“I can go 24 hours without even thinking about food”
Before and after
Paul is a big fan of the low-carb diet. When he added more FAT to his low-carb diet almost every aspect of his life improved… amazingly high energy levels, mental clarity and, of course, weight loss. He never wants to go back to sugary ready-made food, bad sleep and the need to eat every 30 minutes. Here’s his story:
The Email
Hi Andreas, I hope this is not too long …
I started having problems controlling weight and food intake around 20 years ago, and over time I tried to loose weight “white knuckle” dieting, and counting calories. I did have some success with this, but the weight always returned as I was unaware of the reaction my body was having to grains, sugar and starches. I did not realize how hopeless the situation was and I was not happy.
However, I did have a very successful experience on the Atkins diet around ten years ago, but I was ignorant of the science and was fearful of the fat intake. Overcoming this is what has truly changed my life. When a friend of mine told me about the paleo diet a few years ago, it seemed to all make sense, which lead me to start researching the science on the web. I watched all of Andreas Eenfeldt’s videos, Dr Eric Westman and more, and I dabbled here and there but was unable to sustain LCHF because of my lack of fat intake.
Then I saw Butter Bob Briggs video entitled “Butter Makes Your Pants Fall Off“. This was exactly what I needed to see the way forward. I had been missing the key element in all of this that had been staring me in the face all along, and that is FAT. So I decided to go for it, after all, I was surely going to drop dead of a heart attack from sugar, so why not fat…?
Well, after a few weeks of some tiredness and headaches (a tiny price to pay for what lay ahead) my body then fully switched over to burning fat (keto adapted) and all I can say is, I then took off like a rocket. Now everything has improved, from amazing energy levels, skin irritation cleared up, sleep greatly improved, no more tiredness, self consciousness or depression, heartburn, acid reflux, and most of all a feeling of well being that is absolutely indescribable. My mind is calm and I feel so balanced and focused day in and day out.
The weight loss is why I started this in the first place, but I have subsequently found that just about every area of my life has improved, and that the weight loss is only been a part of this amazing transformation. With the major improvement being in mental health.
I’m now 17 weeks into this and the thought of returning to the processed sugary supermarket food, breads and cakes seeming less and less likely. It’s just not worth it. And without the impulse/compulsion caused by the sugar and insulin spikes, I no longer need those foods in my life anyway. I’m eating coconut oil, butter, fish, veg, nuts, meat, bacon and eggs, strawberries and cream, I’m loving it and can sometimes go up to 24 hours without even thinking about food, other than to be amazed that I do not feel the urge to eat every 30 minutes.
I run 1.5 miles every 2 days, I’m cycling 5 miles every other day, and I occasionally swing kettle bells in the morning, but I’m not making a big deal out of exercise. It’s just another way to help me feel great. I see so many people out there who are slaves to those toxic sugary carbohydrate foods who are totally unaware of LCHF, and it’s a crime. I try to tell people about it, but I have to pull back as I get so excited, and I’m conscious of coming over as a fanatical nut case.
If only they knew how good full ketosis feels. All I can say is, the sooner you get started, the sooner you’re going to look, feel and think 100 times better than you do now.
A foot note to all of this is, I’m a recovering alcoholic of over 20 years continuous sobriety, and it is my opinion (which you are free to disregard at will), that my inability to control carbohydrates and sugar is in some way connected, or indeed one in the same, to the issues I had with alcohol. And that is, if I start, I cannot stop and this applies to both carbs and drinking. Not to mention the effect this all has on the mind and moods. This I feel could warrant a whole different article so I will not dwell, but I did want to mention it here as I feel it is important.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy LCHF.
Paul
Comment
Congratulations Paul! Adding more healthy fats to a low-carb diet is often a very good idea.
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