My LCHF lifestyle - week 10

This Monday marks the 10th week of my LCHF lifestyle. Reflecting back on the past 70 days, I can not express my gratitude to the promoters, doctors and bloggers which are doing an incredible job of clarifying LCHF diet in nutritional, biochemical and other scientific ways. Particularly: dr. Peter Attia MD, Andreas Eenfeldt MD, Sam Feltham, Robert Lustig MD, Garry Taubes and Anita Šupe - many thanks! If you haven't yet checked their websites, I suggest that you do. There ate literally loads of interesting and motivational data.

In order to celebrate and honor my 10th week, I decided to replace my weekly brag of loosing weight and getting in shape while eating delicious food, not being hungry and exercising sporadically with even more important things, which all happened in the past 10 weeks.

The good stuff:

In Sweden, LCHF is very popular! They are even
publishing a magazine dedicated solely to LCHF!
Of course, it's called "LCHF".

• In September, Swedish Expert Committee of doctors officially agreed that low carb diet is most effective for weight loss (see full article here). They also said that "such diets have greater increase of HDL cholesterol without having any adverse affects on LDL cholesterol" and that "the stricter low-carbohydrate diet will lead to improved glucose levels for individuals with obesity and diabetes, and to marginally decreased levels of triglycerides".
• Nutritional expert, personal trainer and self-experimenter Sam Feltham completed three experiments in which he has shown that at least on his body, a calorie is not just a calorie. He did two 21-day diets, where he kept his caloric intake constant and very high. One was LCHF diet and the other was junk food diet. Despite high caloric intake, he barely gained any weight on LCHF diet, while equally caloric and equally long junk food diet, he gained over 7 kilograms. On the third experiment, he returned to LCHF and reduced caloric intake to his calculated daily metabolism. He should have maintained his weight, but in fact he lost about 5 kilograms.
• American medical doctor and bestselling author Robert H. Lustig held a second lecture about sugar, more specifically, the devastating effects of fructose on public health. His first lecture has over 4 million views on Youtube. You can see the first lecture here and his second one here, I warmly suggest you to watch both of them.

The bad stuff:

If you happen to have diagnosed diabetes, your doctor
will most likely to instruct you to follow this food pyramid.
Do you see the problem? The bottom part are all insulin
raising starchy foods, while meats and fats which do not
raise insulin are on the top. No wonder we are loosing war
against diabetes.

• In United Kingdom, leading supermarkets and major food manufacturers have pledged to cut down saturated fat in their products. They didn't say what they will replace saturated fats with in order to retain flavor and texture, but the most usual scenario is to increase salt and sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I am only suspecting this, but it will lead to more cravings for food (the so called empty calories), more fructose addiction and more metabolic syndrome. If you are interested in the source of the news, here it is.
• 14.11. is annual world diabetes day. I saw plenty of talks and interviews in our local media and I was appalled to hear that our doctors are still giving the same old fashioned advice to eat low fat, low salt and low carb boring tasteless food in order to avoid the risks of diabetes. Since this advice is not only difficult to follow, but is also completely not based on recent findings of human metabolism. No wonder that the number of diabetics and overweight people is rising :(.

All in all, I think the world has done a bigger step forward than backward and that fills me with joy.

Now, my weekly progress.

My weight and waistline progress in the past 10 weeks.
Weight and waistline are keeping to go down nice and easy.

Weight

Today (Nov 25th 2013):	104,7kg
7 days ago (Nov 18th 2013):	104,9kg
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	112,0kg
Weekly progress:	-0,2kg
Absolute progress:	-7,3kg

My weight is going down nice and easy. I compared the notes on my nutrition from when I started LCHF and the last couple of weeks. The difference is that in the past few weeks, I am increased consumption of dairy products, particularly creme fraiche, double cream and cheese. At the same time, I eat a bit less vegatables and oils. It just happens that I really like creme fraiche and double cream at the moment. A few LCHF experts are stating that dairy products should be consumed moderately, because they contain lactose and a protein which stimulates pancreas to release insulin. As a consequence, our bodies capabilities to burn fat are reduced and we are knocked out of optimal ketosis. I would just like to point out that I did this decision consciously, because I just happen to really like loads of creme fraiche added to my meals :).

Waistline

Today (Nov 25th 2013):	115,5cm
7 days ago (Nov 18th 2013):	115,5cm
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	126,0cm
Weekly progress:	-0,0cm
Absolute progress:	-10,5cm

My waistline was pretty constant this week, but I don't mind. I am starting to notice further changes all over my body, but mostly on the face and around the neck. Bones are coming out :).

Further plans

As I expected, my progress is not as fast as it was in the very beginning of my LCHF lifestyle, when I was going down 1 kilo or even more every week. For this reason, I decided to post updates every second week. I believe it will be more interesting. This way, I will also gain some extra time to write useful articles about LCHF lifestyle, as my main intention in this blog is not bragging how easily am I loosing weight, but to provide useful information to others who want to follow the same path.
I have no special plans for week 10, other than staying low carb high fat and being careful about eating no less than 3 meals per day. I am also working on a new scientific post which will be about white sugar. I've found some very interesting facts about it and would love to share them with you!

