explaining LCHF success in sporting world

[Fuzzy]

Hello all, recently I got into the world of sports a bit more. I was surprised to see that LCHF diet is still very popular among recreational sportsmen. And since I'm the type of person that is not always totally convinced, I admit I get a bit confused from time to time. There are a lot of people on running&cycling forums with the same story. Going from 280-300 pounds to 180 following LCHF diet. Doing well, feeling better, being able to do more exercise ... Just a couple of days ago, a guy was saying that for breakfast he blends 2,5 ounces of butter with hot water and drinks it, plus 5 eggs per day. Yuck ... I know. But still. Since I'm not a doctor and I can't really understand everything dr. McDougall is saying, it's difficult to respond to people, that have a great experience with LCHF diet. And since they haven't had success following other diets and programs, it seems natural that they would promote this kind of thinking.

I don't really know how the body works, I know some sentences from dr. McDougall by heart, but if they are confronted by the opposite, there is not much that I can do. It's like having a historical debate, where you can't agree on basic facts. Of course your conclusions will be different.

Right now I'm ignoring all comments about "sugar turns to holesterol", "sugar turns to fat" ... Basically going all the way into Doug Lisle's approach, because I hate conflicts. But this butter guy is very persistent in his promoting of LCHF diet. And he does about 2-3 hour of exercise every day. And he did lose 150 pounds. I didn't do any of that. I have never really been overweight and I have never even tried to cycle for 3 hours per day. I still think that what he promotes is dangerous and at least people should know about other options. Now he is saying that it's all about the ratio between ldl, hdl, triglyceride and that there is no bad cholesterol. He shared this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBXOB3J3b6w

I asked him for his typical daily/weekly menu. Besides butter and eggs. I'm quite interested in what exactly he is eating.

I was thinking: exercise masks problems. Because it's still about caloric intake. If you eat a lot of fat, but still manage to gain muscle mass and exercise rigorously, you might be able to create a deficit. But it's hard to oppose the "feeling better" arguments. Unless you want to be the person that is saying "you will see", "you will get sick or die from heart attack and then you will see" . From what I have read, there is a small percentage of people that are following vegan diet. Even less following plant based, no oil diet. So of course there are a lot of doctors and research that supports the other side. I sometimes have a hard time dealing with that.

[Skip]

You can athletically "do well" on a diet that consists of performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids. But you will not do well in the long term. This is the problem with LCHF. Short terms weight loss happens and you may feel good for a short while (not many people can keep it up over a year or two), but in the longer term you are mortgaging your health.

[Fuzzy]

Hi Skip, thank you very much for replying.
Well this guy is doing this LCHF thing for two years now. So he is on the upper side of the 1-2 years as you have mentioned. He did post his daily/weekly meals. It's extreme, just as a fun fact:
breakfast: butter mixed with hot water or green tea
lunch: meat (chicken, beef) + sometimes with a bit of lettuce, tomatoes or cabbage
dinner: 5 eggs with bacon + sometimes pickles

I know right . The other side of the rainbow, no starch, no fruit, very few vegetables. He must have tremendous will power to be eating like that for two years. I can only hope that he will eventually realize, that this was a mistake and be man enough to admit it. At the moment he is very much promoting his lifestyle and choices.

[Skip]

Hey Fuzzy,

I'm sure this person could eat this way for a long long time. It's just like you can smoke for a long long time, but eventually, for most people it catches up to you. It's a gamble. I don't mind gambling, but I always like it when the odds are in my favor!