Wednesday Question: What turned you on to low-carb living & where did you first go for info?

Posted by Ryan Robitaille in Lifestyle, Low-Carb, QuestionAug 12th, 2009 | Comments

Admittedly, that is a really long question – ok, you got me, its actually 2 similar questions merged together, but (like any annoying news reporter) I needed to get a follow up question in there.

Let’s break it down using my own personal answers as an example…

Basically, where did you first hear of low-carb (or zero-carb, Primal Blueprint, Atkins, carnivore, whatever your preferred “flavor” of) dieting?

For me it was just growing up in the 90s (Hey I was an impressionable teenager for most of them). I had always heard to thrown around as kind of a soundbite term, especially in the News and Health Media at the time.

I actually think that the late 90s and early 2000s were the “low-carb heydays”, where public opinion was at its highest and commercial restaurants and food retailers all tried to cash in.

Like many people at the time I kind of wrote it off as “some crazy diet”, and didn’t give it much thought. It wasn’t until I sat down and read Protein Power in 2004 that I actually “got it” – and then in 2005 when I lost all the weight I “became a believer” (Not to sound all cult-ish or anything).

So, that answer leads me to the second part of the question. What was your primary source of info when you went “full bore” into low-carb eating? For a lot of people it was a book like Atkins Diet Revolution or Protein Power -for some maybe it was a wise friend – or maybe even a website (imagine that)!

I guess what I’m really asking is…. Whats your low-carb ‘discovery story’?

I’d love to hear all about it in the comments – c’mon – let me have it!

Related posts:

  1. Wednesday Question: What is your favorite low-carb website / blog / forum?
  2. Wednesday Question: Whats are your preferences on alcoholic beverages when eating low-carb?
  3. Wednesday Question: What is your biggest hurdle in eating low-carb for life?
  4. Wednesday Question: What is your favorite low-carb treat?
  5. Wednesday Question: How often do you weigh yourself?

  • alcindamoore
    One night I was playing on the computer and had the TV on, but wasn't paying attention. All of a sudden, I realized that some guy was talking about me! Hungry all the time, can't loose on low fat diets even with calories at very low levels, diet high in carbs, etc etc etc. The "guy" turned out to by Dr Atkins. No idea what the show was, but I started listening to him and realized what was going on! I started reading his website and bought his book the next day.

    Funny, I knew all of this. I'm a RN and when I was in school we were taught that high carb was bad and fat wasn't dangerous or bad for us! We even petitioned the hospital to change the menu in the cafeteria because it was too high in carbs! I remember having an argument with a boyfriend who said his beer was less likely to cause weight gain than my milk!

    I too have gone off plan, but not because I don't agree with low carb, but because I mistakenly believed I could have "just a taste"!

    I now follow my own plan, which is what I like to eat....lots of meat, some vegetables and fruits and a little dairy. My fat/protein intake is equal some days, other days I get more protein than fat or more fat than protein.....but my carbs are always low, less than 10% of calories. I cook all of my own food and only use the occasional condiment. 99% natural!
  • I first heard about low-carb when I was growing up in the 70's, thanks to a book on my mom's shelves called DID YOU EVER SEE A FAT SQUIRREL? by Ruth Adams -- she talked about Atkins quite a bit, and even mentioned Stefansson's year-long zero-carb Bellevue experiment. It was that background I recognized about two years ago when I started consciously researching all the various low-carb plans and applying the principles to my own life. So thank you Ruth Adams -- even if the lesson took thirty years to sink in :)
  • Hey,
    My husband AND parents were watching the same Larry King show interviewing Suzanne Sommers back in 1998 or 1999 (in 2 separate houses) and both decided to look into Low Carb. Both got Protein Power by Drs. Eades and began the regimen. I was a former vegetarian, low-fat devotee and thought they were out of their minds. But after about a month I decided to give it a try. Since then, I've been low-carb philosophically as well as in practice (with several short or long off-the-wagon detours, which constituted physical detours from my ideals due to low self-control, not a change of heart) ever since then - wow - that's a LONG time! I've seen fantastic results in all four of us.
    I've kept up with the Eades' and their blogs, forums. Lately, I've enjoyed discovering MDA and Primal readings as well. I see them as complementary.
    ~BestSelf
  • NoGluten
    Taubes
    Bernstein Diabetes Forum
    Enterolab (discovered multiple food intolerances)
    Paleo seems the best dietary fit overall
  • For me the best thing about the occasionaly "off the wagon" trip is how good you feel when you get 100% back on - I think it really lends credibility as to why you started it in the first place. :)

    I totally agree about Protein Power and MDA / Primal. I know that some people don't see it that way, but I see it as being the same except for diff levels of severity. I know that Mark doesn't see his regimen as a "low-carb" diet since he's crazy about the vegetables - but in effect it totally is. Its just packaged and presented differently, which makes it easier to digest (no pun intended) for someone who wouldn't normally consider anything called "low-carb".

