Behind the scenes: what does “making low carb simple” mean to you?

September 12 2016 by , in About Diet Doctor

Team Diet Doctor

Our mission is to make low carb simple, but what does that mean? More specifically, what would it mean to you? Diet Doctor needs your help.

The reason Diet Doctor exists is to empower people everywhere to revolutionize their health. Our first mission on this journey is to make low carb simple.

This mission guides everything we do: what products we make, who we hire, how we spend money, and what we decide to do – this month, this week and today. How we define our mission is therefore massively important.

We are discussing this at the moment and now is the time for you to help shape our mission. What does making low carb simple mean to you? Please let us know in the comments below.

Making low carb painless and enjoyable

Amanda, Andreas and Bjarte have made a first draft of what making low carb simple could mean. The rest of the team hasn’t seen this draft so it could change a lot.

Here it is:

What making low carb simple could mean
It will possibly never be easy for a person to change from what they are eating today to a low-carb lifestyle. Change is hard – especially when the world is against you.

What can Diet Doctor do to help?

We can make the change way less painful for people. We can reduce cognitive strain, fear, doubt, hunger, cravings, effort, cost, shame, social rejection etc. Removing these things would make low carb way simpler.

But why stop there? We can do more.

We can make the change to low carb more enjoyable for people too. We can make low carb delicious, provide social recognition, connection, fun, beauty, personal growth, meaning and achievement. Doing this wouldn’t just make low carb way simpler – it could even make low carb awesome!

So, perhaps “making low carb simple” could mean: To make low carb as painless and enjoyable as possible.

Help shape our mission

We want your opinion. What does “making low carb simple” mean to you?

Please let us know in the comments below.

More behind the scenes

Want to know more about what’s happening behind the scenes at Diet Doctor? Let us know and we will do our best to write about it.

Earlier behind the scenes posts:

Behind the Scenes: How to Make Low Carb Simpler Next Month

Behind the Scenes: Making Products You Love

Behind the Scenes at Diet Doctor: Our Two-Month Plan

How Can We Make the Membership Insanely Great?

Behind the Scenes at Diet Doctor

We’ve Passed 15,000 Members!

Support Diet Doctor

Diet Doctor is 100 percent funded by the people, via our optional membership. There are no ads, no food or supplements for sale and we take no industry money.

Most of the site – like our guides, news and recipes – is free for everyone. But the more than 18,000 people who support us via membership also get access to bonus material about low carb, like our over 150 high-quality video courses, movies, presentations and interviews, plus Q&A with experts etc.

Membership is $9 per month, and you can even try one month for free.

45 comments

1
Eric
September 12 2016
Call it fasting g or time restricted feeding. It works. The Salk institute's lab work on time restricted feeding makes lchf ez. Look at lab results. Cico is dead. Eric
2
Carole
September 12 2016
Please, please, PLEASE provide complete nutrition information for each recipe.
Otherwise, this site is incomparable for its value.

Reply: #26
3
Maura
September 12 2016
1. Please develop an animation or series of images to help illustrate the biological processes described in Dr. Fung's "Common Currency" -- about:
--- why CI/CO is bogus, and
--- why 'a calorie of soda is biochemically very different from a calorie of chard'.

I think that an animation to help people fully grasp this simple, but key concept, would be helpful for everyone from the Soweto residents recently highlighted on this site, to the soda drinking game programmers on the US West Coast, and anyone else.

I know from my teaching background (adults as well as kids) that many people simply don't have the reading skills necessary to comprehend the important ideas in Dr. Fung's excellent post. Other people may have the reading skills, but they won't take the time -- let's face it - if they are heavy gamers, then if it doesn't move, they don't think it matters 8^ p

Therefore, an animation that could illustrate the biology of how 'a calorie of chard' is biochemically different from 'a calorie of soda' could help a whole lot of people. Including kids and pediatricians ;^)
--------------------------------

2. For me, the recipe photos are extremely important, because I may be checking a recipe on my phone while at the shop -- glancing at the photos of the recipes makes it faster for me to find what I need. I greatly appreciate the simplicity and speed of many of the recipes on DietDoctor.com
4
Pat King
September 12 2016
Just keep showing people's experiences of this way of eating and sharing their successes. These are inspiring and help us to keep on track.
Stress the fact of no need to use trackers as this is simple.
Keep showing the interviews with the expert's.
Hold a conference in uk please.
Love you all for changing my life..
5
Johanna
September 12 2016
The talk on the efforts in SA to take LCHF to modest income groups was inspirational. I am also grateful whenever you point out articles I can read and share with others. I like this news feature.
6
Yanina
September 12 2016
It would be great more information about psychological changes lchf offers. I ham pcos and my mood is much better and my mind clearer. Nobody tells you but diabesity personality is a headache for you and those around you. It is amazing how your life changes using lchf diet.

