm301/xanderd/nutrition07-05-09.jpg
I walk for 1-2 hours per day, sprint once per week and lift heavy weights for 1 hour 3x per week.
I am thinking that since the carbs come from lentils which i consider a ‘healthy’ food that this is ok…although wonder how absolute the ‘100g per day of carbs’ rule is.
any thoughts?
ps. I want to gain at least 3kg of muscle and find it very difficult to gain weight in the past – easily lose it if my calories drop below 2500kcal/day
Alex, you are on the right plan. If you want to build muscle, your body has to “need” the extra muscle. The only way that happens is for you to work out more intensely (not more time) so signals arer sent to your genes to add strength and size to muscle. Your calories are probably OK now, even a little high. I would cut back on the lentils a bit. I don’t know your body fat, but I wouold suggest that to gain muscle from here, you might want to reduce your walking a bit for a few weeks and see what happens. Ultimately, you may find that the body you have now is the ideal one for the amount of work you do…unless you increase the load on it.
Mark,
I have lost 15 lbs since about mid-Feb going from 167 lbs to 152 lbs by doing fairly high intensity cardio, circuit weights 2-3xs weekly with some yoga and pilates thrown in. My plans are to lose another 10 lbs the same way. Since about mid-April, I have kept my carbs to 100-150g per day and try hard to eat 1200 -1500 calories a day. The trouble I’m having is getting enough protein because I am lactose an soy intolerant and I just can’t tolerate meat 3xs daily. I tend to compensate with nuts (good?), peanut butter and boiled eggs. I think this might be leading to high levels of selenium on my fitday chart. Can you recommend a few non-meat sources of protein excluding dairy and soy?
Thanks a bunch,
Tracy
Tracy, good work so far. All I can add for non-meat protein is chicken and fish (of course) and then find a good protein powder and have a soothie once a day. You should be fine getting 100-120 grams protein total each day.
Mark,
I appreciate the time you take to reply us
I am currently around 18% body fat – according to a cheap electronic device. I am 185cm tall and weight 72.5 kg. I aim to reduce body fat a few points and also to bring my overall body weight up to at least 75kg.
It’s interesting that you say my calories are maybe slightly too high – on fitday it says I burn about 3100 per day just through my metabolism, walking and lifting 3x per week.
Regarding intensity – I always used to work chest/triceps, back/biceps and legs/shoulders with 3×10 reps. Now I have changed my plan since 2 weeks ago:
I now do the whole body and use a 5 second up / 5 second down cadence for much higher time under tension, and I usually do 5 sets of 5. This means I do about 20% less weight than before, 5 less reps in total, but double the total time under tension. If you have any thoughts on how effective this is at stimulatng muscle mass gain I’d love to know
i found a product called ‘Just carbs’ (http://tinyurl.com/ppn2ba).
It lists ‘Insulin Spike’ under product information!!!
I have been losing weight after reading (my age 50)the “Protien Powder” I started in Nov-08 and now in May have lost 55 lb (280-225) I keep between 0-30 grams of carbs a day and i work two jobs 16 hour days. I take a host of supplements and protien powder drinks along with meat protien and low carb wraps (3-grams-per wrap) and have salad at least once a day. I work out on average 3 days two- three hour workouts. I feel great and dont miss the carbs. i will congtinue this way for at least 30 more lbs (loss) and will bring up carb intake to 50-carbs to loose additional 15-25 lb to bring my weight down to a healthy 175 LB. My question is i read in a nutriontion book for dummies that a healthy carb intake level is 130 carbs for brain and heart function and anthing lower will be harmful. Can i maintain a helthy lifestyle at 175 lbs on 100 carbs a day with an increasae of power- lifting? Thanks i enjoyed your blog and the added responces were very informative.
Harry, congrats on your great progress. There is no nutritional requirement for carbs in the human diet. The body makes up to 200 grams a day from the protein and fat you consume. So, yes, you can maintain a totally healthy lifestyle and even increase powerlifting on 100 grams carbs/day. There’s no reason to do two-to- three-hour workouts, though.
Hi mark
what’s your view on a south beach type diet? Is the induction phase a good kick off?
South beach has it’s good points. Induction phase is best. I think they allow way too many carbs, grains, etc later on.
The South Beach Diet would be good if they didn’t have so many artificial, strange foods in the plan.
Low fat foods, fake eggs. why not just eat real food?
The one really good thing about it is the recipes from South Beach Florida. The seviche is particularly good and illustrates the point that food that is healthy can be extremely delicious and satisfying which I think is the key to success with any diet plan.
