(This is part 9 a multi-part
series on How to Tweak a Low Carb Diet. It explains the path I have traveled in
my weight-loss journey. If you arrived here without reading part 1, you can do
so by clicking on the how-to link. Part 1 also contains links to the other
posts in this series.)
When you begin to restrict carbohydrates to less than about 100 carbs per day, the body is forced to draw upon its liver glycogen to keep your blood glucose level steady.
This is according to Dr. Michael Eades who says the brain needs about 120 grams of glucose per day.
I can tell you, from experience, that during those first few days, the brain doesn’t get the proper amount of fuel to function correctly.
Or at least, I don’t.
I
know this because I start to have severe vertigo attacks when I restrict my carbs to only 20-net carbs per day. Other people have
talked about experiencing similar things, but mostly complaints are about being tired or having brain fog.
You don’t know if your body is going to try and protect its fat stores or if it will dip into them willingly. You also don't know if the body is going to stuff water into your fat cells as that fat is used.
This water-stuffing activity happens quite often, right after Induction because the dehydration that results from low glycogen stores requires the body to readjust.
It can take up to six or eight weeks for the body to release its stored water. The body doesn’t automatically dump the water and shrink those fat cells right after Induction. It can take awhile.
Once you pass that two-month marker, then you pretty much know where your current metabolism stands.
Dr. Atkins used to call this:
“How metabolic resistant you are.”
But too many people use that terminology incorrectly. If they aren’t losing weight every few days, they freak out and start thinking they have gone into starvation mode or have suddenly become metabolically resistant.
It doesn’t work that way.
The problems associated with a plateau or weight-loss stall vary from individual to individual. This is why it is so difficult to give advice on how to break a stall to someone else. There are so many individual factors involved, many of which are contradictory.
Originally, Dr. Atkins low-carb diet was an elimination diet. He took almost everything away from you, except for what your body needed to survive.
He did that because many of his patients had gastrointestinal problems. He didn’t want them eating fiber. This is why his diet was so strict in the 70s and contained very little vegetable matter. He had many patients who were allergic to wheat, so he created the diet to be as gentle on the digestive system as possible.
He also had patients who had blood glucose problems. Back in the early days, he talked mostly about hypoglycemia, which is a sign of exhausted adrenals from food sensitivities or autoimmune problems, such as celiac disease or Graves Disease.
This is a completely different diet than what low carbers call Induction today.
It works extremely well to clean out all allergens except for cow’s dairy and corn derivatives if you don’t know where to find them. Atkins 72 Induction is actually designed to clean out wheat and other grains because those are the problematic foods that patients with bowel problems have.
Back then, corn would not have been found in oils, meat processing techniques, and dairy products, but it would have been in the vinegar, mayonnaise, and green olives.
I cannot tell you what to eat to lose the weight.
I can describe what worked for me, and what I went through to figure that out, which is what I've done. I have shared the specific methods I have used, but what worked for me -- lowering fat and calories -- might not work for you.
You have to find the courage to perform your own experimentation.
And that takes work and patience.
Lots of work and patience.
Whether you feel that work is worth the effort and the initial deprivation that Atkins 72 places on you is a whole other matter.
I suppose the real question is:
 |
| At 20 Net Carbs the Brain is Starved for Fuel |
When you begin to restrict carbohydrates to less than about 100 carbs per day, the body is forced to draw upon its liver glycogen to keep your blood glucose level steady.
This is according to Dr. Michael Eades who says the brain needs about 120 grams of glucose per day.
I can tell you, from experience, that during those first few days, the brain doesn’t get the proper amount of fuel to function correctly.
Or at least, I don’t.
The way low-carb experts say it works is this:
The liver converts the protein you don’t need for immediate repair purposes to glucose to feed the brain. The brain can partially run on ketones, but some brain functions can only use glucose.
Dr. Eades talks about this too.
However, in the most recent scientific study funded by Gary Taubes and other prominent low-carb influencers, it didn't happen that way.
The body ramps up protein oxidation for about 5 to 7 days instead of converting protein to glucose.
The body burns amino acids (by way of muscle tissue) directly for fuel. Absolutely no fat loss occurred for the first 7 days.
