If and low carb med diet

[Changednamealready]

Well I wrote on the fasting board but didn’t have much of a response

I have in the past down well with 16:8. I am now toying with adding in Mediterranean low carb to see if this might help with my poor daytime energy and my eczema. I theorise the increase in fat might help my v dry skin.

Has anyone tried it?

Thanks.

I've not tried Mediteranean low carb, but have been doing keto for the past couple of months. Eating lots of coconut oil and avocados and drinking coconut milk seems to have done wonders for my skin and hair. Lowering carbs and sugar seems to have stopped my post-lunch energy slump. I'd say give it a go and see how you get on.

I do one meal a day and low carb high fat and I feel amazing! Tonnes more energy and better skin. I roughly follow the rules of Low Carb Bootcamp on the other thread but I'm not quite as restricted (eg I'll have a normal roast dinner on sunday, still cook with onions etc) but I figure the fasting counterbalances the odd carb. I started in November and have lost a stone so far, which is amazing for me as normally my weightloss is v slow. Any WOE where you can eat butter, cream and cheese and still lose weight is fine by me! Plus all the fat (as well as tonnes of water and green veg) means I'm genuinely not hungry during my 23 hours of fasting, so I believe these two WOE truly compliment each other. I'd say definitely give it a go and see how you get on.

That’s amazing Marmalade.
I do IF, mostly 16:8
I’m trying to reduce inflammation. I have hip bursitis brought on by being peri menopausal.
My sleep is suffering though and I’m exhausted some days.

I don’t have the motivation to be keto.
I know it works though.

Thank you! That sounds awful ihate. I'm not really keto I don't track anything, I just more or less follow the bootcamp rules here and I find it ridiculously easy. I've totally gone off sugar, which is unheard of for me, I don't even have cravings. I did try a bit of chocolate the other day and felt so lousy afterwards, I have no intention of ever eating it again. Its bizarre! I've never gone into Christmas feeling like this, normally by now I'd have given in and eaten mince pies, stolen etc and have 'treated' myself to hot chocolate and baileys but this year zero temptation.

Other benefits include no flatulence , no night sweats, better skin, more energy and no mid-afternoon slumps. I'd definitely recommend checking it out and giving it a go. Plus it makes fasting so much easier, because of all the fat you eat in your meal you're genuinely not hungry for so much longer, carbs = cravings IME.

Stefo - that’s the kind of feedback I want to hear. I don’t think I can do full on keto but certainly may try reducing carbs and increasing fats with the hope my winter eczema may get better.

Marmalade that’s amazing. I’ve often thought about doing one a day as I felt such benefit for two meals a day but I’m not sure I have the discipline yet and I got quite light headed by lunch time. I can’t sleep without food in my stomach so would have to have my meal before bed. Such great news to hear this has worked for you!

changedname I basically give myself an hour of eating in the evening. I eat tea with the DC so from about 4.30 I'm preparing tea and I'll pick on bits of cheese/cold meats/smoked salmon or have a coffee with cream then and then I'll eat tea about 5.15-5.30.

I've done OMAD before but still ate carbs and found it really tough, this time around it's a cinch. I've even managed a couple of 48 hour fasts too which I'm buzzing about. Obviously the weight loss from that is only short term but I'm more interested in the benefits of autophagy when I'm fasting for that amount of time. I think just find what works for you and then go for it!

Did you ease yourself into omad marmalade? I know years ago when I was travelling it was too hot to eat in the day so we would often eat two meals I. The evening and I lost a stone! The lovely thing was you also really appreciated your food!

How long have you been doing it?

Do you find missing breakfast curbs your appetite?

Well for the last 10 years I've skipped breakfast. I don't have IBS but would get similar symptoms if I had milk or yogurt in the morning so I decided to stop and then discovered that by not eating breakfast I wasn't starving at 10.30 anymore and could easily go til lunchtime. I'd tried OMAD a few times during this time but would still eat normally ie. lots of carbs, and I found that really tough and often felt really hungry. So this time around I've combined it with low carb, high fat and this seems to be the key for me. I still sometimes get hungry on the weekend so might eat lunch as well as dinner but I find my appetite has massively reduced (I used to eat more than DH ) so actually what I eat over those 2 meals is probably the equivalent of what I eat at 1 meal. Initially, I found it easier if I did it on a busy day so I wasn't sat around thinking about food, but now it's second nature.