I lost weight in the Induction phase of SBD, but as soon as I re-introduced whole grains, all the “healthy” ones – brown rice, whole wheat, barley etc. – I started gaining weight, so I’m back to Phase 1 + fruits + a small amount of grains. I would ultimately like to go fully Primal.
Hi Mark. First of all .. What a fantastic site you have. I’ve cut my carbs right back from way over 300g a day to between 50-120g a day for three weeks now. My weight started at 292 pounds and now just after three weeks i am down to 267, a loss of 25 pounds !! The first two weeks the weight just fell of due probably to water loss. This last week i have not lost much at all, just a few ounces. Will this be a slow process to lose weight Mark ?
Paul, great work so far. Off to a good start. Understand that after the initial shock to your body, most people can settle into a comfortable 1-2 pounds per week of FAT lost indefinitely – or until you hit a desirable body composition. For you, staying well under 100 grams total carbs per day will be key for a while. Walk as much as you can and do a few weight sessions each week. The concept of “slow process” mean nothing if you can change your body composition for the rest of your life in a way that is basically painless and requires little in the way of sacrifice (other than eliminating sugars). Keep us posted!!
I don’t think Mark ever answered the question regarding “net” carbs, but I’ve taken a look at his fitday and the way he writes about it, and he’s *including* fiber in the total number.
Which, of course, makes it a LOT harder to hit that 100 mark. I can easily hit 150g total with about 100 net by eating normal healthy primal-like foods, but to get the total number below 100 I actually have to make decisions like, “tomatoes or cucumbers?” or “eggs or avocado?”. OR, I must strike out the little “add-ups” like a Viactiv calcium chew or that “2 bites of sandwich” that I would normally, being a foodie with friends who let me taste… despite the fact that those are very enjoyable on a day to day basis.
Sorry, long comment to deliver a short answer.
I take in 50-100 g per day and I have found through experimenting that is where I need to stay! It’s funny how some people are so different with their cab allowances. I blow up if I take in more than 120 for too long.
Sorry for my ignorance and my bad english, Then, if i eat 100gr of carbs or less i will not win weight NO MATTER how many calories i eat? Just curious, Thanks
Hey Hector, I think it depends on the person – for me if I keep it around 50g or so I can eat a heroic amount of calories and not pack on the pounds. Some people are less sensitive and can go up to 150g or so. I like having the wiggle-room with the carbs just in case I end up under-estimating…
The great thing is – with all the fat and protein you get that ’satisfied’ feeling much quicker than with carb-y nutritionally-empty foods. So even on days where I think I’m eating massive calories, its nothing like what “massive calories” would look like for a high-carb “conventional” meal.
I am a nutritionist – and I love this carbohydrate curve – it is spot on in my experience. I am an RN who discovered the zone diet some 12 years ago, did some uni papers a couple of years ago to get to degree level in human nutrition, discovered they still push the whole grains a lot – though the carb / protein ratios are being explored in some of the papers. I’m still not convinced about grains. I’ve gone way more paleo, virtually no carbs now since starting crossfit 2 months ago. I can say definitively that the very best diet for me now is primal with a ratio of 1:1 carbs and protein and some good fats, (not too much though). I am 110 lbs and 5′ 2″ almost 50, I have arund 80 – 100 gms of both carbs and protein a day. I supplement with a range similar to Marks multi, plus omega 3, vitamin D and probiotics.
I’m never felt better. As a result of these cahnges, right now I am at pretty much ideal weight, but still want to see my abs (working on it!) All the things I suffered prior to diet, exercise and supplements have gone – cravings, PMS, severe menstrual pain, low energy, excess weight, reactive hypoglycemia, pre- menopausal symptoms, constipation. Also gone swollen knees (auto-immune, vit D and omega 3 helped here). ALL gone.
I for one will help spread the word through my work.
That’s great Julianne. I had severe chronic fatigue and buy eating lots of healthy fats and limiting carbs I too have seen a great improvement in my health.
If I eat a few too many chips or something it starts going downhill pretty quick. I am getting certified as a nutritional counselor so I can share this vital information more effectively.
We are here as a testimonial that this way of eating really works!
One question I have is on fiber. If I eat 30-40 grams of fiber a day (which is where I have been the last few days) do I subtract that from the carbs that I have eaten. For example, I ate 175 grams of carbs yesterday. Do I subtract the 34 grams of fiber and apply it to my chart above? So am I really in the 141 gram range, or on the 175 gram range?
Primal Blueprint looks at gross carbs, so you are at 175. 30-40 grams of fiber a day is a lot of fiber.
