The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailor. Discussion.

Like you said about your exercise routine: find what works for you and do it.

I have "loosely" counted calories but I find that getting too strict about calories and macros just doesn't work for me.

Personally my body needs carbs. I have tried a keto diet and it just didn't work for me. However, when I want to really burn bodyfat (i.e. get "cut") then cutting carbs works like a charm but I feel like crap.

My advice: stick to lean, quality protein and carbohydrate sources and add some good quality fats (coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, avocado) and greens.

 

Man, obviously there is a zillion things that can (and have been) said on diet. But I agree with Bailer on the point of lowering carbs. If you can limit your carbs to those coming from WHOLE vegetables and minimal fruit, your health will skyrocket.

Don't worry about calories. They still "count", but eating properly, will take care of the rest.

 

Meh, I would say what he says is partially true. The counting of calories consumed and burned is never going to be 100% accurate. But it is possible to roughly gauge it.

I would also agree that the type of foods you eat matter big time, as opposed to the simple calories in/calories out or IIFYM mentality.

so yes, I would say quality is more important than quantity when it comes to food, but at the same time it would be completely foolish to completely ignore calories to know if you are eating enough or too much.

and it’s true that carbs don’t have as many nutrients compared to fruits/vegetables and I agree with a low to moderate carb diet. You still need some carbs for energy, I don’t subscribe to full on keto diets but everyone’s body is different.

 

Remember, fruits and vegetables ARE carbs. (They ain't protein, and they ain't fat)

The language implies that fruits and vegetables are not carbs. They emphatically ARE.

So I repeat: Try to limit your carbohydrates to ONLY vegetable sources. And only allow a minimal amount of fruit because the fructose in fruit leads directly to a fatty liver.

 

The distinction between different carbs must be pointed out. Fruits and veggies are not complex carbs.

 

Patrick,

Thanks for your post. And please accept that this forum is not sufficient for any of us to convey the enormously complex topic of human physiology. So, I ask in advance to allow me to say that metabolically, the body could not care less whether or not a carbohydrate is "complex" or not. Either way, it metabolizes a carbohydrate into glucose. And that glucose becomes either consumed immediately or is stored in the liver, the blood, the muscles--or as fat. Complex vs simple only matters insofar as how long it takes to be converted into glucose. The body will decide which "tank" needs filling. If all tanks are full, the energy goes to the cells.

Please don't be fooled by the notion of a complex carbohydrate as being "good" while a simple one is being "bad". (I know you didn't say so, but it's implied in your post.) Carbohydrates are NEITHER good nor bad. You simply have "tanks" that can store them. Once full, the liver and pancreas must deal with them--in a manner that is not healthy overall.

I thus maintain: Eat proteins in small amounts, fats to satiation, and the minimal amount of carbs possible--and those being almost exclusively of the veggie source. It ain't just me saying it. It's your pancreas and liver screaming it.

What I find most interesting is that none of this is new. Eat a meal with a small amount of meat, a moderate amount of whole veggies.....and fucking stop. You'd have the diet of a champion. Your grandmother would be proud. Your diet guru would be proud, you'd lose fat, and feel better.

If only I could apply the same dietary wisdom to my masturbation habits......but that's another forum.

Thanks Patrick.

 

And the fucking OP is now a deleted account!

 

BTW, Patrick, I am sympathetic to your statement that "keto doesn't work for you" and that you and that you "need" carbs.

The fact is, there is NO such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Fats, yes.....essential fatty acids. Proteins? Yes, essential amino acids. But there is NO metabolic reason to EVER eat a carbohydrate.

I suspect that you are like ME and most of us: We can't go long enough without eating carbs to let our bodies adjust. (a lot like masturbation....off topic.)

Your body will produce them from protein and fat. Eat a bit more protein than needed? It'll create the "sugar" as excess. (gluconeogenisis)

If you only ate broccoli for the rest of your life, you'd die. If you only ate steaks, you'd live.

I admit, I am no expert. The body is simply too complex. So as they say, thanks for listening.

 

I hear what you are saying and I appreciate your input and expertise.

And like you, I have much knowledge about a few things, but I too have been struggling with PMO. But I have one important attribute: hope. And perseverance.

Please keep in touch because I can't do this by myself

 

Thank you for the thoughtful note Patrick. I certainly share in your struggle. It's funny how diet is so analogous to our struggles with PMO. We KNOW basically HOW to eat for good health. We KNOW that our masturbation and orgasm are unnecessary, yet we struggle to stop. Please keep in touch as well. Thanks! I also need help.

 

Those are very interesting points and for your own info, I am one of those dudes who actually went from carb-adapted to fat-adapted within a few months time (between October last year - February this year). It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be since I had been on NoFap-hard mode for 1 1/2 year at he time.
Prior to that, I was craving carbohydrates, especially fast ones (pasta, rice, wheat, potatoes, bread, potato-chips, oats, grains, cookies, pastries, ice-cream, sugars, you name it) and thus, felt hungry after only a few hours, to the point which I felt a large blood-sugar dip, like I was about to faint.
That's why I was eating 3-4 times/day, had big cravings and for the first time in life, I was actually gaining a little weight and felt sluggish and demotivated much of the time. Probably because this former diet was messing with my blood-sugar and insulin-levels.
But, as soon as I started to eat more fat and protein (with the carbs only being made up almost exclusively by leafy greens, vegetables, some fruits, nuts and seeds), I felt full and satiated for longer time and didn't see a need to eat any breakfast. I continued on that path and soon I easily fasted for 16 hours without food and a few months later, I now do 20-24 hours without a problem.

This change in diet and eating patterns has only changed my life for the better since I now eat One Meal A Day (OMAD), 5-6 days a week without a problem and feel full, satiated and nourished during the entire time.
I essentially get my entire daily caloric intake within a 3-4 hour window and the remaining 20 hours is fasting with nothing edible but broth, coffee/tea and water during that long window. What is the key to get fat-adapted you might wonder;
Start eating lots of fats, proteins and some leafy green, veggies, cabbage, berries, nuts, and seeds on the side and cut out (or at least greatly reduce) added sugars, wheat, and all other fast and insulin spiking carbs from your diet.

 

With only a SLIGHT bit of tongue in cheek: I am honored that a somewhat technical posting by me was met with approval by "McGyver"! One of the greatest characters to ever grace the screen.

Seriously, though, thanks for the acknowledgment. The real science is extremely compelling. Sugar kills.

I am trying to make a more explicit connection with intermittent fasting and ejaculatory fasting.

Any theories?

 

Eastern mystics have often pointed to the connection between the chakras and the relation between controlling sex desire and food desire. This is in relation to raising ones awareness and therefore moving the energy from the lower chakras to the higher ones. Note that in Western culture most people's energy is centered in the genitals. Hence our obsession with sex.

 

Thanks Patrick. I have heard that one can raise the sexual energy to higher places....and thus obviate the need for "sex". Are you suggesting one can do similar for hunger? That is, transmute the hunger to higher levels and reduce the need to overeat?

 

A yogi, yes a real yogi lol, once told me that controlling the tongue (food desire) and the genitals (sex desire) helps to raise ones energy to the higher chakras where one can raise awareness of God etc. That is about all I can say about this but since you are interested in this it may inspire your research.

Unfortunately my energy has pretty much been stuck in my genitals my whole life. My mission in life now is to reboot and I really hope I can.

 

Thanks again. Sometimes I shake my head. I read some "advanced" stuff about all of this, but I am still at the end of the day, a guy who struggles to keep his hands off of things.

 

Lmao...me too...I consider myself worldly, educated, well - read....but I became addicted to PMO. It's like a paradox.

 

That's a great word for it. Paradox. I SHOULD and DO know better. Yet......Although, I am happy with my current streak.

Changing my own measurement, but that's another topic.

 

Yeah, it seems like those are very interconnected because when you manage to go without food for longer periods of time, your cravings for releasing/spraying (or vice versa) will also fade away with time.
In my case, I think my 18 month NoFap-streak (hard-mode) made me capable of getting into the habit of IM-fasting and finally beat my former gluttony and sugar-cravings. After my latest longer fast (which lasted for three days), there was almost no sexual desire, lust or urge present at that moment, as well as the absence of food-cravings, despite some hunger being there. Perhaps, it makes you unlocking your genital and abdominal chakras, hence the feeling of relief from these desires and urges.

Fasting can literally be a very cleansing and spiritual experience if you manage to do it for 2+ days or so. You should really try it out!