The more I tried, the more I failed. Why am I getting fat?

After I have first heard of LCHF, I have been vigorously searching the internet and Youtube for more information. There are plenty of articles, blogs and videos available and I will be posting up links to them. But for starters, here is a summary of what I have learned so far.

LCHF stands for "low carb, high fat" and is a diet that started out by a few medical doctors in Sweden. It's been out for a while now and so far it seems to be highly effective. Not only that people loose lots of weight rather fast. It also seems to pose no health risks, is easy to follow, does not decrease life quality and that people keep on doing it even after they have reached their healthy weight. For that reason, it is often called to be a lifestyle, not just a diet.

At first, it sounded a bit strange to me. How is it possible to continually loose weight, without resorting to special products or medications, while at the same time not be burdened with cravings, hunger, excercise...? Sounds utopic, right? That's the big thing about LCHF. It actually often sounds downright insane. And to me, the craziest of all are its groundbreaking fundamental statements:

1. It is the carbohydrates, not fat, that make us fat.
2. You can eat as much as you want and still loose excessive bodyfat, as long as you keep your insulin levels low and stable. You don't even have to exercise.
3. Cardiovascular problems are caused by non-saturated fatty acids, particularly omega-6 and hydrogenated fats, and not by saturated fats such as butter and pork fat.

There is more to it than that, but these are the basics. Surely you are noticing that above statements are controversial and completely against what we are being told by doctors, dietitians and media. They say the exact opposite: carbohydrates make you more healthy while fat makes you fatter. Unsaturated fats clean your cardiovascular system and saturated fats are clogging your arteries, but you should keep both at the minimum. And the only way to loose weight is to exercise regularly and eat fewer calories. I hear this literally everywhere. But is it really true?

I have been trying this widely adopted "recipe for health" for the past ten years. Most of this time, I have been careful about my food intake. I was gradually eliminating the fats and simple sugars out of my nutrition, replacing it with protein, starches, fruits and vegetables. I have been spending lots and lots of time thinking about my nutritional habits and giving myself a hard time whenever I sinned. I admit, I've had my share of dietary oopsies, but overall, everyone, including my doctor told me that my eating habits are good enough to maintain reasonable weight and be in no major cardiovascular risk. And that was even after I complained to her of being constantly very tired in the afternoons, especially at the ones that followed a pasta with tomato sauce kinda lunch. No fats and no protein added whatsoever.

Despite good feedbacks from my friends and my doctor, and also despite constantly noticing that I have been better at following dietary advice than my (not nearly that overweight) friends, throughout the last decade, my weight just kept going up. In 10 years, I have gained over 30 kilograms. When I was 20, I had 82 kilograms, which was just a kilo or two shy of being perfect. Today, at 33, I have 110kg. 18 months ago, I was even at 116kg! My prom black tie suit was size 48, while my todays business suits are size 56 and 58. Even though I was desperately trying to control my eating habits and exerci
se and was, according to specialists, doing"rather well", I gained 34 kilograms in 13 years! How is that possible? How much more perfect should I be to at least keep myself somewhere within reasonable weight?

After giving it a lot of thought, self observation and research, I came to a conclusion that my increasing bodyweight is not nature's way of slapping me in the face for my occasional lack of dietary discipline, but that I have been misguided and cheated by the doctors, diet "experts", food industry and above all, the media. Intentionally or accidentally, they keep giving out wrong advice, while me and millions of others are paying it with quality of our life, and with our health. I have 10 years of experience with these sorts of "advice" and all they did was first make my life miserable due to a strict and boring diet, and then rewarded me with extra kilograms.

That was my standpoint when I heard about LCHF. And, to be honest, being dissapointed by everything related to nutrition, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about it, if it hadn't heard it from a good friend who has literally melted himself down in front of my eyes in less than 2 months. After that, I've read all I could find about LCHF and decided to give it a go. Still, I have some doubts and fears about it, and that's why I decided to write a blog about it. Is the new LCHF lifestyle bringing an end to my great archenemy obesity, or will it turn out to be just a poor excuse to eat pork fat, butter, eggs and cheese instead of wholesome oatmeals for breakfast? In a couple of weeks, I'll know. And I'll keep you posted.