I need to stay below 40 because I’m T2 diabetic and my BG is still int he 120s even with metformin 500 XR twice daily!
I think I need to cut them even lower until I lose my fat at least. I need to lose 150 lbs still.
If you say all carbs get turned into sugar whats makes the carbs from berries and fruit any different than grains, if two people get 1500 calories from primal and one gets 500 from grains the other 500 from berries do you think their will be an body composition changes? I don’t.
Mark I doubt you will answer this or even consent to the posts existence.
Bob, if I responded to every comment here, I would never have time to work (to pay for this “free” site). Most of the time my knowledgeable readers do very well answering questions in the comment section without my input. Also, in most cases, we’ve covered the topic ad infinitum over the past three years and 3,000,000 words. This post is just a snapshot. That’s why I wrote the book.
All carbs do turn to “sugar” as you put it. But…the 500 calories from grains will also contain gluten, phytates, lectins and other antinutrients in addition to the glucose load. You can get 500 calories of pasta, bread or cereal in a fairly small amount of food. Conversely, 500 calories of berries is a significant bulk of food (it would take over six cups of blueberries)…and even if you did eat it all, you’d get antioxidants, polyphenols and other beneficial phytonutrients along with some low-glycemic fructose. It’s not always just about the carbs.
Great site here! Anyone care to take a stab at how many “net” carbs I should eat daily? I’m female, 5′5 1/2, 231 pounds, 38 yrs old, just joined a gym where I’m walking 1 hour, 3-4 times a week building up to 5-6 times a week. I’m on Benicar for high blood pressure. Doc said I can get off the med if I loose 40-50 lbs. I’ve done Sugar Busters in the past and lost 18 pounds in 6 weeks so I know my body responds well to lower & better carbs. I hope it’s okay to ask this here. If not, sorry in advance.
Hey Irene,
If you decide the MDA approach is the way to go, I would wager heavily that next 4th of July you will love “the new you.” Please do give yourself this gift that you so deserve ! Best wishes with your health and wellness.
Eddie
As a Type 2 diabetic of 24-years, I found that I needed to keep my daily carb level at 50 or less. By doing so, I have been able to get off all my diabetes meds (Byetta, Metformin & Levemir). I was in fair control before I started this in January of this year (2009), but I expect to have the glucose numbers of a young healthy person soon.
Hi David,
That’s great! You’re are making real progress. Proving that taking control of your own health really works.
I suggest a few things that should really make your efforts take off. If you make sure not to eat too much protein, you will also help control your blood sugar because 1/2 of all protein can be converted to glucose. I know this because I help my husband with this. Also, make sure that your fat intake is around 80% of your daily totals. Why? Because this will really lower your blood sugar and it’s how sugars were controlled before insulin was developed. There is a doctor in Europe who helps people who are so sick that they are facing amputation and he brings them back from the dead doing this. His name is Dr. Jan Kwasniewski, M.D. He is a Polish Doctor who created The Optimal Diet. Just make sure the fats are healthy. See my fat page for this.
Thanks, Louise,
One day last week I converted my diet into calories by macronutrient and, that day, my diet was about 70% fat. I’m sure it was inaccurate but was probably in the ballpark. I do eat coconut oil and will be interested in seeing my lipid panel at the end of this month. Hopefully the numbers will back up the good things I’ve read, and not the dire predictions of the cardiologists I’ve mentioned it to. I also eat almonds and, tomorrow, I am driving to pick up 1/2 of a grass fed cow – the farmer is about 1.5 hours away. I have read The Optimal Diet. I don’t think the total amount of protein in my diet has changed much, perhaps a little. Thanks again for your tips.
Thanks so much for this information! I was looking all over for a daily carb intake listing, and this was perfect! I now now that I’ve been maintaining pretty well in the Primal Blueprint Maintenance Range.
HEY READ THIS!!!!
i’ve gone through the charts and the USDA recommends i eat 130 g carbs a day, which actually hits inside your maintenance range. i’m currently doing about 50-60 g carbs a day, and i would say that is best for me, but still… what exactly is the problem with the USDA guidelines, as is? who cares about the USDA, anyway? booo, i say!
The USDA wants you to base your diet on grains and 45-65% carbs
Just started the book and was wondering about the “whole grain issue” as it relates to having Oatmeal every morning…. which I do. Some diets close to the Primal concept like the Zone think Oatmeal is a “good carb” and an exception to “the rule”….. What say anyone else on this?