Insulin level did drop quickly along with the carbohydrate restriction, within a couple of days, but high insulin levels didn't interfere with fat loss.
In fact, once insulin fell and the body switched from oxidizing protein to burning fatty acids for fuel, saving ketones and any available glucose for the brain, weight loss slowed way down compared to how much weight the study participants initially lost when their insulin level was high.
The study diet was low in protein because it was patterned after a Nutritional Ketosis diet, so I don't know if muscle tissue would have been lost if the participants had eaten what Lyle McDonald recommends instead.
In The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald, his recommendation is that for the first three weeks, you eat a minimum of 150 grams of protein per day to keep everything functioning correctly.
McDonald believes that amount of protein gives the liver plenty of amino acids to work with, so the brain doesn’t suffer from any deficiencies, and muscle wasting is at a minimum when carbs are super low.
The liver converts the protein you don’t need for immediate repair purposes to glucose to feed the brain. The brain can partially run on ketones, but some brain functions can only use glucose.
Dr. Eades talks about this too.
However, in the most recent scientific study funded by Gary Taubes and other prominent low-carb influencers, it didn't happen that way.
What Does the Body Do When You Restrict Carbohydrates?
The body ramps up protein oxidation for about 5 to 7 days instead of converting protein to glucose.
The body burns amino acids (by way of muscle tissue) directly for fuel. Absolutely no fat loss occurred for the first 7 days.
Insulin level did drop quickly along with the carbohydrate restriction, within a couple of days, but high insulin levels didn't interfere with fat loss.
In fact, once insulin fell and the body switched from oxidizing protein to burning fatty acids for fuel, saving ketones and any available glucose for the brain, weight loss slowed way down compared to how much weight the study participants initially lost when their insulin level was high.
The study diet was low in protein because it was patterned after a Nutritional Ketosis diet, so I don't know if muscle tissue would have been lost if the participants had eaten what Lyle McDonald recommends instead.
In The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald, his recommendation is that for the first three weeks, you eat a minimum of 150 grams of protein per day to keep everything functioning correctly.
(Available at Amazon)
McDonald believes that amount of protein gives the liver plenty of amino acids to work with, so the brain doesn’t suffer from any deficiencies, and muscle wasting is at a minimum when carbs are super low.
This coincides well with Dr. Atkins initial recommendation that you don't limit protein or fats during Induction.
Another theory that low-carb experts talk about is that after three weeks, or so, the brain becomes ketone adapted.
While the study saw fat burning occurring after the first week with no problems, ketone-adaption actually means that the brain has adapted to the situation and is now supplying up to 80% of its needs by way of ketones, with glucose supplying the rest.
Muscles have become insulin resistant, so glucose builds up in the bloodstream for the brain, and muscle tissue uses mostly fatty acids.
A low-carb diet is not glucose free because vegetables and other foods with carbohydrates do supply a bit of glucose, so if you’re within the first month of your low-carb diet, it’s silly to try to tweak anything because you don’t know how proficient your body is going to be in converting fatty acids and ketones into fuel.
Another theory that low-carb experts talk about is that after three weeks, or so, the brain becomes ketone adapted.
While the study saw fat burning occurring after the first week with no problems, ketone-adaption actually means that the brain has adapted to the situation and is now supplying up to 80% of its needs by way of ketones, with glucose supplying the rest.
Muscles have become insulin resistant, so glucose builds up in the bloodstream for the brain, and muscle tissue uses mostly fatty acids.
When is a Good Time to Tweak Your Diet?
A low-carb diet is not glucose free because vegetables and other foods with carbohydrates do supply a bit of glucose, so if you’re within the first month of your low-carb diet, it’s silly to try to tweak anything because you don’t know how proficient your body is going to be in converting fatty acids and ketones into fuel.
You don’t know if your body is going to try and protect its fat stores or if it will dip into them willingly. You also don't know if the body is going to stuff water into your fat cells as that fat is used.
This water-stuffing activity happens quite often, right after Induction because the dehydration that results from low glycogen stores requires the body to readjust.
It can take up to six or eight weeks for the body to release its stored water. The body doesn’t automatically dump the water and shrink those fat cells right after Induction. It can take awhile.
