Cutting carbs
jakeziskin1
Posts: 175 Member
Hey everyone. Just had a question. First off is it ok if you don't eat a lot of carbs. I was curious because some posts online say you can lose weight if you eat 0-20 carbs a day.
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Also is it healthy. I know carbs give you energy but what if you had zero for a week? I hope I'm not upsetting anyone with my post. I was just curious. I have a zero carb protein shake and wanted to sub all my meals for shakes. Is this ok. And again just curious, I'm not looking to do anything unhealthy or promote anything unhealthy. Thanks for any advice!0
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All actual weight loss is from a calorie deficit.
How you get a calorie deficit is up to you. Any diet will work as long as you end up with a calorie deficit.
There's nothing special about low carb from a weight loss point of view. Low carb is fine though if you want to go that way.0 -
I'm good with calorie counter. I also go to the gym Monday through Saturday and burn 1500 calories a day. I have only been eating 1250 calories a day. I know it's low but it was just to kick start a healthier living. In sure I was eating 2500-4000 a day. Know a days I eat tons of low calorie fruit, sugar free calorie free jello, tuna chicken, tons of veggies and that's basically it. I just thought if I ate less carbs I may lose weight alittle faster.0
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »I'm good with calorie counter. I also go to the gym Monday through Saturday and burn 1500 calories a day. I have only been eating 1250 calories a day. I know it's low but it was just to kick start a healthier living. In sure I was eating 2500-4000 a day. Know a days I eat tons of low calorie fruit, sugar free calorie free jello, tuna chicken, tons of veggies and that's basically it. I just thought if I ate less carbs I may lose weight alittle faster.
Veggies are mostly carbs and water.0 -
jakeziskin1 wrote: »I'm good with calorie counter. I also go to the gym Monday through Saturday and burn 1500 calories a day. I have only been eating 1250 calories a day. I know it's low but it was just to kick start a healthier living. In sure I was eating 2500-4000 a day. Know a days I eat tons of low calorie fruit, sugar free calorie free jello, tuna chicken, tons of veggies and that's basically it. I just thought if I ate less carbs I may lose weight alittle faster.
Fruit, too.0 -
That's why I though I could cut most all foods and try a protein shake week. Is that healthy having shakes only for a week0
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Don't do a protein shake week. Too much protein isn't good for you. Don't eat more than 1 gram of protein per pound of your ideal weight per day.
Where's the fire? Slow and steady wins the race. Find a way of eating that works for you and eat that. I've lost about 1.5 pounds per week eating 50% carbs/20% protein/30% fat.
If you aren't losing, check out this chart by lemonlionheart:
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »That's why I though I could cut most all foods and try a protein shake week. Is that healthy having shakes only for a week
No. And why would you want to? Put your info into my fitness pal, pick the deficit you want to hit each week (most people should only choose 1 pound unless very overweight) and eat what it tells you. Cutting carbs won't necessarily result in a loss. Cutting calories, however, will. This part of your weight loss should be about developing healthy, long term habits. Where does a week of only shakes fit into your long term healthy lifestyle?0 -
Low carb should be paired with high fat. If you go 20g or less carbs, your body will eventually go into ketosis. It will be using fat for energy instead of carbs. It doesn't have any special magic to increase weight loss. Calories matter. It isn't a good idea to just drink protein shakes for numerous reasons, including the low fat content as I mentioned above. It isn't a race to lose it fast..It's a lifestyle change. Just eat and exercise like a normal person and you will be healthy.0
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »That's why I though I could cut most all foods and try a protein shake week. Is that healthy having shakes only for a week
Sounds like a crash diet waiting to happen. Don't make things so complicated, set realistic goals, have some sweets and make it fit into your calorie goal. Oh yes and eat back some of your burned exercise calories, otherwise you will burn out and binge. Wanted to add that the 1500 calories you think you are burning at the gym is probably a lot less.
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Thanks everyone for such helpful posts!0
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And the main reason I asked was basically if cutting carbs would help speed up weight loss0
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I'm great with calorie counter, and eat much less than I burn. But I thought by eating 20 or less carbs a day and putting my body in ketosis mode. I thought I'd lose more fat, get more lean and lose weight faster. Like I said before I eat 1250 calories a day and every day burn 1500 calories and that's only tread mill calories. That's not including the sauna, weights and my everyday calories I burn. I am making great progress! A again was just curious if I'd lose weight even faster not eating many carbs. Like I said my goals 10 carbs a day for a few weeks if it will help, like I said before along with already burning more calories than Itake in.0
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »And the main reason I asked was basically if cutting carbs would help speed up weight loss
yes and no. you will lose water weight fast at the beginning, then even out. Fat loss? No.0 -
Gotcha ok thanks again all. I guess I won't worry about lowering the carbs to much then and just continue to conserve myself with my calories.0
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »That's why I though I could cut most all foods and try a protein shake week. Is that healthy having shakes only for a week
Sounds like a crash diet waiting to happen. Don't make things so complicated, set realistic goals, have some sweets and make it fit into your calorie goal. Oh yes and eat back some of your burned exercise calories, otherwise you will burn out and binge. Wanted to add that the 1500 calories you think you are burning at the gym is probably a lot less.