Hi all, Im on a doctor restricted diet and doing well 18 pds down last month. Im 152lbs ‘5ft 5″ so im going on vacation and its imperitive to my diet that i dont gain more then 2 lbs. from what i gathered from this site is if i stay around 50 carbs i should be able to maintain my current weight? thanks for any input. michelle
Sam
you’re very wrong with your analysis as there’s no way to determine wether humans ate animal or plan sources from bone scans.
That being said the norm was not ketosis but fat metabolism (which involved ketones anyway, no matter if you eat lot of carbs) at rest and carb metabolism during spurts of energy. As Jared Diamond noted the majority of hunter-gatherer societies that live in condition almost identical to the one paleo humans ate, are very organized in gathering and they’re in hunting and they always have a supplies of nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables. All the primitives Jared interviewed said they thought leaves were the healthiest curative foods and that no human could do without them.
I read a book about the traditional Innuit culture and they not only ate berries and Nikkaru (the veggie-based stomach contant of caribou) but they also made huge efforts to make sure they have plant matter to eat other than meat.
Incorrect. Bone isotope analysis can determine what ratio of plant and animal foods were in a a diet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotope_analysis
Glucose is not a poison.
It seems to me that the concept that every carb turns into “sugar” (well, glucose) is used as a way to suggest that eating whatever carb is like eating white sugar.
But the point about glucose is not what glucose does per se but whether we allow the body to make good use of it.
According Dr. Jan Kwasniewski there’s no point in forcing the body to convert proteins into glucose and it’s therefore better to eat as many carb as much glucose is needed to fuel the brain.
This is perfectly in tune with Mark figures.
So we’re supposed to get enough carbs to fuel our brain and certain bursts of intense activity and to get energy at rest, at night and between meals from fat metabolism.
So glucose per se is harmless and usefull. In fact not only every carb becomes “sugar” but also at least 50% of protein, when a very low carb diet is followed, are turned into sugar.
So eventually everything turns into sugar. The point though is whether you’re using that sugar to fuel needed process, or wether that sugar is in excess and is going to be stored.
Sugar is a quick-burning fuel that can’t be stored in any big amount.
Hence by its very nature it is supposed to fuel short-term intense activity.
Fat on the other hand is a slow-burning fuel that can be stored without limit and even thin people have enough fat to survive for 30 days without eating.
Hence by its very nature it is supposed to fuel us at rest, between meals, at night.
The problem with poor high-carb eating is that people switched the two metabolism, training their body to expect sugar to fuel everything including at rest. That’s why people are suffering from low-blood sugar, hypoglycemia at night, mood swings and tiredness after a meal; because their body is accostumed to burn sugar exclusively but the body quickly runs out of it burning also the glucose that should be needed for the brain.
If we just train the body to burn fat at rest and between meals again, we won’t need an ultra low carb diets or revolting no carb diets and won’t even need to call sugar (aka glucose) a poison.
How do you train the body to use fat as a fuel source other than not over eating carbs?
You don’t even need to train the body to use fat. It just will in the abscence of “sugar”.
Why people think that 100-150 grams of carbs is “low-carb” is beyond me. It is kinda hard to even reach 150 grams if you are not eating food with added sugar.
I should have said “retrain”
Anyway you re-retrain the body to burn mostly fat by stopping eating more carbs than you can use.
Since the brain alone burns around 90 grams of carbohydrate and glycolitic enzyme are upregulated and angry for sugar immediately after a bout of intense activity, 100-150 grams of carbs is a good amount to fuel those processes that are better suited for carbs and letting the body burn fat at rest, preventing the sugar crash many people experience nowadays.
Eating nuts, veggies and fruits you can easily reach those numbers without problems. In fact dieters in the first stages of Atkins complain of how hard is to maintain their carb low enough even eating just veggies. They quickly add up.
I believe in the long-term health benefits of low-carb eating. That said, I’ve always been ’slender’ (NOT skinny, I hate that word!) and have to work to maintain my weight. I’m a very active 5′4 and 117lbs. How does a person like me keep my weight with meat, vegs, nuts and fruit? I always end up losing. Any suggestions welcome.
All wild mammals have a dietary consumption of 3-5g of protein per day. This is obtained by either direct consumption in carnivores or gut fermentation in herbivores.
On a natural grass diet cattle They obtain nearly all their energy in the form of amino acids and volatile fatty acids via gut fermentation. Cattle despite being strict vegetarians gain about 25% of their energy from protein and 75% from fat. They get virtually no energy from carbohydrate. Grass fed cattle have a body fat content of <1%.
I have 20 years experience as a food scientist.
