anybody doing a low carb diet?

ricschick

think this might be best for me but wondered if somebody can give me quick outline on the rules! is this also calorie based? thanks

WBB55

Many people find they can control calories and feel more satisfied by eating low carb. But if you gave us more info about your goals and what kinds of food you enjoy, we'd be able to give you more targeted advice.

Eating fewer calories than your body uses in a day is the only way to lose weight. How you achieve that calorie balance is up to you. Low carb, low fat, IIFYM... it's up to you.

lyndahh75

I have done the low carb, there are various forms but all follow the same basic guidelines. The goal is to eliminate sugar and starches like breads, pastas, and any goodies that contain refined sugar. I suggest you look into perhaps Atkins Diet revolution- it is a book written by Dr. Atkins. He states that the first two weeks of the diet you are to consume no more than 20 Grams of carbs, most of your carbs should come from leafy green vegetables. NO sugar, no fruit for the first two weeks. It is to put your body into ketosis and detox you. He also recommends taking a multi vitamin. You can eat (according to the book) unlimited amounts of meat, eggs, butter and oil. Cheese in moderation. You do not have to count calories according to the book (i didn't when I did the diet). Instead, you count carbs. The newer diet version has you count net carbs but die hard low carbers will suggest count carbs- as is.
After two weeks you can begin adding more carbs into your diet by 5 grams. You can do this until you notice the weight loss is slowing down. Many people stay in induction (the first two week phase) for a longer period of time. This can set you up for failure if you do it too long. In phase three you can start adding fruit and whole grains in, unless you find you are sensitive to it and begin gaining weight.

If you are used to low fat eating, be prepared to be surprised. You can eat bacon, fatty steaks, pork etc.....as the higher fat content is what your body uses to fuel itself.
The idea of this diet is to convert stored fat into energy. Your body turns into a fat burning machine when you don't consume a high carb diet- since our body uses carbs as its first fuel source.

There are a few forms of low carb:
Sugar Busters
Paleo
South Beach
Atkins
mediterranean
Carb cycling
Keto diet
to name a few...

nvmomketo

I agree that Atkins is an easy place to start. But the induction phase is very LCHF, and is basically a ketogenic diet. I've been eating that way for a few months and enjoying it, so it can work well for some people.

For me, the basics of low carb is

• No added sugar
• No processed foods that have carbs (a sausage is usually fine, a Lean Cuisine meal or frozen pizza would probably be a problem)
• No foods made from or with flour (some low carbers use coconut or almond flour, and the most active low carbers use some flour)
• Limit or avoid starchy veggies like potatoes, yams, turnips, carrots - veggies grown under fround have more starches
• Restrict most fruit - berries are fine. Again this depends on how low carb you go.
• Eat lots of meat, seafood, eggs, cream, cheese, coconut, avocado, butter and oils (coconut is my favourite), olives, nuts, and green leafy veggies or colourful veggies. Some use small amounts of artificial sweeteners like xylitol or stevia.
• Increase your water and electrolytes (sodium, magnesium, potasium). You'll lose a lot of water that carbs were causing you to retaina and the resulting low electrolyte levels may make you feel poorly.
• Low carb is usually considered to be under 150g of carbs per day. Very LCHF is under 50g or 25g per day, and will put you in ketosis (mainly fat oxidizing for fuel). When you cut carbs, replace calories with fats or some protein. Low carb is usually also high fat.

That's my own *rules*. For more info try the Low Carber Daily group. Good luck!!

Azuriaz

I am. It's the only way I lose consistently and stay sane. And it's really not bad, except when my inner spoiled brat cries for cake.

But then again, I love meat. I always have. I don't eat any low carb processed products (bars, meals, shakes, nothing). There were no healthy high carb foods it was hard for me to give up (junk food was another matter). I had the luxury of not having to go to a job while dealing with low carb flu (that only happens if you go low enough carb to get into ketosis, and it doesn't affect everyone to the same degree, but for me days 4-6 can be an utter misery).

You have a lot of things to decide and consider if you go low carb, and like WBB55 said, you haven't given us much info to help you with.

Monklady123

For me personally I've gone "low carb" by eliminating most bread, all pasta, and as much added sugar as I can. I do eat Ezekiel bread (or Trader Joe's version) which is sprouted grains not flour. I don't understand the difference but for some reason I don't get the bloating and gassy feeling from it that I do from regular bread.

Otherwise I'm not eliminating carbs in vegetables, except that I don't eat many potatoes because everything that I like to eat on them -- butter, sour cream, cheese -- is high-calorie. lol. I like french fries from time to time but only if I buy them from Wendy's. That way I can get just that one serving and not have any hanging around in my freezer.

