Optimal Diet

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vnatale
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by vnatale » Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:53 pm

Cortopassi wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:30 am

vnatale wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:22 am


This sugar thing for me goes way, way, way back. I would add loads and loads of white sugar to Captain Crunch cereal!


You are a perfect example of genetic differences. Others eating like you would likely be obese.

Damn, I cannot believe what my breakfasts used to be growing up. A bowl of frosted flakes, and I do recall sometimes adding sugar to it as well. And then slurping up the sugary milk. Right now that makes me want to hurl!

Tall glass of OJ every morning as well. But, hey, it's "Heart Healthy!"


Yes. Graduated high school at 5 8 1/2, 130 lbs.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by vnatale » Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:58 pm

MangoMan wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:22 am

Vinny, those raisins are just as bad for your teeth as red licorice. Just as sticky and plenty of sugar.

Full disclosure: I also love dried fruit in my uncooked oatmeal. Raisins, chopped dates, cranberries and blueberries.


What is your professional opinion on gum with Xylitol? I rush to chew one as soon as I'm finished eating or drinking anything.

Also, again. I'm fanatical about not allowing anything into my house that has sugar listed as an ingredient or when eating out not eating any overtly sugar like ice cream, cake, cookies and so on.

I'm aware that when I get a pizza there may be some sugar in either the sauce or the dough or both. In that case I'm not being a fanatical purist when eating out. Mainly because eating out is a much smaller part of my overall diet.

By taking the position on the food in my house I eliminate a lot of bad foods plus it creates a bright line to stop me from eating a lot of the heavy sugar foods I used to eat.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by vnatale » Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:00 pm

MangoMan wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:46 pm

Xylitol gum is good, but if you're at home, brushing with an ADA approved fluoride toothpaste is better.


I religiously follow the Dr. Ellie regime twice a day, which includes using her recommended Crest flouride toothpaste.

I usually eat raisins once a day, Sometimes twice. Sometime none at all.

For the definitely one time I usually eat it it is usually about an hour or two before I am doing my bedtime second Dr. Ellie regime of the day.

However, as a direct result of the last two days "raisins" discussion has led to me making a firm decision to immediately change to consuming only 1/2 to a 1/3 of the amount I had been consuming.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by WiseOne » Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:44 am

MangoMan wrote:
Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:32 pm
WiseOne wrote:
Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:49 am

Don't forget to add grassfed butter and coconut oil to the coffee.

To what purpose? If you are trying to lose weight, why add extra calories to coffee which is already calorie free?
It's not about the calories. It's about insulin, and the unique ability of fat to satisfy hunger. Increasing your fat intake is key to losing weight - certainly was for me.

One of the most important things I managed to accomplish was eliminating the near constant food cravings for carbohydrates. Eating just two meals a day is easy now, but would have been unimaginable 2 years ago. But if I start eating carbohydrate-rich foods, even if they are gluten-free or "safe" starches (e.g. a bag of taro chips) I once again find it way too easy to eat a ridiculous amount of them. They just don't satisfy hunger for me, plus they make me extra hungry a couple hours later. Getting rid of that roller coaster appetite situation is really the goal. Not counting calories. The latter is a totally ridiculous idea actually, that has been disproven in more studies than you can count going back to the turn of the 20th century.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:33 pm

WiseOne wrote:
Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:44 am


It's not about the calories. It's about insulin, and the unique ability of fat to satisfy hunger. Increasing your fat intake is key to losing weight - certainly was for me.
I don't have cravings that often for carbs, but when I do, it derails everything else for sure.

I finished Fung's Obesity Code book. The whole insulin aspect of it was pretty eye opening for me. And it is exactly my issue. I can eat carbs at meals, generally without issue. But when I start snacking on carbs, however small the amount, I believe what is shown below is what is happening to my body, that I force it to pump out insulin more often, and it never has a chance to get back to a good low level to keep resistance from happening. So the needle moves ever so slightly to wanting to store more fat.

Lots of good stuff in the book -- like this one: "But in the development of obesity, the increase in meals is almost twice as important as the change in diet."

I am going to try a couple 24 hour fasts this coming week to see how that affects me. I normally don't eat breakfast anyway.

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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by vnatale » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:58 pm

Cortopassi wrote:
Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:33 pm

WiseOne wrote:
Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:44 am



It's not about the calories. It's about insulin, and the unique ability of fat to satisfy hunger. Increasing your fat intake is key to losing weight - certainly was for me.



I don't have cravings that often for carbs, but when I do, it derails everything else for sure.