Only your red blood cells, retina and a tiny part of your brain require glucose – no more than 60g per day. Many cells such as those in the heart muscle and the cells lining the gut can only use fat for energy.
I am having a hard time locating a good plan to follow and this one seems simple enough for me. My problem is though do I just watch how many carbs i take in or do I need to watch how many calories as well? I was planning to take in 1200 calories plus only 50 carbs But i’m finding its going to be hard making meal plans for this. What is your advice?
Lisa, if you cut the carbs to 50, the calories should take care of themselves. Try sketching out a few meal plans of what you might like on fitday.com and see how they work out calorie-wise
Lisa, I’ve been working on 55 carbs/day for the last 6 wks and never consider the calories. If you concentrate on getting your protein for each meal (eggs, chicken and fish are my main go to’s), then the rest of the meal comes together. Just remember, 4oz of protein and 15 carbs per meal with a snack or two. It really does start to make sense after the first couple of weeks and ‘meals’ aren’t hard to plan once you ’see’ the amounts. The Dr.’s Eads have some recipes in their book to help if you want to look it up.
Quick note: ratio of protein/carb vary for each person of course.
Bingo… weight loss or not, NO ONE really needs more than 100g of carbs per day. You also need to be aware of the TYPE of carbs.
Some people respond well to the new age carbs such as wheat and potatoes and some respond better to the Paleo lifestyle (sh*t only cavemen were able to eat… such as meat, berries, fruits etc.)
Not everyone in this day an age is evolved enough to efficiently handle white bread. *barf*
I have another question, I have seen in a couple of diets that they have a cheat day. Like one day a week eating sweets or things wont ruin your whole diet. Is this true? Can they same be done on a low carb diet?
Hello. I have a question about the societal structures and this nutritional information: how long can we continue to eat at the top of the food chain on a regular basis (meat)? Food is going to become much more scarce, with meat being the most expensive because of its high energy-input ratio. I’m not a vegetarian, but I am curious if this is an issue anyone here has thought about.
Of course, around this same time, food in general will be less available, so I assume that like Cuba when peak oil hit them, the average citizen lost 20 lbs. The good news, was that farmers and grow-it-yourself movements grew, and the average citizen ate a lot healthier than before.
I am also against agribiz.
Just speculating about high meat diets, the cost of those food choices, and what we will do when meat is too expensive for the average citizen to eat several servings a day of it.
Mark
I found your book on Amazon and back tracked to find your website. Your Book
Primal Blueprint is in print only Any
chance via Amazon you will offer it in digital form? Amazon now has free software for download.. Kindle for the PC
making digital accessible to anyone with a IPhone, netbook or coomputer. Digital is my way of going green and saving the paper/trees … I hope you will consider Digital format
I am a 34 year old female 5′4″ I have tried to loose the last 10 pounds that I am holding on to, just can’t seem to get rid of it. I do p90X and go to the gym I am 130lbs but want to be 120 I do have alot of muscle, but don’t want to look bulkey. How can i get rid of this and feel lighter?
You may be working out too much.
Have you cut calories (have you read the Primal Blueprint?) Have you tried IF’ing? Have you incorporated sprinting into your routine? Sometimes you have to shake things up a bit to lose those last few.
just ordered the book Primal blueprint very excited about it, what is IF’ing I do go on the treadmill, stair climber, bike and i go up a level every min maybe i am platoing I will try to sprinting however can i do it on a tredmill? I count all my calories and weigh my food I thought I should have so much protien and so many carbs in one day i usually have 1550 calories one day 1369 one day and 1118 another day and some days i only have protien shakes. I eat low green veggies I am very stricked with my diet. will protien make me fat or bigger muscle wise?
mark, im trying to find where i fit in on the carb curve. i have seen a lot about increasing carb intake for endurance athletes. i am assuming endurance athlete means runner or long distance cardio of some kind. i am an mma fighter, so i wouldnt put myself in that same category, but i was wondering if my carb requirements would also be higher. i tend to lose weight and even lean muscle mass when i eat mostly veggies for my carbs. what would you recommend so i dont wither away to nothing! haha. do you have anything in the book about trying to increase mass and strength on primal diet? or am i doomed to be skinny since i burn so many calories working out every day?
Hey Mark,
Even since I lowered my carbs my calories are through the roof. Before watching the carbs I used to eat about 1700 a day, with carbs in the insane 200+ range. Now I’m trying to keep them under 100, which I’ve successfully done for the past week. However, I was shocked to do some tracking and realize that I’ve been consuming 2000+ calories a day. I eat about the same things you eat, omelette for breakfast, salad for lunch, meat and veggies for dinner with a snack of nuts, fruit or yogurt in between. The thing is, I don’t feel I’ve been eating too much at all. If anything, I feel like I don’t eat enough, but I’m afraid to up my caloric intake. Am I just being silly?