Reply: #9
7
Linda
September 12 2016
I would like more info about intermittent fasting and low blood sugar.I have a real problem with that if I skip a meal.
8
John
September 12 2016
A little bit of the site we can point our various health professionals to. Maybe a video or two and a list of relevant studies. That way we can spread the word to health organisations (the NHS in my case) and they can get some concise information without digging too far. I can tell them what I know until I'm blue in the face :) but I'm only educated, not qualified.
9
Reply to comment #6 by Yanina
bill
September 12 2016
"Nobody tells you but diabesity personality is a headache for you and those around you."

Very well put Yanina. But you can't tell
them, because, if they have the diabesity
personality, you can't tell them. It becomes
a chicken or egg conundrum. It's amazing
whenever someone with the diabesity
personality actually can grasp the issue.

Reply: #11
10
Dora
September 12 2016
Low carb is simple for me, just as you do now. Perfect job!!
11
Reply to comment #9 by bill
Pierre
September 12 2016
"Nobody tells you but diabesity personality is a headache for you and those around you."

Theirs brain is completely addicted to sugar and opiates from grains.
They have lost control of what they eat to become slaves unable to get free from this addiction.
12
Diane
September 12 2016
the message that needs to get out is that low carb is safe, very powerful with many health benefits - not just weight loss, enjoyable and easy to follow
13
gbl
September 12 2016
I would like to know the 5 yr and 10 yr status of low-carbers, or something you would consider long term. Not to shame or blame, but to know how they are dealing with it, if they have changed their diet perhaps, leaning more to Paleo, or how they have reintroduced carbs (if...) and how their important health status is: Diabetes, cardiovascular, etc and if they have stopped lCHF, why and what have they done instead? Just a general how's it going long term. What have they settled with, or arrived at that they live with.
14
Wendy
September 13 2016
I would love to know more about the physical recovery occurring in your body along the way - I think that would be encouraging and give us some idea of our progress. I'm interested in how our skin recovers - and it seems that intermittent fasting lessens the 'saggy skin syndrome' that many diets leave you with. Will your skin 'tighten up' over time, or are you left with sagging skin forever? How do our major organs improve as we reduce weight and eat more healthily?

Reply: #42
15
Tracy R
September 13 2016
My struggle is and has been in overcoming the generational training about what is healthy - meat and three veg, one of which is white carbs( as little fat as possible). Your site helps dispel that, and your Facebook feed keeps re-iterating the message and making it real.
Frustratingly it's not hard to fall back into old habits - especially around holiday time and that's where I fall down. I don't know how you could help more than you do, because without LCHF being medically recognised, it is largely an unsupported 'fad' in real life according to those around us.
16
Tharon Greene
September 13 2016
Just an observation: low carb high fat works when you do it. But, it stops working if you don't do it. It's the eventual conundrum we all face - the cravings and the urge to eat the wrong stuff - it's the behaviors that come from this state, whether driven by hormones or psychological issues, that seem to result in the indisputable fact that many low carbers regain lost weight or remain overweight. If Diet Doctor can effectively address this challenge you will have succeeded.
1 comment removed
18
Nancy P.
September 13 2016
Love the Blog News section of your site, use and share it all the time. The visual guides to lower vs. higher carb foods are fabulous, but MENUS (with recipe links for Diet Dr. or other sites) for different occasions would be wonderful and help make LCHF easier. Menus for Holidays of course, but also summer picnics, backyard barbecues, cocktail parties, birthday dinner menus (young and older), Sunday brunch, alternative to the 2 week challenge, etc. Any and every occasion. Put together by staff or the other wonderful readers. Thank you for a great, helpful resource!
19
Apicius
September 13 2016
I'd love to see more infographics. I tend to effortlessly memorize pictures, graphs, charts, etc. I like the infographics you had arranging food in terms of a variable. For example macadamia and Brazil nuts on one end because of low carb content, and then showing the range of nuts going to almonds and cashews to the other end with more carbs. I think it would be helpful to show infographics of which protein foods (meat, cheese, fish, etc) are least insulinogenic, which green leafy veg are most nutritional, which veg with most soluble or insoluble fibre, which fish/seafood with highest omega 3 contents, etc, etc, etc. I think infographics are easier to memorize than long lists or paragraphs of words.
20
Monica Ambs
September 13 2016
1. When I first started the new lifestyle, I had no confidence that I was eating the right amount until I came across an app called Lose It. You put in the foods and lets your know instantly if you have eaten the right % of each (fat, carbs, protein).
2. I know new people hear this occasionally in the U-tube videos but I think they think they can just eat half low carb and half high carb and it will work. To get across to someone that, if you are insulin resistant then you might have the bad luck of only being able to always be restricted to 30 grams or less of carbs or you will gain weight. This is a life style and not a diet.
3. You will frequently hit plateau's but even if you don't see the scale move you measurements may be changing. Don't get discouraged. You're not hungry and thats a huge plus.
4. You will have less time with food, so don't get bored and seek out your "old friends".
5. Weight (fat) comes off your body in unusual ways.
6. When you are truly in Ketosis, a low blood sugar means not much. I have recorded blood sugars of 2.1 but no symptoms, thats because I am in Ketosis. Fuel (Ketones) are in my brain so the blood sugar of 2.1 is not a big deal.
21
Lori Miller
September 13 2016
Six-year low-carb veteran here. Things were good until I went through a lot of stress and antibiotics, and my stomach couldn't tolerate enough fat to live on LC. However, I'd done enough healing by then that some carbohydrate didn't bother me as much (I had upper GI issues). But my acid reflux did return and I had to be more strict. At age 47, after a lot of probiotics and finally settling in to a happy new life, I'm back on track, but not quite as strict about bad ingredients and an occasional carby goodie as I used to be. I'm close to my high school weight, have no health problems, and take no medication. LC didn't wreck my thyroid or make my hair fall out in clumps--if anything, I'm less susceptible to cold than others, and I go to a Korean salon because they know how to cut thick hair.

