Comment by mattlong | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mattlong | Hacker News Reader

I don't think I would consider this hacking your metabolism. In fact, as the author mentions, his metabolism actually seems to have "slowed down" since he feels fatigued more often than before. For a completely no-carb diet, this should be expected. Cutting out carbohydrates forces your body to primarily convert stored fat for its fuel instead, which is a slower and less efficient source of energy.

IMHO, practice moderation in all things, including moderation. Do I need to cut out ALL carbs? Should I really consume NO fruit? I can NEVER enjoy a good beer? Those rules would simply never be sustainable for me.

I generally stick to what I would call a healthy diet: mostly fruits and vegetables, eggs, whole wheat bread/pasta, small portions of meat (usually fish) with most dinners and some lunches. At the same time, I don't feel at all guilty about grabbing a couple beers or ordering the wings if I'm out to dinner or happy hour with friends. This system has been working for me because I also exercise regularly: alternating between jogging and hitting the gym most days of the week. Yes, it clearly took a bit of discipline to get into these habits. But now it's just become a lifestyle I find easy and enjoyable to maintain. What hacker doesn't appreciate a good challenge with such immediate and important results as your good health?

You might be interested in the "No S" diet. [1]

  No Snacks
  No Sweets
  No Seconds
  Save, Sometimes, On S-Days

  (S-Days are Saturday, Sunday, or other days that are
  special to you for family/cultural/religious reasons)

[1] http://nosdiet.com/

Your practices sound very similar to LeanGains, minus the Intermittent Fasting. LeanGains worked for me, and I love it, because it's really just science (free!) applied to your lifestyle, rather than a cool trend or product designed to sell.

In addition to moderation, balance is important. Having a healthy balance between fat/proteins/carbs/nutrients as well as balance between life/work/exercise. Being off-balance is usually unsustainable in the long term.

For example: Going no-carb will lose weight up front, but the body requires sugars in some form -- much of the weight will come right back once returning to a balanced diet with carbs. However, the body can be trained to crave less carbs, and weightloss with a low-carb diet is sustainable for a lifetime.

Fats are a slower source of energy, but not less efficient. At 9 calories per gram vs 4 for carbs, it's no wonder that our bodies choose to store fat as a fuel reserve. Yes, carbs are also stored, but only a very small amount that can be diminished quickly.

Also, there is a difference between your goals and the goals of the OP. He clearly wants to lose weight while you sound content with maintaining. He could certainly transition to a less strict diet once his goals are met.

Not having any fruits is quite puzzling indeed.

There are no fruits which dont have a nutritional equivalent vegetable, minus the sugar and taste.

For e.g. 3/4 th cup of orange juice and half a cup of red peppers have the same amount of vitamin c

Aren't peppers still fruits?

I'm not sure, but the difference in sugar is the main thing (sugar raises insulin which signals cells to store fat, very roughly speaking)

I know there is a separate culinary definition of what a fruit is that I don't really understand. Like under some definitions a tomato is a vegetable. Maybe he is working off that but botanically a pepper is a fruit. His point would probably stood better if he used spinach as an example of a vitamin C rich green.

Either way, these fad diets always scare me. I wouldn't touch anything that draws simple, arbitrary, counter-intuitive lines on what foods you can and can't have. The body is good at knowing what it needs and what it doesn't. Support it with a little bit of knowledge and self-discipline and it will serve you well. I guess a well balanced diet is old fashioned and people just want to try and cheat the system somehow.

Well, i was going more for the "kitchen" definition of fruits which in general is sweet and juicy.

Basically the difference is sugar - you dont need bananas and oranges and mangoes for your vitamins.

In the context of the OP, I think that was meant by "green"

Fruits have sugar. Sugar turns into carbs.

... what?

Sugars are a type of carbohydrate.

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