Maria, I wouldn’t say it’s “silly” to feel that way. It’s a normal fear when you first start eating Primally. I would say to eat what you need to from Primal foods to feel satisfied at your meals. Then have a Primal snack to take the edge off if you get really hungry (like those nuts). In a few weeks, you’ll notice that your appetite will subside and it will be easy to “fill up” on fewer calories. Meanwhile, it’s unlikely that you will gain weight (fat) as long as you keep the carbs under 100.
My carbs are in the 80s right now, so I’m good. Don’t want to go too low. I’ve noticed a difference in my appetite patterns already, even though it’s only been a week. There’s zero appetite right after I wake up. This sometimes happened before Primal, but now I tend to go much longer before I eat my first meal. Once I eat, I’m satisfied for a good 5 or 6 hours, which never happened before. I just don’t think about food as much, and when I do eat, it’s more enjoyable and I’m more focused on it.
Thanks for the answers, Mark. You’re an inspiration!
I’ve found the same thing to be true of myself. I would eat dinner around 9pm and wouldn’t feel hungry until noon – but moreover, I didn’t feel “hungy” as I used to know it. No stomach roaring, just a calm “hmm.. maybe I should eat something.”
The longer I stay away from carbs, the more I realize that “hunger” is just a symptom of a high carb diet. I think that’s why it’s so much harder to maintain other diets – the hunger pains are artificially induced by the carbs we eat.
I’ve also been fixated on the fact that we are not alone.. we have over 500 different kinds of bacteria in our intestines, and they outnumber the cells in our bodies by a factor of 10 to 1. I rarely see anyone say how diet cultivates different bacteria populations – I have to imagine that on a low carb diet, some starve out while others begin to flourish. On the wikipedia entry for gut flora, it says some bacteria can influence us into storing fat, and if they take the bacteria from fat rats and put it into thin rats, those rats get fatter, too.
I’ve also tried eliminating lectin containing foods. Peanuts, soy, wheat – grains in general – as their natural defenses against being eaten cause small holes in our intestinal lining that lets in bacteria – some studies are suggesting that this can cause chronic illness like MS.
Yesterday I ate a vending machine blue berry muffin. It pretty much made me ill for about 5 hours, which makes me wonder if I do have glutton sensitivity and the lack of it in my diet has lowered my defenses to it.
I’ve found that one cure for such snacking (besides the pain) is to take a bite of whatever it is you think you want to snack on.. and chew it until your saliva starts to break down the sugars and starches.. and you start tasting the chemical preservatives that the sugar and salt were hiding.. it’s really not so appetizing after that.
Lastly, in the December 2009 issue of National Geographic, was a great article about a tribe in Africa that still lived a pretty Groky lifestyle, living in clans of about 30 people (about as many as can be fed on one kill). They worked up to six hours a day collecting and preparing food and spent the rest of the time on relaxing and social matters. If they wanted meat, they hunted for it.
He joins them on a hunt for a baboon – very dangerous critters. They throw it on the fire. Everyone basically shuns the lean meat, going for the fat and internal organs.. bashing open the bones for the marrow. And the leader boils the brains (a very high fat source) in the skull and offers the reporter some. It’s a nutritious treat.
My mom lived 12 years with the Eskimos in Alaska – she was married to one. Dried fish, seal oil, whale blubber, caribou, salmon, gull eggs, bear, and moose were all on the menu. In the winter, dried fish would be mashed in the seal oil. In the spring they would take fresh fern fronds and soak them in oil to preserve them for later consumption.
Those Groks did have a harsh lifestyle -they would trek for miles through the snow on a high fat, mid protein diet. They have to be sharp and alert at all times. When it comes to polar bears, it’s about 50/50 on who’s eating who – “depends on who spots the other first” she said. “Especially if you’re both hunting seals and you’re too focused on a blow hole in the ice.”
I’m about 5′8 and 155 pounds after being on low carb for eight months. I’m still very low carb, rarely approaching 50grams a day if that. Usually much less.
I do have treat days about two to three times a month now (after loosing the weight) where I totally carb up. Will eat an entire pizza, then go back to my low carb easily. As long as I don’t spread the carbs out over days, the cravings are not strong after a carb up.
