science

The Biggest Loser Diet – Explained!

This entry is part 126 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

This week results of a study were posted showing that contestants from “The Biggest Loser” from several years ago had mostly regained all their lost weight. From the conclusions offered in the findings it would seem there is no way to lose weight. The subjects metabolisms slowed down so much that it was nearly impossible for them to maintain their weight loss. Doctor Jason Fung does an excellent job of distilling what’s really going on here. I suggest you head over and read his article. I’ll wait.

This is what is sometimes termed ‘starvation mode’. This is what people imagine happens as their body starts to shut down in order to conserve energy. Basal metabolism (Calories Out) falls and you feel like crap. As you eat less, your body burns less calories, so that eventually weight loss plateaus. Then you feel like crap, so decide to eat a bit more (your hunger hormones are also rising like a spire), but not as much as you used to. But, your ‘Calories Out’ is so low that you get weight regain. Sound familiar? Happens to every dieter out there. What’s unfair, is that their friends and family silently blame the victim of having ‘fallen off the wagon’, or not having enough will power. Actually, the dietary advice – Eat Less, Move More is guaranteed to fail. So don’t blame the victim when they actually do fail.

You did read the article right? If you didn’t the TL;DR is:

  1. Caloric Reduction as Primary strategy puts you into starvation mode (lower metabolism).
  2. The key to losing weight in the long term is maintaining basal metabolism, or keeping ‘Calories Out’ high.
  3. Failure rate of Eat Less, Move More is proven to be 99% or so. This remains the diet advice favored by most physicians and dieticians.
  4. Actual starvation (fasting or bariatric surgery) does not put you into starvation mode (metabolism remains high).
  5. Ketogenic diets do not put you into starvation mode either (metabolism remains high).

My own experience confirms this. When I had a DEXA scan done I also did the resting metabolic rate test. Despite being on a Ketogenic diet for over a year and a half, my metabolism isn’t crazy low, quite the opposite:

The RMR report also said I probably want between 1776 and 2218 calories a day for weight loss; and that my metabolism is 10% faster than people of similar sex, age, height and weight. There were some less than useful platitudes about “you must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight” which is the same as saying “you must save more money than you spend to save money” or “if more people leave a room than come in, there will be less people in the room” – um… thanks?

So. If you want to lose weight because your body doesn’t handle carbohydrates well (like me!) and keep it off, it seems these are the steps:

  1. Switch to a ketogenic LIFESTYLE – no cheating, no end. If you go back to eating the sugary junk that got you fat in the first place, what do you think will happen?
  2. Do intermittent fasting (just don’t eat for two meals but keep drinking water) or outright fasting (24 hours without calories)
  3. If you’re feeling ambitious, try lifting weights. I’m currently a few weeks into StrongLifts5x5 (along with my wife, she’s awesome by the way; our anniversary is tomorrow) and so far it’s been simple and easy to stick to. Takes around 30 minutes, three times a week.
By |2016-10-13T07:27:40-06:00May 5th, 2016|Weight Loss, Ketogenic|Comments Off on The Biggest Loser Diet – Explained!
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Interesting NPR article about Keto and cancer

This entry is part 122 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

There’s an interesting reddit thread over on /r/keto about a NPR article that talks about the potential of keto for cancer treatment. The basic premise is: cancer cells aren’t doing what they are supposed to do, particularly metabolically. If you deprive them of readily available glucose they don’t grow/shrink. More research is needed but it’s not the type that’s likely to get funded since drug companies can’t make money off a diet, especially one like keto. In the Reddit thread there are some good anecdotes about effects seen first-hand on cancer with keto.

Now, the cool thing about all this is: “hedging your bets” is easy: dealing with cancer? there’s nothing stopping you from doing the traditional treatments but also consuming a ketogenic diet. In fact the only drawback I can see in this approach would be that since you are introducing simultaneous variables it will be difficult to determine which is helping more. I’d say that is a good problem to have. I highly doubt an oncologist would balk at eliminating sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet =)

“The drugs we have now are so toxic and there’s no reason people should have to be poisoned to be healthy. There are a number of studies, including those we’ve published, showing a direct relationship between the ketogenic diet and slowed tumor growth,” says Seyfried, also citing the work of Dr. Valter Longo, of the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology. That work shows that low-calorie diets are linked with slowed tumor growth and improved response to chemotherapy. “Why spend all this money going after all these different pathways involved in cancer when you can simply go after the key fuels?” Seyfried asks.

