High Carb Low Fat

During the 1980s, the American Heart Association released the recommended fat dietary guidelines in their book, "Towards Healthful Diets". These guidelines advised the public on lowering their overall fat consumption in order to lose weight, even going as far as to say that calories from carbohydrates "don't count" and didn't need to be observed. This led to the release of reduced-fat, fat-free and cholesterol-free products in the market, such as: 

Source: Worldlifestyle.com

Source: Sugarstacks.com

This exponential rise in fat-free products didn't lead, as one might expect, to an exponential decrease in cholesterol levels and obesity in the country. Instead, the opposite occurred: there is now an "obesity epidemic" plaguing the American public, and some might say, it stems directly from these recommendations. 

Yet, one must take into account that this increase in obesity was mostly due to the nature of the products that were being consumed: pre-packaged, processed and factory-made, the products compensated for their lack of fat with extra calories stemming from sugar. In theory, the guidelines weren't too bad: increase fiber and whole-grain consumption, and reduce cholesterol in the blood. 

With both of those arguments in mind, I decided to try both the HCLF (high-carb, low fat) and HFLC (high-fat, low carb) diets, to gauge their effects for myself. 

This first week I started the HCLF because it acted as my transition from the vegan diet I was doing before, because they're very similar in a lot of aspects.

The basics of the diet are:

• Few animal-derived products (honey is okay, reduced-fat milk and cheese too)
• Starchy vegetables are a must as one of the most nutritionally-dense foods
• High amount of fiber needs to be consumed
• The proportion of fat to carbs in the diet must be very high 

In a nutshell, this diet limits the consumption of fat and encourages the consumption of carbohydrates, especially fiber-high, complex carbs such as tubers, whole grains and starchy veggies. I, not having much of a sweet tooth, didn't know what to expect: I naturally limit my carbohydrates when I eat, because I feel like I need to consume much more carbs in order to feel full, whereas I can eat less fat and feel sated quicker. 

The first few days:

It wasn't hard for me at all to go from veganism to HCLF, mostly because I followed almost the same basic rules, and even had more freedom in respect to consuming animal products (milk and honey!!).  I did notice I got more hungry throughout the day, but that was easily solved by finding snack options (which again wasn't hard, because I already had a list of low-fat, high-carb snacks that I consumed while I was in the vegan bandwagon). 

Once again, the PSU Dining Commons webpage saved me, since it gives me the option to look at the nutritional information in the food being offered that day:

It's broken down really neatly by macronutrient.

This is such an underestimated resource that I've found really useful when trying to improve my eating habits, or just being aware of what's going into your mouth. Especially when trying to change something in my eating habits, the website has got a very thorough nutritional compilation of its offerings.

Next week, I'll be writing the wrap-up to the diet, and presenting the hard data that I compiled on it.

Thank you for reading!