Sorry about getting worked up - I'll focus on keeping this civil. I am just
very bothered about this because I have personally done it and others have not and yet, they accuse me of being wrong purely on a modern systemic dogma.
Dogma: c : a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds
But anyways, I'll degrees from all of that and talk about what I did.
Over a 3 month period of time I ate very very minimal carbs. We're talking less than 10 grams on most days and never over 20grams per day total.
Breakfast each day would be an omelet w/ cheese, protein shake, lots of water, multivitamin.
Lunch was some meat dish with leafy vegis and almonds.
Snack was protein shake and possibly a bit more of a left over meat dish.
Dinner - again, meat and leafy vegis.
Things I could eat: any meat (other than liver), eggs, cheeses (other dairy still has carbs in the form of lactose), leafy vegitables and nuts (low carb options only). In periods of intense carb craving I would treat myself to some peanut butter.
There's really a lot of options to eat. There's plenty of types of meat that are edible without burning out on any particular type. There's tons of vegis as long as you don't go to roots (potatoes, carrots, radishes are starchy and no good) and almonds are good.
You have to just look at each type of food and gauge it on it's carb content. You can still follow this diet and cheat sometimes - just have to really avoid things like refined grains (bread, pasta, cereal), raw sugar products (candies and chocolates), dairy that isn't cheese, fruit, any sugar'd drinks obviously. If you're going to cheat, small amounts of unrefined grains (brown rice, oats) or starchy vegis (potatoes/etc.), or fiberous vegis/beans, would be the best case options.
Cheating is a problem though because it causes insulin release so you need to time your carb intake if you're going to do it properly. That's what I'm referring to when I say I'm currently 'carb cycling'. I am now eating certain carbs (the ones I mentioned should be least damaging to the diet) but only at certain times. If you eat them post exercise your body will not store them in fat but rather in glycogen. Of the two options, this is best case, obviously.
As an aside, the only reason I'm currently eating some carbs now and then is to make peace with my wife (anybody with a spouse can imagine how putting pretty strict rules on your diet could impact your relationship). So I am no longer optimally dieting but peace in my personal life is more important. I'm also trying to look at it positively - I've never dedicated myself to carb cycling so now I'm trying it out 100%. Maybe after this 3 month experiment she won't mind if I do another few months of no carbs.
I would really, not challenge, but highly recommend people give it a genuine and concerted effort. It can be life changing to realize how much different your body operates with a new fuel mixture. Just commit to like 2 months (you start to feel the differences after 3 or so weeks) of low carbs (make sure to drink enough water!).
You may see great results or you may not, but hey, life is all about trying things out and seeing how they work for you.
As an aside: I can very much appreciate how this diet is not feasible for many people. People without access to a kitchen (ie, dorms, or some other living scenario), high quality/low cost groceries, or living in countries where the food prices on these items is too high, obviously can't do this diet.