…

Even Seyfried acknowledges, despite his zeal for treating cancer by tinkering with calories, that in all likelihood diet and nutrient-based cancer treatments will serve as adjuncts to existing therapies. But what would be wrong with that? “We’re slowing the tumor down and making it extremely vulnerable to lower, less-toxic doses of available drugs,” he says, “When people are locked into an ideology created by a dogma they tend not to focus on rational alternatives.”

By |2016-10-13T07:27:44-06:00March 6th, 2016|Ketogenic|Comments Off on Interesting NPR article about Keto and cancer
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Day 061 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 50 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 204.6
  • Blood ketones: 0.4 mmol/L

Again with the running! I went to my dentist yesterday to see if the pain in my jaw was tooth related, got a panoramic x-ray and everything looks good. Based on my description and the way my jaw was closing, the dentist posits that I hurt the “disc” in my jaw somehow and it needs some time to get better. He prescribed 800mg of ibuprofen and told me that although it would be hard, I needed to try to limit biting down for a week or more “try to stick to soft foods”. I literally laughed out loud and then had to do a really rough explanation about my mostly liquid diet =). So for future reference, Keto Chow works quite well when you have dental/jaw problems.

I did awesome yesterday and the only non-keto chow calories I consumed was a little bit of cheese, I’ll see if I can act on the advice of my dentist.

Last night I was reading a post on the /r/ketochow sub-reddit where someone had gotten a DEXA scan. Down the rabbit hole I went! A while later I had found a company here locally that does them, they charge $99 for 1 scan and have in the past given discounts if you sign up for multiple ones at a time, so I have an appointment for Monday, March 14 (Pi day). EDIT: I was looking at their “Sample Report” and laughed out loud at “Android fat is associated with visceral (unhealthy) fat” – that darn android fat!

On a final note, today there was a new “study” published that claims a high fat diet (in mice) causes cancer. There is an excellent discussion over on /r/ketoscience about it but the TL; DR is

Low quality fat sources: 55% lard and 5.5% soybean oil. 32% of the fat is PUFA, omega6:3 ratio is 14:1.

Low quality protein sources: 20% casein that is poor in glycine and taurine, which are needed for metabolic health.

Low quality carbohydrate sources: 12% maltodextrin and 7% sugar that are completely unnecessary and just there to hinder fat metabolism.

Turns out that if you put mice on a diet of sugar and lard, the mice get fat and sick.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:47-06:00March 4th, 2016|Keto Chow, 100 days of keto|Comments Off on Day 061 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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Science: Metabolic Effects of the Very-Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Misunderstood “Villains” of Human Metabolism

This entry is part 121 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

In a recent thread on reddit I was directed over to an excellent journal article from 2004 “Metabolic Effects of the Very-Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Misunderstood ‘Villains’ of Human Metabolism” – it does a really great job explaining some of the actual science behind a ketogenic diet and debunks several myths including “you need 100g of carbohydrates a day to survive”. I would recommend checking it out if you ever have a doctor question you about ketogenic diets (or just want to learn new stuff!)

Abstract

During very low carbohydrate intake, the regulated and controlled production of ketone bodies causes a harmless physiological state known as dietary ketosis. Ketone bodies flow from the liver to extra-hepatic tissues (e.g., brain) for use as a fuel; this spares glucose metabolism via a mechanism similar to the sparing of glucose by oxidation of fatty acids as an alternative fuel. In comparison with glucose, the ketone bodies are actually a very good respiratory fuel. Indeed, there is no clear requirement for dietary carbohydrates for human adults. Interestingly, the effects of ketone body metabolism suggest that mild ketosis may offer therapeutic potential in a variety of different common and rare disease states. Also, the recent landmark study showed that a very-low-carbohydrate diet resulted in a significant reduction in fat mass and a concomitant increase in lean body mass in normal-weight men. Contrary to popular belief, insulin is not needed for glucose uptake and utilization in man. Finally, both muscle fat and carbohydrate burn in an amino acid flame.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:51-06:00February 22nd, 2016|Ketogenic, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Science: Metabolic Effects of the Very-Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Misunderstood “Villains” of Human Metabolism
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New US Dietary Guidelines out; not much changed, I’m apparently still dying

This entry is part 114 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

The methodology used to develop and update this Pattern continues to be grounded in that of the food guides USDA has developed for the last 30 years.

“we didn’t cause the deaths of millions of Americans by telling them to eat more carbs, so we’re going to continue the same way. But you should limit added sugar. Saturated fat and salt are still going to kill you”. In Appendix 7 they list out the new nutritional goals. Let’s see, for me they’re recommending:

  • 2200 calories
  • only 56g of protein
  • 130g of carbohydrates
  • 48 to 85g of total fat with less than 24g of saturated fat despite the evidence that saturated fat has nothing to do with heart disease
  • There’s no recommendation anymore on cholesterol but they want to you know they still think it’s bad (even though the previous link says it’s not)
  • I should keep my sugar below 55g a day
  • RDI of 2300mg of sodium

So… apparently I’m dead or dying because the only one I adhere to is <55g of sugar a day. Goodbye cruel world or something.