I finished Fung's Obesity Code book. The whole insulin aspect of it was pretty eye opening for me. And it is exactly my issue. I can eat carbs at meals, generally without issue. But when I start snacking on carbs, however small the amount, I believe what is shown below is what is happening to my body, that I force it to pump out insulin more often, and it never has a chance to get back to a good low level to keep resistance from happening. So the needle moves ever so slightly to wanting to store more fat.

Lots of good stuff in the book -- like this one: "But in the development of obesity, the increase in meals is almost twice as important as the change in diet."

I am going to try a couple 24 hour fasts this coming week to see how that affects me. I normally don't eat breakfast anyway.

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You have now written so much about this that you finally caused me to at least go to Amazon and add it to my Amazon list!

Not that I'm anywhere near obese or even overweight being 149.2 at 5' 8 1/2". My goal for the last 20 years has been to reduce my waist size so that I can comfortably fit into those 30 or so pair of blue jeans that have a 32" waist! It seem,, though, that given my current exercise regime and it's effect on my waist size, I need to get down to at least 145, if not 140.

Thanks!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Fri Apr 02, 2021 8:31 am

FYI, an update -- tried 24 hour fasts 3x this week, just as an experiment. I generally don't get hungry anyway, so only eating dinners wasn't hard. I've never done that before.

It wasn't a problem, and a benefit was that what we ate for dinners were especially good and tasty, even though they were things we eat all the time!

I am going back to my normal intermittent fasting (16:8 or so, no breakfast).

I have dropped from 196 to 187 in 2 weeks. Lowest I have been since I believe 6th grade.

So fasting broke through a plateau that has been unbreakable (~189) for a long time. As that previously shown insulin graph shows, my biggest issue has always been snacking and likely keeping my insulin high for long periods of time.

Just FYI. I have no goal weight in mind. Losing more is perfectly fine with me though!
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by WiseOne » Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:43 am

Ah. What were you snacking with?

Most snacks are high in sugar and carbs. I bet intermittent fasting, when not combined with a low carb diet, works because of the natural carbohydrate/sugar reduction that comes with it.

Snacking on a keto diet has always been something of an issue. My go-tos are cheese and almonds.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Fri Apr 02, 2021 12:27 pm

WiseOne wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:43 am
Ah. What were you snacking with?

Most snacks are high in sugar and carbs. I bet intermittent fasting, when not combined with a low carb diet, works because of the natural carbohydrate/sugar reduction that comes with it.

Snacking on a keto diet has always been something of an issue. My go-tos are cheese and almonds.
Snacking would start out reasonable, and then devolve into M&Ms some nights....!

Ice Cream. Pudding. Pretty sure it is likely to happen again...but now I know I can get back on track faster with 24 hour fasts.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Maddy » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:57 pm

What is it about carbs that cause that unique sort of craving for them? I can eat a sauteed asparagus omelet with cheese and feel perfectly full, but even so there's often an urge to top it off with a muffin or toast. When under stress, it's carbs that do the trick. My hypothesis is that carbs have some kind of mood modulating effect that probably really does have something to do with addiction. Anyone know?
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Thu Apr 08, 2021 4:04 pm

Maddy wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:57 pm
What is it about carbs that cause that unique sort of craving for them? I can eat a sauteed asparagus omelet with cheese and feel perfectly full, but even so there's often an urge to top it off with a muffin or toast. When under stress, it's carbs that do the trick. My hypothesis is that carbs have some kind of mood modulating effect that probably really does have something to do with addiction. Anyone know?
Read the Wheat Belly book/blog. Wheat has a similar effect as opiates.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by pp4me » Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:24 pm

Maddy wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:57 pm
What is it about carbs that cause that unique sort of craving for them? I can eat a sauteed asparagus omelet with cheese and feel perfectly full, but even so there's often an urge to top it off with a muffin or toast. When under stress, it's carbs that do the trick. My hypothesis is that carbs have some kind of mood modulating effect that probably really does have something to do with addiction. Anyone know?
I have read that the bacteria in your stomach have something to do with it, that there is even some kind of direct link they have to your brain, developed over thousands of years due to our symbiotic relationship with them. So if you have carb loving or sugar loving bacteria in your gut they are going to constantly be sending signals saying "more, more". If you don't feed them they will leave, eventually to be replaced by other bacteria more amenable to your diet.

My medical/scientific expertise extends not much farther than Youtube but it sounded plausible to me. I have noticed that cravings do eventually subside and even go away altogether so it sounds like a decent enough explanation unless somebody has a better one.

