I don't think that proponents of a balanced diet are suggesting you pile on refined carbs and fast food. So I think you're presenting something of a strawman argument to make your case. If you look at, say, the Mediterranean diet, you'll find that the food pyramid looks slightly different than the one you posted: You'll notice there aren't any processed cereals or fruit juices listed, and that sweets are fairly discouraged. For my part, I almost never touch sweets and that includes dark chocolate. I don't even remember the last time I had any vegetable oil. My BMI is very good, I'm quite lean, and at the same time of day my weight doesn't vary more than a pound or two (and it isn't ratcheting upward). And it's not as though I'm compensating with all kinds of physical activity. I only do 3 brief whole body resistance workouts every 2 weeks, 150 max speed bodyweight squats shortly upon rising on a daily basis, and I occasionally go for walks. Plus, I'm fairly older than you so if anything, staying lean is harder for me than it is for you, all else being equal. Animal fat makes up a very small percentage of my diet. I only have about 4 ounces of lean, skinless poultry once a week, and a similar amount of fish twice a week. The rest of my protein comes from skim milk, fat-free unflavored Greek yogurt, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Also, a very small amount of low-fat Swiss cheese - about an ounce a day. Almost forgot - two eggs a week. I eat a lot of salad, some vegetables and a fair amount of fruit (apples, blueberries, bananas, and a small amount of prunes and raisins). I think my diet is more sensible than yours because of the balance and variety. But I gather that Dr. Ovadia would disagree. I'm okay with that. Also, I don't think nutritionists ever suggested that anyone skip meals as you mentioned that you did in the past. That only leads to overconsumption later. I worked in Saudi Arabia for 3 years in the mid-90s. Some of the Saudi guys I worked with gained weight not only after, but even during the month of Ramadan, when they were fasting from dawn to sunset.
I wasn't proposing my old diet as anything other than closely matching the diet of the majority of Americans. Regardless of what the FDA and the USDA food chart recommend, most still eat a boatload of carbs, sugars, fast-food, seed oils, heavily processed food, etc. For example, pick up any box of standard cereal which are fed to children on a daily basis and look at the ingredients ─ it will shock you. Many don't realize that besides the sugars (which are given a variety of names to hide them), chemicals, dyes, etc. there are often seed oils added to the mix. That's excellent, if true. By that I mean if you eat any packaged, processed foods from big-name manufacturers they tend to sneak them in everywhere. Forget fast-food places as they use them extensively. And if you go out to normal restaurants they tend to use them for cooking meat, seafood, etc. along with mixing them into all sauces and dressings. In short, seed "vegetable" oils are ubiquitous. That is very healthy. On the other hand the average American consumes between 60-80 lbs of sugar per year. Many don't know that the body quickly converts carbohydrates to sugar, and outside the keto world most eat a huge amount of carbs and don't even realize it. Hence the high levels of pre-diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, and Type 2 diabetes. As to my old skipping of meals I don't recommend that, it was something I did solely to maintain weight and, in my case, didn't lead to overconsumption. Your health in general sounds excellent, and you manage things well. My diet is simple but definitely not easy. The "mindflip" I mentioned in my last post was the ketovore/carnivore diet requires that you look at food almost solely for nutrition, not entertainment. And frankly that's not a lot of fun at times, as I miss the variety of items that I used to indulge in regularly. Your diet is definitely more balanced than moi and in that respect I envy the diversity of choices, but mine has brought about significant improvements in my health and for that I am grateful.
I'm glad that the health markers you follow have improved. But are you sure you had to go from one extreme to the other in order to achieve it? I understand your decision to remove all processed carbs from your diet, but what about the healthy ones that are not only good for your gut microbiome but also have a fair amount of micronutrients that your own diet might be missing? Think babies and bathwater. As I mentioned in another thread on the same topic, it kind of reminds me a bit about Ayn Rand, who spent her earlier years behind the Iron Curtain. When she came to the US she adopted a world view that was the extreme opposite of the life she left behind. Meanwhile, there's a lot of middle ground between the two extremes where most people find themselves.
From the Daily Mail (Dec 10, 2024) ─ Doctors warn cooking oil used by millions may be fueling explosion of colon cancers in young people https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...ing-oils-colon-cancer-young-people-study.html From the Daily Mail (Dec 13, 2024) ─ Cooking oils used by millions linked to cancer in second study in a week https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14190549/study-link-cancer-cooking-seed-oils.html As many here have discussed, these seed oils (aka fake "vegetable" oils) appear to be dangerous on multiple levels. Problem is they are not just used extensively in fast-food joints and regular restaurants, but are mixed in with a lot of packaged, ultra-processed foods. Also in common foods such as Best Foods Mayonnaise where the very first ingredient is soybean oil. Best to always read the labels as you might be shocked how frequently these oils are included ─ canola, safflower, sunflower, soybean, peanut, grapeseed, cottonseed, etc.
Gawd, I used to love Chick-fil-A sandwiches, but wouldn't touch them now with a ten foot pole. Check out the seed oils used (along with the chemicals, dyes, sugar). The food industry are absolute masters at making things look and taste good, so beware.
It is great to see Magna active again, but hon, it is "I don't want that shit with a 39.5 foot pole. "-) Magna. come on now! You're old and shit! You remember that!
Even though I've had to forego many food items from my past... and don't have near the variety of a menu that I once had... I do get to console myself with eating lots of bacon and lots of steak... So it's not all gloomy, there are benefits.
My favourite fun foods when doing Keto is macadamia nuts and smoked salmon slices. Macadamia nuts are the secret for upping daily healthy fat intake and also taste great. Plus lite beer and if you can afford it champagne, A 150 ml glass of Brut champagne supposedly contains just 1.5 grams of carbs.