I don't have problems with my BG on low carb real food, but still use the BG monitor (that I used throughout the Optimising Nutrition [ON] challenges) to check the effects of new foods or combos.

In chat I mentioned that plain low-fat greek yogurt raised my BG and caused cravings beyond what would be expected theoretically for my carefully measured 100g serving. A chatter suggested eating it with fiber. Yuk, I thought, imaginging psyllium husks or broccoli. But I tried it with some frozen blueberries like a dessert at the end of one of my two meals a day. Taking the timing of eating the exact same foods into consideration DID make a difference and caused no problem with BG spikes! Now I add a dab of Fage 2% to savory foods too (some containing broccoli) if I need an extra bit of protein. I also found Fage 2% much more satiating than Fage 0% fat for only a few more calories. Being hunger & cravings-free are required for success on any diet.

Just using this website's "MyPLAN" to track my food, I had narrowed my macros and found 2MAD worked well for me pre-ON, but it was amazing how little tweaks like eating the yogurt & blueberries with a meal rather than a couple of hours later made the difference between cravings & satiety. Using Cronometer software I am also learning how to optimize my nutrients and limit things like oxalates to prevent joint pain.

I also found protein powder shakes cause me theoretically impossible BG spikes and cravings, but I can add small amounts to other foods with fiber & fat to nudge my protein levels up with no problems. YYMV, but it is good to know WHY certain things seem to work for everyone but me and that I can find tasty alternatives that work for me.

Dr. Michael Eades was also an engineer before he decided to go to med school (he & Protein Power were my introduction to LC in 1999). As a geoscientist who works with engineers, I like data that helps me figure out WHY something works (or doesn't), and how big a change is needed to get results, which you won't know unless you quantify it. Although Atkins' Diet worked for me starting in 1973, I probably would have stayed on it longer if I understood why, exactly. The arrogant I'madoctor so dowhatIsay approach is not the best way to reach me - I need data and logical explanations! Actually Atkins 1972 cited references with data, but they were unavailable without access to a medical library in the pre-Internet days; I have read most of them since I've had access and found them persuasive.

So far all the engineers in the diet world seem to have necks and keep their shirts on. I appreciate that! I also like how Marty Kendall listens to everyone from teenaged athletes to middle-aged women & seniors, meets them where they are, and makes individualized suggestions based on their current fitness levels & food preferences. That is probably why his approach can work for anyone - he sees the big picture and can deduce the commonalities rather than focus on what works for him.

Diedra, two great posts about how Optimising Nutrition can work for everyone, every diet style!

Three years ago I was so fed up with regaining weight and finding it impossible to lose on LCHF, I jumped in feet first with Naiman's PE food list, which dramatically increased my nutrients without knowing the specifics. I've had to back-fill all of Marty's advice, but it continues to work, and I still learn more as he re-works the Nutrient Leverage data.

Leverage big data to crush your Hunger: https://optimisingnutrition.com/moneyball-nutrition/

Ps: A new article is in the works about carnivore vs satiety.

So true! Trying Atkins opened up a world of food for me, and for a long time, it was simple. The more I avoided carbs, the better my body liked it. Health became more important than weight loss for a long while, but in the end, it was the same thing.

My problem was not eating enough fat, and here I'm sure I'm an outlier. I've grown so comfortable with minimal carbs and oxalate that I use cream cheese as a flour substitute :lol:

Not eating enough fat caused most of my diet failures & binging after "being perfect" while following Pritikin, MacDougall etc. for weeks or months at a time. Even when I first started Protein Power I was limiting fat out of habit (if SAD at ~35% fat makes people fat, then under 30%, 20%, 10% must be better). After a few years of LCHF (at ~5% net carbs, 20-25% protein, 70-75% calories from fat) I plateaued & gained some Covid pounds. Nudging slowly on Optimising Nutrition, my sweet spot now is ~10% net carbs, 40% protein, 50% calories from fat ... which is still horrifyingly high fat in the minds of nutritionists. Yet I am getting >RDA in all vitamins & minerals, more protein and complete satiety on two meals a day and building muscle on fewer calories. Actually if I divide my actual fat calories by the recommended calorie intake for a carby "healthy" diet for someone my age & height, it would be "only" ~33% fat, but with grocery prices so high, once I've met my optimal nutrients for the day on less food, why would I want to pay for and consume 500 extra empty calories that would just make me fat and deplete my bank account?

