Low Carb to Lose Weight - Pro's & Con's?

Sh5073a

I joined MFP last year in November and have lost about 30+ since watching calories and doing regular exercise. Most of my exercise routine has included cardio (like most people that start off) but I've been wanting to build muscle or at least not get flabby and have been looking for programs/groupons/activities to help with this new phase.

I'm feeling somewhat confused and I'm not sure where to go to next...

I went to a personal training/fitness groupon deal to learn more about their program. The program focuses on developing muscle with weights/lifting but also has a nutrition component (supplements and a food log that's reviewed by the staff). It all sounded good because it seems to provide a level of support and guidance I've been wanting, BUT part of the program includes restricting one's diet to 30 grams of Carbs/day.

I've been reading about low carb diets and I'm kind of scared. First off, I HATE the idea of having to diet or restrict myself. I've counted calories and have tried to watch what I eat because I understand that watching what I eat is part of long term weight loss and modifying one's lifestyle, but I do not prohibit myself from eating anything. If I do indulge, I try to make up by exercising or eatin better the other day(s) of the week. When I looked through my food diary my carbs waver between 150-250 per day. By now I've read about "the zone," Ketosis and even about myths about low carb diets. I want to continue to lose weight and tone, but I'm concerned about my ability to maintain a lifestyle change with something like a low carb diet. I LOVE fruits, eat a good amount of veggies and complex carbs. I feel that doing the low carb diet (besides the fact that I just don't want to be in such a restrictive diet) can jeopardize my ability to maintain the changes I've already made for life.

I like other aspects of the training program I went to learn about today (support, someone I can ask questions, someone who can modify exercises if I have an injury, someone I can be accountable to, who will push me and look at my nutrition as well as exercise) but the low carb diet is really turning me off.

Has anyone gone through the same stage? Am I just knocking things before trying it? Why have people decided to go ahead and do a low carb diet or not? Has anyone had any "side effects" (you gained more weight? went on a food binge? lost a lot of fat and feel better than ever?) I feel a bit bored with my current workout, but I don't feel I have a good enough clue about what to do for weight training on my own. Would love to hear how people have made the leap.

Thanks for reading this long question!

papillon71

Hi, personally I was surprised that I don't need to do low carb, on average in a week according to MFP, around 49% of my daily food intake is from carbs (all types including veg) and I have consistently lost weight every single week since January 2013, nearly 40lbs gone, I also do not exercise at all except for a little bit of walking due to a back injury. I thought I would have to cut carbs out but clearly not, if you are losing weight and happy with what you are doing why change?

The only carbs change I made switching things like white bread for wholemeal, white rice for brown rice (and I hardly ever have rice anyway) and that type of thing, I eat plenty of salad and veg in a day too.

I have MFP friends who swear by low carb and can't lose unless they do it, others it doesn't matter. Exercise that targets the areas you want to tone and build muscle in will be the answer. Good luck!

NeuroticVirgo

Hiya! I'm not a professional just a chubby girl who has been trying to lose weight of far to long! LOL But I'm going to give you my 2 cents.

If you think that going low carb will derail you then DON'T DO IT! You are making progress already with watching calories and exercise. There are other gyms and other groups you can find that don't dictate your diet. Try a few different ones out, don't feel like you have to settle just yet.

I really recommend you find local crossfit groups if you are wanting more of a group atmosphere. And try out more than one crossfit gym. Just as an example, we have 2 where I live. (we're pretty small). At one they don't focus on what you eat. I mean they talk about nutrition, and eating healthy etc, but they don't tell you to drink certain shakes or eat low carb etc. You basically go there, you workout, you get support and you leave. The other is very much a Paleo driven crossfit group. While you don't HAVE to do it to workout there, they will constantly do Paleo challenges to keep people on track and on that type of lifestyle. I have friends who LOVE IT, but it also works for them. I however would not do well at that gym.

You can also look into groupon deals just for one-on-one personal training. Again this kinda depends on the gym, but if its your own trainer that you meet with a few times a week they are going to be more open to listening to what works for you. They'll have their opinions sure, but as long as you are not doing something unhealthy to yourself they will likely support your eating habits and then give you a killer work out. lol

Then there is also workout videos at home. This is what I like personally. Nobody buggin me and I can do it at my own pace. Look into the Jillian Michaels Videos (ripped in 30, 30 Day Shred) or Beach Body videos (Like P90x, Insanity). Some are cardio only, but you can find some that are about strength and will do quite a bit with lifting weights as well as cardio too.

