Ultra Low Carb Dieting Dangers

**grammy1952** · January 5th, 2015, 08:08 AM

You've all heard me say not to go too low in carbs for too long. I want to explain where I'm coming from with that because I had two more email me today who are gaining again and can't stop it. Sure enough, they've gotten too scared of carbs in P3 again.

I was the first one on the forum to jump on the paleo bandwagon. I really thought it was the answer for my lifelong problem with weight. Grains were the culprits, simple, right? Not so much. This article below pretty much details my own experience. At first everything was absolutely great. I felt good, weight was stable (still didn't lose anything more though) and I was loving life. Then the weight creep started. My hair started falling out more. Skin was dry, all my normal thyroid problems before being on meds started creeping back. I got some labs pulled and my thyroid and adrenals had both tanked. It wasn't so much that paleo was wrong but that I was doing it wrong. I went WAY too low in carbs, eating only protein and fats. A LOT of fats by the way so it wasn't that I wasn't eating enough fats. I'd just cut my carbs too low for too long.

How long does that take? It took a while for me because I'd been living a fairly low carb lifestyle for many years. But I see in here in the forum and in my private emails all the time and for people coming from a SAD diet, it can happen pretty quickly.

I've tried other things as part of the paleo lifestyle: intermittent fasting, fat fast, etc. Those don't work as well for women as they do for men, in general. As an author, I have a lot of ties to other authors who write books and articles, especially in the paleo community. Some of them have noticed the difference between men and women, such as this article below.

So just be careful. Listen to your body. Don't rush to cut every bit of good carb from your diet long term. On hcg we are skating at the barely acceptable level of carbs. Cutting much lower than that for a full six weeks and then cutting out all carbs in P3 is a recipe for regaining your weight in a couple of months out. Most of us are here because we already have a subpar thyroid and/or adrenals. They need nourished and protected.

Here is the article I'm talking about.

http://robbwolf.com/2014/02/20/femal...ates-hormones/

And another article by Chris Kessler, a functional med guy I like a lot: http://chriskresser.com/7-things-eve...low-carb-diets

**Last10** · January 5th, 2015, 08:22 AM

Hi Colleen,

Thanks for linking us to this article. I know you always encourage us to eat both available fruits and that I don't always listen. The fruit does trigger hunger for me.

I'm curious about the Leptin comments and know there is a link to the Leptin Reset on the forum. How do you think our Leptin is effected while doing Hcg protocol?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**grammy1952** · January 5th, 2015, 10:26 AM

For most of us, hcg seems to fix leptin issues. After we finish a long round, the majority of us seem to get normal hunger signals and are off that cycle of being constantly hungry.

**Ginger1** · January 5th, 2015, 11:08 AM

Thanks for the link, Grammy. I am still trying to figure my body out as far as the different nutrients and such. I try to eat more than 75 grams of carbs a day but that is usually counting sugar alcohol carbs. I eat cocoa crack made with a xylitol/erthritol mix daily. Those alcohol sugar carbs add up but am wondering if I need to add more carbs. I still only eat sweet potatoes or quinoa about 2-3 times a week. Occasionally I eat rice but it is not a favorite so usually just eat it when i am eating in a restaurant and it is part of the meal. I am not a fan of starchier vegetables like peas and corn. I quit eating almonds because I usually have a headache the day after eating them. So the only nuts I am currently eating are macadamias which are lower carb. I am about 2 months past my last round. I have stabilized around 4-5 lbs over LIW this time. And like Last10, most fruits make me hungry. I eat strawberries, blueberries and homemade applesauce. Occasionally grapes too.
I wish I could just eat when hungry and not worry about carbs and such but every time I let my guard down I tend to overindulge. I need a structured diet for maintenance. I have been reading up on carb cycling and food combining. And I see that this article recommends carb cycling. Thinking about eating low to moderate carbs 5 days a week and then high carb(400grams) 2 days a week.(probably Sat and Sunday.)

So, I guess my question is should I count sugar alcohol carbs toward my carb count for the day?

**grammy1952** · January 5th, 2015, 11:39 AM

No I wouldn't count sugar alcohols towards your carb count. What about fruit for a mid afternoon snack? What's what I usually do. Then you're eating again in 2 hours. My favorite is a baked apple with cinnamon.

**Ginger1** · January 5th, 2015, 12:19 PM

Thanks Grammy. Looks like I need to eat more fruit too. My problem is eating it alone. It tends to make me hungry but if I eat it with protein, I am not so hungry at dinner then get hungry later at night. But if I eat at night, I usually wake with a headache. I guess I could eat oatmeal and berries for breakfast instead of my high fat breakfast. You know, bacon, eggs sausage(homemade), Coffee with mct oil.

Hard to give up!

**pinkita** · January 5th, 2015, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by grammy1952

For most of us, hcg seems to fix leptin issues. After we finish a long round, the majority of us seem to get normal hunger signals and are off that cycle of being constantly hungry.

After my last two long rounds (during P3/P4) I noticed I only felt actual hunger once a day.

**grammy1952** · January 5th, 2015, 02:05 PM

Ginger, do you like sweet potatoes? Those are a good source of carbs. And things like winter squash. I love spaghetti squash!

**booklover** · January 5th, 2015, 03:47 PM

What is your opinion on beans? I have given them up due to high carb, but I'd like to add them back in. I *do* still eat sweet potatoes, all squashes, and even white potatoes. I only avoid bread and all grains as those seem to open the flood gates toward weight gain. I have avoided oats, but would like to add those back in, too.