Low carb tips/suggestions
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Eating crap also affects water weight. And how one feels. But we don't say that to the CICO crowd.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Don't over-do it on water, caffeine can help.
If you want to make low-carb your lifestyle then that means high fat. So if you don't enjoy high fat foods atm, then don't bother with it. But it's also something you'd need to maintain for LIFE if you want to avoid putting on the water weight you'll have lost. So.. if you can see yourself eating this way for at least a few decades, then go for it?
Personally I only recommend elimination diets like this w hen it's for medical purposes. E.g. I eat gluten-free because otherwise I have painful gas and bloating. If I were allergic to something I'd eliminate it. But I won't eliminate carbs or lower them because it might help me debloat more than if I kept them in my diet. That is not enough incentive for me to omit foods I love from my life.
If one stops low carb one adds, what 5-10 pounds of water AT MOST? Why would they need to do low carb for life? Ie if someone wants to lose 100 pounds....why would they need to do low carb for life "because they'll regain water weight".
(though most of the time folks say "you'll regain it all and then some", which is true for 90+% of dieters including those using MFP for calorie counting)
I'm not picking, just that I see this edict about being low carb "for life" on every post and it makes no sense to single low carb out.
For some people, that 5-10lb gain would make them feel really horrible. But aside from the scale weight gained, there is a BIG effect in terms of how the body looks when considering the extra water retention.
But mostly, if someone plans on not tracking calories for life, if they omit an entire food group then they pretty much need to keep omitting it to help retain a mostly stable caloric intake.
If someone chooses to be low fat or low protein for life it doesn't affect water weight and probably minimally for the appearance of the body. Other than of course protein being required to help sustain lean body mass. So for instance, I eat a moderate protein diet (150g). In order to help ensure my body retains the composition I am trying to build, I'm going to have to maintain a moderate protein intake for life. Because the incentive for this dietary approach is high, it's something I am easily able to do. If I did NOT so badly want my dream body composition, I'd say "eff it" and just eat way more carbs and fats.
Why couldn't one overshoot by 5LBS on low carb. Or, hell, just inform them.
Seriously, it makes NO SENSE to single out low carb diets as "you have to do it for life".
Any long term weight loss will only be maintained if someone makes a plan "for life".
I wonder, every day, when folks join MFP, do we say to each of them: Don't bother. If you don't plan on weighing, counting, measuring and logging for life you'll gain it all back, and then some"?
No, we don't. We hope that while they're here, they'll learn. About food, about nutrition, about their own bodies, about fitness, about their own minds... and that after they've lost the weight, they'll have the tools (and I'm not talking about a smart phone) they need to be part of the 10% that succeeds long term.
Granted, low (lower) carb "for life" can be a damned healthy and satisfying way to live, from what I can tell.
and no: one doesn't need to omit a food group for life because they did so in deficit. Think on that one...
"eating crap" usually means eating a lot of carbs. I eat crap all the time, but because I aim to eat 150g of protein every day and I like eating fat, I don't just eat a full day of junk food. Because I'm not cutting out junk food and I still eat carbs, I'm not dealing with losing significant amounts of water weight that would easily come back once I start eating those things again.
But really, losing weight is about making lifestyle changes. Which is yet another reason people say that if you choose to do low-carb it should be a life-long choice.
As you said, plenty of people don't plan on logging for life. So if they choose to eat low-carb, then they will most likely maintain success by doing low-carb for life because they will not have to re-learn proper caloric intake based on the new foods they are eating. It's just like how I lost and mostly maintained while "eating clean" but gained once I stopped eating clean. I ate similar portions but my caloric intake was much higher due to eating more calorie-dense foods.
Elimination diets, if done for weight loss, are generally not geared towards maintenance unless they are, you know, maintained while in weight maintenance. This is one of the reason fad diets don't work - not just because they are usually way low cal, but because people go back to "old" ways of eating. Hence different/too high calorie.
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ana3067 couldn't be more wrong. First, drinking lots of water ALWAYS helps, regardless of whether you are following a low carb diet, or not following any regimen at all. Caffeine is a diuretic and makes your body lose water. Your body needs that water.
Second, check out South Beach Diet recipes. They are low carb and low fat. The fats that are included are heart healthy fats, like from nuts, fish, olive oil, etc. Generally, I recommend avoiding processed foods. They tend to be higher in sodium and higher in sugar. Eat lots of vegetables and lean meats/proteins. There's no reason you can't have room in your life for some of the things you love. You'll just have to limit the really unhealthy ones.
Drinking way too much water can lead to someone feeling gross and bloated. Drinking water is important, just not in excess.
Also, caffeine may help reduce bloat, which is often caused by water retention. This may not work for everyone, it has definitely worked for me for helping to more quickly reduce bloating for me without me having consumed plain water with it (just a cup of black tea and within 20 minutes I needed to pee and felt much better and less bloated).
