Carrying the Message

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(Shantanu) #35

IMy contribution:

  1. Got my Mom started on this last year. She’s 73, and 6 months in, she says she’s feeling the best she has every felt in decades. She was vegetarian but started eating chicken for keto and hasn’t looked back since.
  2. I refrain from talking too much about keto in meal settings but the sight of me pouring melted butter on a fatty steak :joy: is too much for someone or the other on the dinner table to ignore. I usually point them to The Magic Pill as well to the Dudes and Diet Doctor (most people want to skip the science and want to know what to eat).
  3. After the 25th reunion of my engineering class last November, a number of my college batch mates have started on keto and have reported very good results.
  4. Still working on the wife…she too has stopped eating sugar, most grains and has upped the level of fat.

Regardless of who I speak with about keto, I always emphasize that its important to determine what works for the individual and I rarely debate anyone peddling junk science like balanced diet, CICO, 6 meals a day, etc. etc. People tend to go bananas at the thought of eating fat and its a waste of breath debating them.

(Mark Rhodes) #36

And I respond “but you already do that don’t you?”
‘What?’
“Give up foods”
‘Er’
“Yeah, you avoid bacon and burgers, good lamb chops, salami all because of the fat content…you ALREADY limit foods you LOVED at one time. This is the same thing with different foods”

(Shantanu) #37

Touche’

#38

Haha - NICE reply! I’ll be sure to use that one next time!

(Diane) #39

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

(Rob) #40

Like many of us, I am trying to evangelize the keto WoE. Yesterday I read through this old thread and had to agree with the change in how we see the world post keto…

One funny thing is that I keep bumping into people I know, typically younger and or healthier, who have been doing it for a year or longer but I never knew. So there I am going on about it after they mention my weight loss, when they start laughing and saying something like “I can’t believe you are now telling me…” remembering my trips to Krispy Kreme and bringing dozen boxes to work or whatever. That said, I’ve done more research than them typically and they have more experience than me so there are still useful discussions to be had.

As to non-Ketoers…

  1. I’ve got my Mum and Dad to go LCHF (about 60-80g carbs vs. 150-200g). Dad has reversed his T2. Mum now taunts me with pictures of keto meals she can make in the UK that I can’t do in the US! :frowning_face:
  2. I have one Aunt who is now more carb conscious (already fairly LC) but trying to pass it on to her T2 friends. We have also tried to optimize her supplements e.g. adding D3/K2, Mag, etc.
  3. Am in negotiations with another Aunt who seems to be heading down the dementia/AD route to consider her Keto options for prevention (this will be hard since she is fat-phobic)
  4. Got a friend who has just got through serious cancer treatment (chemo/radiation) to go keto for prevention/recovery purposes
  5. Analyzed a few friends’ diets to offer up a keto perspective on what they eat/do - we’ll see how that goes…

Anyway, it feels good to pay it forward.

(Rob) #42

Nice one @marklifestyle. This topic got featured on the 2KD episode #108. Quite rightly too. Great topic :smiley:

(Mark Rhodes) #43

I just started listening. Now I think I’ll wait till tonight and listen together with the wife. I look forward to seeing her face when she hears it’s ME! (fanboy gush) this week!

(Rob) #44

it’s at 15:19

(Karen) #45

Amen! And fiddle those dudes lose so quickly…:hushed:

K

#46

I used to think that you had to be really smart and on the ball to be a doctor. Let’s just say that my experience has taught me that while many are very bright, an awful lot of really dense people make it, too.

