Low carb... Is it a diet fad?
Options
Replies
-
I do low carb low fat, high protein and high fiber. If I follow weight watchers pts and label all my food at home before I begin the week it helps. I see the things with high pts and chose them less because I only have so many pts I can eat a day. You also get extra cheat pts. that basically add to your weekly intake. You have to take a test to find out how many pts. you get. Tall? short? man? woman? active? sedentary? age? All of this determines number of starting pts. I get 26 a day...and 7 daily cheats or I can save them and add them up for the weekend for a cheat meal. All veggies and fruits are free except canned fruit. If you rinse it with water then 0 again. Potatoes, corn and avocados have pts. Plus drinking lots of water keeps you from eating junk. even 6 glasses a day can help if you are consistent. There are many diets out there that can help you lose weight...but I know there are many people out there that have trouble spots. People who are not necessarily unhappy with whole body...but body parts. The low carb diet is good for people who tend to carry weight in their lower belly, hips and thighs. Basically the whole mid section. Once you keep this up you start to learn pts by heart. It is easier to go out to eat, and easier to know what to cook or have together. Plus it is a well balanced diet.0
-
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I do low carb low fat, high protein and high fiber. If I follow weight watchers pts and label all my food at home before I begin the week it helps. I see the things with high pts and chose them less because I only have so many pts I can eat a day. You also get extra cheat pts. that basically add to your weekly intake. You have to take a test to find out how many pts. you get. Tall? short? man? woman? active? sedentary? age? All of this determines number of starting pts. I get 26 a day...and 7 daily cheats or I can save them and add them up for the weekend for a cheat meal. All veggies and fruits are free except canned fruit. If you rinse it with water then 0 again. Potatoes, corn and avocados have pts. Plus drinking lots of water keeps you from eating junk. even 6 glasses a day can help if you are consistent. There are many diets out there that can help you lose weight...but I know there are many people out there that have trouble spots. People who are not necessarily unhappy with whole body...but body parts. The low carb diet is good for people who tend to carry weight in their lower belly, hips and thighs. Basically the whole mid section. Once you keep this up you start to learn pts by heart. It is easier to go out to eat, and easier to know what to cook or have together. Plus it is a well balanced diet.
low carb is not going to help you lose belly fat any faster then moderate carb/high protein will.
and explain to me how it is a balanced diet when you are consuming 50% more than the minimum fat requirement?0 -
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I do low carb low fat, high protein and high fiber.
Which means what? Seems hard to do low carb/high protein and get high fiber, but maybe you mean something different than I would by that.0 -
I feel you can keep under your calorie count and still eat crap! Agreeing with Action Annie. A well balanced diet it the key. If i eat lots of carbs for breakfast and use tons of my pts. It forces me to eat more fruit and veggies and protein the other meals, or i can spread it out. It is so flexible. To me it is the best diet out there. A lot of people think it is hoax because of Oprah doing the commercials now...but it has been around for many years and has worked for many people, and now with the new program it is better then ever. If you are struggling to lose weight and keep it off...try weight watchers. What can you lose? Oh yeah...weight!!!!!0
-
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I feel you can keep under your calorie count and still eat crap! Agreeing with Action Annie. A well balanced diet it the key. If i eat lots of carbs for breakfast and use tons of my pts. It forces me to eat more fruit and veggies and protein the other meals, or i can spread it out. It is so flexible. To me it is the best diet out there. A lot of people think it is hoax because of Oprah doing the commercials now...but it has been around for many years and has worked for many people, and now with the new program it is better then ever. If you are struggling to lose weight and keep it off...try weight watchers. What can you lose? Oh yeah...weight!!!!!
My issue with WW is that it cuts calories by a ridiculous amount. My wife tried it and they had her on a 1000 calorie diet and only had 20 lbs to lose.
And the weight you can lose will be more than fat if it's that aggressive.. it will also be muscle, which will mean a lower metabolism.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »sorry, LCHF is not healthier than any other way of eating that hits micros and macros….
I do hit my micros and macros though.
I had a piece of cake the other day. It was small but had sugar. I also had a higher carb meal (for me). Within 24 hours my autoimmune arthritis was acting up rather badly (first time in past 6 months when I avoided sugary cake) and my blood glucose was up for over 24 hours...