I’ve wolfed down entire pizzas with garlic bread, relished it, but then with the bloating and gas, and carb coma….it gets easier to avoid them next time.
Again this is usually done on purpose, and is set as a special day, and if you take it for what it is, it’s fine.
BUT…it’s true, after each time it sticks in your head how terrible carbs make me feel. they sit in you like a weight, and I don’t mean in the stomach…but in the digestive system. Feels terrible! And the vile endless gas from them….sorry TMI!
It actually get’s easier not to cheat, as each bought with carbs shows you just how awful they can be.
Back when I had gall stones, it was the same thing with fat. Instant pain for any transgression – if I ate fats, I’d be curled up in pain. I almost feel like it’s getting to the point to where I’m getting physically punished for eating grainy carbs. But, I’m not so upset about it.
Who wouldn’t like a 800 lb gorilla to knock them around every time they tried to eat a donut? :p
If you need guinea pigs for the endurance athlete book, let me know, I’m training to do Ironman for charity.
Help with nutrition, which is my weak point, would be fabulous!
Sorry if I’ve put this on the wrong page (I’m new)! But I’ve just been diagnozed with an underactive thyroid and prescribed 50mg of Levothyroxine a day. Is it safe for me to go on a low carb diet in an effort to alleviate my problem for myself? As soon as I mention low carb to the Doctor she just get’s mad and tells me not to be silly. But I was wondering ?????? (I’m 59)
Help please!…I am trying to follow as paleo diet as possible, but the amount of carbs is causing problem. The guide says about 100g per day? and after trying to make a salad for lunch (lettuce/spinach, cherry toms, tiny bit of shredded carrot, along with protein & fat) I was pretty much over 100g on my carbs! It was a small salad too! Am misunderstanding something? or are we really meant to have only 100g/per day? Spread over a few meals thats like having a single lettuce leaf per meal!? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance
Phil, it’s by the grams of carbohydrates that are IN the food, not the actual weight of the food itself in grams. Most veggies are 905 water by weight. Go to fitday.com and enter everything you put into your salad. You’ll be hard pressed to exceed 50 grams of carbs.
90%
How did you work out the 100g carb?
Did you weigh each piece of vegie and then work out how much carb is contained in each piece?
Of course, I was weighing the food, but after using fit-day and working out the actual carb content it made sense! Thanks!
Great thread. Really inspired to adapt this type of diet. Paleo Diet all the way!
I came across this site by accident (I was searching for new recipes). My first thought was, “Yeah, just what we need… Another absurd fad diet to sell to the young, the gullible and the desperate.”
If what you claim about carbs and grains is true, then please explain how I was able to effortlessly lose 25 lbs and keep it off for over 5 years by sticking to a diet of lean meats, veggies, whole grains, a little fruit and a little dairy, plus a moderate workout routine. “150-300 grams/day – Steady, Insidious Weight Gain” – well then, I must be an alien! Because 70% of my diet is carbs (easily 200-250g if not more a day), yet I haven’t noticed any weight gain in years. I’m hardly starving, in fact, I eat very well. My weight is healthy, and my health is picture perfect. My sister in law is Chinese, she and her family eat tons of rice and noodles every single day, yet they are all extremely healthy – in fact her grandmother is a rather healthy, energetic lady who recently celebrated her 96th birthday. Explain that. Or the fact that the longest living, healthiest people on the planet are Okinawans (who eat grains but very little meat).
Amanda,
I spent many years being slim eating a very high carb diet; it depends on the individual.
however, I have now been eating low carb for 10 months and have never felt better, in terms of energy, fat loss, muscle gain, happiness.
the studies published in peer reviewed journals point to the scientific evidence of low carb, as do evolution itself.
At the end of the day, think of it like an experiemnt you can do on your body; I too was skeptical but I tried this and never looked back. please try this; its too important to dismiss without even trying (for at least 2-3 weeks)
Thanks for your reply, and I do apologize if I came across sounding a bit rude in my previous comment.
The reason I felt indignant is that I have actually tried a low-carb diet. I’ve tried just about everything back when I was overweight – low carb, vegetarian, low-fat, you name it. I was on low-carb for about 3 months. I noticed no difference in how I felt, apart from the fact that by the end every time I saw steak, I wanted to hurl. LOL. The diet just seemed boring and bland and did not help me to lose much weight. It wasn’t until I started on a balanced diet of protein, carbs, and good fats that the weight began to come off, and I began to feel like a million bucks.
Which, I guess, proves what you said in your first sentence: it depends on the individual. If low-carb does it for you, go with it. I don’t think the evolution angle makes sense though – primitive people ate what they could find, not what they knew was good for them.
