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Comment by mikeryan | Hacker News Reader

Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-glycemic-load food (like bagels / pasta), and 2) your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day

Research the ketogenic diet which is < 20 (net) carbs a day - usually in the form of just random sneak in carbs from green veggies.

Starting with a low carb diet and transitioning to keto can be done without a lot of pain and I've eaten less than ~30 carbs a day for 6 months with no loss of energy - in fact I think my energy levels have increased since going keto, but I've also lost significant weight.

Weaning off carbs is not hard.

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Staying off them is hard if you have an abundant source of temptations around you. The hardest part of following the keto diet, for me, was to avoid so many things I love to eat - when they are present around me. If I came across a freshly baked baguette, the temptation to buy it and gobble down the whole thing was immense. Likewise for many other things.

Ultimatley, what kept me on track was the improvements I was seeing in the gym. I did, however, always acknowledge that was fighting the temptation to cheat quite often.

Yes, this is the hardest part of any lifestyle change in my experience. Environment, past-conditioning inertia, and social environment.

I like almost zero keto-friendly foods (on their own—most are great if you put them in rice or pasta, or on some flatbread) that aren't one or both of very expensive and time-consuming to prepare, and even those I usually stop liking much after the first few bites.

Going keto would mean hating eating forever. Which would be very effective for weight loss, I guess.

Would this diet be suitable for a person who does a significant amount of endurance exercise? (E.g. ~1 hour of running per day)

Anecdotally: yes. I've heard from some long distance runners that the ketogenic diet makes it easier to endure exercise. Your body runs on fat, so as long as you have stores then you can keep going until your muscles start to waste away. There is also anecdotally no "wall" that you need to break through, as this comes from exhausting your muscles' supplies of glycogen.

I've known many marathon runners that eat keto specifically because shifting to fat burning gave them incredible, and consistent, stamina.

On the other hard, weight lifters have complained that being keto has diminished their peak capacity. (They don't seem to care that it increases their stamina.)

It's almost outright recommended by people like Maffetone.

Absolutely. When I'm following a ketogenic meal plan, my baseline endurance shoots through the roof. I can walk/bike/whatever for hours. However, I do lose sprint performance.

As I'm in my 40s, and just exercise for fun and the health benefits, this is a tradeoff I'm more than happy to make. I'd much rather be able to cycle for another 10 miles without thinking about it than to increase my pace from 12 to 14 mph. But it is something to be aware of.

> Weaning off carbs is not hard.

It would be more accurate to say it wasn't hard for you.

I should clarify. By weaning I mean taking weeks or a few months of lowering your carb intake and adjusting to the lifestyle.

I don't recommend going from full carbs to keto. Start out lazy low carb (that looks like carbs I should t eat it) and work your way into fully tracking macros etc.

Easy is relative but I think done correctly it's easier then folks think. It's a pretty lovable lifestyle once you figure it out.

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