I wish you a nice, successful and healthy week!

My LCHF lifestyle - week 9

Week 9 of my new LCHF lifestyle, which means eating meals that are low on carbohydrates and high on fat and also abstain of all kinds of processed foods, is over. Although I am through a 2 month milestone, I still feel that this is new. These last two months have given me so much good stuff and I can't wait to see what the future will bring.

Before taking a look at the usual weekly statistics, I would first like to collect all the benefits I experienced in the past two months on LCHF diet:

• my blood sugar is normal throughout the day;
• my cholesterol and triglycerides have improved;
• my skin is healthier and I have significantly reduced dandruff;
• I sleep like a log;
• I am full of energy through entire day, even if I skip a meal every now and then;
• I lost 7 kilograms of weight and 10 centimeters of waistline;
• my weight and waistline continue to decrease;
• although I have always been healthy, I can say that I haven't felt that healthy for a long long time;
• and I did all this by eating real and tasty foods made out of fresh and delicious ingredients, but with absolutely no hunger, eating schedule, cravings, exercise and no changes to my normal daily routine;

These are the reasons why I love LCHF soooo much. So, take a look at week 9 results.

My weight and waistline progress in the past 9 weeks.
The plateau that I experienced in the past weeks is gone,
and my progress sped up.

Weight

Today (Nov 18th 2013):	104,9kg
7 days ago (Nov 11th 2013):	105,0kg
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	112,0kg
Weekly progress:	-0,1kg
Absolute progress:	-7,1kg

By looking at this week's progress, it may seem that I didn't have much progress. However, this and last Mondays were the peak days. During the week, my weight fell below 105kg and on Sunday, even to 103.7kg! But in the end of Sunday, I had a big dinner and this showed on Monday morning. Nevertheless, I'm feel that this week was one of the best in the past month. I think it is a lovely proof that constant efforts don't assure constant improvement. On some weeks, it is better and other, it is less good. But as long as I don't struggle, I can keep it up and overcome all short-term variations.

Waistline

Today (Nov 18th 2013):	116,5cm
7 days ago (Nov 11th 2013):	115,5cm
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	126,0cm
Weekly progress:	-1,0cm
Absolute progress:	-10,5cm

My waistline progress is a clear confirmation of my "constant efforts - long term success" rule. After 2 months, I have reached my first big milestone: to loose 10 centimeters of waistline. I haven't had such waistline for years, even when I was cutting calories and exercising for months!

Plans for week 10

I have no special plans for week 10, other than staying low carb high fat and being careful about eating no less than 3 meals per day. I am also working on a new scientific post which will be about white sugar. I've found some very interesting facts about it and would love to share them with you!

I wish you a nice, successful and healthy week!

My LCHF lifestyle - week 8

50 days or roughly 8 weeks have past since my decision to make considerable changes in my diet and also in my habits related to health. I decided to go LCHF, which stands for low carb - high fat and of course, it refers to the amount of macronutrients that I eat. In the past 7 weeks, I made excellent progress without ever being hungry, bored with food or overexercised. Strangely for someone who doesn't (or wouldn't) understand LCHF, my progress has been much better than on previous diets where I was often hungry, quickly got bored with food that was allowed to eat and my muscles were sore all the time from exercising.

My weight and waistline progress in the past 8 weeks.
In the past two weeks, there seems to be a bit of a plateau
going on, but I'm not worried.

Weight

Today (Nov 11th 2013):	105,0kg
7 days ago (Nov 4th 2013):	106,0kg
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	112,0kg
Weekly progress:	-0,4kg
Absolute progress:	-7,0kg

In comparison to last week, I am 0,4kg down. And I am especially happy to reach a big psychological milestone at 105,0kg. Once last week, I saw 104,9kg on the scale, but I always take 3 or 4 measurements and average them to get more reliable results.

Would you also like to loose 10cm in 8 or so weeks? The science
is on your side, just get over your idea that you couldn't do
without deserts, fruits, soft drinks, sugar in your coffee...!

Waistline

Today (Nov 11th 2013):	116,5cm
7 days ago (Nov 4th 2013):	116,5cm
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	126,0cm
Weekly progress:	0,0cm
Absolute progress:	-9,5cm

Despite I lost a bit of weight, my waistline remains constant at 116,5cm. I am not worried though, because I am starting to notice changes all over my body. My face is getting leaner, my joints are narrowing and I am having a funny feeling every time I drive my car. My car seat seems to be getting bigger :). 9,5 centimeters in 8 weeks is plenty. Just take out a ruler and see what it means.

St. Martin's day

On an LCHF diet, you can clearly enjoy all
the joys of St. Martin's day with no
consequences on a scale.