TeaBea

WBB55 wrote: »

Many people find they can control calories and feel more satisfied by eating low carb. But if you gave us more info about your goals and what kinds of food you enjoy, we'd be able to give you more targeted advice.

Eating fewer calories than your body uses in a day is the only way to lose weight. How you achieve that calorie balance is up to you. Low carb, low fat, IIFYM... it's up to you.

This^

It's all about being consistent.

That consistency should carry over to maintenance too.....a smaller you will require fewer calories forever.

kshama2001

Monklady123 wrote: »

For me personally I've gone "low carb" by eliminating most bread, all pasta, and as much added sugar as I can. I do eat Ezekiel bread (or Trader Joe's version) which is sprouted grains not flour. I don't understand the difference but for some reason I don't get the bloating and gassy feeling from it that I do from regular bread.

Otherwise I'm not eliminating carbs in vegetables, except that I don't eat many potatoes because everything that I like to eat on them -- butter, sour cream, cheese -- is high-calorie. lol. I like french fries from time to time but only if I buy them from Wendy's. That way I can get just that one serving and not have any hanging around in my freezer.

Bread from flour does funny things to me. Sometimes it makes me sleepy and sometimes it triggers carb cravings. (I'm not eating it alone, but with protein and fat.) Bread made from sprouted grains instead doesn't do this. I used to eat Ezekial/Food for Life, but Alvarado St Bakery Essential Flax is my new fav.

It's much easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit if I reduce carbs. Yesterday, I had more carbs than usual at breakfast and lunch and felt out of whack and was craving baked goods all day.

lindsey1979

"Low carb" is a very amorphous term here in MFP. As some have already pointed out, it can mean extremely low carb like a ketogenic diet where your body switches over from glucose as its primary fuel to ketones or it could be something more moderate where carbs are restricted but not to the levels to put you into ketosis.

I personally restrict my carbs primarily by type, though I keep track of the overall numbers too. For me, this means that I avoid most of the fast-acting ones like bread, pasta, grain based sweets, etc. and get most of my carb numbers from non-starchy vegetables. I still eat fruit and starchy vegetables, but in limited amounts as those carbs add up fast. I eat some added sugar stuff, but this is pretty limited and I make sure not to over do it. This usually means that I eat 100-150 g carb on a daily basis. It's higher on lifting days for me where I'll have more carbs after a work out -- often a starchy vegetable like sweet potato, rice or steel cut oats.

I find keto screws up my thyroid stuff too much, so I avoid it (I have a thyroid disorder), but staying in the 100-150 g is a sweet spot for me. I suspect more than anything that it's avoiding the gluten-containing grains that really does it for me (the bread, pasta, processed grain products, etc.) -- both rice and oats don't have gluten and they don't seem to impact me at all. But, getting rid of the grains just makes me feel better. Since my thyroid condition is autoimmune in nature (Hashi's), this may be the reason as gluten tends to be a trigger for many Hashi's folks.

Others will restrict their carbs on a meal-by-meal basis, only eating a certain amount of carbs as a max with any meal and making sure to eat both protein and fat at the same time. This is a common way a lot of people with diabetes will approach carb restriction.

So, in the end, there are a LOT of different ways to do this. It really will come down to your personal preference in compliance and the results you see from the various ways. Give one a try and if it's not working for you, feel free to adjust to another strategy.

GaleHawkins

ricschick wrote: »

think this might be best for me but wondered if somebody can give me quick outline on the rules! is this also calorie based? thanks

@ricschick the standard rule is simple. Just eat <50 grams of carbs daily and drink a lot of water.

Well I had to make up the lost carb calories in my case with fats. Too much protein leads my body to make too much glucose to stay in nutritional ketosis (where one is living on fats vs sugars).

Low carb will not work for most people because I found it really hard going against what I had learned the prior 63 years. I was facing failing health at the speed of light before I would give up all grains and most all sugars to get and keep my carbs <50 grams daily.

In my case after grossly over consuming carbs for 40 years the first two weeks at <50 grams daily was hellish for me then the grain induced cravings started to fade. At first I thought carbs were needed by humans to be healthy so I had to learn that was false medical info and wrap my brain around that fact before I could give up living on carbs.

I did it starting Oct 2014 for pain management and 30 days later my pain was better managed than any time over the past 40 years even with Rx Meds. Six months later my 40 years of IBS was cured. Yes I have lost some weight and a lot of inches of fat but I am not driven by a weight loss goal. For the first time in 22 years I am under 200 pounds. Waist has dropped from 44 to 38 inches for example.

