Why do people say if you go low carb to lose weight, you must eat that way forever?
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It's inaccurate, of course. I think it's because off MFP the usual low carb plan involves not counting calories, so the idea is that someone who stops will just go back to their old way of eating, not having a check or have learned to eat in a different way they want to maintain.
That's obviously not an issue limited to low carb ways of losing weight.
I tend to find a lot more people who do low carb or some other diet like that (paleo, etc.) are more likely to be planning to do it for good anyway, at least in some fashion, even though it often turns out that they don't.
Anyway, no, obviously if you eat at maintenance for your new weight you won't regain.1 -
PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
Well, the exit strategy for someone who just eats less calories is "Eat 500 more calories." The exit strategy for someone doing Low Carb or anything special is either keep doing that with more calories, or hope to hell you'll be able to eat the things you cut out to facilitate your weight loss without overeating now.
I can maintain without logging my food now because I didn't change the way I eat, just the amount, and thus learned normal portion sizes of the things I normally eat.2 -
ummijaaz560 wrote: »I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
because of raised and peaking insulin.
Magical fat gain at maintenance calories because insulin? Or what do you mean.3 -
stevencloser wrote: »ummijaaz560 wrote: »I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
because of raised and peaking insulin.
Magical fat gain at maintenance calories because insulin? Or what do you mean.
whatever you want it to mean, mate.3 -
For me, it will be a life-changing eating style. For others, some use it for a little while to help with bloating and get themselves more under control in regards to impulse eating and whatnot. It's easier to listen to my body on keto. The weight SHOULD be stable if you just gradually increase your carbs to a level that suits you.1
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
The connotation is appropriate and true IMO, the way you change your diet approach is a learning curve, the success you experience doing so helps reinforce your new habits, being solely goal oriented (I'll stick to this until I'm at goal then revert) is psychologically and physiologically (in terms of appetite and likes) harder when you reach maintenance. Those who take a restrictive approach need to consider far more carefully their exit strategy. Forming new habits is important. Not saying a low carber, paleo or clean eater isn't forming new habits but it's harder to stick to restriction in our society and dealing with cravings. Good on those who can succeed at doing so. Someone who reduces overall calories merely gets to eat more of what they've been eating when hitting maintenance.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating.
Because that's many people's personal experience and that's how their life experience colours their point of view. It is extremely common for those who cut carbs to stop cutting carbs and it is harder when that was your approach to reducing calorie intake, and that measure is removed to still eat appropriate calories.
There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
This is true there are. It takes all sorts. But the prevailing societal wisdom is "cut carbs" so it is actually refreshing to have people say "actually cutting carbs is one way to cut your calories, but however you get to an appropriate calorie intake to meet your goals is fine". The difference is the lack of evangelicism, and the lack of presumed health benefits
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stevencloser wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
Well, the exit strategy for someone who just eats less calories is "Eat 500 more calories." The exit strategy for someone doing Low Carb or anything special is either keep doing that with more calories, or hope to hell you'll be able to eat the things you cut out to facilitate your weight loss without overeating now.
I can maintain without logging my food now because I didn't change the way I eat, just the amount, and thus learned normal portion sizes of the things I normally eat.
There are many people who use various techniques throughout their journey; this is especially true the fitness community. I know several people who use low carb to lose weight, and when they are ready for maintenance, they will slowly add carbs back. The same can be done with any dietary strategy. The bigger question is, did the person educate themselves enough to properly transition. I view this as being on different than body builders or fitness models using various strategies depending where they are with their training and how close to competitions.3 -
You don't have to eat low carb to keep it off but it certainly helps. My mom lost 80 low carbing in the 90s and never put it back on. I did it as well, lost 60, but I wouldn't do it again. Just wasn't for me.... it can be hard going back to eating starchy foods though. It took me years before I could eat potatoes without getting the runs after that.2
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You don't have to eat low carb to keep it off but it certainly helps. My mom lost 80 low carbing in the 90s and never put it back on. I did it as well, lost 60, but I wouldn't do it again. Just wasn't for me.... it can be hard going back to eating starchy foods though. It took me years before I could eat potatoes without getting the runs after that.
Hmm. I did not know that was an issue.0 -
Is it perhaps just another way of saying "maintenance is hard"?3
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You don't have to eat low carb to keep it off but it certainly helps. My mom lost 80 low carbing in the 90s and never put it back on. I did it as well, lost 60, but I wouldn't do it again. Just wasn't for me.... it can be hard going back to eating starchy foods though. It took me years before I could eat potatoes without getting the runs after that.
Hmm. I did not know that was an issue.
Potatoes are a resistant starch that feeds bacteria. For a healthy person it often feeds good bacteria such as bifidus. Also called a prebiotic. So, it's potentially possible that cutting it out for a long time could starve out some bacteria and then adding it back would cause a shift in the microbiota in the gut. And those shifts can cause loose stools and bloating. I'm not saying this to discourage low carb. My diet is low carb for medical reasons. Just a possible explanation for her experience. You might be able to prevent this by making sure you eat enough soluble fiber while on a low carb diet.0 -
I don't know why they say it either. Perhaps some people choose low carb because it cuts out many of their trigger foods that they have trouble moderating, which caused them to gain weight previously. So once they get down to their goal weight they reintroduce those foods, and then the cravings come rushing back and they overeat them again hence the weight regain.3
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stevencloser wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
Well, the exit strategy for someone who just eats less calories is "Eat 500 more calories." The exit strategy for someone doing Low Carb or anything special is either keep doing that with more calories, or hope to hell you'll be able to eat the things you cut out to facilitate your weight loss without overeating now.