"Keeping it simple" to me means focusing less on perfection and more on improvement. There are people who need a LC diet but won't go for grass-fed beef or macadamia nuts. They might go for a low-carb burger at Hardee's or grilled fish with mayonnaise and cole slaw when they go out.
22
Åsa
September 13 2016
I think it would help if the first page of the site wasn't articles/blog entries. It should contain the very basics plus links to newbie stuff. People refered to the site know nothing and need an introduction or they might be overwhelmed and confused.
23
Jean
September 13 2016
I have been eating low carb for over a decade and I have always found it very easy. I stick with real single ingredient foods and a few simple cooking methods. It actually confuses me that people find this complicated or difficult. One of the things I enjoy most about it is how easy it is, that plus all the health and weight benefits. The actual execution of a low carb diet is the simple part. The part that seems to complicate things is people's attitudes, the "I could never give up my ice cream, cake, bread" etc. Once over that hurdle it couldn't be simpler. I consider this way of eating a gift not a deprivation.
24
Marijke
September 13 2016
I think the recipe section and the challenge are very important to "newbies" . I ate low carb on and off for over 10 years by omitting potatoes and eating more meat and veggies. Very, very boring and hard to sustain. The recipe - and the challenge section really changed my life. And people struggeling to get a grasp on the LCHF thing, can start there and be well on their way while their knowledge grows.
I also agree with above comments that pictures of foodgroups and their low carb choices are extremely valuable. Picture.... Thousand words..... :). Especially for the many people who are not from english speaking countries. I like it when I don't have to Google translate every turnip.( I can recognise a Dutch knolraap from a picture)
25
Amy
September 13 2016
I have no idea how to word your mission statement to sum up what you do. Your site has helped me heal myself and get on the right path to healthy eating and living. I am constantly referring people to you so they can heal themselves. One thing I do wish was different is that it SEEMS you are aimed only at weight loss or reversing diabetes. I know there are many more benefits to LCHF and believe the whole world needs to eat more like this(maybe not everyone strict low carb but everyone MUCH lower than the norm) I found you by searching for diabetes help and am ever grateful I found you. You need to be found by anyone searching to improve their health, regardless of the symptom. Thank you!
26
Reply to comment #2 by Carole
Peter Biörck Team Diet Doctor
September 13 2016
Hi Carole!

If you hover your mouse over the symbol for "Strict/Moderate/Liberal Low Carb" on the pictures for all our recipes then you will get the nutritional facts.

The amount of displayed carbs is net carbs (Total amount of carbs - fiber).

Please, please, PLEASE provide complete nutrition information for each recipe.
Otherwise, this site is incomparable for its value.