By |2016-01-07T12:49:08-07:00January 7th, 2016|Ketogenic|Comments Off on New US Dietary Guidelines out; not much changed, I’m apparently still dying
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Interview I did about Keto Chow and Ketosis

This entry is part 113 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

I linked this in another post but didn’t want it to get lost in the shuffle, so it’s getting its own post! Check out the interview at http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/pellissier20160105

The interview was done via email, which was nice since it gave me time to think well about my answers and re-read them. My responses were largely completely unaltered, just some minor tense changes so it would fit an interview style. I should have added more hyperlinks =)

By |2016-01-07T04:50:09-07:00January 7th, 2016|Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Soylent, Weight Loss|Comments Off on Interview I did about Keto Chow and Ketosis
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The Effects of a Year in Ketosis (video)

This entry is part 111 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

Jim McCarter gave an interesting presentation at the Quantified Self Conference this year. You can check out the video at https://vimeo.com/147795263

By |2016-10-13T07:27:58-06:00December 22nd, 2015|Ketogenic|Comments Off on The Effects of a Year in Ketosis (video)
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13 things people on keto are tired of hearing

This entry is part 105 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

This is shamelessly stolen from this reddit post, with inline images.

  1. No carbs? Hah. I don’t think I could ever do that.reactions01
  2. But your body NEEDS carbs!reactions02
  3. Bacon every day? You’re going to kill yourself on that diet.reactions03
  4. You need to eat more fruit.reactions04
  5. So only whole grain bread, right?reactions05
  6. Good luck, you won’t be able to stay on that kind of diet very long.reactions06
  7. So what day is your cheat day?reactions07
  8. You can have ONE piece of cake, can’t you?reactions08
  9. I guess you’re just lucky / have good genes.reactions09
  10. But eating all that fat makes you fat!reactions10
  11. Fad diets don’t workreactions11
  12. What can you eat? Can you eat here?reactions12
  13. You’re losing too much weight / losing it too fast! reactions13
By |2016-10-13T07:27:59-06:00November 5th, 2015|Ketogenic, Weight Loss|Comments Off on 13 things people on keto are tired of hearing
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Amazing Analysis By Credit-Suisse On Fat In Diets

This entry is part 103 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

Wait, who? (definitely not WHO, they’re so behind the times it’s laughable) Credit-Suisse. OK, I’m going to go ahead and just steal their description of themselves:

The Credit Suisse Research Institute identifies and provides insights on global themes and trends. Its objective is to provide our clients and the public with leading edge advice by leveraging internal and external expertise, thus reinforcing our integrated global bank approach.

So investment advice, from a bank.

On their Publications Page you’ll find a bunch of different economic reports, all extremely thorough and well researched. Along with info on traditional investments (like the Global Wealth Report) they have a couple that relate to health trends. Most notably “Sugar: Consumption at a Crossroads” and a more recently published “Fat: The New Health Paradigm” that I just read about 1/3 of. You can order hard copies of the reports or download the PDF for free. I’m amazed at how well put together the “fat” report was, I’ll have to check out the sugar one. I’m not likely to start investing anytime soon but the information follows research I’ve been reading since starting Keto: Fat (in particular saturated fat) is not the cause of heart disease, carbohydrates (in particular sugars) are the culprit. Credit Suisse presents this in an interesting manner, the end result being that apparently you should REALLY invest in an egg farm or in Indonesian palm kernel oil production.

It starts out strong from the summary and just keeps going, and going! If you have some time, read the first part at least, then buy an egg farm. And next time somebody freaks out about how much saturated fat I consume I have a new fount of information to send them.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:59-06:00October 20th, 2015|Ketogenic|1 Comment
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Great NYTimes article by Gary Taubes

This entry is part 92 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

Linky: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/opinion/diet-advice-that-ignores-hunger.html?_r=0

As described on Reddit:

An excellent article highlighting the differences between fat and carb restricted diets, and the aftermath when people end them, and the effect that carbs have on increased hunger.

Gary Taubes is the guy that wrote “Why we get fat and what to do about it” and “Good Calories, Bad Calories”

I also found this great (older article): http://www.businessinsider.com/9-lies-about-fat-that-destroyed-the-worlds-health-2013-11

By |2016-10-13T07:28:03-06:00September 1st, 2015|Ketogenic, Weight Loss|Comments Off on Great NYTimes article by Gary Taubes
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