
30 Days Without Sugar - jdbentley
http://jdbentley.com/30-days-without-sugar/
======
travisglines
After noticing the percentage differences and the weight drop, I wanted to do
the math to figure out how much muscle vs. fat he lost.

He went from 219.2 at 35% body fat to 195.8 at 28.1%. If you do the back of
the napkin math real quick that works out as follows:

    
    
        219.2 * .35 = 76.72 lbs of initial fat
        219.2 - 76.72 = 142.48 lbs of lean mass
    
        195.8 * .281 = 55.02 lbs of final fat
        195.8 - 55.02 = 140.78 lbs of lean mass
    

That means he lost ...

    
    
        1.7 lbs of muscle
        21.7 lbs of fat
    

Normally I say that these diets are often bad, and end up putting you back
further where you started because you lose so much muscle and therefore regain
it all much quicker.

However in this case 92% of his weight loss was fat, which is awesome.

~~~
cfn
I am not at all up to speed on these things but I guess there's more to the
human body than fat and muscle. Those 1.7 lbs will certainly also include
water, for example.

~~~
travisglines
Typically how these things are measured is body fat and lean mass. Lean mass
is all the stuff other than fat (muscle, water, organs etc).

You're right, I did assume that the lean mass lost came out of muscle in
retrospect. Given his weight loss ratios I'd guess that it has to be, but it
may be all water.

One interesting point here is if he lost significant water weight then he
could have actually gained muscle as he lost fat. (that one's hard to tell
though)

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ninetax
You would be surprised how much better you can feel by just staying away from
conventional sweets and sugars. It's a pretty low hanging fruit (sorry) in
making your self healthier. Just don't eat ice cream, candy, desserts, or
soda. You will look and feel excellent without putting yourself through some
crazy diet that may end up killing you.

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peteretep
I've been doing this since 30th March, as I worried I was potentially becoming
pre-diabetic. Biggest learning point was: yep, sugar is addictive. I've lost
quite a lot of weight in that time, and feel like I have a lot more control
over my eating in general. I've not been being too precious about fruit, I
just don't eat much.

This NYTimes article as probably the other big motivator:

[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.htm...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all)

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jerrya
For the past month, I've done something similar, just following Atkins. I've
monitored my calories using myfitness.com so I know my daily caloric intake
has varied between 900 and 1400 calories. I've monitored whether I am in
ketogenesis with some nice pee strips.

Following Atkins first phase, I am maintaining about 20 carbs per day, mostly
from interesting salad elements and some yummy cheeses. I've been drinking 0
calorie flavored seltzer water and regular water and coffee (with cream.)

And mostly cooking/reheating Costco and Trader Joe like foods that are about
50/50 fat/protein with zero or few carbohydrates. (Burgers, steak, pot roast,
shredded beef, chicken with skin.)

There are definitely some days I am hungrier than others, no big deal, I eat
what I want. But many days after 15 - 18 hours I am pretty full at 1200
calories.

I have noticed that on days when I eat very little, even though I was not
hungry that day, I get a pretty nasty headache the next day -- so I try to
ensure I get at least 1000 - 1200 calories each day.

Saw my MD last week, and got my blood tests back today, and I'm doing just
fine. Before doing any diet, or shortly into that diet, you probably should
see your doctor.

So I'm 5'8" and lost 14 pounds in 30 days -- would like to lose another 20 --
that would be great.

~~~
nookie
"I have noticed that on days when I eat very little, even though I was not
hungry that day, I get a pretty nasty headache the next day"

Well, the most common reason is lack of water. Practically every food contains
a lot of water and burning fat is a more inefficient process. So if you don't
consume enough calories then you must drink more water/salt than usual.

~~~
jerrya
Thanks, that's very likely and I have been much more conscious of drinking
water in the past few days, and my doc called this morning to tell me I was
dehydrated on the blood test from last week (although I put that down to a 10
hour fast before the test.)

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rdegges
Awesome job! I did this last year and lost almost exactly ~100lbs (along with
exercise).

Would you mind editing your post and adding in some resources for other people
interested in the scientific information? I'm assuming that others will be
really interested in your sources (I know I found r/keto very helpful) so they
can have background information.

Anyhow, congrats on the awesome loss!

~~~
jdbentley
That's a great idea. I visit r/keto all the time. I'll list out some resources
now and tack them onto the bottom of the post.

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espeed
Cutting out Diet Coke (and artificial sweeteners) has been key for me. I feel
much healthier, and my head is clearer. Sugar is next.

One other body hack: my knuckles were starting to ache like I had arthritis.
At first I thought it was from programming too much, but then I discovered
that peanuts can cause inflammation -- I was eating peanuts all the time as my
go-to snack -- I eliminated those and my arthritis symptoms went away within a
few days.

~~~
fuzionmonkey
Aspartame has been proven to be safe. The worst thing about Diet Coke is
probably effect of the acid on your enamel.

~~~
espeed
What study are you referring to? There are studies that show diet soda and/or
Aspartame are linked to metabolic syndrome
([http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/nutrition/05symp.ht...](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/nutrition/05symp.html))
and other studies regarding its excitotoxicity
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excitotoxicity>).

------
matthew-wegner
If you'd like to try a 30-day challenge with your diet, I heartily recommend
Whole30: <http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/>

In short, you remove:

    
    
      * Grains/legumes
      * Dairy
      * Sugar
      * Alcohol
      * Weird additives (sulfates/MSG/etc)
    

If you eat the standard American diet, this is probably a lot of your food!
Which begs the question--what _can_ you eat? The guy who runs my gym also runs
The Foodee Project, a recipe collection site. Here's the Whole30 tag:
<http://www.thefoodee.com/tag/whole30/>

P.S. And if you're too busy/lazy to do a Whole30, the best thing you can
possibly do with your diet is cut sugar. Not reduce; cut. Remove it, 100%, no
fucking around. Sugar is a really easy-to-use energy source for your body,
which actually screws you up if you constantly intake it. More info here:
[http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-
fat-a...](http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-fat-adapted/)

------
beloch
According to his graph, he lost almost a pound a day for a full month. He
didn't just cut out the sweets. He effectively went on a starvation diet!

That is _not_ safe.

He is not to be congratulated, he is to be ushered into a doctor's office so
some sense can be talked into him before he does himself permanent damage.
When you go on a starvation diet your body breaks down muscle as well as fat,
and some of that muscle is rather important not to lose. Heart damage is just
one major risk of starvation diets.

Additionally, when you throw the yo-yo that hard it is going to be exceedingly
difficult to keep it from coming right back up. My money's on him being back
at 230 or higher within a year.

~~~
jdbentley
This most certainly wasn't a starvation diet. I didn't starve myself at any
point. I'm not at all convinced my body has broken down any muscle. I'm not in
any danger whatsoever.

~~~
beloch
Don't take my word for it. Certainly don't take the internet's word for it.
Just go see your doctor.

~~~
jacques_chester
If we're seeing medical professionals, a registered dietitian would be the
right person to see.

That said, I'll bet folding money that his blood panel has improved.

------
terhechte
Does anyone know whether it's OK to use Stevia as an alternative during such a
sugar-free diet?

~~~
risratorn
It probably is but to be honest, stevia is the grossest thing i've ever tasted
in my coffee ... I used to put one sugar in my coffee, dropped added sugar all
together 2 months ago and tried stevia one single time. I can't exactly pin
the taste but it's way too sweet and tastes chemical even though it's a
natural product.

That being said, if you HAVE to add sweetener stevia is probably your best
choice.

~~~
lobster_johnson
Stevia alone is pretty awful, very bitter aftertaste. But there are some new
stevia derivates that aim to remove the bitterness and turn it into an
acceptable sugar substitute. Pepsi has developed one, and the Coca-Cola
Company, with Cargill, have recently developed Truvia
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truvia>), which is already being used in some
of Coca-Cola's beverages. You can buy it in packets for home use. So far,
TruVia is the best-tasting artificial sweetener I have come across. Much
better than aspartame, sucralose etc. No bitterness to speak of.

Another natural sweetener called erythritol
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol>) is also very good. Unlike stevia,
I believe it works on its own, with no modifications required to remove
bitterness etc.

------
damncabbage
To clarify, were you on a Paleo _and_ no-sugar diet at the same time, or am I
misinterpreting something?

~~~
jdbentley
Yes. I've been eating paleo for about a year. I cut back on sweets to beat the
sugar addiction and further along my weight loss.

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chris_wot
Getting a database connection error :-(

~~~
jacques_chester
Wordpress strikes again, by the looks of things.

OP, if you haven't already, install WP-Supercache or W3 Total Cache ASAP.

~~~
jdbentley
Will do.

~~~
chris_wot
We're back - thanks!

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rprasad
He's not in ketosis; he's in starvation mode. He's losing massive amounts of
muscle as a result of this diet, which is why he is losing so much weight.
He's also losing fat, but not as efficiently as he would in a normal diet.

If he keeps this up, he'll be lucky if he has the strength to pick up a coffee
mug.

~~~
mistermann
Who put this idea into so many heads? I'm really very curious to know, where
did you learn of this starvation mode idea?

~~~
Shorel
It's the same as 'lactic acid is poison', some day the good science will win
and the textbooks will be updated.