Good luck! Hope I helped you a little.

Warchortle

There is no reason to, but it depends what you mean by "low carb." I eat like almost a 1/2 gallon of ice cream 3-4x's a week when I'm bulking... just cutting that out I'd consider that low carb :P

If you're talking about ketosis than that's something completely different. I think if most of your carbs aren't processed you'll end up getting more micronutrients in your diet, but weight loss is about energy balance through consumption and expenditure. Weight and Health are not equivalent words though...

kzakian

I have mixed feelings about low carb diets. My mother went on a low carb diet a few years ago and she did manage to lose a substantial amount of weight. But as soon as she started eating carbs again she gained all the weight back - plus some! If you don't think you can sustain it forever, I wouldn't recommend it. Then again, one of my high school teachers back in the day lost a ton of weight eating low carb as well and he's managed to keep it off. I guess it just depends on what you're willing to give up in the long run.

Joehenny

low carb=unnecessary for the good majority of people.

Warchortle

Eating bacon every day and lettuce sandwiches may sound good initially, but have fun doing that **** for the rest of your life.

Finding out what your maintenance calories are/is > can I eat XYZ

mjschumacher100

If you have serious metabolic issues or are extremely obese then there's a case for ketogenic intervention (or for various autism disorders) but unless you're in one of these three categories it would be criminal for anyone to suggest you should go onto 30g of carbs a day.

I know exactly why trainers or 'health professionals' would suggest it, you will see very quick results in terms of weight loss (Note WEIGHTLOSS NOT body composition) and so for them it's great marketing,. a good way of retaining customers in the early stages.

However it's not good for you, it doesn't lead to good body composition, it doesn't lead to viable energy levels, all in all it's dumb.

There's certainly no problem with cycling carbs, dropping them to 30g for a day then up the next to 200 or carb refeeds etc but to just limit you to 30g a day is ridiculous.

Lupercalia

If you don't have a medical reason to eat very low carb, there isn't really any reason you need to eat that way in order to lose weight, retain your lean muscle, or put on muscle. I'm not really clear what your goal is, but being under 30g carbs/day is extremely low carb, and not necessary for the vast majority of people out there. It's incredibly restrictive, as you've pointed out.

I'm not sure what sort of Groupon or fitness program this is. Do you have to do the diet portion of this program? I'd opt out of the diet portion and just do the fitness stuff if you felt that was something you were interested in.

I have been eating low carb due to health issues--I spent most of last year eating around 50g/carbs per day. I did great, and it was important for me health wise. But if I didn't have PCOS and insulin resistance, there is no way I'd have cut out carbs to that degree. It's just not necessary. I'm able to eat a bit more carbs at this point--still considered low carb at around 100-150g/day, but it's certainly much nicer than the 50g or less each day!

mjschumacher100

Oh and quit this program. You already said you hate restriction, you don't see this as a long term solution which immediately rings alarm bells, not withstanding the fact these guys are suggesting 30g of carbs a day. I wonder why they need to promote themselves on Groupon because as we know, all the best trainers and coaches have time to discount themselves to thousands of customers on Groupon....

I suggest you take a look at Erik Helms from 3DMJ. He has a series of 5 videos. Even if you're not into bodybuilding the advice he gives is absolutely SOLID.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAvW6xBZjSk

I'd personally say that this series of videos contains pretty much everything you need to know!

TavistockToad

cons:
potatoes are delicious
pasta is delicious
rice is delicious
pastry is delicious
sweet potato is delicios
fresh crusty bread is delicious

lauren3101

I'm concerned about my ability to maintain a lifestyle change with something like a low carb diet. I LOVE fruits, eat a good amount of veggies and complex carbs. I feel that doing the low carb diet (besides the fact that I just don't want to be in such a restrictive diet) can jeopardize my ability to maintain the changes I've already made for life.

You have answered your own question right here. Don't make losing weight harder than it needs to be. If what you are doing is working and you are happy, stick with it.