I am dedicating this week's post to a day that I like a lot. It is November 11th, St. Martin's day. In Slovenia, it is a holiday of all winemakers, since on that day, grape juice turns into wine. And, because I love wine, it is also a very important day for me. It means spending a great time with friends, with great food and great wine. But in the past years, there was also a downside of St. Martin's: I gained weight. This year however, as you can see on my progress chart, it remained steady. Even though I ate all the goodies (except carbohydrates, of course) and had all the wine I could wish for. Not bad for a "holiday diet", don't you think? :)

Plans for week 9

After a holiday weekend full of celebrations and parties, I am going to take it easy this week. I'll keep watch on following the 80-20-150 formula, be on 3 meals per day and aim for about 2200 calories of daily consumption. I am not going to worry about my weight, since even 0,5kg per week along with having all this culinary fun is an excellent progress. I "hedonize" and loose weight at the same time!!! :)

I wish you a nice, successful and healthy week!

My LCHF lifestyle - week 7

Week 7 is over and here is my regular weekly progress update. You may remember that last week I introduced a strict LCHF diet where at least 80% of calories were coming from fats. I also kept carbohydrates below 20 grams, and that meant sugars and dietary fiber combined. My weight went down considerably and this week, I kept it going. So, let's look at the results first and then see my comments.

My weight and waistline progress in the past 7 weeks.
You can see my weight settling between 105 and 106kg,
but waistline is going down nicely.

Weight

Today (Nov 4th 2013):	105,4kg
7 days ago (Oct 28th 2013):	106,0kg
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	112,0kg
Weekly progress:	-0,6kg
Absolute progress:	-6,6kg

As you can see, I lost 6,6 kilograms altogether and 0,6 kilograms since last Monday. Being on LCHF for seven weeks, this gives me a mean weight loss of 0,94kg per week. This is about twice as good as any other diet I've been on (they averaged about 0,5kg loss per week). However, by looking at blogs of other LCHF-ers, I found out that they loose between 1 and 2 kilograms per week. Therefore, I'll be looking for some ways to tweak my diet even further.

Waistline

Today (Nov 4th 2013):	116,5kg
7 days ago (Oct 28th 2013):	118,5kg
LCHF Day 1 (Sep 20th 2013):	126,0kg
Weekly progress:	-2,0cm
Absolute progress:	-9,5cm

While my weight was quite steady this week, my waistline certainly wasn't. A 2cm drop is an all time high. Altogether, I lost 9,5 centimeters in 7 weeks, and it shows!

So... stagnant weight and excellent decrease of waistline. What is happening?

Reasons for plateau on LCHF

Technically, a period of 4 weeks, in which neither weight nor waistline hasn't changed  is considered a dietary plateau. Since in the past three weeks, I had two weeks of slower progress, I am still far away from plateauing. But since I am rather safe then sorry, I investigated this subject a bit.

I found several reasons for plateauing on LCHF and decided to compare them against my dietary habits. So, let's take a look. Below table shows a list of possible reasons, description of my habit and conclusion about whether I am doing it right or wrong.

Reason for plateau	My dieatary habit	Conclusion
Eating too much hidden carbs	Most frequent sources of hidden carbs are processed foods, fast food, salad dressings and beer. I am not eating nor drinking any of those things. Most of my meals I prepare myself from fresh ingredients and when I am eating out, I choose my restaurants carefuly.	I'm doing it right!
Eating too much chocolate and peanuts	Dark chocolate (70% and more cocoa solids) and peanuts are allowed on LCHF as a treat, but it still doesn't take much to eat too much carbs. Anyway, I haven't eaten any chocolate since I started LCHF, and if I eat nuts, I choose macadamia nuts of almonds over peanuts.	I'm doing it right!
Eating too little	While most of the diets require cutting down calories, LCHF doesn't. On a contrary, it is suggested to eat normal daily caloric requirements. I've been monitoring my daily caloric intake and I am consistently below 2000 calories. Since my basic metabolic rate is about 2200 calories, I may be eating too little.	I may be doing it wrong!
Eating too seldom	Even though LCHF doesn't prescribe a particular dietary schedule, nutritional ketosis does. People who eat only once or twice a day may ingest too much food at the same time. This may interrupt ketosis and consequently, slow down metabolism of triglycerides. For the past two weeks, I have been mostly eating twice a day. Since my objective is to be in ketosis as much as possible, this may not have been a good decision.	I may be doing it wrong!
Eating too much	It is difficult, but not impossible to eat too much on LCHF. According to Sam Feltham's experiments, eating about 1,7 times more calories than basic metabolic rate is still OK. I am definitively not eating that much.	I'm doing it right!
Other reasons	Among other reasons for stalling, I found medications, food alergies and not drinking enough water. I don't take any medications (not even aspirins), I am not aware of any alergies and I drink according to my thirst.	I'm doing it right!

Based on above analysis of my habits, the reason for my stalling may be me eating too few calories and too few meals. So for this week, I decided to strictly eat three meals a day and to increase my caloric intake to reach my basal metabolic rate of 2200 calories.

Just think about that for a second. A dietary response to stalling is to eat more and bigger meals. If this is gonna work, that will be another myth busted :).

Plans for week 8

In week 8, I will keep eating by the 80-20-150 formula. I will strictly eat three meals a day (even if I won't be hungry and will feel like I could keep up a few more hours) and target 2200 calories per day. I will also try to obtain a device for measuring blood ketones to make sure to stay in ketosis (I've been trying to get it for the past two weeks, but no success so far - noone keeps it in stock).

I wish you a nice, successful and healthy week!