Once you pass that two-month marker, then you pretty much know where your current metabolism stands.
Dr. Atkins used to call this:
“How metabolic resistant you are.”
But too many people use that terminology incorrectly. If they aren’t losing weight every few days, they freak out and start thinking they have gone into starvation mode or have suddenly become metabolically resistant.
It doesn’t work that way.
If you have been on a low-carb diet for a while, say two to six months, and you are not making progress -- you're stalled -- then, whatever you are currently doing is:
The body has adapted to your current diet. Just accept that, and go on.
Maintenance
The body has adapted to your current diet. Just accept that, and go on.
What to Look at First
The problems associated with a plateau or weight-loss stall vary from individual to individual. This is why it is so difficult to give advice on how to break a stall to someone else. There are so many individual factors involved, many of which are contradictory.
Food sensitivities and allergies are a BIG ISSUE that most
people refuse to look at.
I see this every time someone talks about how they went off plan and what the result was.
Carbohydrates receive the blame.
They become the demon that is blocking you from your right to fast weight loss because low carbers would rather blame carbohydrates for feeling bloated and ill than the wheat or milk or other food allergen that is in the bread or cake.
I'm not sure why that is; I just know it happens all the time.
What most low-carb dieters describe after eating off plan is the same symptoms you get when adding a new food to a strict elimination diet if that new food happens to be something you are sensitive to.
I see this every time someone talks about how they went off plan and what the result was.
Carbohydrates receive the blame.
They become the demon that is blocking you from your right to fast weight loss because low carbers would rather blame carbohydrates for feeling bloated and ill than the wheat or milk or other food allergen that is in the bread or cake.
I'm not sure why that is; I just know it happens all the time.
What most low-carb dieters describe after eating off plan is the same symptoms you get when adding a new food to a strict elimination diet if that new food happens to be something you are sensitive to.
To look at food sensitivities as a real thing might
mean giving up some of your treasured low-carb foods:
Food sensitivities cause water retention and intestinal inflammation, and inflammation interferes with the way your body handles food. When you eat something you are sensitive to (and it only takes a little bit), it makes you hungry for more. You'll easily binge or go off plan.
Most low-carb dieters don't really want to discuss dietary fat or what it's going to be like when they get close to pre-maintenance because they have embraced the idea that getting thin will solve all of their problems.
However, we need to talk about that for just a moment.
When the intestines are inflamed, due to a food sensitivity or some health-related condition that prevents you from absorbing and metabolizing fats properly, you do not absorb most of the dietary fat you eat.
If you can't absorb fat, you can’t use it for fuel.
In this case, a low-carb diet can make you feel ill. It can cause severe digestive issues, even throw you into starvation mode.
- dairy products
- nuts
- sugar substitutes
- low-carb products made with wheat protein or gluten
These are the most common ones, but it could be anything.
One thing to look for:
If there is a food that you believe you can’t live
without, that food (or an ingredient in that food) is what you are most likely sensitive to, so look at that first.
And if you're sensitive to it, that food or ingredient will affect how you feel, your hunger level, your strength of will, and most likely, what is standing in your way of reaching goal weight.
And if you're sensitive to it, that food or ingredient will affect how you feel, your hunger level, your strength of will, and most likely, what is standing in your way of reaching goal weight.
Not the carbs.
Food sensitivities cause water retention and intestinal inflammation, and inflammation interferes with the way your body handles food. When you eat something you are sensitive to (and it only takes a little bit), it makes you hungry for more. You'll easily binge or go off plan.
The Truth About Losing Body Fat
Most low-carb dieters don't really want to discuss dietary fat or what it's going to be like when they get close to pre-maintenance because they have embraced the idea that getting thin will solve all of their problems.
However, we need to talk about that for just a moment.
When the intestines are inflamed, due to a food sensitivity or some health-related condition that prevents you from absorbing and metabolizing fats properly, you do not absorb most of the dietary fat you eat.
If you can't absorb fat, you can’t use it for fuel.
In this case, a low-carb diet can make you feel ill. It can cause severe digestive issues, even throw you into starvation mode.
I happen to be one of those.