(Janet) #47

I have been blabbing about VLC/Keto for about 7 years to everyone and anyone who will listen, store clerks, gym friends, librarian, other cancer survivors. I made personal cards using a business card template on computer and Avery card paper. Front is only name and email, back is a few versions of favorite websites and book, Why We Get Fat. Appendix has Dr. Westman’s diet which is what I used. But that requires them to do some work.
Now, Diet Doctor has a triple fold, double sided brochure anyone can print out. This is a great introduction to why LCHF works and the diet itself. Have printed out a few copies to keep with me whenever diet comes up.
Now it is even easier to “Carry the Message”

(Amy ) #48

Mark - loved your share and count 2 more in on the Wisconsin Keto Band Wagon! A girlfriend of mine shared with me on January 16th and I made the transition that day. My husband has joined me and we’ve never felt better. I have had 2 girlfriends tell me they want to know what I’ve done and are willing to try. My husband has a buddy at work that keeps asking questions. So the word is spreading! I also loved the suggestion from the 2Dudes to share with two friends. IT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

(Jeannie Oliver) #49

Lovin’ this thread! I was inspired to add my two cents after a log conversation with a librarian when I checked out Mark Sisson’s Keto Reset Diet this evening. She commented that she has heard good things about it and feels she needs to learn more. I answered a few of her questions, swapped personal stories, and discussed the best resources to get started. I hope I helped her!

My dear daughter (who is also a physician) handed me her copy of The Wahls Protocol as well as The Obesity Code when I visited over the holidays. She was turned on to keto through a Facebook group for women physicians, and has been using this WOE to lose weight and to self-treat for persistent inflammatory bowel disease. She recommended it for me to heal my non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I had bought her a couple of good keto cookbooks for Christmas because they were on her Amazon wish list, and I spent the rest of my visit trying out some of the recipes.

I date my own keto journey beginning January 2. Because I was a little bit chicken hearted about giving up the carbs, I began with 18-hour fasts and 50 g of carb. That was so easy, right away I cut the carbs to 20 g.

I don’t own scales, but I’ve gained and lost so many times I can pretty well judge my weight based on which jeans are fitting me this week. (A long marriage and divorce from a personal trainer left me with an aversion to scales and body fat measurements.) I estimate that I’ve lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks–going from 185 to 165.

To get to the point, since going keto I have brought on board three friends who have long struggled with weight and health problems.

  1. Tara, who is exactly 60 inches tall, weighed over 200 pounds, and who suffered emotionally from being the only fat person in her family. I work with Tara and so we see each other about three days a week. She’s my daily support system, sending me links to good videos and blogs and swapping recipes and ideas.
  2. Marcy, who lost over 100 pounds last year with CICO and working out like crazy every day. Now she has gained back about 40 pounds. Marcy has brought her significant other on board, and she is cooking a keto meal and sharing with her book club tomorrow night.
  3. Perhaps most importantly, my friend Kim, who listened with half an ear to us discussing keto over a card game. Kim was scheduled for carpal tunnel surgery a couple of weeks ago, but it was called off when her pre-op work up diagnosed her with full blown diabetes. The dear woman had ignored all the early warning signs, but faced with the hard facts she right away came to me for advice, hoping she can avoid becoming insulin-dependent. She’s found a good doc who is supporting her decision to try LCHF to control her glucose. In addition, her husband and live-in mother-in-law are 100 percent on board with eating the keto way as well.

I’m NEARLY as happy with the results my friends are experiencing as I am with my own. Like many on this thread, I try to refrain from “over selling” keto–when you start listing all the benefits, it can sound like you’re selling snake oil. My heart goes out to strangers I see at the grocery store, the book store, and the pharmacy who appear to be unhealthy and unhappy with their bodies.

#50

I’ve been very careful how I bring up my new “diet” but it’s come up several times when eating around others. Both times there were people who knew nothing about it and a “know-it-all” who had strong opinions about false statements about keto.

The first was a friend who is notorious for knowing everything about everything who stated “oh yeah I know someone who’s list 40lbs doing that but you got to be careful it’s bad for the kidneys… Also she eats bacon like every day! That’s terrible for you!”

I’ll be honest, I’m ashamed but I don’t argue with her…I wanted to have a good evening with friends I rarely see and didn’t have it in me.