Thanks for your concern but I have been eating 1250 calories a day for over 3 months, haven't binged and don't intend to until I'm at my goal weight. I appreciate all the help and will make sure I continue doing this right0 -
It's funny, it was hard at first but I haven't had any sweets, pizza cheeseburger type fast food. I've been trying to really change, I've lost around 30 pounds so far and have around 35 to go. But if I should eat more I guess I would. But I'm honestly ok with 1250. I feel good!0
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Multiple thoughts:
1. How much are you trying to lose? (Height/weight/age)
2. Your username implies you are a guy - why therefore are you eating less than the recommended minimum NET calories for men (1500)?
3. You are not burning 1500 calories at the gym. And if you were, then you need to be eating more like 2500-3000.
4. Doing a week of protein shakes sounds like a terrible idea. A miserable, starving, unhealthy, terrible idea.0 -
Multiple thoughts:
1. How much are you trying to lose? (Height/weight/age)
2. Your username implies you are a guy - why therefore are you eating less than the recommended minimum NET calories for men (1500)?
3. You are not burning 1500 calories at the gym. And if you were, then you need to be eating more like 2500-3000.
4. Doing a week of protein shakes sounds like a terrible idea. A miserable, starving, unhealthy, terrible idea.
First off please don't be rude. Second off I was already advised on how shakes for a week was a bad idea but thank you. And in regards to me burning 1500 calories a day. YES I DO. How can you say no I don't, do you work out with me? I'm on the olyptical every day Monday to Saturday two times a day at the gym, I burn 750 get off do weights sauna relax. Do it again. Repeat daily, break Sunday.0 -
Also 1500 is yes recommended but I don't believe it is always necessary. I could be wrong and if im so I apologize. I've been doing well for a few months now on 1250. I'm sure il raise it up again but right now I'm working on losing the weight I want to lose. Thank again for reaching out.0
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I eat very low carb, fewer than 20g of carbs per day, but like the others said, I don't do it for a faster weight loss. Some people with insulin resistance may lose slightly faster on a low carb high fat diet, but it is only a matter of a few pounds. It isn't much of a difference.
One benefit of a low carb diet can be a reduced appetite so you eat less, but your calories are already quite low. I am a middle aged 5'8" sedentary mom who was eating 1500 kcal per day to lose a couple of pounds per week - losing faster is not generally advised. You could probably increase your calories by quite a bit and still lose very successfully.
If you eat low carb, you'll need to increase fats or protein. Most increase fats. You may want to do some reading on it before changing your diet. Jimmy Moore has a good blog and a book, Keto Clarity. Atkins has a lot of info, and the Dukan and south beach diets are relatively low carb too. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living has lots of great info.
Also, if you stay that low carb you will probably experience an electrolyte imbalance and get headaches, fatigued, or ill. Increase sodium to 3000-5000 mg and consider increasing potassium and magnesium.
ETA I wouldn't go with the shakes. Start as you mean to go on. KWIM?
Good luck.
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »Multiple thoughts:
1. How much are you trying to lose? (Height/weight/age)
2. Your username implies you are a guy - why therefore are you eating less than the recommended minimum NET calories for men (1500)?
3. You are not burning 1500 calories at the gym. And if you were, then you need to be eating more like 2500-3000.
4. Doing a week of protein shakes sounds like a terrible idea. A miserable, starving, unhealthy, terrible idea.
First off please don't be rude. Second off I was already advised on how shakes for a week was a bad idea but thank you. And in regards to me burning 1500 calories a day. YES I DO. How can you say no I don't, do you work out with me? I'm on the olyptical every day Monday to Saturday two times a day at the gym, I burn 750 get off do weights sauna relax. Do it again. Repeat daily, break Sunday.
So you are a guy? People say not to go below 1500 for several reasons, one of which was mentioned. You may feel fine on 1250 now but the hunger often has a cumulative effect and once it catches up with you it often derails you. That's not the only reason though. The minimum calorie count is inputed for reasons above hunger and binging. Less than 1500 puts you at risk for not getting the minimum nutrients/vitamins/minerals/calories for your basic metabolic functions which means if you sustain this deficit in the long term it can have really major health risks associated with it. If you aren't working with a doctor on this calorie level, I would highly recommend upping your calories to 1500 at the bare minimum.0 -
OP you seem really confused. I'd suggest reading the stickies. If in fact you were eating so little and burning so many calories you wouldn't be feeling so great. It seems you are eating more than you think and way over estimating your calorie burn. You say you aren't, but don't exactly say how you are reaching these numbers and since we don't have your stats there's no way for anyone to help you understand this.0
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »Also 1500 is yes recommended but I don't believe it is always necessary.
Me neither, no idea where it came from and MFP haven't implemented it on the automatic goal setting.