You can also adjust those Macros to reach Nutrient Density goals…which lead to Satiety. A new analysis of Satiety with a few versions of Carnivore (I didn’t know some carnivores allow dairy and seafood?) using the 450 foods most popular foods in the ON community.




https://optimisingnutrition.com/car...nts/#more-41751

Chart includes the important Nutrient Density score, Satiety and Protein results. If you define Carnivore as all meat, no seafood and offal, ON will help you find sources to get more satiety from more nutrients.

It's not that fat or carbs are bad, you just need to find the right balance for fuel and nutrients for you.

Good points. Thanks for shard your n=1 results.

Atkins recommends more fat , in his books. I never limited that, as broiled fat is delicious, but now look at that info as a push against the low- fat tide. How Much fat did he really mean?

Im seeing more and more youtube influencers saying more fat is better. Especially when starting , per some. Long term by others.

( I dont measure macros: just use fats in cooking or salad dressing without fear. Some days more, dome days less.)

Arielle,
Dr Atkins (and Westman) recommended "more fat" to help someone get into "fat burning" in induction phase, but after a few weeks both of them limit fat through calories.

Dr Westman finally put exact total limits on added fats in his newest book, End Your Carb Confusion. Use no more than 6T total for the day. [that is roughly 600 calories you can do without, so If your goal is fat loss, limit it further] He doesn’t "count calories" until stalled.
My own ON approach is to use tasty salad dressing recipes made from 0% yogurt or cottage cheese, substitutes for HWC, use lean meats, bacon and cheese are only an occasional topping for a lean burger, not a large serving everyday. No LC cheesecakes, LC desserts, and my personal downfall, all nut butters…stopped buying them 3 years ago. :idea:

When members of the ON Community do DDF or Macros, the most common revelation is they were "Eating Too Much Fat". These classes help you find what macros work for you. I use 40% Protein 40% Fat and 20% net carbs, not that much different from Diedra, but she exercises more. Though we measure "macros", what we are really doing is increasing nutrient density and satiety.

Keto Lie #5: Fat is a ‘Free Food’ because it Doesn’t Elicit an Insulin Response
https://optimisingnutrition.com/too-much-fat-keto/

Post on the ON FB page: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid...413252234180214

Once again, a warning, I'm an outlier. I have a neurodivergent nervous system and my DNA profile says I have a rare muscle structure seen in professional athletes. All my friends have to lie down to laugh. Since I'm congenitally clumsy from dyspraxia, and lucky I can type.

At my last doctor weigh-in, I was underweight. Which hasn't been a threat since I was 14. So I don't have any fat to lose, and being in ketosis, I RUN on fat. But then, I'd always break a stall if I did an Atkins Fat Fast.

I know most people get into trouble with too much fat, when they want to burn the excess fat on their body. That makes sense, and even explains my own experiences... until I got down to my actual healthy weight. Which I haven't seen since 14 :lol: (And I didn't go back in time.)

It really shows we have to listen to our body, and if it breaks a rule we have to rewrite them for us, because my rules won't work for others, on average. Starting Atkins turned my idea of food "inside out and upside down" and this process continues.

I actually ate vegetables out of guilt. Now that I feel confident I don't seem to get much in the way of nutrients from plant-based, I don't throw my body off with some external marketing notion.

The idea that every food must prove its worth is a really good one. I've noticed over the years that everyone winds up repeating favorite meals because that's what works best. Even reduces food waste, which is important any time, but especially now.

Optimising Nutrition offers well over 30 diet styles including Carnivore,, Therapeutic Ketogenic and Athletes and Bulking diets, but the plans to Lose Fat and Lower Blood Glucose are by far the more popular.

One goal of the Macro class is to find your "Optimal 30/30". 30 Foods and 30 Meals that work for you…keep you satiated, provide nutrients, all for the amount of calories you need to lose or maintain goal weight.

That's why I love the way it's a SYSTEM. That's good engineering.

Back in 1972 Atkins induction capped carbs and dairy, and there wasn't a lot of fake/junky processed "diet" food around to derail you. So if you were still hungry the only things left to eat were carb-free fat & protein. When he said the amounts would be self-limiting, it was hard to believe at first, since there seemed to be no limit to the amount of ice cream, cookies, chips I could consume when not dieting. But fat & protein in the absence of carbs ARE self limiting as they are satiating. Atkins was the first diet I ever tried that didn't involve white-knuckling it through intense hunger & cravings. You were "allowed" lots of fat (I recall lobster swimming in melted butter), but too much fat leads to feeling nauseous, so you naturally cut back to some butter or some salad dressing rather than pools of them. Somehow just knowing that I could have more made me start eating like a "normal" person, choosing just enough for a good taste & texture.