So in your opinion, LCHF is still not healthier for some people with health issues like that?
its not healthier than any other way of eating that hits micros and macros, period.
I don't believe we were discussing medical conditions in this thread.
Medical conditions determine a large part of some people's health.
Gluten free isn't healthier than not gluten free either, even though there's people with medical conditions that should never take anything containing it.
True... Gluten free is only healthier for those people with gluten sensitivity. A healthier way to eat for some people.
I am not sure if that is what you are getting at here.
It means it's not healthier, it's just better for some people because something is inherently wrong with how their body works.
Peanut allergy the same. Any other allergies, PKU and aspartame, and so on.
Would you raise your eyebrows if a post on here would say "I chose to not eat peanuts because I want to live healthier."?
And to spell it out, LCHF is only healthier if you have a medical condition that prescribes it.
I guess we could apply that to all diets in existence. A diet is only healthier if there is a medical need for that specific diet.
No, some diets are healthier than other diets.
Low carb is not one. One can do a healthy or a super non healthy version of low carb, and even the healthy version will be no more healthy than many other good diets.
On the other hand, I'm allergic to penicillin. That doesn't make penicillin bad for the average person who has an infection it would help with. It would be bad for me. I would not claim it was "unhealthy."
Stating that a low carb diet is not healthy is just an opinion. Your opinion. A predjudice against eating more fats than average perhaps? My personal experiences with a LCHF diet certainly does not support the idea that it is unhealthy either.
I obviously did not say it was inherently unhealthy. Not sure why you are arguing against something I did not say. I do think a low carb diet with low vegetables and lots of processed meat is unhealthy, but many people who eat LCHF are careful to have quite nutrition-conscious diets.
Perhaps I misunderstood your statement of "No, some diets are healthier than other diets. Low carb is not one of them." I took that to mean that you were statingLCHF is not healthier than any other diets - on the unhealthy end of the dietary spectrum.
It helps to read all the sentences in a comment. The two you mention were followed by "One can do a healthy or a super non healthy version of low carb, and even the healthy version will be no more healthy than many other good diets." I think that's pretty clear.
not sure why it is so hard for some to understand that if you hit your micros and macros and stay within your calorie target then any diet is "healthy." Individual foods dont make a diet good or bad, what makes a diet bad is bad choices.....
I don't agree. I think there are other factors such as nutrients, vitamins, sodium, sugar, etc. People have to think about diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fatty liver...
i clearly said hit your micros = micro nutrients. And how would a healthy individual develop a fatty liver or high cholesterol if they are getting adequate nutrition, staying in calorie targets, and getting macro nutrients?
so person A does low carb and gets adequate nutrition and loses weight; person B does moderate carb/protein/fata, gets adequate nutrition, and loses weight.
Why is person A healthier than person B?
the answer is that they are both healthy ...
Hitting micros and macros is certainly no guarantee of health. Disease can strike regardless of diet.
Needs to argue, again what's your point? Hit your macros and live life to the fullest.
My point is that food is not the only thing that affects our health.
I don't see where anyone said it is.
It stems from this:
"so person A does low carb and gets adequate nutrition and loses weight; person B does moderate carb/protein/fata, gets adequate nutrition, and loses weight.
Why is person A healthier than person B?
the answer is that they are both healthy"
Which doesn't say they both have healthy diets, it says they are both healthy. Very different.0 -
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I feel you can keep under your calorie count and still eat crap! Agreeing with Action Annie. A well balanced diet it the key. If i eat lots of carbs for breakfast and use tons of my pts. It forces me to eat more fruit and veggies and protein the other meals, or i can spread it out. It is so flexible. To me it is the best diet out there. A lot of people think it is hoax because of Oprah doing the commercials now...but it has been around for many years and has worked for many people, and now with the new program it is better then ever. If you are struggling to lose weight and keep it off...try weight watchers. What can you lose? Oh yeah...weight!!!!!
... and money. Don't forget the money.
In all honesty, if their points system helps you eat better and you can afford it, then it's a great system for you.0 -
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I feel you can keep under your calorie count and still eat crap! Agreeing with Action Annie. A well balanced diet it the key. If i eat lots of carbs for breakfast and use tons of my pts. It forces me to eat more fruit and veggies and protein the other meals, or i can spread it out. It is so flexible. To me it is the best diet out there. A lot of people think it is hoax because of Oprah doing the commercials now...but it has been around for many years and has worked for many people, and now with the new program it is better then ever. If you are struggling to lose weight and keep it off...try weight watchers. What can you lose? Oh yeah...weight!!!!!
