If you want to be thin and stay thin (and avoid Metabolic Syndrome), then you have to eat high fat

Hey there scorpion! Still going strong here as well, in a good balance, and good to see the world catching up a bit on this...one small step at a time. Still thankful you started this thread; changed my life!

Hey R - good to see you still on here :) and still going strong.

The world is catching on, little by little. You see article after article now questioning the old "fat is bad mantra". Research piece after research piece is pinning the Government advice of the last 40 years as being responsible for the obesity and health catastrophe that we are witnessing.

Unfortunately the powers that be really don't want to let the message go .... you still see almost every article finish on the obesity and diabetes epidemics finish with the same tired lines:

"Watch those calories"
"Reduce the fat in your diet"
"Eat your 5 day" (though now creeping up to 7 day)
"Pick whole grains over refined grains"
"Reduce your salt intake"
"Reduce your sugar" (without pointing out that your body turns every carb - sugar/starch into glucose)

But at least some people see through this message now and that number is growing.

It was great to see my step daughter return to this. She lost a lot of weight on this before getting married. Two kids later she gained a load and has returned to the path.

The great hope is catching the problem as early in life as possible, before the metabolic catastrophe is complete. That way you can still enjoy some carbs in moderation rather than having to eliminate them altogether to try and mitigate the damage already caused!

All the best everyone .... all we can do is keep plugging the message and changing ourselves. When lots of people change their own perspective and the way they live, that is how the world is truly changed for the better....

While you are eating lots of protein you will not lose muscle. You remember my very first post about matching your ideal weight in kg to the amount of protein in grams e.g if your ideal weight is 70kg then your protein requirement is about 70gm per day?

Right, if you create a protein surplus in addition to anaerobic exercise then you will create a "smallish" insulin spike. This is probably enough to start replenish your glycogen.

Once your body has enough protein, excess protein is converted to glucose and this is first stored as glycogen. Too much can be stored as fat since it has nowhere else to go. This is why eating too much protein can still lead to weight gain - as I know all too well :(

However, when you are exercising you will burn glucose in the system, then glycogen and then fat stores. So having some glycogen increases the anabolic kick to muscle building.

I know I am not a fan of fructose because of the liver damage, but you know that fructose follows a different pathway to normal carbs. It cannot be burnt for energy so only two things can happen to it - it becomes glycogen in the muscles or fat.

Now, if your protein is maintenance level and you are eating very minimal carbs then it is likely that small amounts of fruit (especially berries) will lead to the fructose being stored as glycogen. You will feel the muscles are stronger. But it is pretty small amounts. I like adding blackberries, strawberries and rasberries in small amounts to cream cheese. Very yummie actually :)

But will only do this when exercising. With anaerobic you eat these AFTER you have exercised, with aerobic before. Though I am not a big fan of aerobic exercise. I think it is very damaging to the heart muscles and the weight loss effects are very small unless you are diabetic. Best form of aerobic very short sharp stints e.g. 100m sprint, 3 times in 30 minutes. You can get all the benefit of a long run, with less of the damage to heart muscle and less chance of muscle being burnt. This will just burn off the excess blood sugars and enable fat burning to commence.

Hope that helps

Still going strong here after four plus years. Started this plan to loose weight for daughters wedding. Lost around forty pounds! Still off. Still smaller than daughters. Still got great report from doctor on my blood work and physical a few months ago. Hubby left me for a chubby lady a while back. Who knew he liked fat women? No regrets!

This plan changed my life! People ask all the time. But none seem to be able to get past the first month. Lots of new studies coming out to back this info up recently! More important than weight loss is the change in my mental state and the loss of inflammation and joint pain!

I cheat now and again, especially during divorce when weight got too low, but I pay with depression and body aches! I am smaller than my wedding day and very happy.

Thank you scorpion!

I've tried low-carb before and gave up after a couple of months each because of carb cravings - I crawled back like a junkie for sugar, chocolate and starches. This time though, I have no cravings for carbs, or at least very little. I think the difference is that I wasn't eating enough fat, just protein and a few carbs. I've gotten good at making desserts with coconut, coconut milk, Dutch cocoa powder( unsweetened ) cinnamon and stevia so I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

Well done you!!! Good to see you are doing well and after four years too. Shame about hubby though, no accounting for taste I guess lol

It is funny you say about people not being able to get past the first month. That is the hardest, but it does get easier. I guess giving the carbs up is like giving up the hardest drugs.

I agree with your comment though about it not being just the weight loss, though that is the great incentive driver. Like you I had serious joint inflammation. Living pain free is the greatest....

Well done again

Mmmm yeah ... another nice one is freshly squeezed lime in cream cheese with sweetener, though the unsweetened cocoa works well in cream cheese too yummie :)

What really creeps me out a bit now that I know better is the way I can drink half a coke and suddenly turn into a crabby carb craving wretch in about 25 minutes. The beauty of the extremely low carb diet is that once you get past that third or fourth week you really become free to eat for the sake of eating well for your body.

All those cravings and annoying trips to stare aimlessly into the fridge and pantry for what you don't even know go away. It leaves so much time to think about important things and to really enjoy life without this thing in the back of your head screaming feed me! When I splurge at holidays that demon comes right back till I slay it again by restricting carbs for a few weeks.