I remember caps on hwc and cheese.in the 72 book. I think social media is where all the "new" ideas stem from.

The Atkins DR 1972 rules are: https://forum.lowcarber.org/showpos...840&postcount=9
You could if you wished add a stick of butter or a cup of Mayo to a protein. This is where patients might go wrong. As Diedra wrote most would self-limit, but some abused it. As the editions progressed, amount limits were added to all fats. 6T total for the day is clear now. Cheese is still 4oz. So if you count total carbs, inc. artificial sweeteners baking mixes, there is no room for "keto" desserts, etc.

More great "Quick Start Guides" will be coming your way soon, to help people find their way quickly through the basics of the ON program offerings.

I'll post the new guide to "Post-menopausal Weight Loss Challenges" and soon as it is available. In the meantime, this article has the longer explanation of
Menopausal Weight Gain: The Problem and Solution Explained
https://optimisingnutrition.com/menopausal-weight-gain/

There will be other helpful Quick Guides, on fasting and keto challenges, but again to Marty's surprise, in a community poll the most requested was on menopause.

Because the Standard of Care for menopause is essentially useless, and only slowly improving.

Three good new "Short Guides" are in both the Optimising Nutrition blog and the ON Community.
If you want to join or are part of the ON community, here is the much anticipated short summary of how to overcome menopause weight loss challenges. . Links take you to studies and in depth analysis of data…or use the simple included infographic list of foods.

https://members.optimisingnutrition...m_source=manual

On the Optimising Nutrition blog, three of the most requested topics:

Did Diet X Fail You?

Welcome to Optimizing mNutrition, where you will find a home with thousands of others who have been failed by numerous diets and are now thriving! We’ve been on a data-driven quest to understand why so many dietary approaches work, until they don’t, whether that be fasting, keto, low carb, carnivore, plant-based, or calorie counting
https://optimisingnutrition.com/did-diet-x-fail-you/

Menopausal Weight Loss: Quickstart Guide
Good news!~ We have stumbled upon the solution for those battling the ominous weight gain that often occurs after menopause! We initially designed our tools and systems to help people optimise their blood glucose and body composition.~ But, to our surprise, we attracted a solid following of middle-aged women who’d tried so many other approaches like fasting, keto, calorie counting and carnivore.…

https://optimisingnutrition.com/men...ickstart-guide/

Insulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes Management: Quickstart Guide

We Understand! My quest to optimise nutrition began after Moni and I got married, and we started thinking about having kids.~ We knew we needed to get her Type-1 Diabetes under control somehow to avoid the extensive list of complications accompanying diabetic pregnancies. ~ But despite decades of visits to endocrinologists, nutritionists, and diabetes educators, none of the numerous experts could give her clear answers about what to eat or how to optimise her blood glucose levels.~
Read moreInsulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes Management: Quickstart Guide

https://optimisingnutrition.com/ins...ickstart-guide/
"

To go with each of the new Short Guides, some inspiring Success Stories! Five today, I believe there are a few more in the works.

Muffy's story of operations for heart disease, cancer, joint disease and more…diabetes, chronic conditions and the concurrent treatments is beyond inspiring, especially her before/after photos. 76 years old and lost almost 100 pounds. IF for the first 20 then stopped. Found ON and progressed right to goal weight.
Just Do It!

From Struggles to Triumph: Unveiling Muffy’s Inspiring Journey to Optimal Health and Wellness

https://optimisingnutrition.com/muffys-story/

I already posted the four other inspiring stories in this thread.

https://forum.lowcarber.org/showpos...54&postcount=37


Mine is there…main reason…when you know how to eat satiating foods it is easy to not regain weight. Stable after three years after bouncing up and down on low carb.

More even Shorter Guides! :)
Two new posts on the blog showing "Your Perfect Day"

Best Foods to Maximise Nutrient Density (and How Much of Each)
https://optimisingnutrition.com/max...trient-density/

This article has a short list of the most popular foods free living Optimisers eat and an infographic of the top 12. Super Simple.



*Note: This summary uses data from all members, all styles of eating. The Maximize Satiety article was sub-categorized by low carb, low fat, etc. These averages include vegetarians, carnivore, keto, high protein, low protein, etc. But even with this mix, eating more than 30% protein is highly satiating and nutrient dense.

* To lose weight to goal, and easily maintain it, I eat higher protein in the range of 40% protein, 40% fat, and 20% net carbs.

8% protein makes that much difference? Interesting. I'll see if my old tracking app still works.