Amanda,
don’t forget that in paleolithic times people couldn’t ‘find’ bread, special K, fries etc as they didn’t exist.
When you tried low carb last time, did you also increase your fat intake? low carb and low fat is a recipe for disaster. You need plenty of fats such as animal fat, eggs, avocado, nuts, olive oil, butter, cream, lard etc. (But not vegetable oil.)
Its useful to use fitday.com to track what you are eating; it may be surprising, for example some people end up eating very low calories as they don’t get enough fat hence they feel low on energy.
Also, low carb is not about just eating steak; i did low carb as a vegetarian for 10 months, although now I’ve switched to meat. Maybe you felt a psychological downer as you found the diet boring? We can all help you to find recipes you like if you post in the forum.
Examples of what I eat are:
-greek yogurt with flaked almonds or flax seeds
-prawn and avocado salad
-breakfast of fried eggs, fried tomato with fried cheese, fried bacon (all fried in coconut oil)
-cod florentine
-various curries such as okra, egg and sweet potato or prawn
-homemade nut bars
I actually keep a list of web links of good primal recipes, many from this site.
So in conclusion; it does depend very much on the individual, but I firmly believe that as everyone’s biology is the same, the evidence pints to low carb for all. If you have a ‘need’ for carbs it may be due to your habits/environment, e.g. doing long distance running / psychological need for comfort food, habit etc.
Hi! You folks seem very well informed. I need help. I am 40 yrs. old, 6ft1 and weigh in at 440lbs. My waist is size 60,if that is any help on a visual. Should/could I use the Primal Blueprint for myself? I am otherwise very healthy with no heart/respiratory history. My main exercise is swimming. I feel like I only have a short time to turn myself around before it becomes impossible due to age. If anyone else out there is also morbidly obese andhas had success with this, please respond. Thanks
Hi Andy,
I’m not morbidly obese but I noticed your comment and wanted to respond all the same. First, may I suggest signing up with the forum and posting this comment there as you’re a bit more likely to garner a response (I only noticed this comment because it was the most recently posted). Second, do what you’re doing and go through Primal 101 links. I would also go through the recipes and if you think of something you’re interested in more info on, try a search. I use the search function pretty frequently. All of this will get your brain thinking about eating primally and that planning will help when you stay focused when you start going primal.
Finally, go for it! Don’t worry about how much you eat, just try to eat the right foods until you’re full. Stick with it and if you fall of the wagon, get back on. I like to keep a food diary as I learn the carb count of foods I eat, but whatever works for you. If you get derailed or unmotivated, go back to the forum. If I were you I’d probably start limiting carbs without worrying about the amount you eat, then start moving slowly and often. After these become habits look at increasing the quality of your food more and moving more as you gain energy.
Good luck!
Hi Mark,
You mention adding 100g of carbs per hour of training per day. I’m still trying to figure this one out.
I do cardio at low intensity, staying below 75% of my max HR. I will usually do up to 5 hrs of running and cycling per week.
With this said, I am trying to go Primal and do away with eating so much rice and pastas. How would a low carb diet (100-150g) affect my performance? and should I consider ingesting 100g of carbs over the 150g on my running/cyclng days?
I have read your book, and I couldn’t find much information on this topic. The reference to Dr. Maffetone’s method is useful though.
Don’t know if this will help answer my question, but I’m 24, male, 5′8″ and 145lbs.
Danielht, I should have said “per extra hour of hard training (beyond a 45-minute daily average base level).” If you are truly staying below 75% max HR, it’s possible you don’t need any supplemental carbs at all (beyond your 150g/day).
Mark, I am disturbed by the habit of discussing carbs without distinguishing between starches, sugars, and greens/fruits. I am also bothered by the failure of most “experts” to separate wild salmon from the Frankensalmon raised in pens, which accounts for 95% of what we eat. I like your saturated fats blog entry.
Is there a general guideline for what percentage of calories should be coming from fat? I can’t find one.
Signy,
I eat between 50% and 70% fat on a given day. However, if you take care of the carbs, the fat should take care of itself. What I mean is:
Your appetite will guide you, and since if you dont eat carbs you have to eat either protein or fat, you will get the right amount.
Your body will find its own stasis; you dont have to count coliories so just eat as much as you want, or even as much as you can, and youl be fine; your metabolism, appetite and energy expenditure will regulate themselves to match. As Taubes explains in his book, its not about calories in versus calories out, just watch that you dont suffer ill health which means you are eating too few calories (starvation diet), in which case add some more fat.