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What Happens When You Eat Nothing But Bacon For 30 Days Straight? [interview]
Meet Dan Quibell, the man behind The Bacon Experiment, a 30-day bacon fast (or feast…?). For 30 days straight, Dan consumed nothing but bacon, and the results will shock you! The Bacon Experiment came into my radar through a Facebook group focused on the ketogenic lifestyle. This was all around the time I had just got back on the keto wagon; the timing really couldn’t have been more perfect. While I found the experiment to be a bit extreme, I was intrigued and inspired by the determination displayed and the results achieved. I felt a genuine sense of camaraderie among the folks in his group. It’s a community of like-minded low carb folks that encourage and motivate each other. If you’ve got a Facebook, you’ve got to go check it out! And for those interested in conducting your own bacon experiment, you can download this free PDF walk-through and guidelines to ensure you are on the right track. Recently, I reached out to Dan for an interview to pick his brain about The Bacon Experiment and ketogenic living. He graciously agreed! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Dan. Walk me through The Bacon Experiment step-by-step. What were your goals and expectations going into this? Dan: The Bacon Experiment was me eating nothing but bacon for an entire month. Two pounds of bacon, or roughly 30 pieces, every day. The goal here was to get people’s attention using BACON, then try to teach them something about low carb and ketogenic diets and all the benefits that come with it. Cutting out carbs has been life-changing for me, and I wanted others to benefit as well. I expected that even though I was eating 2500 calories a day, an increase of 500 calories a day for me, that I would not gain much weight, I already knew that eating fat and protein doe Continue reading >>
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Diabetes & Ketogenic Diet: Can You Manage Your Diabetes On A Ketogenic Diet?
In this article we will cover what a Ketogenic diet is and if you can manage your diabetes while on this diet. Ketogenic diet for diabetics is a highly controversial topic, but we will break down everything here for you! As a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), I have to tell you from the start I will have a biased view here. Sorry, but I feel that I need to be completely honest right up front! I will however, present all the evidence that is available currently on the subject. As a CDE, I have been taught to follow the American Diabetes Association Dietary Guidelines for Americans which is low in carbohydrates, high in fiber, with fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The Ketogenic Diet this article will be discussing is much lower in carbohydrates, in order to promote the state of nutritional ketosis, or the fat burning state for weight loss. What is a Ketogenic Diet? The Ketogenic Diet is a low carbohydrate diet, consisting initially of less than 20 carbohydrates per day. Not per meal, yes, you heard me correctly, per day. It is not for the faint of heart and yes I am writing from experience. Of course I have tried it! Hasn’t everybody in America at some point who has wanted to lose weight? Does it work you ask? Of course it does! The problem is how long can you keep it up? Your body uses the carbohydrates you eat for energy, so if we restrict how many carbohydrates we eat, the body has to get its fuel source from fat. A byproduct of this fat burning state are ketones which are produced; this is called nutritional ketosis. You can determine if you are in this fat burning state by purchasing urine ketone testing strips from your local pharmacy. The Ketogenic Diet with Diabetes Some precautions must be made clear; this diet is not appropriate for people with any Continue reading >>
130g Carbs/day Rda
For my first review of nutrition guidelines, I grade the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies based on its carbohydrate Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association), and the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The AND says everyone should eat a minimum 130 grams of carbohydrate a day. The American Diabetes Association cites the IoM carbohydrate RDA of 130 g a day and has no position on the maximum amount of carbs diabetics should eat. Isn’t diabetes a disease of carbohydrate metabolism? Isn’t this like telling lung cancer patients to smoke a minimum number of cigarettes a day, and no maximum? One would think that AND and ADA must have a good reason for citing this RDA. Dr. Richard Bernstein, the pillar of the low carb diabetes treatment movement, says diabetics should eat no more than 30 grams a day of carbohydrate, and that we’d do better if we went even lower. I thought there must be something he was missing for the American Diabetes Association to cite 130 g/day as a MINIMUM for diabetics, and no maximum! So I went looking for the justification for the carbohydrate recommendations coming from AND and ADA. It turns out that AND and the ADA both rely on the carbohydrate RDA “set” by the august Institute of Medicine (IoM) of the National Academies, a U.S. government body, as the source for their 130 grams/day minimum carbohydrate requirement. In rocket science parlance, we call this a root cause – everyone relies on the same source for how much carbohydrate we should eat. The carbohydrate RDA came from IoM. So how did IoM come up with it? Is there some essential nutrient that we can get only if we eat this much carbohydrate? Was the consequences of eating this much carbohyd Continue reading >>