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Its been helping me with High Proteing/Low Carb approach. I followed Atkins years ago with no weight training and pounds came off. But I wasn't firm and toned. I started Atkins induction phase with 20 or below on Dec. 29 to jump start my journey. Now I do 50 carbs and below daily. Because my body changed over to Ketosis recently, moderate amount and its still in Ketosis. I'm thankful. I'm losing inches a lot faster this time due to weight training, the scale didn't move for 17 days then BOOM 3 lbs went. I have Hashimotos, Lyme, Celiac, and Menopause fighting against me everyday, so my journey is a challenge to say the least. But I keep fighting and staying consistent. I like the High Protein/Low Carb because I have more energy and not hungry like a diet leaves you. It's more of a lifestyle for me... but do what works for YOU. Good Luck!!!
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You may well be burning 1500 calories on an elliptical but that would take me personally 3.5 hours at a resistance of 17 out of 25 and a speed of about 5mph
I'm 5'8, 160lbs, female and fairly fit
if you weigh a lot more perhaps you could cut that time down
just be careful believing what machines spit out and go by weight loss
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jakeziskin1 wrote: »Also 1500 is yes recommended but I don't believe it is always necessary.
Me neither, no idea where it came from and MFP haven't implemented it on the automatic goal setting.
Yes you do
http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals0 -
OP I do think maybe you might wish to reevaluate your calorific and protein minimums and your exercise programme
When you lose weight all scale weight is a mixture of water, fat and LBM (eg muscle)
You really might want to limit the amount of muscle you lose, because muscle is what makes us, at a decent body fat% dependent on aesthetic ideal, look and feel awesome.
In defecit a good protein minimum is to consider 0.64g - 0.8g protein per lb bodyweight (fat minimum at 0.35g per lb bodyweight)
Cardio, elliptical work, does burn more calories than strength training. But a progressive resistance programme will further help protect you from undue loss of LBM as you cut. But for cardiovascular health you really only need a couple of 20-30 minute sessions per week
There are bodyweight programmes and weights programmes and a whole range of programmes that fit into progressive resistance but I would strongly, strongly recommend anyone does this
also you need to eat to fuel your life and exercise so too low and you'll get exhausted, ill and give up.. too high and you won't lose weight .. keep your weight loss at around 1% of your total bw as a decent enough guideline, average it over each 6- 8 weeks rolling period and you should be getting decent feedback for how much you are actually eating vs burning
best of luck0 -
jakeziskin1 wrote: »Also 1500 is yes recommended but I don't believe it is always necessary.
Me neither, no idea where it came from and MFP haven't implemented it on the automatic goal setting.
Yes you do
http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals
Sadly the referred document does not support 1,500 as a lower limit...
" A patient may choose a diet of 1,000 to 1,200 kcal/day for women and 1,200 to 1,500 kcal/day for men. "
Perhaps as well they never implemented it.0 -
jakeziskin1 wrote: »Also 1500 is yes recommended but I don't believe it is always necessary.
Me neither, no idea where it came from and MFP haven't implemented it on the automatic goal setting.
Yes you do
http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals
Sadly the referred document does not support 1,500 as a lower limit...
" A patient may choose a diet of 1,000 to 1,200 kcal/day for women and 1,200 to 1,500 kcal/day for men. "
Perhaps as well they never implemented it.
Sorry yarwell I didn't look at the document just at MFP stating they'd set a 1500 minimum for men. As I am not male I didn't know this was another glitch. "To align with these guidelines myfitnesspal has implemented a separate calorie minimum for males of 1,500 calories per day. Previously, the minimum was 1,200 calories for both men and women." perhaps @alex can look into this?
As for the document embedded in that page, I'll admit I haven't read it in it's entirety but assumed that the MFP team had hence the line above.
I will absolutely concede that I can't easily find a minimum recommendation in that document but I'd love to know the surrounding context of that quote you've provided if you'd be so kind.
To support MFP's stance as detailed on that page I did find this:
When I scanned I found this which would imply that there is no need for dropping to VLCD status for the majority (I note MFP say " users with guidance from a physician or registered dietitian can customize their goals" :
"Goals of Weight Loss and Management.
The initial goal of weight loss therapy is to reduce body weight by approximately 10 percent from baseline. If this goal is achieved, further weight loss can be attempted, if indicated through further evaluation. A reasonable time line for a 10 percent reduction in body weight is 6 months of therapy.
For overweight patients with BMIs in the typical range of 27 to 35, a decrease of 300 to 500 kcal/day will result in weight losses of about 1 ⁄2 to 1 lb/week and a 10 percent loss in 6 months. For more severely obese patients
with BMIs > 35, deficits of up to 500 to 1,000 kcal/day will lead to weight losses of about 1 to 2 lb/week and a 10 percent weight loss in 6 months. Weight loss at the rate of 1 to 2 lb/week (calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 kcal/day) commonly occurs for up to 6 months. After 6 months, the rate of weight loss usually declines and weight plateaus
because of a lesser energy expenditure at the lower weight."0
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