The second time was another friends’ grandmother who is in great shape and is a pistol! She’s in her mid 70’s in great form and still goes out to shovel, climbs the stairs etc. She knew several people on keto but also had some false ideas like it’s not good long term and that I probably wasn’t getting enough protein (?).

I had just met the woman so I really didn’t feel comfortable arguing with her, but I did get a chance to explain the details of the health benefits of the diet to my friend later, at her request, so while she didn’t seem interested in taking it up herself, at least she got some good info.

(Mark Rhodes) #51

Oh we all know those people!

“Oh, you do ATKINS, I know all about ATKINS”
Well the protocols are similar to the Atkins Induction phase, except the protein is much more moderate and the fat is only to satiety.
“Right, you do ATKINS. ATKINS doesn’t work”
Dr. Atkins was close to figuring it out. Follow Atkins but drop the protein and replace with more fat.
“No, Atkins doesn’t work”

Okay then, glad we had this little chat.

(Todd Allen) #52

The Atkins diet exploded with tremendous popularity. I doubt that would have happened if people weren’t having success with it. There was also a strong movement to demonize the Atkins diet which I remember well because it prompted me to move in the opposite direction from Atkins which in hindsight accelerated the processes making me eventually need to go keto. I think people’s negative impression of Atkins is more due to the demonization efforts than any shortcomings of the diet.

I’ve looked at what Dr. Atkins promoted. The biggest difference is he didn’t advise limiting protein or calories suggesting that for most people as their appetites normalize they naturally seek an appropriate level. He advised significant intake of low carb veggies which if followed would also limit any tendency to overeat protein or total calories. I believe he was mostly right although the currently common keto practice of counting protein grams might be helpful when one is in transition to a normalized appetite.

(Liz ) #53

Yes, exactly, it’s just like they are trying to do to Keto today. So frustrating. I remember they spread rumors he died of a heart attack from eating like he did! I was so mad. I lost 60 pounds on Atkins induction in 2003 and never regained all of it. He explained fat fasts and which veggies to eat. He explained blood sugars but I don’t remember learning about insulin levels. I don’t think I ate too much protein on it but I can’t remember.

That diet got me off sugar (my demon) for years. It stopped working for me for weight loss when I didn’t know how to get past the stall that eventually happened, that eventually always happens (despite knowing about fat fasts!!). Then, when I was desperate, a dietitian encouraged me to “eat a more balanced diet” so I went Paleo and added carbs back in through honey, fruits, sweet potatoes, yay! Permission to carb up the “healthy” way! Ugh, my demon was back. Luckily I stumbled across an article and realized Keto was basically Atkins Induction and knew I could do it again.

Now I’m in a Keto stall but I know what to do about it thanks to Richard and Dr Fung! KCKO

(Mark Rhodes) #54

Liz, My last Dexascan revealed a stall. That was February. Since then I tightened down my carbs, especially nuts. Added 3 weeks solid feasting as I had come into that scan with 6 5 day day fasts over two months with only .6lb fat loss (@15.7% BF). After the three weeks I went 20:4 M-F and this week I am on day 3 of a black coffee and water EF. I feel as if I am losing fat this time. Either that or the glycogen was hiding in my stomach and sidewall fat as I can see muscle striation on my obliques.
My wife on the other hand started Maria’s 30 day Keto Cleanse program and she too has lost about 8 pounds after the holiday stall.

My current take away? Mix it up.

Keto- for the win!

(Liz ) #55

Very interesting, thanks! I’m not out of things to try yet. I did weekly 46-70 hr fasts through Jan/Feb, I’m taking a break from that in March, instead I’m doing 20/4 or 18/6 randomly daily. Also in my first week of lower protein, just to see. Will try this & if no results in a month I’ll eliminate dairy. If nothing there I’ll do longer EFs. If no go there, stricter water fasts. Lots of options and a lifetime to work it all out :smile: