Low-Carb vs. The Real Food Diet

mariss323

I've long struggled with my weight. I joined Weight Watchers in August of last year and have seen very little results. I have done WW in the past (once being almost successful with an 80 pound weight loss but then life took over due to being in school). I tried the program online once or twice but was never fully committed. So I signed up again this past August but it has been slow going.

I am currently working full time and going to school part time. I have long days on Mondays and Tuesdays; I get up at 5:30 a.m. and am not home until 9:30-10:00 p.m. due to school in the evenings. The days that I don't have school when I get home I do school work. So time is obviously an issue.

But with that being said, I do not really think that the WW program is working for me. Recently I have been playing around with the same 1-3 lbs which is frustrating because I am very close to my 5% target of weight loss which WW set for me.

I am considering either a low-carb diet or the Real Food Diet by Dr, Josh Axe. Either one I chose I know will not be a diet but will be a lifestyle change. My question if I chose the low-carb diet is in order to compensate, how do I know which to chose in regards to high-protein or high-fat?

Can anyone offer some insight into this, please?

Thanks so much in advance for your time.

acmanna

I think that you need to find something that best fits you long term. It is all about calories in vs out. Try to log things as accurately as possible with measuring and weighing foods. That may be hard with your schedule but if you go out to eat often you can usually find nutrition information online. It is all about finding what works for you. Giving up foods that you love probably won't work.
I wish you all the best!

ndj1979

if you are not losing then you are not in a calorie deficit...

you can accomplish weight loss without either of those "diets"..

enter your stats into MFP and set it for one pound per week loss
get a food scale and weigh everything
make sure that you weigh/log/measure everything
eat the foods you like and don't distinguish between "bad" and "good" foods. Food is just food that your body uses for energy, there is nothing moralistic about it.
set your carbs/fats/protein to 35 carbs/35 protein/30 fat
exercise, lift weights, walk, run, move, whatever if you want to, but is not necessary for weight loss.
repeat until you hit desired results...

rand486

mariss323 wrote: »

I've long struggled with my weight... once being almost successful with an 80 pound weight loss but then life took over due to being in school

I am considering either a low-carb diet or the Real Food Diet by Dr, Josh Axe. Either one I chose I know will not be a diet but will be a lifestyle change.

In my opinion, your diet should never be capitalized. As soon as something has a proper noun, I consider it garbage.

You say you lost 80 lbs once, and then gained it back because of "life". Well... no, you gained it back because you never learned to eat properly and sustainably.

Learn proper serving sizes (that's the true value of calorie counting), what foods you can eat lots of, and what you can't, and sooner or later, you may find you don't need to count calories anymore, because you've developed a healthy attitude towards food.

Low carb, high fat, high protein, whatever. These are all tricks - learn to eat in a way that makes you happy and skinny/fit (ie: fits your calorie restrictions for your goal weight), and you won't have to rely on Proper Noun Diets® for the rest of your life

mariss323

Thanks guys. I appreciate your input.

rand486 you said it best and I think you are most accurate with your answer. I never did learn to eat properly. Any tips on where I can find sound advice on this? In all honesty, after doing WW before, I do not think they push the healthy way at all. Lots of 100-calorie packs, cereal bars, whatever.

How many calories should I aim to eat/day?

JPW1990

I would suggest a lot of research before you pick either, because low carb isn't a choice between high protein or high fat. You should have adequate protein for your lean body mass, no matter how you're eating, and from there choose low carb, making up the difference with fat, or low fat, making up the difference with carbs. The difference lies in your preferences, low carb you get less hunger and more food, low fat you get more "treats" if you're into sugary things.

af_wife2004

I have been really happy with the results I've sustained basing my changes on http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ I'm steadily losing 1.2 lbs per week. I weigh or measure EVERYTHING! I don't deny myself anything I want but I've gotten smarter about my choices. I no longer want four pieces of pizza, wings, and breadsticks or an entire candy bar. I find when I'm honest with myself, my body doesn't "crave" unreasonable proportions and I found I've lost my taste for a lot of the "junk" foods I used to eat. I've spent years using WW and always yo-yo'd or regained. If you would like to friend me, you can see my food log and when/what I eat.

x_Minerva_x

I did keto (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) for a year, and lost a crazy amount of weight (I went from 220 to 160.)

However, I ended up getting depressed due to some unfortunate events that I would rather not get into, which involved an immediate family member. I also had some major life changes (working again after being a home maker for 7 years, and going back to college.) I realize that all this was really no excuse, but it is what it is. I stumbled, and now I am getting back up; I am only human.

While I learned to eat appropriately, and knew proper portions I just stopped caring and shoveled my face with crap I should never have, and thus ballooned right back up. I admit, there was a lot of grief eating involved.

Now, I've got myself back together, and have started over again.

That said, it's not for everyone, but I can tell you it helps me with the hunger issue I used to have. Also, I no longer bloat up (which makes me happy.) In truth, I've struggled with my weight for years, and so far it's been the most effective way.

My best advice is to explore your options, read up on what people are saying about it, and try to come up with a plan that fits your needs. If that doesn't work you could always consult a dietitian on the matter.

lemurcat12

mariss323 wrote: »

Thanks guys. I appreciate your input.

rand486 you said it best and I think you are most accurate with your answer. I never did learn to eat properly. Any tips on where I can find sound advice on this? In all honesty, after doing WW before, I do not think they push the healthy way at all. Lots of 100-calorie packs, cereal bars, whatever.

How many calories should I aim to eat/day?

I think people make this harder on themselves than they need to. One place to start is MFP's calorie goals, but remember that it gives you the goal assuming you will not exercise and that 2 lbs/week are not appropriate for everyone, so you might want to see calories for 1 lb/week and then plan to exercise to increase the loss if you have lots to lose. You can always adjust later, too depending on loss rate.

For eating, it's really no more complicated than what we all kind of think of as a healthy diet, IMO -- get enough protein, get your veggies and some fruit if you like it, and fill out the plate with some starches (potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, etc.) or dairy, depending on personal taste. Whole grains and beans are great for fiber (as are many fruits and veggies). Keep in some treats that you like, whether they be chips or sweets, but remember they have lots of calories, so you'll want to eat them in more limited amounts (moderation). Don't go too low on fats--they have lots of calories but tend to be quite filling and satisfying. Make sure you enjoy what you are eating, or you won't be able to do it for life. Many of us find that cooking tends to make it easier, as you have more control over calories and it's easy to make a filling tasty meal with not that many calories (and also this seems consistent with your leanings if considering something called the "whole food diet").

MFP gives decent starting estimates for things like fiber (a better thing to track than sugar) and protein, etc. Many people (including me) think the protein is a bit low, but it's not a bad place to start and then you can adjust as you go along.

pelpelpel

1200 calories is a bit of a magic number- and there's quite a lot of bumf on it on the web. I have been doing this for 5 weeks and I've lost 12lb. I used to do the core plan on ww years ago- do they still do it? It basically teaches you to eat more healthily. 1200 is stacks of calories if you are making good food choices- lots of veg fruit grains. Low dairy/wheat/alcohol /really processed food is always a winner. Hope this helps x sorry if it doesn't good luck x x x