On my Facebook page, I'm getting LOADS of interest in the LCHF life - what is it and how it works. If you came here from that post, the next little bit is going to be a repeat before I get into the nitty gritty of what you're probably looking for.
First off, I'm not an LCHF expert by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I'm still learning and researching this way of life and every day, I learn more and find new things to investigate. It's a process and I strongly encourage you to gather your own information to help answer your questions. The information is out there, you just have to find it. However, I am willing to help you find it as I share the teensy bit of knowledge I've gained. Pay attention to the title of this post. This is what I know. This is what I have learned in my research. If you know more, great. Please share it. If you found something different from what I know, great. Please share it. The wonderful thing about learning is that there is always more. And I want to soak up as much as I can.
Secondly, I'm not a doctor. I can't tell you this is a medically sound way of living for you because I'm not a doctor. I can, however, tell you about the things I've learned behind the science of this diet and how it works. I can link you to medical research studies and blogs written by nutritionists and encourage you to talk to your own doctor.
With all of that said, here is a little bit of what I've learned about LCHF. This post does not, by any stretch of the imagination, encompass the entirety of this lifestyle. It is merely a starting point. A place for you to jump forward in your own research journey.
What is LCHF?
I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out where to start with this thing in answering questions, so I guess I'll just start at the beginning. LCHF stands for Low Carb High Fat. It's not a new thing - it's been around for a little over a hundred years. Originally, it was developed to help people, mostly kids, with epilepsy. The eating plan evolved to help others with different sorts of medical issues when doctors and scientists realized how it was helping their patients in areas they weren't specifically treating. For a while there, it was touted as the best thing to replace sliced bread. Something happened over the decades and people became weird about such a simple solution to medical issues. Pills and prescriptions became the preferred method of fixing what was wrong with us. And suddenly, fat was bad. LCHF eating was overlooked as a fad diet or mocked because someone decided eating fat is equivalent to ingesting cancer. Occasionally, the diet comes back in popularity with a new name and a few tweaks, but, ultimately, it's the same. Your diet consists of eating foods low in carbs (really low in carbs), and high in fat. You control your protein intake and your sugar intake is pretty much null. It's a way of life that is, truly, sustainable so it's not a fad diet. It's not really a diet at all, because, once you've become invested in it, it really is a way of life.
Okay, so what is it, really?
LCHF is how you modify your diet to stop using the food you're eating as your only source of fuel and start using the fuel you already have stored for energy (AKA the fat you want to melt off your thighs and hips). There's a whole bunch of science and chemistry involved in food digestion and how what passes our lips ultimately lands on our hips. I won't bore you with the details because, unless you're a science geek like I am, you won't be interested in it anyway. Here's what you need to know: You eat fat to burn fat.
Cool, right?
Still don't understand? Go here. This doctor does a better job of explaining it. He's pretty much a top guru for the lifestyle.
Pay Attention To This Part:
Now comes the warning part because most people see they can eat low carb, high fat to lose weight and go a little crazy. I know I did. You should be ready for these warnings because, if your a lifetime dieter like I am, you've heard them before. In fact, they're pretty much the basis of any diet, way of life, eating plan, or whatever you want to call it. Calories in minus calories out equals weight loss. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than what you expend in energy. Low carb high fat does not mean you can go hog wild (oh, I am a punny one). You can't eat as much bacon and butter as you can handle in a day and expect the pounds to melt off. You can't sit on your couch and think that, because you haven't had a gram of sugar or a spot of starch in your diet, your ass is going to magically lose inches.
You HAVE to monitor your calories.
You HAVE to monitor your macros.
You HAVE to exercise.
But, I have special circumstances! My body is different than yours!
No, actually, it isn't. Your body works the same way mine does when it comes to this. Every body does. Take a look at this article, it's filled with the science of thermodynamics. Calories in and calories out equals weight loss. Yes, some people struggle a little more than others because there is more to the science of weight loss (and the article addresses that - put your excuses aside and read it to understand it), but, ultimately in the end, bottom line - calories in vs calories out equals weight loss.
Monitor your calories. Monitor your macros. Exercise.
If you aren't losing weight it's probably one of the following reasons: You're eating more than you think you are. You aren't exercising enough to burn off the excess calories.
When you start monitoring what passes your lips on its way to your thighs, you'll be surprised at what you discover.
Macros? WTF?
I've mentioned macros a couple of times and if you aren't familiar with the term, you might be wondering what magic I speak of.
Macros is a short way of saying macronutrients. There are three of them and they are the fundamental keys that your body relies on to function.
Protein
Fat
Carbohydrates
While looking for a better and easier way to explain this to you all, I found this blog post that does a pretty awesome job of saying what I wanted to convey about the keto lifestyle. (Keto is another name for LCHF). She also has some pretty cool links on the sidebar that will take you to other places with more really great information on LCHF. Go here to check it out.
Clear as mud?
Did you click the links? Did you read to understand and not just get that part over with to get to the good stuff? Go back and read them again - that was the good stuff. Go back again and click through the links they supplied. Like I said in the beginning, there is LOADS of information out there, you just have to look for it. More than that, you have to be willing to look for it. If you're not willing to learn for yourself, I can't teach you.
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