What is LCHF Anyway - Please Read More and Find Out.

"LCHF actually stands for Low Carb High Fat, but we have renamed it: Low Carb Healthy Fat. We feel this better reflects what it’s all about. While we do want you to eat more fat than you are probably used to, the emphasis is on healthy sources of fat. LCHF is not a “diet”, it is a way of life.

LCHF encompasses a way of eating that embraces whole foods; that is, foods that are minimally processed and generally don’t come in packages. If you truly embrace this way of eating, it will naturally end up being lower in carbohydrate and higher in fat than the current, mainstream way of eating. LCHF is a fulfilling and satisfying way of eating that is full of benefits for health. While there is an element of restriction (as there is with whatever you do in life), it is not about deprivation.

Why might you think about LCHF?

LCHF has many advantages, both for yourself and for your family. Here are the top five you might identify with. Do you want to:

1.Lose weight and have the best chance to keep it off for good? Have you tried to lose weight before and for a moment believed you were successful, but then put the weight back on again (along with some more)?
2.Have a healthy relationship with food? Do you constantly feel hungry and beat yourself up when you eat foods you “shouldn’t”?
3.Improve inflammatory health conditions? Do you suffer from aches and pains and inflammation for which you have to rely on medications for improvements?
4.Break free of that “tired and run down” feeling? Do you have a busy lifestyle, feel permanently exhausted and regularly end up reaching for quick, unhealthy food?
5.Live better for longer? Do you simply want to “be the best you can be” in health and in life? Do you want to be able to provide food for yourself and your family that is tasty, nourishing and easy? 

Why LCHF works:

1.If you gain weight easily, feel lethargic, stressed and are out of shape, chances are you are insulin resistant and intolerant to carbs (more details about this later). LCHF is the best lifestyle approach for managing insulin resistance.
2.When you can control your blood sugars and the hormones that control your energy levels and weight (especially insulin), your body will respond by working as it was designed to – as a fat-burning machine!
3.Weight control will become effortless, your energy levels will be better, and you will feel great free at last from the low-fat calorie counting way of living that left you hungry, sick and tired.
4.What raises glucose and insulin levels? Carbohydrate, of course. We all vary in how we respond to and tolerate carbs. Finding your particular carb-tolerance level means your blood sugar and insulin will be well controlled.
5.Break free of that “tired and run down” feeling? Do you have a busy lifestyle, feel permanently exhausted and regularly end up reaching for quick, unhealthy food?
6.Live better for longer? Do you simply want to “be the best you can be” in health and in life? Do you want to be able to provide food for yourself and your family that is tasty, nourishing and easy?
7.If you find yourself nodding your head when you read this list, then LCHF is definitely for you.

What will I eat?

Good-quality carbs from whole foods that are minimally processed, such as vegetables (lots of non-starchy ones), fruit, dairy products and the occasional legume (beans and pulses).

Protein from minimally processed meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds and legumes (beans and pulses).

Fat from whole, minimally processed plant and animal sources, including avocado, olive oil, nuts, fatty fish, dairy products and coconut products.

What shouldn’t I eat?

Refined and processed junk foods containing sugar.

Refined, nutrient-poor, packaged carbohydrate-based foods, including most grains such as breads, cereals, pasta, rice, muesli bars and crackers.

Please share this with those who those who are curious about the LCHF way, but want more information. That’s why we wrote it! "

The above post was written By Prof Grant Schofield, Professor of Public Health (Auckland University of Technology) and director of the university’s Human Potential Centre (HPC) located at the Millennium Campus in Auckland, New Zealand. His research and teaching interests are in well-being and chronic disease prevention especially reducing the risk and eventual mortality and morbidity from obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. He lives by the motto “be the best you can be” . 

All the best Jan