Reply: #36
1 comment removed
28
Alan
September 13 2016
I love this site and I recommend it to people all of the time: students, friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers! I would like to see some articles on the causal associations between pharmaceuticals (fluoroquinolones, SSRIs, statins, etc), and other environmental toxins on blood sugar homeostasis. One example is this paper which shows a correlation between fluoroquinolone antibiotic prescriptions and diabetes in a large data set in the USA--more trouble in the south: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24947193 The simplicity of LCHF could be thwarted by these sorts of trouble. I am five years into this and I feel much better. Thank you for the fantastic website and your efforts to improve world health!
29
Karin
September 13 2016
Ensure that there is sufficient attention for a moderate and liberal low-carb lifestyle also. At first glance I thought Diet Doctor was too extreme for me because of the focus on a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. This is very useful information but it may also scare people away if they think they can't do that.
30
SusanK
September 14 2016
Making “low carb easy” to me means that it is presented as much as a lifestyle as a weight loss diet. The hardest thing for me is learning to cook LCHF with an understanding beyond someone’s printed up recipe. At this very moment I’m frying chicken. (In lard!) The first batch is with a flour substitute I found called carbquick, the second batch in almond flour and the third batch in crushed pork rinds. This experimentation is quite frankly a pain in the neck. It would be much more *simpler* for me if I had a resource that talked about substitutions and what type of cooking is most appropriate for that substitution or what type of results I’ll get. Then you can explain some of the weird things I’ve never used (or heard of!) like psyllium husks and why that appears in many recipes and what it does and why it works. There are all these low carb ingredients and substitutions and I don’t know what they are, or when to use which one, or what they do or even that they exist! I want to learn HOW to cook LCHF, not so much WHAT to cook. This single issue will be the biggest detriment as to whether I can do this forever or not.
31
Peggy
September 14 2016
I benefit enormously from this site and really appreciate everything you do, but since you're asking :-) I would love more information about how to make low carb simple for vegetarians. I've been exploring other resources, too, and finding my way, but I would appreciate advice, as well as recipes that don't rely on huge amounts of eggs and cheese (I realize that some is necessary). Thanks so much!
32
Ruby
September 14 2016
Making low carb simple - to me this means dispelling the nutrition myths and presenting the truth about low carb high fat in a transparent way, without being influenced by the Food industry.
33
Nikola
September 14 2016
I'd love some more help with staying LCHF during holidays.
For example, are there any hotels out there that support or even focus on low carb so that you don't have to worry about processed foods and hidden sugars at the breakfast buffet?

Keep up the fantastic work!
34
Jean
September 14 2016
One thing that almost never gets discussed is how we determine what a healthy weight is. Terms like "ideal weight" or "normal weight" get tossed around but never defined. It is well known that BMI is a flawed determinant of health yet nothing else is offered as a replacement. Or in discussions of how much protein to eat there is reference made to a percentage of either lean body mass or ideal weight but there is no easy or reliable way to measure lean body mass, at least for those of us without access to the expensive technology needed, and "ideal body weight" as I mentioned remains ill defined. I suspect the reason why these terms are never adequately defined is that no one really knows the answers but it would be nice to at least see it discussed. Having a well-defined goal would certainly make things simpler.
35
Stephanie
September 14 2016
I love the site, I look at it every day to keep up my motivation!

I agree with some other commenters that there could be an intro page for beginners or just curious people, summing up some of the benefits and busting some common myths. It would be great to be able to refer people to this.

Maybe a part of the site for members to start their own discussions - to discuss their experiences with medical professionals for example.

The recipes could have a section for any useful hints and tips. People sometimes give tips in the comments about how they managed the recipe, but instead of having to scroll through the most useful ones could be attached to the recipe.
36
Reply to comment #26 by Peter Biörck
jeff
September 14 2016
Hi Peter

On iphone 6, iOS 10, Safari and Opera browsers, the hover on recipes doesn't show. Since most folks use their phones when shopping, the full nutrition info is essentially unseeable.

Replies: #41, #43
37
Silke
September 14 2016
- when I open the home page, all I see is a giant picture. I have to scroll down a lot first to read what's on the page. I like to open a page that shows a lot of info without a lot of scrolling.
- A holiday (US) survival guide would be great. That could include dishes to take to holiday parties, LCHF recipes for Thanksgiving, holiday cocktails and beverages that are lchf. A lot of these are already on your site, but being compiled in one, would be helpful. Also it could include your tips video on how to handle holiday parties, office food fest parties and survival of non believer family get together.
- Mission statements are always hard to come up with. They can be super lengthy and no one reads them or short and to the point. My personal mission statement is "Eat, live. breathe the LCHF lifestyle and enjoying foods I love on my path to a healthier, happier and mentally stronger me."
Good luck on your journey!