Why Weight Watchers Is Actually A Low Carb Diet
Invariably I get asked the question, “If carbohydrates are so bad, why did [so-and-so] lose weight on the [such-and-such] diet?”, where “such-and-such” diet is not a “low-carb” diet. Obviously, this is an important question and a pretty complex one. There are several layers to this and, frankly, there are some things we can’t fully explain – I’ll always acknowledge this. That said, many of the successes (at least weight-wise, though hopefully by now you realize there is much more to health than just body composition) of popular diets can be explained by a few simple observations. Above is a list of this year’s most “popular” diets, according to Consumer Reports. Popularity, of course, was determined by a number of factors, including compliance with current government recommendations (sorry Atkins), number of people who have tried the diet, and reported success on the diets. So it’s actually quite misleading when the report says it’s reporting on the “most effective diets.” Keep in mind the average American (i.e., at baseline) consumes about 2,500 to 2,700 calories per day (different sources, from NHANES to USDA will give slightly different numbers for this, but this range is about correct), of which about 450 grams (about 1,750 calories worth or about 65% of total caloric intake) comes from carbohydrates. You can argue that those who are overweight probably consume an even greater amount of carbohydrates. But for the purpose of simplicity, let’s assume even the folks who go on these diets are consuming the national average of approximately 450 grams of carbohydrate per day (in compliance with governmental recommendations, as a percent of overall intake). Take a look again at the figure below, which shows you how many calories folks are Continue reading >>
How Many Carbs Should You Eat On A Ketogenic Diet?
If you’re considering going “keto,” keep in mind you’ll need to consider everything — worked out down to the last gram — regarding how many carbohydrates you can consume. One thing’s for sure: the statement “low carb” isn’t open to interpretation. This isn’t a quick fix “fad” diet; it’s meant to promote real and lasting change for your body — change that’s ultimately going to help you become less dependent on glucose and able to melt through fat for energy instead! You need to actually cause a metabolic shift, and just simply guessing if your carbs are low enough isn’t going to be the most efficient way to do that. While you’re on the ketogenic diet, you absolutely must keep your carbohydrate count within the specified range your body operates in — at all times. If not, you won’t reach a state of ketosis, thus rendering the entire program null and void. With that in mind, it’s important to realize you’re doing this as a more long-term process for lasting results. No matter what your goals or desired outcome, eating a lower carb diet than you are now is certainly going to benefit you in the long run. So, How Many Grams of Carbs Should I Have? If you’re a “normal” person — and by normal, we simply mean “non-athlete” — then you’ll be alright following the standard ketogenic dietary ratios. (And we use the word “standard” here because there isn’t just one version of the ketogenic diet — but more on that in a bit.) You can enjoy fantastic benefits going keto, including effortless fat loss, increased lifespan, improved energy, and sharper mental focus. Everyone responds differently to different amounts of carbohydrates, but there are some general starting points. But to achieve those, you’ll need to make yo Continue reading >>
How Many Carbohydrates Do You Need?
A perennial question, argument and debate in the field of nutrition has to do with how many carbohydrates people should be eating. While the nutritional mainstream is still more or less advocating a large amount of daily carbohydrate (with fat being blamed for the health problems of the modern world), groups often considered at the ‘fringe’ of nutrition are adamant that carbohydrates are the source of all evil when it comes to health, obesity, etc. They advocate lowering carbohydrates and replacing them with dietary protein, fat or both. This is a topic that I discussed in some detail in Carbohydrates and Fat Controversies Part 1 and Carbohydrate and Fat Controversies Part 2 and I’d recommend readers take a look at those for a slightly different look at the issue than what is discussed here. Arguments over recommended carbohydrate intake have a long history and it doesn’t appear to be close to ending any time soon. Typical mainstream recommendations have carbohydrates contributing 50% or more of total calories while many low-carbohydrate advocates suggest far fewer (ranging from the 40% of the Zone diet to close to zero for ketogenic diets). This article looks at the topic in detail. And while I originally wrote it quite a while back (some of you have probably seen it before), it was nice going over it with fine toothed comb for an update. While the majority of it stands up well over time, I was able to make some slight changes to the values, along with removing some original stuff that wasn’t really relevant. Enjoy. Introduction It’s safe to say that most carbohydrate recommendations that you will see are put in terms of percentages, you should be eating 45% of your calories as carbs, or 65% or whatever number is being used. As I discussed in Diet Percentag Continue reading >>
How Many Calories Should I Eat On Keto?
