How to build a diet on the LCHF diet? Tips from Sam Klebanov

Swedish low-carbohydrate and high-fat diet LCHF (eng. low carb high fat) is now at the height of fashion around the world. Carbohydrates on it are limited to 10–50 g per day, proteins – up to 100 g, and the body receives the main calories from fats. Having tested the method on himself, Sam Klebanov decided to popularize it in Russia. According to him, the decision to switch to LCHF food was one of the best in his life – like the decision to shave his head baldly.

About the pros and cons of LCHF

I have been on the LCHF diet since October 2013. During this time, I lost 14-15 kg and again returned to the weight that I had not had for 15 years. The maximum weight in January 2013 was 107,5 kg. In addition, the strange cough that had been bothering me for many years for reasons unknown to doctors disappeared. In my opinion, I began to catch colds less in the winter.

Eating according to LCHF principles is easy for me. Of course, there was a transitional period when I looked sadly at pastries and desserts, but it quickly passed, and I stopped paying attention to them. For me, they have become an analogue of wax fruits – beautiful, but not edible.

The main advantage of LCHF, in addition to a positive effect on the figure and health, is long-term saturation. Hunger attacks are gone when you really want to eat something urgently. I do not feel addicted to food and eat much less than before. Another good thing about LCHF food is that it doesn’t make you sleepy after it, which is especially good for work. The condition has disappeared when you start falling asleep at the workplace at 3-4 o’clock in the afternoon.

I don’t see any particular shortcomings, except that from time to time I find myself in a situation where I have nothing to eat, because all the food in the access zone is sandwiches and pastries. For example, at the airport with a short connection, when there is no time to go to a normal restaurant, and fast food is not good for me. In general, fast food is a problem, because most fast food is not adapted to LCHF, although suitable options are already beginning to appear in Sweden.

About fruits

I rarely eat fruits – say, this week only a couple of small pieces of watermelon. The reason is simple – they have too much sugar. In season I eat a little more of them. For example, I eat 1-2 apples from my apple tree – they are much tastier than store-bought and not so sweet. In the summer I eat strawberries, but also less than before. In the season of watermelons – a couple of slices (and not half a watermelon, as before LCHF). I can sometimes eat a few slices of orange or tangerine.

The craving for sweets disappeared, although I used to love all sorts of desserts. I sometimes make LCHF desserts, and I like them, but I can do without them for a long time. Among the favorites are chocolate muffins and brownies (delicious and easy to prepare), tiramisu, panna cotta, strawberry cake with coconut flour.

About sweeteners

I rarely use them – only for sweet pastries and desserts. I usually cook something sweet when guests come. In Sweden, I use Sukrin, which is either pure erythritol or erythritol with very little stevia.

The taste of erythritol is close to sugar and, unlike stevia, does not have any strange aftertaste. This natural compound found in some fruits and mushrooms is well-studied, has a zero glycemic index, and causes little to no insulin production. As far as I know, erythritol has no side effects when taken in moderation.

About water

I do not count liters and glasses – the number 2 liters, in my opinion, is clearly taken from the ceiling – but I drink quite a lot. In Sweden, good drinking water comes from the tap. I also like sparkling water and buy local brands – Ramlösa, Loka, Premier. Plus there is also good German Saskia water. In Russia I usually buy Arkhyz and love Borjomi very much.

About physical activity

I exercise 4-5 times a week. This is a gym a couple of times a week, beach volleyball – 2 times a week for 2 hours. Gothenburg has the world’s largest beach volleyball hall, where you can play in winter. During the season I am actively engaged in cycling. I also do wakeboarding. When I travel, I try to hit the gym from time to time – usually hotels have such an opportunity.

About the Food Revolution. LCHF: a diet without hunger

In my opinion, most diet books are unreadable. But the book “Food Revolution. LCHF: A Diet Without Hunger by Andreas Enfeldt is not about a diet – and it is surprisingly easy to read. It is about all of us, about how we are arranged, what the body does with the food it eats, what food causes damage, and what kind of food corrects this damage. It tells a very fascinating story of the struggle between opposite concepts of healthy eating, a struggle in which not the truth won, but the administrative resource and marketing talent. There is a lot of practical advice and answers to questions that concern many people.

Three days from Sam Klebanov’s diet

Day 1

9.45 Breakfast. Three-egg scrambled eggs, tomato, cucumber, mozzarella, homemade cheese, brisket (bacon). Coffee with cream (35%) plus cottage cheese (12%) with cream and sour cream (30%).

16.00 Quick snack on the job. Cheese: homemade and maasdam, walnuts. Coffee with cream.

20.30 Dinner at the restaurant, combined with a friendly business meeting. Eggplant rolls, Uzbek pickles, Tashkent tomatoes. Lamb shish kebab with fat tail fat, baked eggplant with sesame paste. Dry red wine.

0.55 A cup of Ceylon tea with cream.

Day 2

10.30 Breakfast. Fried eggs from 3 eggs with tomatoes, brisket, suluguni cheese, greens, cucumber, celery. Coffee with cream (35%), cottage cheese with cream and sour cream. Then I spent the whole day in the office. There is a canteen there, but not very good, so I rarely go there. And there was no time to go anywhere else. But when you follow the LCHF, the feeling of satiety lasts for a long time, so it’s easy to skip lunch.

22.20 Dinner. Chicken liver stewed in cream, fried zucchini, salad of tomatoes, onions, celery, walnuts with sour cream. Pickled tomatoes from mother-in-law. Cream tea.

Day 3

11.00 Breakfast. Cottage cheese pancakes with psyllium, sour cream 30%, coffee with cream.

18.10 Lunch. Chicken breast, cauliflower (both fried in butter), fresh vegetable salad with sour cream. For a proper LCHF dinner, some fatty chicken sauce, such as Béarnais, was missing, but there was no time to cook it.

Late dinner – midnight. I visited a friend, taught her the intricacies of low-carb baking, so dinner was appropriate: a piece of low-carb (2,5% carbohydrate) bread with butter, a couple of cheese muffins with sun-dried tomatoes (made from almond and coconut flour), tea with cream.

A source: Smart Cookie.