Update: I don't know whether this is theory or fact but I read one anecdotal observation involving a fecal transplant for some other reason than diet. If you don't know what a fecal transplant is you can use your own imagination but in the story I read the fecal donor was obese while the recipient was not and had never been. After the transplant the recipient unexpectedly started putting on weight as a side-effect.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by WiseOne » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:32 am

There are a couple of ways that carbohydrates mess with your sense of hunger.

One way is that they break down readily into more sugars than your body can easily handle, so the insulin/fat storage system kicks in. It goes like this: high blood sugar spike -> high insulin spike -> blood glucose is redirected into fat cells -> glucose falls to lower levels than you had before you ate -> you get hungry. It's a vicious cycle, and note that it has you in fat storage mode for the majority of your day, if you keep eating carbohydrate rich meals and snacks.

The other way is a phenomenon unique to grains, especially wheat, and fructose (a component of table sugar and almost all natural sweeteners). Grains & sugar mess directly with your leptin signaling, turning off the "I'm feeling full" signal and making you artificially hungry. When I first started the keto diet, which included completely eliminating grains, I remember waking up one morning with an incredible sense of hunger that literally made me jump out of bed and run into the kitchen to eat something. I've never experienced anything like that before or since. It felt like I was withdrawing from an addiction.

After a full year of "metabolism boot camp" with the keto diet, I've found I can handle some carbohydrates - nowhere near the 300 grams that the USDA urges, maybe on the order of 50-75 grams a day (which would be 75-100g for a typical guy who will eat about 1/3 to 1/2 more than I do). But, I have to eat them with a meal containing a good amount of fat & protein. If I try eating crackers or chips for example, I could eat the whole bag without ever getting that "I'm full" feeling.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by WiseOne » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:49 am

MangoMan wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:46 pm
Xylitol gum is good, but if you're at home, brushing with an ADA approved fluoride toothpaste is better.
Hey MangoMan....is fluoride toothpaste really necessary?

I stopped using fluoride toothpaste years ago as an N of 1 experiment, and also got a water filter (Doulton) that is effective against fluoride. No cavities since - and I had tons of them as a kid, WITH fluoridated water (but with plenty of sugary foods, candy etc).

I've heard claims that fluoride has negative neurodevelopmental effects, and impacts on learning & memory, and also acts as an endocrine disruptor. The literature is not so clear on those points, but you might be interested to know that these topics are currently under review by the National Toxicology Program:

https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/a ... index.html

https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/a ... index.html

It'll be interesting to see what they come out with. Meanwhile, given my family's rather extensive history of Alzheimer's dementia (it has hit every woman on both sides of the family who lived to age 80) I'm figuring that a few cavities, if they ever occur, would be a small price to pay if avoiding fluoride helps protect me from the family curse.

Would I be correct in assuming that fluoridated toothpaste is a significant source of fluoride, even if you don't swallow the stuff? Via transdermal absorption of a small molecule in a place where that could happen quite readily.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by pp4me » Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:45 pm

MangoMan wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:01 pm
Your experiment had too many variables and no control. As a child, your oral hygiene was undoubtedly inferior to present, and as you admitted, you ate lots of junk compared to low carb (main driver of decay) now.
Interesting comment about carbs and tooth decay. By "carbs" do you mean mostly sugar? I have heard it said for a long time that sugar was bad for your teeth but didn't know that meant all carbs. Do you mean bread, pasta, and rice too - or just the sugar?

I've been doing low carb with varying degrees of consistency for over 10 years now but the one thing I have been most strict about was avoiding sugar. The improvement in my dental health has been quite remarkable. I have a mouth full of restorative work in the form of filled cavities and fake teeth after root canals but ALL of that happened before my diet changes.

I also do intermittent fasting, eating within a window of no more than 4 hours though I sometimes cheat, and I think this is probably doing wonders for my teeth. Haven't been to the dentist for over a year because of COVID so I can't make that claim yet for sure but I suspect it's true.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:07 pm

pp4me wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:45 pm
MangoMan wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:01 pm
Your experiment had too many variables and no control. As a child, your oral hygiene was undoubtedly inferior to present, and as you admitted, you ate lots of junk compared to low carb (main driver of decay) now.
Interesting comment about carbs and tooth decay. By "carbs" do you mean mostly sugar? I have heard it said for a long time that sugar was bad for your teeth but didn't know that meant all carbs. Do you mean bread, pasta, and rice too - or just the sugar?

I've been doing low carb with varying degrees of consistency for over 10 years now but the one thing I have been most strict about was avoiding sugar. The improvement in my dental health has been quite remarkable. I have a mouth full of restorative work in the form of filled cavities and fake teeth after root canals but ALL of that happened before my diet changes.

