Low calories or low carbs..what worked better for you?

Need to know results from people who tried them.
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Calorie deficit...

    Not the same as 'low cals'. Low carb is an option if you aren't fussed for carbs
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    How do you define "low cal"? How do you define "low carb"?

    I don't recommend "low cal," but I lost 95 lb cutting/controlling calories.

    I sometimes find cutting cals easier if I keep carbs around 100 g, but it's not necessary, just a way I find easy to eat.
  • Kwoconnor
    Kwoconnor Posts: 39 Member
    Calorie deficit. Lost over 20 kg. Plus work out 5/6 times a week.
  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
    Calorie deficit is why/how you lose weight. I love carbs to much, to follow a low carb diet, but have still successfully lost weight. But restricting calories to low, is also unnecessary and very unhealthy.
  • GemstoneofHeart
    GemstoneofHeart Posts: 865 Member
    Low calorie. That is essential.

    I love carbs and eat them alllll the time. I couldn't imagine cutting carbs. But I do know that protein and fat keep me full longer, so I try to keep those numbers up high.
  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
    Low calorie diet is the only thing that matters. Going low carb can help make low calorie more sustainable, because you usually feel full longer on protein and fats, although of course fiber (a carb) helps with that as well.
  • SolotoCEO
    SolotoCEO Posts: 293 Member
    Carbs are your energy calories. I do much better on a balanced protein/carb plan. Remember that even veggies have carbs - some many more than others.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I didn't do either...I cut calories which is the only way to lose weight...but I wasn't "low calorie"...I maintained a reasonable calorie deficit.

    Low carb works in the same way that any diet works...you reduce calories. For many, going low carb will simply default to a calorie deficit because you are substantially restricting an entire macronutrient.

    When I cut weight I tend to cut back on carbs but that's only because my protein and fat remain pretty consistent whether I'm maintaining or losing weight...but I wouldn't say I'm "low carb" when I cut...I just reduce them.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Low calories? Nope - a small calorie deficit worked best for me.
    Low carbs? Hell no, that would be horribly restrictive for no good reason for me.
  • esmerelda9479
    esmerelda9479 Posts: 31 Member
    I find I lose most when I eat lots of healthy carbs and protein. I know some people can eat 1200 calories worth of candy and fast food and lose weight. Not me. I'd rather get my fat from an avocado and have more energy. To each their own though.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Reasonable deficit and definitely not low carb.

    I low carbed many years ago, thinking that all I had to do was count carbs and not calories. I lost weight, but only to a certain point, and that point had me still 15 pounds overweight.

    I became discouraged and eventually started gaining weight, and gave up low carbing to try something else.

    Learning about calories and how to keep a calorie deficit is the only thing that has worked for me.