Maybe try pushing back the time you eat, so instead of 16:8 do 18:6 and then just keep going until you find an eating window that works for you?

@MarmaladeTeepee could you give me some meal examples of what you are eating.

I don’t think I can do full on keto but certainly may try reducing carbs and increasing fats

changedname in my experience that kind of approach didn't really work. If you look at people who have successfully lost weight / improved their health / addressed specific issues (and maintained that new healthy weight / life) then it is often by rigorously following ONE approach:

• low carb, high fat, keto type OR
• blood sugar diet OR
• intermittent fasting OR
• a specific weight loss programme such as Slimming world or weight watchers OR
• a meal replacement programme...

The risk with doing 'a little bit of each' is that the principles upon which they are founded get muddled. You need to understand how each different approach works, understand the rules, and try them out until you find an approach that works well for you - for your body and metabolism and for your lifestyle.

The problem with a little less carb and a little more fat is that it's really easy to eat hidden carbs and hidden fats, or just to 'cheat a little' which is where the Western diet has gone wrong. I'd suggest working with one approach for a few months and see how it works out for you. I have a friend who swears by 5:2 because she loves eating a biscuit on her non-fast days. Personally, I love the keto approach. But whatever you do, you have to do it healthily. A diet of butter and bacon might technically be keto, but it's not going to be good for you long term. The bottom line is that you can't eat potato AND cream cheese AND sweetcorn AND put butter on your broccoli. (and then have a little cheeky glass of wine). You have to make choices.

You say a couple of times that you don't have the motivation, but you kind of have to, if you want to change your health...

Great advice - well done marmalade. I appreciate we are all different but really useful to hear your experience. I had to fast for an op and was amazed at how upbeat I felt. On a work day this would be challenging.

I have let eating in the morning creep back in what with a cold (one after another) and winter and work! All accumulated to wanting a creamy coffee first think with a carb laden breakfast. I mentioned I’d had weight loss with 16:8 previously and sustainable weight loss (lasted 6 months and I’ve not regained all the weight). It’s partly the effect it has on the way it makes you feel - if you feel great for me, you’re less likely to keep grazing on carbs.

I did try salmon and veg for an evening meal (had had a sandwich for lunch) and would wake in the night hungry - maybe not enough fat (?)

I am going to go back to avoiding all food until 12 and then gradually push it again until 12.30 and so on. Thanks for your input marm.

I hatethecold (me too by the way). I had hip burritos too it wasn’t fun mine was brought on by some impingement but it has calmed down a lot. It took time but did get better.

@Wallywobbles here's a typical week for me:
Sun: Roast dinner (this is my one carb day so I'll have normal gravy, potatoes, root veg etc)
Mon: Leftovers. So if we'd had chicken I'll make a mushroom and cream sauce to go with it and then loads of green veg with butter on the side.
Tues: Pork belly with loads of green veg in butter.
Weds: Spag bol (made with full fat mince) but no spaghetti, just the sauce with green veg.
Thurs: low carb sausages with cauliflower mash and green veg
Fri: chicken thighs in the slow cooker with chorizo and passata and green veg
Sat: Steak with (you guessed it!) green veg.

So basically I'm eating the same as before but whereas the rest of the family are eating carbs, I'm eating a tonne of green veg (with butter on).

@Changednamealready I think the key is just to find something that works for you. I'm rubbish at following rules, they just bring out my inner rebel, even though by breaking them the only person I'm hurting is myself . There's nothing wrong with trying different approaches until you find the one that works for you. Good luck!

Venus and Mars yes very wise words.

Marmalade 16:8 was the first thing that worked consistently so I will go back to that but with a lower carb approach and lots of exercise (latter because I like it!).