You really don't need to limit unhealthy food if it fits into your macros for the day. You can eat unhealthy food every day if you want, I have without ill effect. I've even done so with the results being less bloat than other periods. Just happened to be that certain variables lined up to allow me to be less bloated.
As far as low carb and low fat, no. Pretty much everyone here who does low-carb diet also does high fat. This is necessary for satiety. LCHF. And eating high fat within her calories will not affect her weight.
Processed foods are also just fine.
Seriously, all foods are fine in moderation. Which is one reason I do not advocate elimination diets done for purposes other than health (e.g. diabetes and low-carb, or allergies/digestion issues). Nothing wrong withi sugar either.0 -
Here's my advice:
- Do your homework. Read something by Atkins, or Taubes. There are others, but I'm not familiar with them. Don't just focus on the rules, try to understand how low-carb diets work. Don't just rely on advice from random people on forums, get the whole story. There are some good articles online about low-carb. But I find the ones written by those who are truly well-informed assume that you've already read a book, and merely provide clarification and supplemental tips. This is something you can do between now and when you plan to start your diet.
- You're going to find all kinds of advice about how low to go. The lowest I've seen is 20 g/day. I've been up to 80 g/day and still in ketosis. But I started at 20 g, and worked my way up until I found a comfortable level where I could eat plenty of vegetables and still have room for other variety of carb sources (50 g/day for me). I fell off the wagon over the summer. I got back on by starting at 75 g/day and working down to 50.
- If you've never done low-carb before, you probably want to start low. I think Atkins calls this the induction phase.
- You still have to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. Low-carb just makes this easier because you won't be as hungry as you are now.
- Figure out how much protein you need, and don't over do it. I've heard 0.7 g/lb of lean body weight as a minimum. As a maximum, I've heard no more than 35% of your calories.
- Find a good list of fat sources, and make sure you have several on hand. You'll need to eat a lot of fat.
- Don't skimp on the vegetables. The lowest-carb advice I've read (which was for 20 g/day) recommends (as a minimum) 2 cups of leafy greens and 1 cup of other vegetables every day. Combine fat with all your vegetables. This is because fat without something to put it on is kinda nasty. Add butter or oil to your veggies.
- Manage your expectations. You may lose 5-10 lbs right off the bat, but that's just water. The rest will come off at the same rate as any low-calorie diet. If you have a lot of weight to lose, it's going to take a long time. If you have not a lot of weight to lose (like 20 lbs) it's still going to take a long time, because it's harder to lose when you're closer to your goal.
- Also in the manage your expectations category: You've only got a month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you're anything like me, you're going to just be getting used to it in time for Christmas.
- As for water: Drink when you're thirsty, don't overthink it. One common side effect of low-carb is dehydration. So you will know if you need more water. Listen to your body, it knows better than anybody on MFP.
- Another listen to your body rule: during the first few weeks, you might be really, really hungry. I don't worry about my calorie count during this time (I count, I just don't worry if I go over). Just eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full, but stick to your carb limit. The transition is tough.0 -
I'm kind of over the perception that low carb has to be a "lifestyle" for everyone that does it.
I eat low carb (70g or less) the majority of the time, but if I have the ocassional day where I just want to eat bread and rice and sugar, I do. I choose to eat low carb as my standard diet because it means I get adequate protein and fat while staying under a calorie limit, and helps me eliminate unnecessary snacking. It is not an unchangeable lifestyle for everyone, and that's fine.0 -
Chaotic_Weevil wrote: »I'm kind of over the perception that low carb has to be a "lifestyle" for everyone that does it.
I eat low carb (70g or less) the majority of the time, but if I have the ocassional day where I just want to eat bread and rice and sugar, I do. I choose to eat low carb as my standard diet because it means I get adequate protein and fat while staying under a calorie limit, and helps me eliminate unnecessary snacking. It is not an unchangeable lifestyle for everyone, and that's fine.
Totally agree. I find the longer I've been doing low-carb, having a high-carb day every now and then has less impact.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Eating crap also affects water weight. And how one feels. But we don't say that to the CICO crowd.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Don't over-do it on water, caffeine can help.
If you want to make low-carb your lifestyle then that means high fat. So if you don't enjoy high fat foods atm, then don't bother with it. But it's also something you'd need to maintain for LIFE if you want to avoid putting on the water weight you'll have lost. So.. if you can see yourself eating this way for at least a few decades, then go for it?
Personally I only recommend elimination diets like this w hen it's for medical purposes. E.g. I eat gluten-free because otherwise I have painful gas and bloating. If I were allergic to something I'd eliminate it. But I won't eliminate carbs or lower them because it might help me debloat more than if I kept them in my diet. That is not enough incentive for me to omit foods I love from my life.
If one stops low carb one adds, what 5-10 pounds of water AT MOST? Why would they need to do low carb for life? Ie if someone wants to lose 100 pounds....why would they need to do low carb for life "because they'll regain water weight".