I also do intermittent fasting, eating within a window of no more than 4 hours though I sometimes cheat, and I think this is probably doing wonders for my teeth. Haven't been to the dentist for over a year because of COVID so I can't make that claim yet for sure but I suspect it's true.
Sorry pp, looks like carbs start turning to sugars from saliva alone:

Saliva is rich in an enzyme called amylase. This enzyme is responsible for converting amylose and amylopectin in starch. Amylase coats and surrounds each starch molecule in your mouth. Then the enzyme deconstructs complex starch molecules through hydrolysis, or chemical breakdown, turning them into smaller, more manageable particles. The end result of this conversion step is maltose, maltotriose and dextrins, which are all considered simple types of sugar carbohydrates.

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/starch ... 11883.html
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by pp4me » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:34 pm

Cortopassi wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:07 pm
pp4me wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:45 pm
MangoMan wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:01 pm
Your experiment had too many variables and no control. As a child, your oral hygiene was undoubtedly inferior to present, and as you admitted, you ate lots of junk compared to low carb (main driver of decay) now.
Interesting comment about carbs and tooth decay. By "carbs" do you mean mostly sugar? I have heard it said for a long time that sugar was bad for your teeth but didn't know that meant all carbs. Do you mean bread, pasta, and rice too - or just the sugar?

I've been doing low carb with varying degrees of consistency for over 10 years now but the one thing I have been most strict about was avoiding sugar. The improvement in my dental health has been quite remarkable. I have a mouth full of restorative work in the form of filled cavities and fake teeth after root canals but ALL of that happened before my diet changes.

I also do intermittent fasting, eating within a window of no more than 4 hours though I sometimes cheat, and I think this is probably doing wonders for my teeth. Haven't been to the dentist for over a year because of COVID so I can't make that claim yet for sure but I suspect it's true.
Sorry pp, looks like carbs start turning to sugars from saliva alone:

Saliva is rich in an enzyme called amylase. This enzyme is responsible for converting amylose and amylopectin in starch. Amylase coats and surrounds each starch molecule in your mouth. Then the enzyme deconstructs complex starch molecules through hydrolysis, or chemical breakdown, turning them into smaller, more manageable particles. The end result of this conversion step is maltose, maltotriose and dextrins, which are all considered simple types of sugar carbohydrates.

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/starch ... 11883.html
No reason to be sorry. I've mostly been avoiding all carbs but sugar has been at the top of the list as the worst of the bunch.

I've heard of a study that just putting something sweet in your mouth can cause a temporary spike in insulin and it even doesn't matter if it was an artificial sweetener or if you spit it out without swallowing. Kind of comports with what I've read about gut bacteria and their brain signaling even though that seems to be a controversial idea. I can just see those bacteria getting a taste of the delicacies that are on their way, telling every other cell in the human body to get ready, because there is more of the precious stuff we crave on the way.

May turn out to be totally unscientific but thinking that way seems to have had a positive effect on my weight and my dental health at least.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:29 pm

pp--Yes, read some Jason Fung.

"Can just the sight of food raise insulin?
We’ve all heard of studies that show that simply tasting something sweet without ingesting it can raise insulin, but can simply seeing certain foods trigger the same process?

Sylvie

Yes. this is called the cephalic response. The sight or smell of food starts you salivating and insulin starts rising immediately even if you do not eat.

Dr. Jason Fung"

I started at least 2x a week 24 fasts, dinner to dinner, and have done intermittent daily for a long time (but not really because I would always have some minimal mid-morning snack, like a banana). I think the nothing, or near nothing fasts and IF is key (for me) otherwise, what I think is a little low calorie / keto snack likely still caused some level of insulin rise.

What I have found with my body (now at 184.5) is the 24 hour fasts and "true" I.F. has broken through a previous plateau that I never could get through for years, without any hunger. Again, I don't know what my goal is -- next I need to buy a glucose meter and see what my blood sugar is at various times.

But I truly believe for me it is breaking through the insulin resistance that is making this happen. And now it is mindless. It is actually easier to know I don't have to find or make something for lunch on those couple days. I just do something else.

I have had no loss of energy.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Mark Leavy » Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:17 am

MangoMan wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:07 am
To clarify, it's not just carbs with the insulin, but even very small amounts of protein or fat? So adding butter to morning black coffee would kill the fast?
Fasting purists will say yes, but it all depends on why you are fasting. Pure fat, with no carbs or protein shouldn't cause an insulin response. And no matter what you are doing, a few calories (say under 50) don't affect your fast in any real life way.

I don't claim to do intermittent fasting, but I do usually only eat one meal a day. And I do usually put some heavy cream in my coffee in the morning, which, while mostly fat does have a small amount of protein and carb in it.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by jalanlong » Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:56 am

SomeDude wrote:
Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:29 pm
Cortopassi wrote:
Thu Dec 17, 2020 2:11 pm
I have been 75% Keto for the past 4 months. This is the longest I have been able to do it, and it has not bothered me. I went from a consistent 197-199 range to a 189-191 range. Joints are excellent, clothes fit great. Big motivations!

How am I doing it this time? Because I am not strict. I allow myself stuff like candy and chips. But the big change is the amount. I just eat less. It hasn't been hard for me. Instead of a bag of M&Ms, I will eat 5-10, slowly, and I am satisfied. Instead of a couple Tbsp of peanut butter, more like a teaspoon, and I just eat it slower.

And I snack very, very little after dinner. That used to be hard, not anymore.
Very good results. Do you have a goal weight?

I have done very high-fat diets ala the Primal Blueprint which made me feel great. There were other benefits too, let's just call them a testosterone boost.

I've done all meat for about 2-3 weeks a couple years ago. I ate just burgers with cheese for lunch and a ribeye steak cooked in butter every night.

My energy dropped, I looked like ass, lost about 8 lbs in 3 weeks on it.

If I didn't have a wife and baby and busy worklife to content with, I'd go back to primal which is primarily animal fats and protein for about 90% of calories and veggies/berries for the other 10%, zero grains.
What was the difference in the diets besides the 10% berries and grains? It wouldn’t seem like that 10% could alone be the difference in how you felt but I am no expert on it for sure.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:45 am

Mark Leavy wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:17 am
MangoMan wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:07 am
To clarify, it's not just carbs with the insulin, but even very small amounts of protein or fat? So adding butter to morning black coffee would kill the fast?
Fasting purists will say yes, but it all depends on why you are fasting. Pure fat, with no carbs or protein shouldn't cause an insulin response. And no matter what you are doing, a few calories (say under 50) don't affect your fast in any real life way.

I don't claim to do intermittent fasting, but I do usually only eat one meal a day. And I do usually put some heavy cream in my coffee in the morning, which, while mostly fat does have a small amount of protein and carb in it.
I do the same. Cream in coffee. Fung seems to think similarly, that at such a low calorie amount and mostly fat, it doesn't break the fast.

I have no scientific way to prove this though. All I can do is look at and feel the results.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by pp4me » Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:41 pm

I was in the habit of putting heavy cream in my morning coffee when I first started with IF. When I got to a point where my weight loss stalled I switched to drinking my coffee black and the weight loss began again. I believe I heard Dr. Ken Berry saying in one of his Youtube videos that he had the same experience which is why I did it.

I do miss the cream however. Never used sugar but always used cream before - even that powdered crap which was what they had for free at work.

My Dad always put half and half plus two spoons of sugar in his coffee and he didn't just drink it in the morning. He lived to be 92 but I tend to believe he would have lived longer and been more healthy if he had just given up that one habit.
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:06 pm

FYI, I am a data centric person, esp. when it comes to my health, here is a graph of my weight for the past 8 years. For the recent drop -- the main difference from other attempts is the adding of twice a week 24 hour fasts. And true intermittent fasting otherwise (except for cream in coffee)

I have no goal weight, I feel fine here. It is just good to see it can be done without hunger and without cravings and I wish doctors would preach this more. Every 5lbs I kind of go, let's try for another 5, but soon my wife may think I have a problem!

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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by Cortopassi » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:07 pm

pp4me wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:41 pm
I do miss the cream however.
I drink coffee...for the cream...! Hard time drinking it black, strangely enough, unless it is a really strong shot of espresso. But I don't ever use sugar.
pp4me
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Re: Optimal Diet

Post by pp4me » Sun Apr 11, 2021 5:34 pm

Cortopassi wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:07 pm
pp4me wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:41 pm
I do miss the cream however.
I drink coffee...for the cream...! Hard time drinking it black, strangely enough, unless it is a really strong shot of espresso. But I don't ever use sugar.
I used to love the flavored creamers so it was hard to give that up.

I dislike the taste of black coffee so much I just tried giving it up altogether for almost 2 weeks, during which time I discovered I was a caffeine addict. My body didn't like it at all and when I finally drank a cup it was very thankful. Felt like I had a new lease on life.
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