Harpin_Maddog

For me personally, low carb has been the best thing. I don't consider it to be restrictive because you end up losing cravings for unhealthy foods. One of the advantages to low carb is that you feel less hungry all the time. I don't have to count calories anymore. I eat until I am full. The foods I eat just tend to be lower in calories but more fullfilling. So you end up eating less calories during the day, thus losing weight. I have seen people posting saying that low carb = low energy, this is not entirely true. It does depend if you are just low carb or actually in Ketosis. If you are low carb but burning fat through the Krebs Cycle, yes, then you will probably be low energy due to lack of glycogen stores. But in Ketosis, you are not dependent on glycogen for energy. Your body efficiently burns fat for energy when in Ketosis. In the Krebs cycle, in order to burn fat you need carbs. Once glycogen is depleted, your body doesn't automatically start burning fat for energy, it ends up relying on protein (muscle) since that is easier to convert to energy than fat. I have done several half marathons and am training for a full marathon and I have been in Ketosis for well over a year now. And being in Ketosis has been the best thing for my training and energy level. More and more elite endurance athletes are turning to low carb/Keto diets since you no longer have to worry about bonking (running out of glycogen). You don't have to refuel as often and you energy is more sustained. I wouldn't necessarily say I have more energy than when I was more of a high carb eater, it is more sustained energy since being in Ketosis. I don't have the highs and lows due to blood sugar spiking and crashing. But you could certainly avoid that by sticking to low GI foods and not being in Ketosis. But to answer your original question, which seemed to get some different opinions, low carb has been great for me but it may not be right for you. I have no medical issues that makes it necessary for me to be in Ketosis, it is strictly by choice. My recent blood work was better than my blood work prior to being in Ketosis. You asked about some side effects...I have encountered a few. The number one side effect that I have encountered was greater muscle mass. I call this a side effect because it was totally unexpected and for running a marathon is not really what I was going for. But I just recently changed my lifting routine to be more reps and lighter weight so as to not gain too much bulk and promote endurance. Another side effect was going from a 38 waist to a 32 since February. Why a side effect? It is expensive buying new clothes practically every other week. Seriously though, there are things to consider when going to a Keto type diet. I am assuming Keto vs low carb since you mentioned under 30 g a day. That is low enough to get you into Ketosis. Constipation...if you don't drink enough water and get enough fats, you will get constipated. Carbs cause you to retain water, depleting your body of carbs will cause you to rid yourself of unecessary water, especially in the first 2 weeks. This is where people see the greatest and fastest weight/lbs lost. I lost 12 lbs in the first 2 weeks. During the first two weeks some people do experience some sluggishness, but this is due to dehydration. This can be avoided by drinking an adequate amount of water. After that, your body adapts and it is not an issue. Remember, most people spend their entire lives on a higher carb intake, our bodies need a little time to adapt when switching from Krebs cycle to Ketosis. Atkins called this the induction phase. As a side note, I don't consider myself low carb anymore, I just refer to it as eating as clean as I possibly can. I end up being low carb by default. Since processed foods tend to be high in carbs and high GI, the carbs I do eat I try to make sure they are Low GI to avoid spikes in blood sugar that cause cravings and hunger. I also sleep better, my skin is less dried out, I no longer have acid reflux, my cholestoral has improved (this may be due to my increase in exercise though and not necessarily my diet), my mood has been better, and my body composition has drastically changed although I am still a work in progress. I think the hardest thing for me when I went into Ketosis was wrapping my head around the idea. We are taught all our lives to eat carbs for energy and we should eat low fat to prevent obesity, ect, ect. When more and more research shows that it is not the case. Two good books to read are the "Art and Science of Low Carb Living" and "Art and Science of Low Carb Performance". The latter has to do with being an athlete while living Low Carb. Finally, our bodies do need some glycogen. We wouldn't want to go to 0 carbs. But the only part of our body that absolutely needs glycogen is our brain. But it only needs very little. That is why we can easily survive on 20 g of carbs a day. Anyway, I hope this cleared a few misconseptions. I am not suggesting it is right for you, just giving you one persons experience (and a happy one at that) in regards to a low carb diet. I seriously do not feel I am missing out on any foods or dream of eating this or that. But as others have said, if you feel that is how it is going to be for you then it may not be for you. As a final note, several people I work with and train with are all low carb and we share similar experiences in regards to being in Ketosis. Good luck!

RebekahR84

^^^ adding to that, another side-effect is keto-breath. It goes away after awhile. I test myself for ketones daily, and have found I'm able to maintain ketosis at 60 grams of carbs and under. This means I can eat pretty much as much leafy greens as I'd like, and then 2 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit per day.

Feel free to peek at my food diary. It's a keto-diary.

armywf07

I personally do low carb due to the pcos condition I have. Its more about getting the simple carbs out of diet than complexes carbs. You've already stated that you don't wanna do low carbs, which is a start. I think that getting rid of the overly processed foods is a good place to truly start and eating more fiber in the morning will help as well.

