So many of my one-on-one consults are with people who are afraid of carbohydrates. The diet industry has manufactured an irrational fear of bread and pasta. And, we’ve seen this before.
Let’s remember that this is very similar to the irrational fear they created around fat. Do you remember Snackwell cookies? The Snackwell people took out the fat and stuffed those damn cookies with a ton of sugar. And the low-fat ’90s saw us getting fatter and fatter. And the rise of diabetes in the United States significantly increased.
Why?
Not only because of the increased sugar and salt in those low-fat foods (how else would those treats still taste good if the manufacturer didn’t increase the salt and sugar to reduce the fat), but since they were low-fat, we overate them. People also increased their carbs since pasta and rice are low in fat.
My point is that portion size will always be essential in a diet. IN ALL DIETS. We should not repeatedly eat one or three foods in any quantity we want. Vegans who overate high oxalate foods (and who didn’t get their daily calcium needs met) in their healthy diet are prone to kidney stones. Every day, I hear, “How could this be, Jill? I have been eating so healthy?”
Any lifestyle taken to the extreme can cause health problems. I have kidney stone patients from Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole 30, Optivia, etc.
Why? Because they overate certain foods that cause specific issues related to kidney stones, and those issues vary.
Keto and paleo people typically overeat meat, leading to less citrate, lower pH, increased calcium, and uric acid.
Veggie people and Whole 30 overate high oxalate foods and too much salt, as vegan packaged foods tend to have SO much sodium.
People who choose Optavia and other online prepackaged foods are overeating sodium (look at the sodium in their “diet” products). And these programs do not teach you how to eat. Optavia is designed for you to buy costly products, but once you stop buying them, you typically gain weight right back. Why? These programs are not sustainable. And they didn’t teach you HOW to eat once you got off their expensive products. Why would they?
NONE of these lifestyles talk about getting your calcium needs met. If anything, many say stay away from dairy (you do not need dairy to meet calcium needs).
My point here is there is no lifestyle better than the other for kidney stones except the one where you eat everything in moderation and get your daily calcium needs met. I know you’re thinking, “boring,” but sadly, this is true.
Then there is this question: “Jill, my cousin eats tons of spinach and almonds all day and doesn’t make stones?” It’s just like the smoker who smokes their entire life and doesn’t get cancer. There are genetics involved, too. Maybe luck?
Can you eat carbs and NOT gain weight? Of course. Carbohydrates, whether grain, fruit, or veggie, are one of the most significant sources of energy our body needs. The key is always portion size. As people with diabetes know, they can still eat carbs (within their specific guidelines) if they do not over-consume them.
With the Kidney Stone Diet®, you can’t eat as many cookies, cakes, and candies as you might want because you will quickly exceed your sugar and salt goals. Pasta and rice can undoubtedly be incorporated into your healthy lifestyle if you pay attention to portion size.
Your plate should have a protein source (meat or non-meat), high-fiber veggies, and a half-cup portion of whole-grain carbs if you wish. Many of my dishes do not contain a carb, but I certainly don’t go without them if I wish to have them.
The other quick note is this. We humans typically crave the foods we are told we can’t have. You are a grown-up. You know what foods fuel your body best. If you want to do a keto diet, please do, just fit within the KSD goals; if you want to do paleo, please do. If you want to do intermittent fasting, please do so. If you want to eat some carbs, please do so. Just plug your lifestyle into the Kidney Stone Diet® goals.
The lifestyle that works for you is the lifestyle that works FOR YOU. How could the diet industry know what each one of us should eat? One-size-fits-all diets don’t work. We are so incredibly different. It makes no sense except to make CENTS. And we wonder why these diets don’t work for us in the long term.
This is why Dr. Coe and I have made this “diet” simply a list of goals for you to follow. We all have different medical conditions, food tolerances, etc. As long as you work within the Kidney Stone Diet® goals, you can enjoy the lifestyle you choose. You can only stay compliant and happy with your lifestyle if your mind and body feel good.
The takeaway? Eat the lifestyle that works for you and your medical conditions. If that means you will have some carbs in your diet, and you eat them within portion size, they will NOT make you fat. We don’t need to vilify any one food group. It’s nonsense and only causes confusion and unnecessary obsessing over food.
PORTION, NOT PERFECTION, is your mantra.
As I always say in my meal plan service, “Your kitchen, your rules.”
Your friend and advocate,
Jill
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