One of the most common questions I see about keto is “how many carbs should I eat in a day?” The next thing people usually want to know is, “how many calories should I eat in a day?” Totally reasonable. There seem to be two schools of thought on this: those who ignore calories, and those who eat at a huge deficit. But, what should you do? So, how many calories should I eat on keto? Well, the answer lies somewhere in between not counting calories at all and going crazy, and being obsessive and eating very few calories. You’ve probably figured that much out, but it’s worth stating anyway. There are many bro science-y keto advocates that preach the fallibility of the calories-in-calories-out model. And they’re not totally wrong – saying 100 calories of corn chips is the same to your body as 100 calories of broccoli isn’t really correct. Your body will get far more out of the broccoli, and it will actually decrease inflammation, whereas the corn chips will create inflammation. As a quick reminder, inflammation is basically excess water in the body, which can cause swelling and weight gain. It also puts pressure on your various organ systems. So, the general idea with foods is that we want to reduce inflammation throughout the body. What are your goals on keto? Not everyone follows a ketogenic diet to lose weight. In fact, there are many medical conditions which studies have shown to be greatly improved by the individual remaining in ketosis. So, if your goal has nothing to do with weight loss, you can pretty much stop reading this article now, and just eat however much you want. ;) For the small minority of you who are trying to actually gain weight, I’d advise a similar protocol as above, but just keep eating. For many people, weight loss is the goal, a Continue reading >>
The Basic Ketogenic Diet
Note: Please note that if you are interested in a Ketogenic Diet used to treat Epilepsy or Pediatric Epilepsy, please start at Johns Hopkins who are the pioneers in this field. The wikipedia page for the Ketogenic Diet diet also has information on the diet as it relates to treating epilepsy. The diet below is simply for rapid and effective weight loss and uses a 1 to 1 fat to protein ratio rather than the 4 to 1 fat to combined protein and carbs ratio of the Ketogenic Diet pioneered by Johns Hopkins used to treat epilepsy. [wp_ad_camp_3] Disclaimer: I am neither a doctor nor self proclaimed nutrition expert so please consult your doctor before starting any diet or taking any action that affects your health and wellbeing. After finishing Gary Taubes latest book, which seems to have rapidly become the cornerstone of a new approach to nutrition, I’ve become very interested in the Ketogenic diet. The speed of weight loss I’ve seen is incredible and my energy level has remained high. The science behind a ketogenic diet is solidly backed up by Taubes research published in “Good Calories, Bad Calories” and “Why we get fat“. According to Taubes’ research, it may also be the only way for people who have become severely insulin resistant, to effectively lose weight. The Ketogenic diet has always lived on the fringes of diet lore and has been seen as extreme. But the reality is that the low glycemic index diet (Low GI Diet) is effective because it is close to, but not quite, a ketogenic diet. Other diets like the South Beach Diet are also only effective because of the reduction in carbs and consequently insulin levels. The science behind this diet looks solid and it is part of the massive shift in nutrition research we’ve seen in the last few years. Prominent sport Continue reading >>
How Many Carbs Should You Eat For Weight Loss
Cutting down on carbohydrates can help you lose weight fast. It can be easier than the strict portion control and counting calories, which many people find hard to maintain. Reducing the amount of carbs in your diet can reduce your cravings for food and automatically help you lose weight. What is a Low-Carb Diet? There are lots of diet fads out there. For decades, so-called health authorities have suggested that you eat a low-fat, low-calorie diet in order to lose weight. That might sound like a great diet plan, but people rarely stick to it. (1, 2, 3) A more effective solution is the low carbohydrate diet. If you cut down on sugary foods and starches such as breads, rice and pastas, and replace them with veggies, meats and fats, then you will see lasting results. Researchers for Duke University Medical found that a low-carb diet stimulates your body’s urge to stop eating. When you feel full, you consume less calories and shed more weight.(4) When compared to low-fat diets, low-carb diets tend to be more effective without the need to actively restrict caloric intake.(5, 6). Low carbohydrate diets aren’t just for weight loss either. Some auxiliary benefits include a rise in good cholesterol (HDL) and lower blood sugar, triglycerides, lower blood pressure and lower levels of bad cholesterol, so-called LDH. (7, 8, 9, 10). The science is clear. Low-carb diets improve overall health and stimulate weight loss. This is superior to calorie-restricted, low-fat and low-protein diets that are so popular in the mainstream media. (11, 12, 13). Conclusion: Scientific studies support the value of low-carb diets over trendy, low-fat diets. Figuring Out Your Optimum Carbohydrate Level A person’s ideal caloric and carbohydrate level varies from person to person. Some influential fa Continue reading >>
How Many Carbs Should I Eat During Pregnancy?