Since the typical American eats somewhere around 12-14% protein, going to 30% is a huge win. Dr Naiman has said in interviews the world's obesity crisis would be solved if everyone ate 30% Protein. ;) But your protein % should be based on where you are now. If you currently eat 30%, and still want to lose more weight, moving up to 40% may help. I now eat more seafood and NF dairy for the micronutrients, so I end up with more lean protein.

That "perfect day" at 59% protein is a crazy high PSMF level, something a body builder may use for show prep, but hard to do that for a week, much less longer. Hard to do without resorting to PP, egg white and chicken breast, too nutrient dense, too satiating, but interesting in theory :lol:

Note: The Low Carb Maximise Satiety food list is in my journal. Also note: it is not only the MACROS but the MICROS that provide Satiety, Calcium, Potassium, Selenium, etc. Use this new infographic and you have those nailed as well. :wave:


EDIT ADD: Speaking of MicroNutrients, Monica had a laundry list of Medical Issues, including Traumatic Brain Injury. Her recovery and improvement in a few short months is astounding. New Success Story:

From Hopelessness to Health – How Monica Transformed Her Life Beyond the Scale!
https://optimisingnutrition.com/monicas-story/

More Short Guides in an easy to find Format. On the Optimising Nutrition website, the new Short Guides (currently four) are now in the First subject tab.
https://optimisingnutrition.com/tag/quickstart-guide/
Want short, simple explanations with infographics available on a free website, start here:


Did Diet X Fail You?

Welcome to Optimizing mNutrition, where you will find a home with thousands of others who have been failed by numerous diets and are now thriving! We’ve been on a data-driven quest to understand why so many dietary approaches work, until they don’t, whether that be fasting, keto, low carb, carnivore, plant-based, or calorie counting
https://optimisingnutrition.com/did-diet-x-fail-you/

Menopausal Weight Loss: Quickstart Guide
Good news!~ We have stumbled upon the solution for those battling the ominous weight gain that often occurs after menopause! We initially designed our tools and systems to help people optimise their blood glucose and body composition.~ But, to our surprise, we attracted a solid following of middle-aged women who’d tried so many other approaches like fasting, keto, calorie counting and carnivore.…

https://optimisingnutrition.com/menopausal-weight-loss/


Insulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes Management: Quickstart Guide

We Understand! My quest to optimise nutrition began after Moni and I got married, and we started thinking about having kids.~ We knew we needed to get her Type-1 Diabetes under control somehow to avoid the extensive list of complications accompanying diabetic pregnancies. ~ But despite decades of visits to endocrinologists, nutritionists, and diabetes educators, none of the numerous experts could give her clear answers about what to eat or how to optimise her blood glucose levels.

Read moreInsulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes Management: Quickstart Guide

https://optimisingnutrition.com/ins...ickstart-guide/

Macro Masterclass starts tomorrow, the first one to feature ON's brand-new "Your Perfect Day" satiety optimization algorithm. 📈🍽️
Along with the updated manual, your own transformative insights will guide weight loss. 💪
SATIETY Per CALORIE is where it is at.

https://members.optimisingnutrition...s/10181096/page


Best Foods to Maximise Satiety (and How Much of Each)
https://optimisingnutrition.com/bes...ximise-satiety/

After learning When to Eat with DDF, Macros adds in What to Eat. I do very well maintaining with these two programs. The Micros class is the Nutrient Density "icing on the cake" but an easy way to start here.

More Major Updates to the Nutrition Series.
Potassium and Magnesium (and others) were added today.
Both are important for bone health and both are often insufficient on a very low carb diet long term.


Potassium: The Essential Mineral You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Of

https://optimisingnutrition.com/hig...-foods-recipes/

Magnesium-Rich Foods & Recipes: A Comprehensive Guide to Boosting Your Magnesium Intake
https://optimisingnutrition.com/mag...-foods-recipes/

Selenium Rich Foods: A Comprehensive Guide to Boosting Your Intake https://optimisingnutrition.com/sel...-foods-recipes/

If people only knew how minerals are SO important. Magnesium was a game changer years ago, and now calcium is another.

I drink a cup of lemon juice a day and meat is full of potassium. But there's inaccurate information. Like, the measurement for bananas are based on peel included, and no human eats them that way.

Calcium! Drives me mad…this new nutrition guide is so complicated. So many interactions, synergistic nutrients, reductions in bioavailability, and on and on. I have large servings of yogurt, cottage cheese and Fairlife milk daily, but still don’t reach 1200 mg calcium. I eat greens, but how much is available? I broke down and added a 300mg supplement.