I have never had an energy burst from doing low carb. I’ve never lost my cravings for the standard American Diet from eating this way. In fact, eating a low-carb diet makes me extremely hungry. If I were to eat to appetite, I would gain weight.
Part of the problem is that the body wants to be fat.
I literally fight my body because it wants to take me back to 250 pounds.
Maintenance is a daily struggle!
Don't ever let anyone tell you that it isn't. Being thin doesn't make you happy. It provides an even greater challenge than getting thin did because now you're worried that you're going to gain the weight back.
There is still no peace of mind.
I have never had an energy burst from doing low carb. I’ve never lost my cravings for the standard American Diet from eating this way. In fact, eating a low-carb diet makes me extremely hungry. If I were to eat to appetite, I would gain weight.
Part of the problem is that the body wants to be fat.
I literally fight my body because it wants to take me back to 250 pounds.
Maintenance is a daily struggle!
Don't ever let anyone tell you that it isn't. Being thin doesn't make you happy. It provides an even greater challenge than getting thin did because now you're worried that you're going to gain the weight back.
There is still no peace of mind.
Atkins 72 is a Food Elimination Diet
Originally, Dr. Atkins low-carb diet was an elimination diet. He took almost everything away from you, except for what your body needed to survive.
He did that because many of his patients had gastrointestinal problems. He didn’t want them eating fiber. This is why his diet was so strict in the 70s and contained very little vegetable matter. He had many patients who were allergic to wheat, so he created the diet to be as gentle on the digestive system as possible.
He also had patients who had blood glucose problems. Back in the early days, he talked mostly about hypoglycemia, which is a sign of exhausted adrenals from food sensitivities or autoimmune problems, such as celiac disease or Graves Disease.
So the Atkins 72 Induction Diet takes away potentially harmful foods, which makes it the perfect plan to tweak a low-carb diet with, since you can watch how your body reacts to each food.
At first, for the first week, all you eat is this:
At first, for the first week, all you eat is this:
- Meat, including bacon (but NO sausage, hot dogs, store-bought meatballs or lunch meat)
- Poultry
- Fish (but no oysters, mussels, scallops or pickled fish)
- Eggs without limit
- Cheese, hard and aged, up to 4 ounces daily (but NO cream cheese or cheese spreads)
- Heavy cream, up to 4 teaspoons per day
- Butter, margarine, oils, shortening, lard, mayonnaise
- Lemon or lime juice, one fresh squeezed per day
- Salad, 2 small per day, each less than one loosely packed cup: leafy greens and celery or cucumbers and radishes.
- Salad Dressings: oil and vinegar only, but you could use herbs and spices, some of your grated cheese allowance, crumbled bacon, or chopped eggs.
- If you grew tired of salad, you could have one sour pickle instead. Plus, a few green olives.
- Condiments: salt, pepper, mustard, horseradish, vinegar, extracts, spices that contained no sugar, and artificial sweetener (which at that time was Sweet n Low)
- Dessert: sugar-free gelatin, which you could top with some of your heavy cream allowance if you didn’t put it in your coffee
- Drinks: water, mineral water, club soda, beef or chicken broth/bouillon, diet soda, coffee, tea
This is a completely different diet than what low carbers call Induction today.
It works extremely well to clean out all allergens except for cow’s dairy and corn derivatives if you don’t know where to find them. Atkins 72 Induction is actually designed to clean out wheat and other grains because those are the problematic foods that patients with bowel problems have.
Back then, corn would not have been found in oils, meat processing techniques, and dairy products, but it would have been in the vinegar, mayonnaise, and green olives.
How to Tweak Your Low-Carb Diet
Once you've pared your food intake down to biologically zero, from there, Dr. Atkins basically left you on your own. There was no
carbohydrate ladder to dictate what you added back next. In fact, Dr. Atkins specific instructions was to add back what you miss the most.
I don’t know if that’s a good idea today, though.
What you miss the most is a sign that you might be sensitive to that food or ingredient, and if so, you would be better off waiting a few weeks before you attempt to add it back in.
I don’t know if that’s a good idea today, though.
What you miss the most is a sign that you might be sensitive to that food or ingredient, and if so, you would be better off waiting a few weeks before you attempt to add it back in.