    I'm actually impressed that so many people read Protein Power initially - when I first read my copy I had never heard of them before, but they quickly became a centerpiece of my nutritional knowledge (hell, and still are - with some merging of primal and zero carb philosophies as well these days)
  • timrangitsch
    I lost 65lbs coming up on 2 yrs ago, through calorie counting and partial starvation. Figured out that I felt better on days with lower carb counts (Fit Day tracked it all)! Stumbled across an old copy of Eades' "Protein Power" and read that. Next thing you know, my reading list and internet blog list to read skyrocketed. Eades, Taubes, Gedgaudas, Sisson, Free the Animal, Weston Price, Carnivore Health on and on!

    I'm turning more to carnivore (actually just finished a 90 day all meat test) and only eat a few sparse non-starchy vegetables lately. Well under 15g carbs a day, and way high in FAT, animal fat at that.
  • I've actually been leaning that way myself - even though I rarely eat more than 30g of carbs a day (save the occasional happy hour or social event with drinking involved - where my body really lets me know its unhappiness the next day). I've found in my workouts and boxing training that my energy level seems to be higher and more consistent when I abandon the carbs as much as possible.

    I still think that < 30 or 50g carbs a day is pretty much metabolically inert (as long as they're spread out) as far as weight loss and insulin control when compared to the regular toxic American diet - I ALSO don't see any direct benefit from them, so screw 'em. ;) Besides, we can't really properly digest most veggies anyways, so that should tell us something! Vitamins and minerals? Meh, I take a pill for that, so I'm set. :-D
  • john_b_eats
    I had known of low-carb for years, but never gave it a thought because I didn't understand the science explaining why carbs are bad, simple ones in particular. I was definitely the carbo kid for much of my life. What got me started was searching for real (non-hydrogenated) lard to make some good old-fashioned fried chicken. Searching on the internet for lard to purchase, I came across material by Mary Enig, and also was led to a 1958 article about the story of William Banting. This fired up my intrest. Next I found Gary Taubes 2002 NY Times article 'Big Fat Lie'. Now understanding the science behind it all, and not seeing low-carb as some BS fad, I decided to give this way of eating a try. I was not really over weight, but the changes in my body composition have been great, and I have lost weight, all of it fat, not muscle. That never happened eating mostly carbs (including vegetable) and reducing calories dieting in days past. I ultimately have adopted (for th most part) Mark Sisson's primal blue print as my 'style'.
  • Nice, John. It amazing what the body can do when give the proper nutrients (and much less of the "bad" ones). Even on its own with very little to no working out and training... It definitely makes you feel like it was a diet that has GOT to be closer to the one we evolved to eat (i.e. an "optimal" one).

    I love the Banting story because he wasn't a doctor, or a scientific researcher or anything - he just found what worked for him and had to spread the word without any agenda except helping people. People on low-carb aren't "dieting" they're "banting". :)
  • xfitk8
    For me, it was CrossFit that really turned me on to the low-carb lifestyle. I started out with Zone, and am now doing paleo/primal. It has been a dramatic shift in my life (up until a month or so ago, I was a vegetarian).

    I got most of my information from websites and fellow bloggers, and also from Dr. Sears' books. I'm currently working my way through Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories".
  • Very nice. Good Calories, Bad Calories is a great read, albeit quite dense - information wise. I've told people (about the book) that "he doesn't just dispel the misinformation, he drives it into the ground repeatedly".

    I'm glad that you've come to the "dark side" (kidding) from the vegetarian standpoint. ;) In a random relevant link, Dr Eades (Protein Power) just reviewed 'The Vegetarian Myth' on his blog today - which I find VERY interesting... (even though I'm not an ex-vegetarian, but still)

    http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/lipid-hypothesis/the-vegetarian-myth/

    Cheers!
  • musajen
    I just ordered 'The Vegetarian Myth' since Dr. Eades was raving about it. I really need to try to finish a book sometime before ordering a new one. :)
  • musajen
    I first heard of low-carb diets in 1997 (freshman year of college) when a boyfriend tried to tell me carbs are the enemy. I thought he was NUTS and promptly ignored him. Fast-forward to 1998 when my dad got a hold of Protein Power and dropped 19 lbs in one week. I was intrigued. I tried following it myself in college but dorm life and cafeteria food made it really difficult so I gave up pretty quickly and wrote it off. Ten years later I stumbled across Marks Daily Apple and my thinking gradually came full circle...low-carb was the way to go. No regrets since - other than the occassional slip into a sugar-laden dessert.
  • Thanks for the comment! Another Protein Power to MDA convert. I'm really detecting a pattern here! ;-)

    And to think that I thought it was just me who eventually saw both those plans on the same side of the fence. I also vaguely remember Dr Eades mentioning in his blog that he has lunch with Mark Sisson every so often... ?

    These days, it wouldn't surprise me at all. :D
  • musajen
    Ah, to be a fly on the wall when Dr. Eades and Mark Sisson have lunch.
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