Reply: #44
38
Kathy Simandl
September 14 2016
Making it simple? First would have to be more emphasis on snacks (all beginners will be "cheaters!") and how to deal with eating out and parties. Then, it would be really good to have more REALLY EASY recipes for full dinners i.e.: "Here's what to eat tonight: The main dish will take only 10 minutes to prepare." Most people do not have the luxury to dedicate their whole life to this diet!!

BUT, if people are able to stick with LCHF long enough to lose some weight, for example, they will be much more likely to stick with this diet FOR LIFE - to realize that they can indeed change what they eat permanently... and still not be miserable!! That is my goal.

By the way, I think your website is good and does NOT need more social media connectivity!! You have quite a few followers "of a certain age, " too!
39
Nicholas
September 14 2016
I'd like to see more help and advice geared towards the mental benefits without weight loss being the main focus and it being necessary to filter for relevancies/irrelevancies.

The "WATCHED" flag on your videos is helpful but a visual map with checkable/uncheckable capability to find our way about could be the bee's knee's.
40
Apicius
September 15 2016
Here's a quick and easy thing to do. Take pictures of restaurant menus, and put circles around what would be good for LCHF and an "X" on foods to avoid. It's a visual tool that would be very beneficial to especially new people starting LCHF.
41
Reply to comment #36 by jeff
Peter Biörck Team Diet Doctor
September 15 2016
Hi Jeff!

Try tapping on the symbol for "Strict/Moderate/Liberal Low Carb" instead.

Hi Peter
On iphone 6, iOS 10, Safari and Opera browsers, the hover on recipes doesn't show. Since most folks use their phones when shopping, the full nutrition info is essentially unseeable.
42
Reply to comment #14 by Wendy
Geraldine Denise
September 17 2016
Hi, I've been LCHF for about ten months, I'm NOT diabetic, I am trying to lose weight, I've lost ten kilos & am on a plateau at the moment. I take supplements, but I'm losing more hair than I have ever done in all my life! I'm now taking Hair, Skin & Nails Formula, but my hairs coming out by the handful. I've done 37 blood tests so everything seems to be in order but when ,last year I was traveling( four months) and ate EVERYTHING i.e.; lots of fruit, veggies etc.(all healthy) my hair was shiny , thick and DIDN'T fall out. Now Dr. Andreas's reviewing the question page so I can't ask him, but it's really pissing me off.
43
Reply to comment #36 by jeff
Geraldine Denise
September 17 2016
I've got Safari and it works OK. Not had any problems with that.
44
Reply to comment #37 by Silke
Geraldine Denise
September 17 2016
Hi, you are in the States and as this is an international site. We here in Brazil have different holidays and different habits from you over there. I expect that as Dr. Andreas is in Europe there's also a big difference. I can't really see why the site should only be for Americans when all the rest of the world is also following LCHF . The site is INTERNATIONAL and many people I know are in different countries . Anyway, Good Luck! Hope you're having success!
45
Alex
September 18 2016
It would be nice if we could find someone who can make an interesting animation of the way low carb high fat works in ones body. Or what Fasting does, how it works.
NOT meaning an animation with smiley's in the bloodstream, taking viewers for infantiles, nor only figures or dry scientific stuf, nor a one hour movie. Just short clear info to show to friends who are not going to study the subject but I would like to get interested in the facts.
46
Jamie Deighton
September 22 2016
The biggest hurdle for newcomers is getting past the social conditioning. How about a kickstart list or menu and a general preperation list.

By far the hardest part of lchf is being out, getting hungry and every cafe/eatery serving sandwiches , fries, cakes, granola bars and trying to find something to eat. (It's all about the prep) the videos are great BTW.
47
Catherine Smith
January 8 2017
January 2017
I started LCHF 3month ago and l enjoy it l found it very easy to do l would like more sweet things because some times l need a sugar fix l need the sugar fix at the end of the day not every day but some times it has changed my life l have lost weight because of it but you have to help your self as well l would like to join but l come from Australia l would like some of your videos l find it easy to eat out l just have a salad with chicken and water thank you for your help plus l do a lot of walking as well which helps

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