MrJamesEdwardHill

First and Foremost this applies here:

Special compositional diet regimens are only needed for specific goals or sport competition... normal weight maintenance/body composition maintenance should work where you only need to monitor what you are burning vs. what you are eating.

There is only one golden rule in weight loss with some minor corollaries -- "Burn more calories then you consume. Period."

Corollaries:
1) Eat Healthy ( Low to mid GI level Carbs); ( Lean Proteins ); ( Restrict Sat Fats; replace with Mono and Poly unsaturated --> use this for insight into healthier protein sources ).
2) Keep track of Body Fat % and Lean Muscle -- you want to lose the fat not the muscle ---> If you are strength training be sure to up your protein a few percentages points.
3)Don't be overtly afraid of Cholesterol --> If your body does not have enough it will make it anyway. It's also the base molecule from which most hormones are synthesized.
4) Remember to move your *kitten* around -- does not take much either.

Personally I am following a 35-C/30-F/35-P with 2100-2700 caloric intake because I am trying to lose weight and gain muscle mass. I am consistently running a 1000+ calories deficit daily and I am down 23lbs since the start of May.

Remember if you gain some weight while strength training you might of gain muscle -- don't freak out! That's why you need to know your BF% -- personally I'd recommend you get your doctor to do a Skin fold BF% test or some of the trainers at your local gym might be able to do it for you as well.

Warchortle

A lot of people who go vegan or perhaps start eating a **** ton of only protein and fat attribute their success to that diet.. IMO it's the lazy version of achieving a caloric deficit by cutting one macro completely out of the diet.

There is no need to cut any: Fat / Protein / Carbs as long as you're eating well balanced meals under your TDEE. Unless you are diabetic, have food allergies/sensitivities, specific health risks.. no reason to go on a "special" diet... just eat less and exercise more. It's not hard.

MrJamesEdwardHill

^^^ adding to that, another side-effect is keto-breath. It goes away after awhile. I test myself for ketones daily, and have found I'm able to maintain ketosis at 60 grams of carbs and under. This means I can eat pretty much as much leafy greens as I'd like, and then 2 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit per day.

Feel free to peek at my food diary. It's a keto-diary.

I try only to be in ketosis during sleep and through my morning weight training session; afterwards I have a fruit and protein smoothie. I also test my ketones level when I first wake up as well. Leafy green veggies are generally low in sugar content and will rarely move me out of ketosis; a good cup of fruit pops me right out of ketosis.

MrJamesEdwardHill

A lot of people who go vegan or perhaps start eating a **** ton of only protein and fat attribute their success to that diet.. IMO it's the lazy version of achieving a caloric deficit by cutting one macro completely out of the diet.

There is no need to cut any: Fat / Protein / Carbs as long as you're eating well balanced meals under your TDEE. Unless you are diabetic, have food allergies/sensitivities, specific health risks.. no reason to go on a "special" diet... just eat less and exercise more. It's not hard.

And it's not healthy...you need all three macro's

RebekahR84

A lot of people who go vegan or perhaps start eating a **** ton of only protein and fat attribute their success to that diet.. IMO it's the lazy version of achieving a caloric deficit by cutting one macro completely out of the diet.

There is no need to cut any: Fat / Protein / Carbs as long as you're eating well balanced meals under your TDEE. Unless you are diabetic, have food allergies/sensitivities, specific health risks.. no reason to go on a "special" diet... just eat less and exercise more. It's not hard.

There's nothing "lazy" about it. It's not easy, and it takes a lot of discipline. And it works for me, so I'm going to keep at it. I also eat less and exercise more, by the way.

Donners185

I did a ketosis programme a few years ago. Obviously the programme you are talking about does allow a few grammes of carbs a day but generally anything under 30-40 grammes of carbs a day would put most people into ketosis. Everybody reacts differently. Some people really thrive unfortunately I was not one of these people. I managed about 6 weeks on the programme before i fainted and my doctor ordered me to stop. My Blood pressure dropped through the floor. My hair started falling out and my scalp began peeling off (gross, I know!!) My nails became very weak and brittle and began peeling off and breaking. I had kidney infections and pain for about a year after. I had to take supplements and steroids to build myself back up again. It has been three years and I have finally managed to stop using the steroid cream on my scalp and my hair is starting to thicken back up again. Also, as of this month I have finally been able to grow my nails to the length they were originally without any breaking Like I said everyone is different and it definitely works as I did drop alot of weight but I felt the cost was too great. I would never do it again. Lesson learnt.