I can maintain without logging my food now because I didn't change the way I eat, just the amount, and thus learned normal portion sizes of the things I normally eat.
There are many people who use various techniques throughout their journey; this is especially true the fitness community. I know several people who use low carb to lose weight, and when they are ready for maintenance, they will slowly add carbs back. The same can be done with any dietary strategy. The bigger question is, did the person educate themselves enough to properly transition. I view this as being on different than body builders or fitness models using various strategies depending where they are with their training and how close to competitions.
I agree, and that is basically what people mean when they say "Can you do this for life" or occasionally "And what do you do when you're done with it" when the dieting approach is obviously meant temporary. If you transition from one way of eating to another, you need to know of both. If you ate low carb without counting calories no problem does not necessarily mean you'll be able to when you reintroduce carbs. Especially since many people who start low carb diets do it out of the feeling they can't handle carbs in moderation.2 -
Well, people may be oversimplifying or not explaining themselves well.
Yes, you can eat low carb temporarily while you lose weight then increase your carb count. If you keep your calories in check after this, you will likely not gain any extra weight beyond the usual 5-8 pounds in water, glycogen and food volume.
But here is the thing: if you don't have a maintenance plan and did not count calories when you were eating low carb (not familiar with how calories affect your weight), you will not have a contingency plan for weight control when the main tool you used to control your calories is gone (low carb) unless you happen to stumble on something that works by chance.
There is also the issue that not everyone finds the diet itself sustainable (no single diet is for everyone). So going on a diet that does not fit your needs and preferences may backfire in compulsive overcompensation and consequently weight gain.
I'm personally not of the opinion that your eating style during dieting needs to be maintained forever, but I'm a strong advocate for learning sustainable weight control strategies that you can use during maintenance, be it the exact same diet you used to lose weight or just certain parts of it. For example, I do intermittent fasting from time to time. When I go on maintenance breaks I don't use that diet the way it's supposed to be used, but it helped me pick up the trick of eating a very low day before or following a day I know I will be overeating. Very useful trick, but not a full blown diet. If a person focuses on collecting these maintenance tools regardless of the diet they choose to do during weight loss, the results last longer.
Personally, though, I prefer for my weight loss diet to be as close to how I will be eating during maintenance as possible because I don't want to be hit with a huge learning curve once I'm off a drastically different diet. Maintenance is more sensitive to mistakes than dieting because you have no room for error. Mess up on a diet and the worst that could happen is stalled weight loss, mess up during maintenance and you will need to hop back into the dieting wagon. A 0.5 pound true gain during maintenance takes a whole week of dieting to undo, so I would rather train for maintenance now than cross that bridge later.
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stevencloser wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
Well, the exit strategy for someone who just eats less calories is "Eat 500 more calories." The exit strategy for someone doing Low Carb or anything special is either keep doing that with more calories, or hope to hell you'll be able to eat the things you cut out to facilitate your weight loss without overeating now.
I can maintain without logging my food now because I didn't change the way I eat, just the amount, and thus learned normal portion sizes of the things I normally eat.
Low carb isn't defined by specific foods, it's defined by the number of carbs. People may find that certain foods are helpful in hitting their numbers, but that's not specific to low carb dieting, as evidenced by the amount of protein powders, greek yogurt, and Quest bars showing up in people's diaries around here to hit protein goals.
A low carb person could easily raise their calories, taking them above the "low carb" threshold, without necessarily having to add in all the things they cut out. And as for normal portion sizes, I can eyeball most of the stuff I usually eat as well, but that doesn't mean I can't also figure out the correct portion size for foods that I rarely eat and not overeat those - even foods that I would overeat once upon a time.
Cutting foods out is not unique to low carb, there are plenty of "moderation" people who have foods that they've had to eliminate because they overeat them, or have cut a food out simply because they couldn't make it work in their calorie deficit when they were losing. We also see a lot of "back on MFP" posts from people who did learn portion sizes and weighing food, but went overboard when they got to maintenance.
We could go round and round here all day about "well this makes it easier" or "that could be a problem," but pretty much all of the things to consider are going to apply to every way of eating. It's up to the individual. It's a little silly to blame a way of eating during weight loss for someone failing at maintenance, the person needs to just take accountability for it and get back on track.5 -
I have yet to see a single low carb person who did not cut out very specific food types because of their carb content.3
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For me, low carb eating helps control my cravings for carbs. I'm nowhere near my goal, but I have learned that because my body is insulin resistant, T2D, I will always have to control the amount of carbs I eat, or else my insulin level will go up and I will start storing fat again and I have more bouts of out-of-control eating.1
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You don't have to eat low carb to keep it off but it certainly helps. My mom lost 80 low carbing in the 90s and never put it back on. I did it as well, lost 60, but I wouldn't do it again. Just wasn't for me.... it can be hard going back to eating starchy foods though. It took me years before I could eat potatoes without getting the runs after that.
Hmm. I did not know that was an issue.
Me neither, and I know MANY MANY people who've used a low carb approach, and many others who used a SLOW carb approach.0 -
Thanks all who have added to the discussion.
Does anyone know how carbs affect stomach bloat? Or is there no connection?
Also why do I get really hungry after eating pasta, like spaghetti with meatballs, but if I eat just meatballs I'm fine?
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I think the general assumption is that if you stray from your diet/change of eating habits, then your body will change to compensate. Sometimes for the worse.
You can pretty much fill in the blank of "If you go _____ to lose weight, you have to eat like that forever" with most diets out there, according to the general assumption.1
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