Oh dear. This question seems to always come up, every once in a while, like the living dead who refuse to stay in their grave. I don't know why it won't just stay dead. It's probably because low carb advocates recycle this one, every so often, and people who are new to these diets see it for the first time and then come to me with it. Hopefully, after this post - "God grant it lie still".
Low carb advocates have a "thing" about breakfast because most breakfast foods are produced by companies like Kellogg’s, who they have deemed to be the devil incarnate. Don't fall for it. They just want Kellogg's revenue for themselves.
There have been numerous studies done on different meal timings and eating early has consistently been shown to be anti obesogenic. In fact, the fattest people in the world are the ones who have the least hunger in the morning. This is why lack of morning hunger is usually a sign of active obesity. Contrary to popular belief, obese people are oftentimes the least hungry people over all so it is not surprising that they aren't hungry in the mornings.
The exact mechanism and cause for this is not well understood, but circadian rhythms and hormone homeostasis are involved. It seems like the more body fat you acquire, the less hunger in the mornings. Insulin function/Dawn Phenomenon seems to be implicated in this, but again, it is not well understood precisely how. It seems like more energy is stored with later eating than earlier eating and this energy allotment appears to be different between the overweight/obese and the lean/healthy. So we won't make assumptions on the exact cause since there are no definitive answers. This is why I get a kick out of people adamantly advising on breakfast or not.
The only thing we know for sure is that, regardless of cause, force feeding yourself in the morning is not going to magically make you thinner because your hormonal profile will remain the same. For this reason, on this blog, we encourage you to have breakfast if you are hungry in the mornings. This can be a very good sign. But if you aren't hungry in the mornings, then skip breakfast and have your first meal later. It doesn't pretty much matter. The only thing that matters is if you can regain and sustain proper blood glucose regulation, not if you can show off how late you can eat.
2. There are many ways of making your diet work. You can always try different hacks to get results.
When a weight loss coach, counselor, advisor, whoever, has to come up with a "hack", then you know for certain that their diet, and everything else they are trying to sell, is a farce. So let me help out.
There are no weight loss hacks. Actually I take that back. There is one. Stop drinking any liquids and take a laxative and you will be a few pounds lighter in a couple of days. Athletes do this all the time to make weight requirements. Teenage girls do this all the time to fit into their prom dresses. Just keep in mind that this is dangerous and absolutely not recommended nor advised on this blog. But technically, that is the only hack for weight loss known to work.
All hacks are just as unhealthy and dumb as that one, but worse - They are ineffective.
There are no hacks for treating overweight/obesity. None. Not even liposuction, much to my husband's dismay. True overweight/obesity treatments are based on long term lifestyle changes that require consistent adherence and application. Anyone that is trying to "sell" you a hack, is a quack.
3. Carbohydrates are the preferred energy for the body.
False.
The body runs mostly on fatty acids. It is a misconception that carbs are the "preferred fuel" for the body.
The origins of this misinformation is from the fact that the body makes its own glucose when it needs it for the specific cells that must use glucose for energy. People who learn this fact assume that because the body makes glucose then it must be because it prefers glucose. If not, then why would it go out of its way to make it itself? But it doesn't prefer it. It simply needs it. It must keep a steady and highly regulated amount of glucose in the blood stream in order to function properly.
The only thing that prefers carbs is the tongue, not the body. And the only reason the tongue prefers carbs is because carbs have been sweetened and made into fun foods. Believe me, the tongue does not prefer plain boiled potatoes. It prefers Doritos or Debbie Snacks. So it's not the carbs per say, it's the junk that is preferred.
4. If your loved one has cancer, you should make them eat "keto" in order for them to be cured.
First, "keto" is not a cure for cancer. As of this post, there is no cure for cancer.
Second, you can't force someone to follow a diet they don't want to. "Keto" and low carb diets in general, when followed correctly, are elimination protocols. The person who tells you they aren't is a chaffle eating liar. Elimination means the person has to be willing to give up the foods they are accustomed to. Sometimes the food items that have to be given up are staples of culture, tradition, religion, whatever. They have to be eliminated regardless, if the person wants to follow the diet properly and achieve results.
This can be a difficult decision for anyone but especially for someone who is already having health issues. They might not want to be bogged down with an entirely new way of eating and having to give up their favorite foods, which might be the only thing they find stability in at this time in their life. For this reason, don't force people. People are allowed to follow whatever diet they want.
"Keto" and low carb diets are only for people who are ready and committed to following them. The worse thing you can do is mix a Standard American Diet (SAD) full of crackers, breads, pastas and sweets with a low carb/"keto" diet. That is usually what occurs when the person is not committed to following the diet and is only following it to get someone off their back.
5. You can still follow "keto" if you aren't a big meat eater and are also allergic to nuts and dairy.
If you can't eat nuts and you can't eat dairy and you refuse to eat meat, then what else is left? Air? You just eliminated all of the foods that comprise a very low carb diet. You can absolutely salvage the diet without the nuts and diary but you can't salvage it without meat as that's the center of the diet itself.
A situation like this, requires for you to find another diet all together. One that you can follow. I don't know why people like to put themselves into these predicaments. It's like me saying that I am allergic to all plant foods and find algae disgusting but I would like to follow a vegan diet. It's not happening.
I hate to say this but this type of statement makes me doubt that the person making it is serious about resolving their health. It just seems like a person who wants to be a part of whatever fad is going on at the moment and follow the crowd mindlessly. A person who is serious about their health, wouldn't even bother following "keto" or low carb since they are aware of their limitations. Instead of asking for a nonexistent resolution, they would have been seriously looking for an alternative.
6. Coffee is "good for you" and you should drink it with butter.
Coffee and everything else on earth is only good for you until it turns bad. This is why we don't make claims that anything is definitively good or bad except for one: sugar. Sugar is always bad. We can say that coffee is not necessarily "good for you". It is just not been shown to cause any adverse health effects in the majority of people.
Studies on the effects of coffee have had mixed results. We do know that black coffee is better than orange juice, but so is plain tea. So basically anything, including muddy rain water, is better than orange juice at this juncture. Coffee can be the same as orange juice if it is loaded with added sugar and/or fat, so we know that coffee is only as benign as what goes in it.
Some people are exceptionally sensitive to the caffeine in coffee. In fact, I wouldn't advise caffeinated coffee to anyone who has metabolic syndrome/diabetes. You don't want caffeine interfering further with your blood glucose regulation. If you want to drink coffee, drink decaf and add no sweeteners to it of any kind. Limit the amount of cream you use by keeping to your daily fat macros.
Do not make "Bulletproof Coffees" because they aren't bulletproof and they certainly aren't obesity proof.
Some people prefer butter in their coffee to cream. To each his own. There is no requirement to use butter or cream or anything in your coffee. What shouldn't be in your coffee is sugar or artificial sweeteners of any kind.
Also remember to not drink gallons of coffee a day. Coffee should be reserved for your eating window and should never be had during fasting, even if you only drink it black.
The best way to stop the snacking habit is to simply not taste anything during your fasting time. Give the tongue a break. Remember it's connected to your brain. Please allow your brain to not sense anything coming in for some period of time. Limit your coffee to two cups a day and by cups, I mean literal, measured cups. Not the coffee cup you bought on eBay that is as tall as your forearm. A cup = 8 fluid ounces.
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