It proves what addicts and slaves we become to glucose and fructose without even knowing it. That is really creepy to me! If the low fat gurus were right, with my age, family history and the amount of cheese, bacon and eggs I consume, I should have horrible cholesterol numbers and high blood pressure. But instead my numbers are great and my doctors says she is thrilled with my results.

I know every time I have posted here over the years I say thank you Scorpion, but you just have no idea what a difference this information made in my life. I am certain I would never have heard of any of this information if you had not started this thread all those years ago! It might be another decade before these ratios and all this vital information becomes mainstream info. By then I would have been a size 14, diabetic, depressed beyond belief and probably in line for cardiac stents or bypass surgery like my younger sister already had. That is why I feel I could never thank you enough.

Did you ever buy the doctors book? It was so expensive and I keep thinking one day I will find it at one of the used book sources I frequent. But, I never have found it and wonder if it would be any better information than what is posted here.

Hello again. Htp here, nli.

4 1/2 years today since I began eating this way.

Can't thank Scorpion enough for posting and moderating this thread.

I recently ran into someone I hadn't seen since before I did this. After greeting each other, the very first thing he said was "You look like you have gotten younger!"

My freckles have not come back, but I am feeling great.

I'll be 60 in a few days, and I feel the best I have since I came down with mono in my early thirties. That weakened my immune system and triggered hypo-thyroidism, which went un-diagnosed until I was suicidal.

Long story short, I tried a lot of stuff regarding the thyroid, and nothing worked for me like this way of eating.
I really believe it has bought me some years.

so good to read this! good for you!

How do you get enough fiber with only 20g of carbs? Bet you are always constipated.

OK I just looked it up. The grams of fiber are carbs that don't count for the 20g carbs you can have. All the carbs in avocado is fiber.

Yes, dietary fiber does is not counted in the carb count. Thus, 4.5lbs of romaine lettuce would supply 21grams of carbs. I think that would be enough fiber to keep a person regular. The thing on the carbs is to eat the highest quality greens and other vegetables and not waste your carbs on baked goods and such.

Love this thread! I've just read through the entire thing and there is so much great information here! I do appreciate you and all who have contributed to make this a very educational read! This new way of eating is something I've now incorporated in my life and even though it's only been a week, already I feel and see a positive difference! I look forward to experiencing more and more improvements in my overall health and an even better quality of day to day life! Again a big heartfelt THANK YOU!

Scorpion-can you do a review of acceptable types of fat. How much polyunsaturated fat is allowable? I have abt. 28g/day, mostly from using Mayo & olive oil.

Look on the label--lots of mayo use canola oil which is bad stuff.

Best fats are: farm raised grassfed animal saturated fat, grassfed butter, coconut oil, olive oil. Never cook with olive oil as heat damages it's molecular structure

hellmans mayo uses soybean oil (6g/tbsp of polyunsaturated fat), and i'm using olive oil on salads and it contains 1.5g/tbsp.

anyone know a recommended limit?

Re-read and heed the above post. Stop the soybean, canola etc. Act on the below.

Best fats are: farm raised grassfed animal saturated fat, grassfed butter, coconut oil, olive oil. Never cook with olive oil as heat damages it's molecular structure

Bumpage

I have tired this way of eating before and it makes my joints feel great, my problem is it depletes my serotonin levels in my brain. can someone tell me how to stop this, it make my mind feel like it is going to explode until I eat carbs. Also I get very angry when I get off of the carbs.

I have a question, hoping someone can answer.

Started the diet 3 days ago and can't seem to hit my fat numbers.

What happens to the diet, if I don't eat all the fat requirements?

I'm getting around 150 grams, the diet calls for 237-276 grams.

Also. Since the body does in fact seem to burn a good amount while you're sleeping, wouldn't that mean that eating, maybe 30 minutes to an hour before bed, would be giving your matabolism a kick and keeping it going through the night while you sleep?

Just a thought.

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SCORPION, if you're still around, please accept my sincere THANK YOU!

I'm about 6 weeks in and, aside from some fatigue issues, have seen the benefits you described. My issue is too much protein and not high enough fat levels...but the good news is the carb cravings are gone. Next 6 weeks will be fine tuning to get the fat levels higher.

3 of my 4 kids are doing high fat and have commented on the benefits, particularly in athletic activities.

Next trip to England I would like to buy you a HIGH FAT dinner by way of appreciation.

Thanks again!

I'm doing this again since I went back to eating like crap and gained weight. It worked for me the first time, lost 65 lbs.

Hi everyone! I gained 10 pounds non-stop eating goodies from Halloween through Christmas! I now have a total of 25 pounds to lose to get to my ideal weight. I can't believe I made such a pig of myself, but now I'm ready to buckle down and get serious!

I'm planning to re-read this thread in its entirety and start right away. I'm also planning to restrict calories every other day. I'm still planning to eat more fats and eat low carb but I've found that now I'm 60, my metabolism is so slow, even eating this way, I only lose 1 pound each week. I'm thinking if I restrict calories to 500 every other day, it might boost it to 2 lbs a week like I use to accomplish when I was younger.

One way I've found to cut down the calories and keep to the 500 a day, is to have coffee with a little cream and a teaspoon of grassfed butter with a little cinnamon. It tastes great and I find it keeps hunger pains away for a good 4 hours or so!

Happy New Year everyone!