How many carbs should I eat now that I’m pregnant? A healthy Paleo or Primal diet is naturally lower in carbohydrates when compared to the standard American diet (SAD) and commonly ranges from 10-35% depending on individuals’ needs, goals and preferences. Your carbohydrate needs in pregnancy may need to be altered from its non -pregnant levels, both as your activity levels modify and as your body works hard to grow a new life. In this post, I’ll answer the not so simple question to, “How many carbs do I need when I’m pregnant?” If you are overweight and/or have a diagnosis of PCOS before becoming pregnant, your risk of pregnancy related complications may be diminished by reducing your weight to ‘normal’ levels and learning to control your insulin levels with Paleo eating and exercise. A common weight reduction strategy among Paleo eaters is to adopt a low carb or very low carb (VLC) approach. Reducing carbs when overweight or struggling with metabolic syndrome can be an incredibly effective tool for fat loss and insulin control, however when pregnant, this approach can cause some issues and it’s important not to attempt weight loss when pregnant in order to properly nourish your growing baby. Pregnancy is a natural anabolic (growing) state; the object of the game here is to grow a new life! The body facilitates growth in pregnancy by creating a natural state of insulin resistance thanks to a variety of hormones including a hormone produced by the placenta called Human Placental Lactogen (HPL). To simplify, your blood sugars are naturally higher when pregnant in order to facilitate adequate glucose transfer to your baby. Remember high school chemistry? Sugars move from high concentration (your bloodstream) to low (baby’s blood stream) through the proc Continue reading >>
The 3-step Process To Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake
This is a guest post written by staff nutritionist Kelsey Marksteiner, RD. Click here to read her blog or join her newsletter! There’s been a lot of talk about the right amount of carbohydrates to eat lately. Laura Schoenfeld started us off with her article about the possible detriments of eating a low-carbohydrate diet for too long, and Chris Kresser followed this up with his discussion of the common misconceptions people tend to have about low-carb diets. They’ve done the heavy lifting here and provided lots of scientific evidence to back up cases where a higher or lower carbohydrate diet might be beneficial. What I want to get into today is the practical aspect: how do you determine the amount of carbohydrates that’s right for you? To do this, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process that I take with clients so you can start to think about it for yourself. While many people find it easier to work with a professional on this, I think it can also be done on your own. The important thing to remember is that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. When most people start a Paleo diet, they typically start a low- (and sometimes very low) carbohydrate diet. They get in the habit of not including starchy tubers and fruits. Some people will thrive on a diet like this, which is fantastic. Others might feel great for a while, but then slowly start to feel more fatigued, have more difficulty during workouts (and even more problems recovering), and overall just don’t feel so great. Guess which clients I’m going to be seeing? I see the clients who don’t thrive on low-carbohydrate diets. They come to me wondering what they’ve done wrong and why they’re feeling sick when all they’ve done is followed the Paleo diet to a T – and that’s why this conversat Continue reading >>
How Much Fat Should You Eat On A Ketogenic Diet?
Thankfully, the days of low-fat diet fads are mostly behind us, and people are better understanding the importance of eating healthy fats for health. But still, many of those eating keto will underestimate just how much fat they need to eat to see success on this way of eating. So, how much fat can you eat on a ketogenic diet? This article will cover why fat intake matters on the ketogenic diet and how it makes it successful, as well as how to find out how much fat you need. Then, we’ll touch on how you can make sure your fat intake stays high (while still getting enough calories) and the best types of fat to eat. The Importance of Fat on the Keto Diet Dietary fat is the cornerstone of the ketogenic diet. It’s the high fat intake and low carb intake that makes the diet “work” and keeps your body in ketosis — using those ketones for fuel and burning through fat. Having a very low carb intake allows you to deplete your body of carbohydrates and stored carbohydrates (glycogen) and conditioning it to begin turning to fat instead, leading to the creation of ketones for energy. Getting and keeping the body in this state of ketosis has many benefits that include weight loss and better health. High Fat and Enough Calories Matters Those new to keto or who have taken a break from it often struggle with eating enough fat at first. Since you’re greatly reducing your carb intake, you have to really increase your fat intake to replace the calories you were eating before from carbs. This can take some adjustment. If you’re not used to eating high fat, it might seem like a lot at the beginning. Fat is satiating, which is one of the advantages of keto because you can naturally avoid overeating due to its satisfying nature. That being said, it’s important to also eat enou Continue reading >>
How Many Carbs Should You Eat Per Day To Lose Fat?
