Fiber and GI health

[Batman]

I did a carnivore diet for 3 months as an experiment (mostly steak, ground beef, omelettes). I bet if you asked anyone, especially a dietician, they'd say it gave me constipation right? Nope, the opposite: it removed all bloating, gas, inflammation, and my bowel movements were small, quick, and had zero straining. Best of all, I seemed to lose all the subcutaneous fat around my torso that I've been plagued with for 15+ years.

I have tried all sorts of different fiber. Insoluble fiber from leafy greens seem fine, albeit unnecessary, they make my bowel movements longer and bulker, why is that a good thing again? Granted, soluble fiber from oats and fruits seems do seem to improve my gut health, but that's really the only form of fiber I can tolerate. Any other form of fiber, particularly from beans, grains/wheat/malt, or even beer, gives me tons of gas, bloating, and consipation. Even more strangely, spicey foods give me constipation.

Contrary to what EVERY SINGLE PERSON on earth tells you, low/no fiber does not necessarily cause constipation and in fact can do the opposite. It may depend on your genetics/gut flora of course...but what does this mean? Cearly no one-size-fits-all approach with anything diet related, including fiber.

The obsession with fiber appears to have some evidence to the contrary.

While probiotics/prebiotics, gut flora, and the brain-gut axis as a whole is undoubtedly important, I'm not at all convinced anyone knows what the hell they're talking about and I'm pretty sure it's all BS.

Check out this video for a great lecture on it. Quite revealing. It's truly amazing how in the 2020s we still don't fully understand diet at all. Not saying this guy is 100% right, but just watch it, there are some really interesting data here.





On another note: has anyone else noticed leftists are obsessed with fiber and bowel movements?

 

[Vas Incrementum]

The very fact that the Davos/WEF/UN spin doctors are trying their best to convince us to abstain from eating meat, ought to be enough to convince us that it's good for us.

Well done on losing your belly fat, but did you know that subcutaneous fat isn't considered harmful, only aesthetically displeasing. It's visceral fat that is harmful and more so because it's often well hidden, as the name suggests,deep in and around our muscles and organs. Even slim people with no discernible gut, can have a lot of visceral fat. I only learnt about this recently from Dr Sean O' Malley. It certainly got my attention.

 

[Batman]

Yeah, I know about visceral fat, that the fat that surrounds the organs right? I know that skinny people can be "metabolically" unhealthy and even if they're not visibly "skinnyfat" they might have lots of visceral fat. Would be worth doing some scans to find out if you have a lot.

 

[Unending Powerhouse Match]

Yeah, I know about visceral fat, that the fat that surrounds the organs right? I know that skinny people can be "metabolically" unhealthy and even if they're not visibly "skinnyfat" they might have lots of visceral fat. Would be worth doing some scans to find out if you have a lot.

I've always just thought that belly fat = visceral fat.

 

[Batman]

I've always just thought that belly fat = visceral fat.

Belly fat is subcutaneous, basically the "jiggly" fat that you can pinch.

 

[Rax Moscow]

It may depend on your genetics/gut flora of course...but what does this mean? Cearly no one-size-fits-all approach with anything diet related, including fiber.

The people who I think have the best ideas about diet say that that your diet should be individual, based on your genetics. As I recall, Dr Chris Kresser, who I started following back on the old forum, is big into that theory.

It makes sense, because our bodies react to foods differently. I can eat the same foods as another person, and only one of us will develop diabetes. I sometimes eat more at dinner than my obese friend, and wonder how he gained all that weight. I had some coffee with 2 buddies this morning--it sent me straight to the bathroom as it does every time. They were unaffected.

On another note: has anyone else noticed leftists are obsessed with fiber and bowel movements?

I think it's more to do with their general state of lethargy, passive white collar type work, and lack of exercise which leads to a lot of problems with digestion, health, weight and things like "Irritable Bowel Syndrome."