Foods High in Calcium: The Ultimate List of Nutritious and Delicious Options
https://optimisingnutrition.com/cal...ds-and-recipes/

Calcium is the one nutrient that I absolutely cannot get enough of simply from food. I am unable to eat dairy which leaves me reliant on mostly leafy greens. I do eat canned salmon several times a week, the kind with the skin and bones, and that helps but I have been taking a calcium supplement for years. Marty Kendall’s apparent belief that we can get everything we need simply from the food we eat works in theory but in practice I find taking a few supplements helps, not as a substitute for eating as nutritiously as possible but as exactly what the word implies, a supplement to nutritious eating.

Jean, totally agree.

I was much better off nutrient wise when I started Optimising Nutrition than the previous decade on VLC when I ate almost no calcium, due very limited dairy. But now with higher satiety I am consistently eating less, I still don’t have enough calcium, and all the co-factors…Who knows? My hair, nails and skin are much improved vs a very low carb plus fasting approach, but that may be the protein? I also can’t get enough Vit D from diet, but much sun in the summer.

Back in the day we used to eat more bones, is all I can figure. Because I'm a big dairy eater, and I STILL don't get enough.

I use bulk calcium citrate and magnesium citrate, taken away from food. Three times a day. Once a week, during a long stretch between meals, my big dose of D3/K2. I do eat a lot of Muenster cheese, but not every day. And my dairy is fortified, but I think it's still not enough.

I try to get out in sunlight. But I live north enough that I did get a sunbox for light treatments. I'll get that going again as it gets nippier out there. Plenty of sun, but soon I'll have to bundle up. I drag my feet about it both for health reasons, and my own super-sensitivity to heat. Which might be what makes me actually enjoy the weather when it's "bracing!"

I think in an ideal world we wouldn't have gone long stretches without good nutrients, and I know we all have. In which case, it only makes sense to do whatever is best for our health, synergistically. It's why vegans don't do the nut casserole work, and have turned to UPF the same way so many other "secrets" do. That alone makes me suspicious.

I eat whole foods, allowing for processing like butter and whey protein and sausage from a local farm. But it's a lot of work, and seemingly more expensive, because our food bills aren't nibbles several times a day. It's a sudden big expense with a lot of work involved there, too.

We've gotten better about pacing ourselves with the freezer and sales to cut down on waste. Each of us cooks and tracks our own fresh purchases. This is a galaxy away from the way most people live, voluntarily or otherwise. The time involved is usually couple time, which helps because we can coordinate and we enjoy being together.

But it's not how people eat now. It's not enough for people to know how they should eat. We have to pull the UPF back and deli-type meals and products are the first place we should start. Like the fridge meals at my big supermarket. Some of them are about as good as any beginner cook, others have lots of UPF, though they can look the same.

My favorite is slab of fish and a side of buttered veggies, in the microwave, easy as anything from the frozen section. More of that is what we need.

And to sum up all the new Nutrient Seriies:
Unlocking the Power of Nutrient-Dense Foods: Your Guide to Optimal Nutrition
https://optimisingnutrition.com/nutrient-dense-foods-2/

The following have links to support each benefit, which did not copy. I did add the one for Bone Health

New Infographics for the most nutrient dense meats, seafood, vegetables, fruit, dairy…and FAQs:

…let’s touch on a few common questions about nutrient-dense foods.

Nutrient-dense foods offer a wide array of health benefits.

Disease-fighting: Nutrient-dense foods are often health-promoting and disease-fighting. They can reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Weight management: Nutrient-dense foods are usually lower in calories and higher in protein and fibre, helping to maintain a healthy weight and support your weight loss goals.

Enhanced energy levels: Nutrient-dense foods provide vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support energy production and overall vitality.

Tailoring Your Nutrient-Dense Diet to Suit Your Goals
You can tailor nutrient-dense foods to support specific health conditions:

Heart health: Fatty fish are excellent for omega 3 to support your cardiovascular system.

Diabetes management: Non-starchy vegetables, meat and seafood help stabilise blood sugar. In our Macros Masterclass, we guide Optimisers to dial in their carbohydrate intake to achieve healthy blood glucose stability.

Bone health: Foods rich in calcium and protein, such as dairy products and leafy greens, are critical for your bones. https://www.bonehealthandosteoporos...-for-Your-Bones [great list of Bone Healthy foods, note that many are restricted on Low Carb diets or over the years, many of us restricted carb or calorie intake to the point our Nutrition suffered]

Digestion: Nutrient-dense foods are typically high in fibre, providing digestive benefits and promoting satiety for many.