CICO vs Low Carb?

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Replies

  • pmm3437
    pmm3437 Posts: 529 Member
    edited March 2015
    CICO and low carb are not mutually exclusive ( as many have said ).

    The diet she was describing sounds like a Ketogenic plan ( with a loading day ). Without more details, cant be sure.

    Low carb diets have been used in the past to treat epilepsy and help control diabetes.

    I could never maintain a meal plan like this long term, I love my breads and pasta too much. It can be a successful long term plan for some.

    *** As a side note, recommendations for carbs in a diet can vary based on body type ( endo, meso, ecto, etc ). ***
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited March 2015
    adowe wrote: »
    CICO is not a diet plan - it is an equation that even Low carbers have to follow.

    If going low carb is what gets you into a deficit it works.
    There are numerous people on here who are LC dieters.
    Many have had long term success.
    Right. MFP, counting, weighing, measuring etc. is your diet plan.
    A lot of it is a lifestyle preference. I don't like calorie counting. I don't do low carb, per-se, either. But I can see why some folks want to be told what to eat, and some folks want to be told how much.
    The key is: are you learning how to keep the weight off.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    edited March 2015
    adowe wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    leooftheyear wrote: »
    I meant CICO in terms of not restricting what you eat vs Low Carb and restricting your diet to such.

    So IIFYM/flexible dieting.

    Again, both are just means to an end to reach your CICO balance for your desired weight management goals. I do IIFYM, but I've done "clean eating" in the past (did not last, too restrictive for me).

    Pretty sure Low Carbers follow IIFYM.....

    And some low carbers follow "clean eating." All of these things are means to an end towards calorie restriction. I am not a low carber but I am an IIFYM.

    ETA iifym does not simply mean "I have a set of macros to follow." It means understanding that you can eat flexibly, eating what you desire while meeting your specific macronutrient needs, so that you do not need to cut anything out. If someone low carbs for weight loss and does not have a medical reason for doing so, I would not call their approach IIFYM because they are actively restricting for weight loss purposes. Someone who needs to eat low or moderate carb for e.g. diabetes sets their macro goals according to their needs and then eats whatever they want while meeting their nutritional needs, thajt's more IIFYM to me.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    adowe wrote: »
    CICO is not a diet plan - it is an equation that even Low carbers have to follow.

    If going low carb is what gets you into a deficit it works.
    There are numerous people on here who are LC dieters.
    Many have had long term success.
    Right. MFP, counting, weighing, measuring etc. is your diet plan.
    A lot of it is a lifestyle preference. I don't like calorie counting. I don't do low carb, per-se, either. But I can see why some folks want to be told what to eat, and some folks want to be told how much.
    The key is: are you learning how to keep the weight off.

    What are you trying to say in regards to quoting me?

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    milkywayward wrote: »
    I like low carb — I like to think of it as high protein — because (a) it helps me hit my protein goals for workout days and (b) I don't get hungry and I don't crave sugar. I also find myself eating more nutrient-dense foods and particularly non-starchy vegetables.

    I don't think the usual low carb diet is any higher in protein, at least not compared to something like 40-30-30. It's more exchanging fat and carbs.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    tennisdude2004 wrote: »
    adowe wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    I think you mean IIFYM vs Low carb? Both fall the laws of thermodynamics.


    Personally, I can't do low carb. It severely hurts my exercise performance and makes me miserable. It's potential that is because I generally have low blood sugar but who knows. Either way, my goal is to his 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass, .35 -.6g of fat and the remainder in carbs. I also shoot for 30-50g of fiber.

    Low Carb folks still fall under the IIFYM category as well.

    IIFYM folks still fall under the restricted diet category as well.



    Only with respect to calories, which EVERY diet does. I do not omit anything from my diet for weight loss reasons, and I easily go over on fat and under on carbs whenever I want. I only monitor protein for body composition. While still eating anything within my calorie needs.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    adowe wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    adowe wrote: »
    CICO is not a diet plan - it is an equation that even Low carbers have to follow.

    If going low carb is what gets you into a deficit it works.
    There are numerous people on here who are LC dieters.
    Many have had long term success.
    Right. MFP, counting, weighing, measuring etc. is your diet plan.
    A lot of it is a lifestyle preference. I don't like calorie counting. I don't do low carb, per-se, either. But I can see why some folks want to be told what to eat, and some folks want to be told how much.
    The key is: are you learning how to keep the weight off.

    What are you trying to say in regards to quoting me?
    I said "right" which meant I agreed with you.
  • terricherry2
    terricherry2 Posts: 222 Member
    If low carb is something that helps you keep on track then great, go for it. But you'll still need to make sure CI<CO in order to lose lbs.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    leooftheyear wrote: »
    I meant CICO in terms of not restricting what you eat vs Low Carb and restricting your diet to such.

    Depends on your goals and activity. If you're running a significant deficit, it may be necessary to restrict carbs so you have room for more protein - depending on your body and where you're trying to get to.

    But if you like running a lot, it may be necessary to restrict fat so you have more room for quick-acting carbs.

  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    leooftheyear wrote: »
    I meant CICO in terms of not restricting what you eat vs Low Carb and restricting your diet to such.

    Depends on your goals and activity. If you're running a significant deficit, it may be necessary to restrict carbs so you have room for more protein - depending on your body and where you're trying to get to.

    But if you like running a lot, it may be necessary to restrict fat so you have more room for quick-acting carbs.

    This was actually helpful to me because my running endurance has been down lately and I've been trying to hit my fat macro (30%). Lightbulb is going on.

    As for the OP, why don't you try it for a week or two and see if it works for you? I'm definitely in the eat-all-the-carbs category, but one of my best friends swears by low-carb and has shed weight doing it (she walks and lifts for exercise, almost no cardio).
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    For me, even when I was doing low-carb I had to do CICO. It did control my appetite quite a bit, though.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    KarenJanine wrote: »
    It's still CICO, whether it's low carb or not.

    This^^^

    Also, CICO isn't a diet or an approach...it's just the energy equation...every diet on the planet is CICO.
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