No carbs, all fat diet?

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7/9/12 11:56 A

Actually, all, this is called the ketogenic diet. Also, it's not ALL fat, it's protein and fat.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet

It isn't magical, unless maybe you have epilepsy as it can lead to a reduction in seizures. There is also some research that indicates it can make chemo more effective as well.

Make sure you understand the risks as well.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet#Adver
se_effects

Edited by: BREWMASTERBILL at: 7/9/2012 (11:57)

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7/9/12 2:54 A

Jimmy has lost a ton of weight on Atkins and kept most of it off for several years. Recently he had started gaining some of the weight back, and he has tried several solutions including the paleo diet, testosterone, getting rid of all low-carb bread and pasta products and now this Volek method. Dr. Volek recommends that people measure blood ketones instead of using urine keto sticks. Jimmy hasn't publicized his food logs yet, but he did say that he eats much lower protein and very high fat.
Yep, eating lots of bread is fun, especially if you can stay thin while doing it. It doesn't look like Jimmy is one of those people.

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7/8/12 8:16 P

From you description, I am not really sure what he is eating. No grains, fine. But is he eating veggies? If so, which primarily? You don't need to eat grains, especially processed grains ... a good bit of veggies are better than good.

Edited by: CEDARBARK1 at: 7/8/2012 (20:17)

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7/8/12 7:39 P

Atkins's diet (and its variations) are proven to work for weight control. But the problem is, our diet is basically omnivorous. We just can't stick with single nutrition source. It's been said,

Man does not live on bread alone, but need and too.

It is important to find our own sustainable diet matching our lifestyle during weight loss process. I'd rather find a way to applicate everything, not eliminating something.

Edited by: CHIHAYA at: 7/8/2012 (19:43)

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7/8/12 6:59 P

It looks like Jimmy Moore is doing well on a low-carb, lower protein, higher-fat diet recommended by Jeff Volek. On the surface, it sounds similar to what is recommended by Dr. Rosedale. Dr. Rosedale does not completely eliminate vegetables and some fruits, but does keep the carbs really low and doesn't go high on protein. I saw Volek's book recently, but thought it was just for athletes, now I want to take another look at it.

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7/6/12 8:35 A

I think you should clarify with your friend what exactly his diet is.

Like a previous poster said you'll find carbs are in most foods in varying quantities. It sounds to me that he's avoiding high carb fruits and vegetables but still eating low carb ones. Which is perfectly reasonable and healthy. Especially if he has insulin issues.

Also a lot of people do very well on a grain free diet. The body does not need them.

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7/5/12 10:33 P

It sounds like the diet that Peter Drobromylskyj has been on for quite some time. He is a research scientist, and there is actually quite a bit of data on it. Here's his blog:
high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/

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7/5/12 9:14 P

Like others have said, it sounds like Atkins Induction...not to be confused with Atkins Ongoing Weight Loss or Atkins Maintenance.

The two week induction period limits carb intake to 15 - 20g per day. I've done it before but never made it past the first or second week. However, I did lose quickly during those times and have not gained it back. I re-started Monday with the intention of getting through the first two weeks and then gradually adding in healthy carbs. I have found my body responds better to a lower carb (NOT no-carb) diet.

Both times I quit in the past I went straight back to counting calories and while I didn't gain anything, I only lost extremely slowly or not at all.

Back to your friend...if he's eating meat, then he's consuming protein as well as fat.

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7/5/12 8:49 P

Like others have said, it sounds a lot like the Atkins diet. If you're thinking in that direction, maybe try the South Beach diet first, or instead. It is a lot more reasonable and easier to follow.
Cutting out any one food group (or more) rarely leads to permanent success.

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7/5/12 7:55 P

Does he eat fruits and/or vegetables? If so, then he does eat carbs. Carbohydrates are much more than bread and corn syrup.

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7/5/12 5:29 P

EXACTLY! The key with SP is to get fit & healthy by exercising regularly & eating balanced meals & snacks. Anything that calls itself a 'diet' is just a temporary thing; living a Spark life will last a lifetime.

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7/5/12 5:16 P

You can also lose weight just as well eating a well balanced diet that is full of real, unprocessed, whole food. The bonus is if you choose to eat a lot of plant foods you will be flooding your body with vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.

I've tried every way of eating there is during my very long weight loss journey. If I could go back in time and tell myself how I should eat based on what I know now it would not be the super strict, low carb, high fat (or high protein) diet. That *is* how I started losing weight but it is not how I eat now. Health concerns caused me to reexamine my food choices. I lost the first 100lbs eating low-carb, high fat/protein. The next 120lb loss had a whole lot to do with vegetables and fruit. All 220lbs lost had to do with tracking calories and keeping them in range.

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7/5/12 5:08 P

I would imagine that it would be really easy to end up with some serious nutritional deficiencies if a high-fat, NO carb diet were following for a long period of time. There are a lot of very nutritious plant foods that contain carbs. If you eliminate all sources of carbs you won't be eating any vegetables, fruit, legumes, grains, nuts/seed (though nuts/seeds have fat too). Most sources of pure fat, without carbs, have little to no fiber, vitamins, or minerals.

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7/5/12 2:38 P

As the others have already stated, it is basically a very strick version of Atkins or Paleo.
Will it result in a slightly quicker weight loss...YES, but at 6-9 months the weight loss will average out and be the same as one following a more healthy, balanced weight loss approach.

As the others have stated, weight gain is a real problem, since most find this eating style boring.

And the latest research is showing problems with heart disease with this eating style.

And there is research to show the health benefits of fruits, vegetables, whole grains etc, with prevention of heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, etc.

Dietitian Becky

Edited by: DIETITIANBECKY at: 7/5/2012 (14:39)

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7/5/12 2:33 P

Hi,

There are some nutrients that fatty foods (even if they are all healthy fats) just don't have. To get all the nutrients a person needs, a variety of foods is required and that variety includes some starches, fruits and veggies.

Andrea

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7/5/12 2:30 P

Sounds like Atkins or Paleo to me.

No real metabolic advantage to either of them.

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7/5/12 2:22 P

I've heard of people having success on both high fat and high carb diets. But, your friends diet sounds very suspicious. I'd be concerned that he isn't getting all of the nutrients that he needs, avoiding vegetables and fruits is never very smart in my opinion. Bacon is highly processed, and one of the recent studies I read suggested that processed meats should be consumed no more than once a week. Even if he's physically fit, I wonder how much damage you can't see that's being done to his body.

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7/5/12 2:18 P

sounds like an atkins type diet... my mom used to eat similar to that and lost a ton of weight. When she went back to eating normal, she gained it all back.

It doesn't sound to me like something that would be sustainable.

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7/5/12 2:09 P

Hey Sparkers, I had a nutrition question for you.

Yesterday I talked to a friend of mine who had a diet that was different from anything I had heard before; he eats no carbs. No bread, no pasta, no cereal, etc.

However, he eats all the fatty foods that he wants (bacon, eggs and cheese for breakfast every morning, fried meats, lots of dairy, etc), and he says that for him this has been the best way to lose weight, along with regular workouts. He avoids certain fruits and veggies for being high in carbs and high in sugar.

He is quite fit, but somehow I'm just not buying that this no carb/all fat diet really works. Any thoughts? Any scientific evidence behind this?

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