(though most of the time folks say "you'll regain it all and then some", which is true for 90+% of dieters including those using MFP for calorie counting)
I'm not picking, just that I see this edict about being low carb "for life" on every post and it makes no sense to single low carb out.
For some people, that 5-10lb gain would make them feel really horrible. But aside from the scale weight gained, there is a BIG effect in terms of how the body looks when considering the extra water retention.
But mostly, if someone plans on not tracking calories for life, if they omit an entire food group then they pretty much need to keep omitting it to help retain a mostly stable caloric intake.
If someone chooses to be low fat or low protein for life it doesn't affect water weight and probably minimally for the appearance of the body. Other than of course protein being required to help sustain lean body mass. So for instance, I eat a moderate protein diet (150g). In order to help ensure my body retains the composition I am trying to build, I'm going to have to maintain a moderate protein intake for life. Because the incentive for this dietary approach is high, it's something I am easily able to do. If I did NOT so badly want my dream body composition, I'd say "eff it" and just eat way more carbs and fats.
Why couldn't one overshoot by 5LBS on low carb. Or, hell, just inform them.
Seriously, it makes NO SENSE to single out low carb diets as "you have to do it for life".
Any long term weight loss will only be maintained if someone makes a plan "for life".
I wonder, every day, when folks join MFP, do we say to each of them: Don't bother. If you don't plan on weighing, counting, measuring and logging for life you'll gain it all back, and then some"?
No, we don't. We hope that while they're here, they'll learn. About food, about nutrition, about their own bodies, about fitness, about their own minds... and that after they've lost the weight, they'll have the tools (and I'm not talking about a smart phone) they need to be part of the 10% that succeeds long term.
Granted, low (lower) carb "for life" can be a damned healthy and satisfying way to live, from what I can tell.
and no: one doesn't need to omit a food group for life because they did so in deficit. Think on that one...
"eating crap" usually means eating a lot of carbs. I eat crap all the time, but because I aim to eat 150g of protein every day and I like eating fat, I don't just eat a full day of junk food. Because I'm not cutting out junk food and I still eat carbs, I'm not dealing with losing significant amounts of water weight that would easily come back once I start eating those things again.
But really, losing weight is about making lifestyle changes. Which is yet another reason people say that if you choose to do low-carb it should be a life-long choice.
As you said, plenty of people don't plan on logging for life. So if they choose to eat low-carb, then they will most likely maintain success by doing low-carb for life because they will not have to re-learn proper caloric intake based on the new foods they are eating. It's just like how I lost and mostly maintained while "eating clean" but gained once I stopped eating clean. I ate similar portions but my caloric intake was much higher due to eating more calorie-dense foods.
Elimination diets, if done for weight loss, are generally not geared towards maintenance unless they are, you know, maintained while in weight maintenance. This is one of the reason fad diets don't work - not just because they are usually way low cal, but because people go back to "old" ways of eating. Hence different/too high calorie.
Most diets aren't geared toward maintenance. And those that are (south beach, atkins etc.) are generally ignored. Most people start a formal diet because their friend/officemate etc. starts one and shares a "foods list". They've often not read the principles of the diet, nor do they ever follow through with the maintenance phase. They lose weight. Stop, repeat.
most folks regain. You know that. Each of us, individually, needs to figure out what works for us. It's not one size (yours, apparently) fits all.
Best of luck on your journey.0 -
Drinking way too much water can lead to someone feeling gross and bloated. Drinking water is important, just not in excess.
Also, caffeine may help reduce bloat, which is often caused by water retention. This may not work for everyone, it has definitely worked for me for helping to more quickly reduce bloating for me without me having consumed plain water with it (just a cup of black tea and within 20 minutes I needed to pee and felt much better and less bloated).
You, apparently, have not tried a low-carb diet. If you had, you would know that one very common side affect is dehydration. Bloating, on the other hand: not so common.0 -
A low carb diet isn't an "elimination" diet. Some of the others suggested doing research on the low carb lifestyle, and I will suggest that as well. The concept of diets like Atkins, LCHF, etc is to lower your carb intake and get your body to switch from using carbs/sugar for energy to using fat for energy. Going from burning glucose to burning ketones. The Atkins website has great little lessons on each phase of their program. This goes to demolish the idea that the entire Atkins diet is within Phase 1 "Induction" where you only eat 20 grams of carbs per day. The point is to find your ideal carb intake, how many carbs you can have per day to continue to lose weight, and how many you can have to maintain, etc. Most people only use the first phase of the Atkins low carb lifestyle to quickly lose the weight and automatically go back to their old habits. There is a plethora of low carb information out there and a lot of motivation from people that have made keto a true lifestyle. I don't follow exactly the Atkins plan, but it did help me understand the concept initially. Dr. Peter Attia has some excellent information on his blog: http://eatingacademy.com/ as well as his own motivational story. It is truly a process to find what works for us as individuals, but definitely worth all the work and patience when we figure it out! Good luck!!0
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