Reducing the amount of carbohydrates you eat is a surefire way to lose body fat. The great thing about lower carb diets is they reduce appetite so you automatically eat fewer calories. They also improve insulin sensitivity, which is key because high insulin levels inhibit fat loss. But as great as lower carb diets can be for getting you lean fast, there can be some drawbacks: * People enjoy eating carbs because they taste good. After all, carbs are just different chemical forms of sugar. * Carbs can elevate mood because they are used in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which makes you feel good. * Lack of carbs during highly stressful times can lead to elevated cortisol. Adding in some low-glycemic carbs can help fight stress. * Very low-carb diets can lead to reduced thyroid function when accompanied by fat loss, leading to a slower metabolism and other physiological problems. Therefore, it’s reasonable to try to eat as many carbs as possible and still get the fat loss results you want. Plus, everyone is unique, and recent research shows that some people get better results with higher carb diets, whereas others have a very hard time losing fat unless they go low-carb. Insulin Sensitivity Predicts Fat Loss In fact, studies show that the amount of fat you will lose from a diet is most determined by your insulin health. If you are more insulin resistant, it’s very unlikely you will be able to lose fat with a high-carb, calorie-reduced diet. You will get better results with a lower carb diet. But if you are more insulin sensitive, you have more flexibility to include carbs. You may be able to lose just as much fat with a higher carb intake, especially if you are exercising properly. For example, a recent trial classified women as insulin resistant or i Continue reading >>
Ketogenic Diet: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
The ketogenic diet (also known as the keto diet) is a way of eating where you actively help your body burn the excess fat that it has already stored. In order to do that, the amount of carbohydrates that you consume per day is limited (to 20-25 g of net carbs/day), and fat and protein make up the rest of your caloric intake. When you limit the amount of carbs (i.e. sugar and starches) that you are consuming, you enter a state called “nutritional ketosis”: your body can no longer rely on carbohydrates for its energy needs and it now needs to start burning fat as its primary fuel source. As a result, blood glucose remains much more stable throughout the day, and many people report increased energy and lower appetite, which makes it easier to control the amount of food you’re eating. The ketogenic diet was primarily designed as a treatment for epilepsy and is nowadays most often used for weight loss (1). It has multiple benefits that go beyond weight control, such as improving blood sugar regulation and insulin sensitivity, lowering the risk of Type 2 Diabetes and of heart disease, and it possibly even protecting against cancer. In this article, we’ll explain you the basics of the ketogenic diet and help you get started. Feel free to save this guide by pinning it to your Pinterest account or sharing it on your social media to read later. Continue reading >>
Calories, Fat, Carbs & Protein Per Day
Calories, Fat, Carbs & Protein Per Day Carbohydrates, protein and fat represent the three macronutrients you need to sustain normal biochemical functions and stay energized for the challenges of daily life. If you eat the right amount of calories, and the correct proportions of carbs, protein and fat, you’ll not only be healthy, but you’ll curb cravings, feel less hungry and lose excess weight quickly. Fad diets often require people to reduce entire groups of nutrients, including fats or carbohydrates, to dangerous lows. What we need to understand is that losing weight without risking nutrient deficiencies requires a balance of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins. Base your weight-loss diet on moderate calorie consumption from a variety of nutrient-dense foods. Consult a physician or registered dietitian before making significant changes to your diet. There are methods to figuring out the best proportions for your lifestyle if you want to get technical about your food consumption, but for many individuals this is more than a little confusing. So what I have attempted to do is first give an explanation as to how you would figure out your personal totals and then provide charts to help you break the information down even further. How to keep track of your intake: Write down your limits. During the day, read your food labels to see how many grams of calories, fats, carbs & proteins you are getting. Remember, food labels tell how many grams are in one serving as defined on the food label. If you eat a smaller or larger serving, then you're eating fewer or more grams of fat, so write down the amounts from each of your meals and snacks. At the end of the day, add up the amounts to get the your totals. Doing this everyday will show if you're at or below yo Continue reading >>