A leftist is more likely to be highly educated (sitting in a classroom all day for several years longer than typical) or having a passive job in the service or government sector and likely plays a lot of vidya and watches pornography and has overall poor health. I have a leftist friend who is young and in decent shape (slightly overweight) but with a severe case of "IBS"

What were some drawbacks of the carnivore diet? What are you doing now after the trial period? Do you think an omnivore diet with daily meat/protein servings is better (I'm suspicious of all these narrowly defined diets) ? How much weight did you lose, or was it more asthetic (I have the same stubborn belly fat).

 

[Batman]

What were some drawbacks of the carnivore diet? What are you doing now after the trial period? Do you think an omnivore diet with daily meat/protein servings is better (I'm suspicious of all these narrowly defined diets) ? How much weight did you lose, or was it more asthetic (I have the same stubborn belly fat).

The main drawback is that it's not fun, and not sustainable for most people. The other issue is similar to keto, these very low carb diets lead to more "stable" energy levels which I actually don't like. I'd rather have some peaks and valleys, for instance loading up on an oats/fruits/protein before the gym, or eating a heavy, moderate carb meal in the evening (sometimes I'll even eat a few bowls of healthy cereal 1-2 hrs before bed) which helps me wind down and get to sleep. With carvivore or keto your energy levels are more flat and it's not great for lifting weights.

Beyond that, it's boring. I like steak and eggs but they get old fast. Sometimes I wanna wind down, watch a movie and munch on some snacks (Boulder Canyon chips and a greek yogurt french onion dip for instance) but on carnivore or even keto your "snacking" options are extremely limited.

I lost about 20 lbs over the course of 6 months and if i remember correctly the first 3 months I mostly just did keto-OMAD, then did carnivore the last 3. I did not weight train at all during that time (during Covid, no gyms open) except for nature jogs and some stuff like planks, pushups, stretches, etc. So, I did end up losing some muscle, but not as much as you'd think especially from not training. The weight I lost was definitely mostly fat, and while you cannot spot-target fat loss I did seem to lose a substantial amount of fat around my torso region.

I gradually returned to a more normal diet and kept jogging and started doing weight training again. I was actually in the best shape of my life 1 year after doing carnivore because I started from relatively low bodyfat (and presumably good metabolic health). I slowly gained about 15 lbs and most of that was lean mass, very little fat. Either way, I was pretty ripped, my arms were quite vascular, had good pecs that didn't look like preteen breasts, and I was close to having a 6pack, at best it was more like a 4pack though.

Not sure if I'll go back to it. I am also losing interest in fasting and even IM fasting because it doesn't seem sustainable and I eventually end up over eating once I lose the weight because I end up getting quite hungry for several days or weeks at a time.

I am a firm believer in simplifying diet. Don't track macros or even calories, just do "intuitive eating" and avoid processed junk. Eat whatever makes you feel good after and just try not to overindulge. Discipline is really the key here, you just need to be mindful of what you eat, and how much. You can do a body recomp which is basically gaining muscle with very minimal fat (possibly even losing fat but it takes a LONG time. It takes patience, consistency, and tremendous discipline, but I'm a firm believer in it, as that's essentially what i WAS doing after carnivore and like I said, I was in the best shape of my life.

 

[bubs]

I'm going to give the carnivore diet a try for 30 days here in January. I have developed ostero arthritis over last 15 years and also recently been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis/potentially Crohn's. So looking to see if it can help with inflamation and GI issues. I eat a fairly healthy diet already, greatly reduced process foods and sugar over the last year or so, but haven't noticed any changes to my arthritis and recent colonoscopy showed worse GI issues than a year prior. Also, I'd love to get to a "flat" energy level. Right now, I have insane energy for the about 3-4 hrs. after I'm awake (which is new to me just in last 5 years or so), then I crash hard for about 3-4 hrs mid day...then level out to a good place for remainder of the day/evening.