The way food sensitivities work is this:
Once you eliminate food allergens for a few weeks and clean yourself of allergens, when you reintroduce them, your body will have an exaggerated reaction to it.
This is due to the hormone cortisol, which sends the body into fight-or-flight mode.
Your exaggerated reaction alerts you to that particular food being a problematic food for you. It is the only way to diagnose food sensitivities and intolerance.
Sensitivity produces a different immune system response than standard allergy does. Plus, problematic foods can show up at weight gain or a stall.
Keep in mind that it may take eating a new food two or three times before the reaction appears, depending on how long it’s been since you ate it last.
Dr. Atkins caution in 1972 was to add foods back into your diet one at a time, and very slowly.
Five grams per day, per week is slow; but we’re talking about returning individual foods one at a time – not a complete food group like low carbers do it today. Returning an entire food group at one time doesn’t teach you anything about yourself and can mask problematic foods.
Once you eliminate food allergens for a few weeks and clean yourself of allergens, when you reintroduce them, your body will have an exaggerated reaction to it.
This is due to the hormone cortisol, which sends the body into fight-or-flight mode.
Your exaggerated reaction alerts you to that particular food being a problematic food for you. It is the only way to diagnose food sensitivities and intolerance.
Sensitivity produces a different immune system response than standard allergy does. Plus, problematic foods can show up at weight gain or a stall.
Keep in mind that it may take eating a new food two or three times before the reaction appears, depending on how long it’s been since you ate it last.
Dr. Atkins caution in 1972 was to add foods back into your diet one at a time, and very slowly.
Five grams per day, per week is slow; but we’re talking about returning individual foods one at a time – not a complete food group like low carbers do it today. Returning an entire food group at one time doesn’t teach you anything about yourself and can mask problematic foods.
And that’s the whole purpose of an elimination diet. To learn what’s best for you.
What Dr. Atkins’ original diet does:
It helps you personalize your plan by getting rid of potential allergens and the junk that is clogging your vision.
It allows you to see what effect each food has on how you feel and what it does for your overall weight-loss strategy.
Without the junk in the way, you can tell if you are eating too much fat because if you still aren’t losing weight after a month or so, you can begin experimenting on yourself, just like Dr. Atkins did, by lowering or raising your fat level.
And the same goes for protein, water consumption, or individual foods.
It helps you personalize your plan by getting rid of potential allergens and the junk that is clogging your vision.
It allows you to see what effect each food has on how you feel and what it does for your overall weight-loss strategy.
Without the junk in the way, you can tell if you are eating too much fat because if you still aren’t losing weight after a month or so, you can begin experimenting on yourself, just like Dr. Atkins did, by lowering or raising your fat level.
And the same goes for protein, water consumption, or individual foods.
The Bottom Line
I cannot tell you what to eat to lose the weight.
I can describe what worked for me, and what I went through to figure that out, which is what I've done. I have shared the specific methods I have used, but what worked for me -- lowering fat and calories -- might not work for you.
You have to find the courage to perform your own experimentation.
And that takes work and patience.
Lots of work and patience.
Whether you feel that work is worth the effort and the initial deprivation that Atkins 72 places on you is a whole other matter.
- WHY do you want to lose the weight?
- WHY is being thin important to you?
I am not who I was then:
Maybe that’s why I no longer feel driven to find an answer to my weight-loss problem.
And maybe that’s why I currently feel like giving up and accepting myself as I am.
- My viewpoint on life has changed.
- My viewpoint on what’s important in life has changed.
- Vanity is not a part of that equation any more.
Maybe that’s why I no longer feel driven to find an answer to my weight-loss problem.
And maybe that’s why I currently feel like giving up and accepting myself as I am.
I dont mean to insult your intelligence, but it sounds to me like youve been back and forth on these diets so much, I can perfectly see why youve gotten little results. Dr. Eades, Dr. Oz also is very avid about the purpose of low carbing. You said you clock in still at 175, or around there? You need to follow a plan all the way through. A 55lb weight drop will take 5-6 months. In addition to weight lifting, you need to do an hour or more a day of cardio at low intensity to preserve muscle from wasting. Im 6'1, and I was 275lbs when I started my low carb plan by Dr. Eades, and also from musclehack.com an e-book called Total Six Pack Abs. My body composition changed, but my weight went up instead of down. Im now stronger than Ive ever been, more alert than Ive ever been, dont need as much sleep. So if Im stronger, that must mean I gained muscle. Im doing lifts i was never able to do before and doing reps with what I maxed out at a few months back. However,the cardio was not there in the beginning of the diet. And mind you, I was and am still eating high protien, high fats, low carb, with a calculated refeed after 2 weeks, with every week thereafter. Im noticing fluxuations in my weight, from water and such, where one week Im 275 or so, now Im 294. When I start my cardio routine, thats where the caloric deficit will come in as it has before, thus protien needs to increase so muscle wont be broken down. Also, fat cannot be converted into glucose, but ketones which are expelled through urine and sweat. The body uses them to a degree, but insulin is the problem, not fat. Im more vascular than Ive ever been. Like I said, you need to stick with ONE diet, and finish the cycle. I read all your pages, and it sounded to me like you jump around WAY to much from one diet to the next so there is no way to ascertain which one could actually do the trick for you. But Ill be money if you do the low carb diet and keep the fats high, you will drop weight. People stall, because you have to trick your body into an energy source, and that is fat. Your stomach has to make different enzymes to break down fats instead of carbs, so when a person re-introduces carbs back in the diet and experiences pain or stomach cramping, it is due to the lack of enzymes needed for proper carb digestion, which is why it needs to be slow. Carbs can increase and intensify inflammation, gout, art, joint pain, etc. Through experimentation, since Ive dumped the carbs, my shoulder pain, knee pain and pain in general has subsided, and I feel great.
ReplyDeleteI just deleted the comment directed towards the above post...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support, but please watch your language when you post a response.
When the comment by Anon was first posted almost a year ago, I simply chose to ignore most of it. As Lyle McDonald would say: Most of this is just wrong. And it wasn't worth the amount of time it would take to respond.
I'm glad to of come across your post. It has been very informative for my personal use. And when you find you have an intolerence to food you change your plans to acomidate what you can't tolerate. No matter what we like.. thanks again for sharing your journey.
ReplyDeleteThat is certainly how many people feel when they first go gluten free. They simply walk away from whatever foods might do them harm and never look back.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering lately if there isn't a way to borrow that mindset as far as dieting is concerned. I really like the Atkins 72 plan the best because it puts everything into perspective. It lets you create your own way of eating, something you can live with for the rest of your life.
Thank you so much for your comment. I really appreciate it.
Some people just don't understand food allergies, and the life-long struggles they bring. History shows that things people don't understand are received with negativity. I have food allergies to peppers and dairy. Wow, the reactions I get from people when I deny an oreo or cake or spicy food (all of which I trully miss). I too learned of my food allergies from low carb dieting and am very appreciative of. I too have had a long journey with many diets, and with my education and career I know physiology very well. The science of allergies combined with metabolism combined with other disease processes and physical limitation is exhaustive. I have had the stunning realization that we are not created equal, what works for me won't work for others. Your story was very well written and really hit home with my own. I hope that the one thing that readers take with them after reading your post is these diets, any diet should be used as guides.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI like to look at Atkins 72 as the foundation for a good Elimination Diet. Personally, I would return foods to the diet one by one, much more slowly, so I could evaluate the way my system works. Maybe, I'll do a post on that next. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I have Lupus. That causes alot of widespread inflammation. I had believed I was allergic to certain foods. I even took allergy testing. It determind that foods which I do not eat gave an allergic responce. But I learned after going organic that the problem is not the food. Its the synthetic pesticides. I lost alot of my inflammation and can eat those foods so long as they are organic. Let's face it, you do not know what the farmer is using. Synthetic pesticides may not be broken down by your body, because it cannot identify what chemicals are being ingested to do so. I lost even more inflammation going low carb. I don't care about weightloss, I feel great now. That is enough to get me moving again. And the motion will take care of the weight.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm glad to hear that you've found ways to reduce your inflammation. I don't do well with pesticides either.
Delete