dgraham225

You have to take the initiative to learn your macros and how much of each you're getting in. Myfitnesspal is a great tool to help establish what foods work to help meet your caloric/macro goals. Meat, cheese, and eggs. Those are your basic low/no carb essentials. Chicken/fish/turkey are leaner, less calories, less fat. Red meat can go either way, depending on the cut. You have to read labels, get a calorie king book, utilize myfitnesspal, etc. You can't live off of a pre-planned schedule that someone else give you. Learning your own nutritional needs will be half the battle, figure out what works for you via trial and error.

Gluconeogenesis. Conversion of non-carb substrates to glucose. Shouldn't necessarily cause an insulin spike, basically an emergency function to help the body sustain proper blood glucose levels. Carbs aren't an essential macro, especially not at the consumption suggested by the old food pyramid. Fats are essential, protein is essential. Glucose is essential for the brain and aid in shuttling nutrients into muscles as glycogen. But the body adapts to getting what it needs from other sources besides carbs quite well.