Of course very Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) is calorie based but is not low calorie at all in my case. I lose eating 2600 calories daily and maintain at 3000. The key to not gaining weight may be my 5% carb, 15% protein and 80% fat macro.

I have not been able to gain any weight for the last year because I am so stuffed all of the time I just push back from the table. In my case that did not happen when I was living mainly on carbs because I could not get the "full" feeling from carbs.

Now I know grains block the "full" feeling. I just researched pain management by diet and went the LCHF route before I even heard of Low Carb High Fat way of eating or found MFP.

Since LCHF is managing my pain well and I like its side effects I plan to eat this way daily until the end.

Best of success if you decide to try LCHF. It is not 'required' for the masses to lose weight. My health was failing and for 40 years of dieting I had always had an 100%+ regains after each loss so when I discovered LCHF lowers my risks of regaining weight I decided it was a keeper for life.

ricschick

wow thank you so much everyone!!

well im 157pounds and im 5ft 1. I want to lose around 21 pounds. I love bread but I feel I can get rid of this as it bloats me out so much. im going to cut out bread, pastas, rice and potatoes but I do need 1 sugar in my tea!!lol

so if I cut these and increase protein and fats I will lose weight?? what sort of fats do I eat?

vivmom2014

You lose weight by eating at a calorie deficit, not by cutting out whole categories of foods.

Azuriaz

ricschick wrote: »

wow thank you so much everyone!!

well im 157pounds and im 5ft 1. I want to lose around 21 pounds. I love bread but I feel I can get rid of this as it bloats me out so much. im going to cut out bread, pastas, rice and potatoes but I do need 1 sugar in my tea!!lol

so if I cut these and increase protein and fats I will lose weight?? what sort of fats do I eat?

You can eat butter, eggs, cheese, and fatty cuts of meat. But it's true if you don't create a calorie deficit you won't lose an ounce. I just happen to find it easier to create a calorie deficit when I'm not hungry and craving all day. If the one sugar in your tea doesn't cause you any issues, have at!

There are several low carb groups here on MFP that can help, just click groups, they list by number of members, so if you select the top low carb/keto/Atkins ones you'll likely have joined the most active ones.

ntinkham88

I do low carb and I know a lot of others who do it as well and absolutely love it. The big thing for me is my cravings are gone now. They would get so bad on a low fat diet and I'd end up binging all the time. I'm doing much better on this diet though. Fat satisfies and keeps you full longer. I do extremely low carb at only 5%. My fat is set at 75% and protein is 20%.

I find it pretty easy to eat low carb and you can still eat the foods you love. Bacon burgers without a bun are my favorite!

lindsey1979

ricschick wrote: »

wow thank you so much everyone!!

well im 157pounds and im 5ft 1. I want to lose around 21 pounds. I love bread but I feel I can get rid of this as it bloats me out so much. im going to cut out bread, pastas, rice and potatoes but I do need 1 sugar in my tea!!lol

so if I cut these and increase protein and fats I will lose weight?? what sort of fats do I eat?

If you do this and stay in a calorie deficit, you should lose. Some like to keep with the idea that a deficit is all you need. While I think this is true as a general statement, HOW you choose to create that deficit can make a big difference in your results.

For example, there was a study done a couple years ago with obese women who were insulin resistant and those who were insulin sensitive. The insulin sensitive women lost nearly twice as much weight with more carbs. It was the exact opposite for the insulin resistant women. They lost nearly twice as much with less carbs. The protein and caloric deficits were the same across all groups -- so same amount of calories proportionally, but how they created their respective deficits yielded dramatically different results. If I could lose nearly twice as much weight by simply adjusting my carbs, I'd definitely want to know about that!

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2005.79/full

Almost half of the US adult population has insulin resistance (at prediabetic or diabetic levels) and the vast majority of them don't know it. That's why it can feel like a magic bullet or a small miracle for people who didn't realize they were insulin resistant and reduce carbs and see dramatically improved results.

So, in the end, it will be a process of trial and error for what works best for YOU. Restricting carbs while creating your deficit may create better results for you like the insulin resistant women. Or you may find that it's not that helpful -- either because you're like the insulin sensitive women and would do better with more carbs or because it's too difficult for from a compliance perspective. So, all you can do is try and evaluate for yourself.

CrazyMermaid1

I've been doing a modified version of low carb for a few years. It's easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit that way. I LOVE bread and flour and can never feel full when I eat it so low carb eating will be in my future forever if I want to maintain.