Expert: Ryan Hale - 10/8/2009

Question
Ryan
I am not a teen I am middle aged, and I dont have an eating disorder except I used to crave FAT.
I also am not an athalete but I play rec. soccer and hockey and I work out to keep my cardio up-although I still have a sizeable belly.
I hope you can offer some insight however.
I have tried the low carb approach to dieting for years with no real success other than maintaining my weight which is at least 25 pound over what it should be.
I crave carbs like most people so it was tough.
Lately I have tried a different approach which seems to be working.
Its the old 'low fat diet'.
It doent seem to be the 'in' diet now and is even discredited by some.
All I did was eat the same amount of calories more or less but I cut out as much fat as I could-except for skim milk and fatty fish like salmon.
Now I am not hungry at all and I dont crave carbs as much. If I do I will have a piece of dry toast.
Often for supper I will have a big serving of rice or mashed potatoes with a little lean meat if any.
Do you think thats they way my body is 'calibrated' or is that just a normal way to eat-abnormal being the large amounts of meat we eat that is cheap and plentifull in north America.
I have skinny friends that are Asian immigrants and they eat lots of rice, noodles, etc. with only a little spiced meat.
I used to eat a TBone so big there was only room on my plate for a little potato-covered in butter and sour cream of course.But since it was 'low carb I thought it was good.
Now I will have a big bowl of Uncle Bens rice for supper with a little fish or chicken and it fills me up all night.
Also, I dont have as many gastrintestinal issues as I used to like gas and heartburn.
And, I used to go for a week or more with no energy to work out even on my day off with lots of time.
Now I have more energy and I even sleep better.
The conspiricy theory side of my personality says that its the food, restaurant, and meat industry that is pushing the low carb thing.
After all,they would lose millions if we started to eat like the Asians.
I lived for a time in rural China and breakfast was rice, luch more rice or noodles, and supper was a vegeatble soup with a little chicken broth. Lots of food but heavy on carbs and low on fat.THey wrre all skinny and full of energy.
Of course they were active but I know farmers over here that are just as active that are obese and fall asleep after supper.
Also, my buddies kid plays a high level of hockey- a step down from pro- and he eats tons of pasta and a little chicken.
When I was a kid that was unheard of- coach said that 'real guys' ate man food like steaks and roast beef- leave the pasta and rice for (insert racist slurs)
Sorry for being so long winded.  
Your thought appreciated!

Answer
Barry- I say that if you are active, you are an athlete.  it sounds like you exercise and play sports so that's great.  For an athlete, a diet higher in carbs and lower in fat with a little or moderate amount of protein is idea... like the Asian diets you were describing.  They tend to eat meat as a flavoring or as an addition to their meal, not as the center piece. An active person will use the fat they consume for their body's metabolism (it helps move and absorb various nutrients and is used for energy as long as you don't store it).  They will burn through the carbs and a small amount of protein is all we need.  Often, however, when people cut drastically down on fat, they start consuming more fat free dressings, spreads and desserts, often these products replace the fat with sugar (carbs) so look out that you're not jacking up your calorie intake.

I try to stay away from whatever the media is throwing at us as far as diets and suggestions.  The high protein low carb diets do work (look at body builders) but only for a small time period.  Body builders only do it during one part of their training, not all the time.  Also, it leads to a lot of bloating and gas.  You also have to get your body in a very depleted carb state and if you eat any carbs at all, you mess up the adjustment your body has been making.  Body builders will tell you that during the time they are eating like this, they are miserable.  They don't have any energy for working out and their meals are no fun at all.  How could anyone survive like that?  One piece of media I do like, however, is the Body for Life book.  It does a great job of helping you figure out meals, what to eat, how to work out and what your body needs when you are working out.  Of all the books at the mega-huge book store on diet (and there are 4 rows), it's the only one I really recommend.  The author expects the diet to fit into a pretty active lifestyle, but his work out recommendations are pretty right on.  It takes a lot of planning to eat the way he suggests, but it works pretty well.

It sounds like you are on the right track, just remember, your body wants to convert fat to fat easier than any other nutrient, but if you consume too much of any nutrient (carbs or protein) it will store it as fat too.  So don't over do the carbs.  I like to follow the idea of eating sensibly at meal time and not restricting my intake of any raw fruits and veggies, especially in between meals.  That way, I'm never hungry because I can eat (granted it may not be a funnel cake), but I have no excuse for being hungry.  Let me know if I can be of any more help.