Where did anyone advise that someone eat crap as long as you are in a calorie deficit? You can also eat a balanced diet, focusing on staying within an appropriate calorie deficit and logging your foods here for free...
Nothing against Weight Watchers, it's just no more a magical solution than any other program. Weight loss results from your CI<CO. How you take in your calories, what kinds of foods you eat, and how you track them are all up to the individual.0 -
I don't think anyone thinks WW is a hoax. It just doesn't work for everyone. I eat WAY too many "free" items that would add up quickly.0
-
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I feel you can keep under your calorie count and still eat crap! Agreeing with Action Annie. A well balanced diet it the key. If i eat lots of carbs for breakfast and use tons of my pts. It forces me to eat more fruit and veggies and protein the other meals, or i can spread it out. It is so flexible. To me it is the best diet out there. A lot of people think it is hoax because of Oprah doing the commercials now...but it has been around for many years and has worked for many people, and now with the new program it is better then ever. If you are struggling to lose weight and keep it off...try weight watchers. What can you lose? Oh yeah...weight!!!!!
My issue with WW is that it cuts calories by a ridiculous amount. My wife tried it and they had her on a 1000 calorie diet and only had 20 lbs to lose.
I've heard that too. I believe that was my impression from Losing It (which is a pretty good look at a bunch of different weight loss programs).
My issue with WW has always been that the point thing seems, well, pointless. Why not just use actual calories? Also the free fruits and veg isn't reality. I am perfectly capable of constructing a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables and some fruit without tricking myself into it by pretending like those foods don't count.
But I do think it works for some -- can be an easy and flexible approach and some probably like the support. Just not how I work.0 -
Cbefitforlife wrote: »I feel you can keep under your calorie count and still eat crap! Agreeing with Action Annie. A well balanced diet it the key. If i eat lots of carbs for breakfast and use tons of my pts. It forces me to eat more fruit and veggies and protein the other meals, or i can spread it out. It is so flexible. To me it is the best diet out there. A lot of people think it is hoax because of Oprah doing the commercials now...but it has been around for many years and has worked for many people, and now with the new program it is better then ever. If you are struggling to lose weight and keep it off...try weight watchers. What can you lose? Oh yeah...weight!!!!!
I will agree that WW is a legitimate diet system but I'm not fond of the point system. My ex was doing it and apparently fruits and vegetables were free and when I asked here how many calories where in her points she wasn't sure because it didn't really map easily to calories. However, it's an easy to understand and calculate method (they give you a calculator and a scale is available) so if you can adhere to it that's the main point. My only concern is how well one can stick to it in the long run. I know several women who have done WW and they all seem to go back time after time so I'm guessing it's not easy for people to use as a true lifestyle diet.0 -
I don't think anyone thinks WW is a hoax. It just doesn't work for everyone. I eat WAY to many "free" items that would add up quickly.
Yeah, I'm a little confused. WW isn't a "low carb" diet any more than calorie counting is. Both can be low carb, high carb, middle carb, pink carb, blue carb, even white carb.
Also, those "free" fruits and veg? Mostly carbs!0 -
On the old system, fruit wasn't unlimited free.. it was limited to 2-3 free servings.. that might have changed with one of the many newer revisions.0
-
It also might just be something that people often misunderstand. I think I'd have to pay for it to see the current rules, so will live without knowing. ;-)0
-
It's a necessity for diabetics.0
-
For me lower carb works healthwise and reduced craving, but I eat to a calorie macro so that I will lose weight. I really thinks its a matter of what works for each of us. I know plenty of people who do better on a higher carb food plan, but its never worked for me -- too many cravings and my arthritis gets worse which makes exercising harder.0
-
On the old system, fruit wasn't unlimited free.. it was limited to 2-3 free servings.. that might have changed with one of the many newer revisions.
Likely, they changed it recently from what my ex said and they seem to do that regularly so they can charge you for the same basic stuff over and over again.0 -
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.6K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 914 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions