SUCCESS STORIES:LOW CARB ATKINS OR SOUTH BEACH!

AJ_G

I've been eating a low carb diet for just over a year now and maintained my 65lb weight loss. It's sustainable and the best thing I ever did for my health. I only wish I had started eating this way years ago instead of assuming it was a fad and not a healthful eating plan but I can say I'll happily be eating this way for the rest of my life. The naysayers are loud and obnoxious but they have no clue how this way of eating can change someones life -- all diets are not the same.

Here's a great resource (with links to studies showing it's a safe and effective way to lose weight and improve health):

LCHF for Beginners
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Nobody said low carb is unsustainable

Nobody said that you should not practice low carb if you prefer it

As I said before, it's perfectly fine if you prefer low carb, I just will not be told that low carb is superior any other diet in terms of overall health, body composition, or fat loss, because that is flat out false.

AJ_G

Please read this if you have the time, then come back and tell me why you're right an I'm wrong...

http://impruvism.com/why-calories-count/

Your blood work is better because you have lost weight, because you're eating at a calorie deficit. You may be losing weight faster on low carb due to glycogen depletion. When you go low carb, your muscle and liver glycogen does not get replenished due to carb intake. This lowers overall glycogen in the body. Each glycogen chain has three water molecules attached to it, so less glycogen results in less water which can give the illusion of fast weight loss. Also, being low carb, means your diet is high protein and high fat meaning it leaves you more satisfied, so many people on low carb tend to eat less by default.

Also, you are diabetic so obviously it might be a good idea to go low carb for other reasons. Being diabetic or pre-diabetic is the only time you should really follow the glycemic index as a guide, and curtail carb intake, but these are for other reasons than weight loss. Your body does not function the same as the average body. You need to worry about blood glucose spikes because of the way your body has trouble with insulin. Low carb diets can be good for diabetics because protein and fat increase glucagon (not to be confused with glycogen) which is the counter hormone to insulin. A high glucagon level due to high protein and fat can lower cholesterol because the ratio of insulin to glucagon determines about 85% of blood cholesterol levels, the other 15% coming from dietary cholesterol.

Also,

When you take away a signifiant portion of someone’s diet or place limits on when they can eat, they can’t help but eat less (at least for a while). If someone’s used to getting 50% of their calories from carbs — and they cut that to less than 10% — they’re going to eat less until they get used to their new diet.

Aren't your just spreading misinformation with posting that article? Anyone can write an article. That author of that article is nobody with no degree in anything. They have no medical degree.

If you would have taken the time to actually read this article, you would have noticed that it has 148 citations to peer reviewed, published scientific papers to support every single one of the claims in the article...

Fitnin6280

I've been eating a low carb diet for just over a year now and maintained my 65lb weight loss. It's sustainable and the best thing I ever did for my health. I only wish I had started eating this way years ago instead of assuming it was a fad and not a healthful eating plan but I can say I'll happily be eating this way for the rest of my life. The naysayers are loud and obnoxious but they have no clue how this way of eating can change someones life -- all diets are not the same.

Here's a great resource (with links to studies showing it's a safe and effective way to lose weight and improve health):

LCHF for Beginners
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Nobody said low carb is unsustainable

Nobody said that you should not practice low carb if you prefer it

As I said before, it's perfectly fine if you prefer low carb, I just will not be told that low carb is superior any other diet in terms of overall health, body composition, or fat loss, because that is flat out false.

I don't think anyone here is saying low carb is superior for someone else. However I do think they are saying it works best for their body.

I have always said weight loss is a very personal experience. What works for one individual may not work for someone else. My advice to the OP is, do your own research and find what works best for you. As long as you have your good health as the ultimate goal, you are doing it right. :flowerforyou:

astartig

South Beach is not a low carb diet - it's a *healthy* carb diet. Anyone who has actually read the book should know this. I follow it myself and eat plenty of whole grain foods that have high carb counts.

The south beach diet is based on the glycemic index which is was developed for diabetics and people's who's bodies had trouble with insulin production. The way foods were tested for the glycemic index is people were fed only one food like let's say white rice, and they were fed a meal of only white rice in a fasted state, so their stomach was completely empty, and they watched how that food affected blood glucose levels. The problem with this is almost nobody eats a meal consisting of one single food in a fasted state. When high glycemic index foods are eaten in a meal with protein and fat, especially protein, it has been found that the glycemic index is basically washed out by the complete meal. The high thermic effect of the protein prevents spikes in blood glucose, and prevents resulting insulin spikes. Unless you are diabetic or have a medical reason for not eating high glycemic index foods, then it is unnecessary to avoid them. Even if you were to eat high glycemic index foods by themselves in a fasted state, it is inconsequential to your weight loss if you are eating at a caloric deficit. Moral of the story is that calorie intake and macronutrient intake are vastly vastly more important than the type of foods or the type of carbs you're eating.

If you're very overweight it seems medically sound to follow a low glycemic index diet to reduce your risks. Stop with the hatin'. Low carb and keto diets are not bad for you. They are a choice. they have some very real benefits.
you burn fat all the time.
the diet keeps you full on lesser calories
you can keep some treats in that substitute well for foods that you really like.

yeah you can take it to unhealthy extremes but I think most do still eat their vegetables.

comparing my diet to many standard dieters diets.. I really think you'll find my keto diet to be more solid in nutrients than many standard diets.

AJ_G

South Beach is not a low carb diet - it's a *healthy* carb diet. Anyone who has actually read the book should know this. I follow it myself and eat plenty of whole grain foods that have high carb counts.

The south beach diet is based on the glycemic index which is was developed for diabetics and people's who's bodies had trouble with insulin production. The way foods were tested for the glycemic index is people were fed only one food like let's say white rice, and they were fed a meal of only white rice in a fasted state, so their stomach was completely empty, and they watched how that food affected blood glucose levels. The problem with this is almost nobody eats a meal consisting of one single food in a fasted state. When high glycemic index foods are eaten in a meal with protein and fat, especially protein, it has been found that the glycemic index is basically washed out by the complete meal. The high thermic effect of the protein prevents spikes in blood glucose, and prevents resulting insulin spikes. Unless you are diabetic or have a medical reason for not eating high glycemic index foods, then it is unnecessary to avoid them. Even if you were to eat high glycemic index foods by themselves in a fasted state, it is inconsequential to your weight loss if you are eating at a caloric deficit. Moral of the story is that calorie intake and macronutrient intake are vastly vastly more important than the type of foods or the type of carbs you're eating.

If you're very overweight it seems medically sound to follow a low glycemic index diet to reduce your risks. Stop with the hatin'. Low carb and keto diets are not bad for you. They are a choice. they have some very real benefits.
you burn fat all the time.
the diet keeps you full on lesser calories
you can keep some treats in that substitute well for foods that you really like.

yeah you can take it to unhealthy extremes but I think most do still eat their vegetables.

comparing my diet to many standard dieters diets.. I really think you'll find my keto diet to be more solid in nutrients than many standard diets.

I already mentioned that keto and low carb have the benefit of greater satiety, I don't question that at all. Yes you can feel fuller on less calories which makes it a better choice for some people in that regard. I haven't questioned any of that. I disagree with people saying that low carb increases fat loss, it's scientifically untrue. Your body burning ketones from fat as the main fuel source isn't really an advantage, because your dietary fat intake is very high anyway, so that comes back to calorie deficit.

jim9097

I cut 55 lbs, but in the end decided it was the wrong way to go. I gained back almost 25lbs of it when trying to to come off to a more normal carb level. The difficulty with this type of diet is: If you have any aspirations of being athletic it is not a good idea. Your bodies prefered fuel sorce for high intensity athletic adventures is carbs. So trying to keep up while on low carb is not going to work.

With that said, and I know many will say it; you might not have any desire to do some high intensity things. I sure didn't think I did; but then when I was capable my mindset shifted. now I do kickboxing, burst training, and many other somewhat extreme activities that I would have never seen myself doing. So it is a choice you have to make. I think it works well especially for those not overly active; but if you pivot and decide to get real active you are going to find yourself running low on energy a lot. I know adkins specifically starts you down a path to get up to about 100 carbs a day when normalized after induction. But I can speak from experience 100 carbs a day is enough to power you through about 30 minutes of HIIT training or 1 hour of light jogging. I personally need about 350 carbs a day to get through my workouts without feeling sick.

astartig

South Beach is not a low carb diet - it's a *healthy* carb diet. Anyone who has actually read the book should know this. I follow it myself and eat plenty of whole grain foods that have high carb counts.

The south beach diet is based on the glycemic index which is was developed for diabetics and people's who's bodies had trouble with insulin production. The way foods were tested for the glycemic index is people were fed only one food like let's say white rice, and they were fed a meal of only white rice in a fasted state, so their stomach was completely empty, and they watched how that food affected blood glucose levels. The problem with this is almost nobody eats a meal consisting of one single food in a fasted state. When high glycemic index foods are eaten in a meal with protein and fat, especially protein, it has been found that the glycemic index is basically washed out by the complete meal. The high thermic effect of the protein prevents spikes in blood glucose, and prevents resulting insulin spikes. Unless you are diabetic or have a medical reason for not eating high glycemic index foods, then it is unnecessary to avoid them. Even if you were to eat high glycemic index foods by themselves in a fasted state, it is inconsequential to your weight loss if you are eating at a caloric deficit. Moral of the story is that calorie intake and macronutrient intake are vastly vastly more important than the type of foods or the type of carbs you're eating.

If you're very overweight it seems medically sound to follow a low glycemic index diet to reduce your risks. Stop with the hatin'. Low carb and keto diets are not bad for you. They are a choice. they have some very real benefits.
you burn fat all the time.
the diet keeps you full on lesser calories
you can keep some treats in that substitute well for foods that you really like.

yeah you can take it to unhealthy extremes but I think most do still eat their vegetables.

comparing my diet to many standard dieters diets.. I really think you'll find my keto diet to be more solid in nutrients than many standard diets.

I already mentioned that keto and low carb have the benefit of greater satiety, I don't question that at all. Yes you can feel fuller on less calories which makes it a better choice for some people in that regard. I haven't questioned any of that. I disagree with people saying that low carb increases fat loss, it's scientifically untrue. Your body burning ketones from fat as the main fuel source isn't really an advantage, because your dietary fat intake is very high anyway, so that comes back to calorie deficit.

but you are burning fat. deficit or not, you burn fat all the time. normally you go to the gym you don't start burning fat til you've been working out 20 minutes. with keto you are burning fat from the get go. you don't have to "prime" your body so to speak to get there like you do when you're on a carb heavy diet.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15148063

AJ_G

South Beach is not a low carb diet - it's a *healthy* carb diet. Anyone who has actually read the book should know this. I follow it myself and eat plenty of whole grain foods that have high carb counts.

The south beach diet is based on the glycemic index which is was developed for diabetics and people's who's bodies had trouble with insulin production. The way foods were tested for the glycemic index is people were fed only one food like let's say white rice, and they were fed a meal of only white rice in a fasted state, so their stomach was completely empty, and they watched how that food affected blood glucose levels. The problem with this is almost nobody eats a meal consisting of one single food in a fasted state. When high glycemic index foods are eaten in a meal with protein and fat, especially protein, it has been found that the glycemic index is basically washed out by the complete meal. The high thermic effect of the protein prevents spikes in blood glucose, and prevents resulting insulin spikes. Unless you are diabetic or have a medical reason for not eating high glycemic index foods, then it is unnecessary to avoid them. Even if you were to eat high glycemic index foods by themselves in a fasted state, it is inconsequential to your weight loss if you are eating at a caloric deficit. Moral of the story is that calorie intake and macronutrient intake are vastly vastly more important than the type of foods or the type of carbs you're eating.

If you're very overweight it seems medically sound to follow a low glycemic index diet to reduce your risks. Stop with the hatin'. Low carb and keto diets are not bad for you. They are a choice. they have some very real benefits.
you burn fat all the time.
the diet keeps you full on lesser calories
you can keep some treats in that substitute well for foods that you really like.

yeah you can take it to unhealthy extremes but I think most do still eat their vegetables.

comparing my diet to many standard dieters diets.. I really think you'll find my keto diet to be more solid in nutrients than many standard diets.

I already mentioned that keto and low carb have the benefit of greater satiety, I don't question that at all. Yes you can feel fuller on less calories which makes it a better choice for some people in that regard. I haven't questioned any of that. I disagree with people saying that low carb increases fat loss, it's scientifically untrue. Your body burning ketones from fat as the main fuel source isn't really an advantage, because your dietary fat intake is very high anyway, so that comes back to calorie deficit.

but you are burning fat. deficit or not, you burn fat all the time. normally you go to the gym you don't start burning fat til you've been working out 20 minutes. with keto you are burning fat from the get go. you don't have to "prime" your body so to speak to get there like you do when you're on a carb heavy diet.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15148063

On keto, you are burning stored fat instantly and replacing that burned fat with dietary fat intake. On a standard diet, you are burning glycogen, and replenishing that with carbs. The energy source it's different, but the result is the same. The amount of net fat loss will be the same at the end of the day on both diets, even though fat oxidation is higher with keto

walleyclan1

I did low carb years ago and lost weight quickly. Like others I found myself irritable and lethargic. I gained all the weight back. My mom has had short term success many times with low carb but for her it has never stuck.

phylisrn

With all due respect...I have to disagree with you. For some people with insulin resistance or PCOS, a calorie is not a calorie.
It is not misinformation..

AJ_G

With all due respect...I have to disagree with you. For some people with insulin resistance or PCOS, a calorie is not a calorie.
It is not misinformation..

I already explained that these rules do not apply for people who's bodies have trouble producing insulin or people with insulin resistance. These are special circumstances. For everyone else, a calorie it's a calorie

pcastagner

MaryMacAttack

Hello! Just to throw my experience into the mix- I've been on a primal/ paleo diet (not hard core because I love cheese!) for over year and have strapped down my carb intake to 50 net carbs a day in just the past 8 weeks or so(before that I noticed carb intake usually around 100 net carbs) I've lost a little over 50 lbs in 18 months. No crazy weight lose here- however I have noticed an increase in weekly weight lose in the past 8 weeks. I have plenty of energy. No complaints of crankiness or irritability. I exercise a few times a week. I drink more than enough water. Typical food I have each day, eggs and bacon or breakfast, salad and 1 oz of cheese for lunch (maybe with some deli meat or tuna), roasted chicken with two different kinds of veggie for dinner. I snack on pickles and nuts, sometimes pork rinds if I am missing the crunch of crackers and chips. I treat myself a few times a week to a small square of dark chocolate. I find this diet very sustainable for myself. I have not read any Atkins or south beach books. I just do what works best for me- and I feel pretty great these days

jim9097

Actually, I will throw one more thought on this thread and then I am done. For me it was a trade off between feeling really good and getting physically fit. I loved how I fealt on Atkins. I have crohns disease and if anyone knows what that is; it can be somewhat of a pain when you eat normally. This might be TMI, but I have to #2 several times a day. While on I was on Atkins I noticed that I was almost normal, I only had to go once a day. When you are out and about you can't always control when the stomach cramps will start to happen. Atkins did fix that for me. But as I said; I made a choice to live with the problems so I could work on my fitness level. Maybe when I get older and my fitness starts to deteriate naturally I will go back there. Who knows.

The one thing I do know is that the level I want to be able to attain (physically) cannot be attained on a low carb diet.

motown13

.....

The one thing I do know is that the level I want to be able to attain (physically) cannot be attained on a low carb diet.

Well, tell that to Dr. Peter Attia who competes in triathalons and admits his diet is 90% fat.

jess6742

OP, I lost weight on a low carb diet but then gained it back. Plus I was miserable. It works for some people but just eating at a calorie deficit has proven to be much more success for me. It is also much more sustainable (at least for me). I was miserable on the low carb and perfectly content with my much higher carb diet. Unless you are planning on eating low carb for the rest of your life, don't do it.

mrdexter1

truth be known it takes a good 30 days of sub 20g carbs to settle down and get the full benefits of very low carb and people grossly overweight starting a training routine and a diet like this i doubt are in a position to comment as mentally they ll be all over the place having given up all that got them out of shape in one fell swoop - nor will they feel the differance in untrained muscles to make a sound judgement.
As for those who say they lost weight and put it back on over the next months obviously when they stopped logging..well there is a suprise,- not.

And the fact is its not necessary for someone grossly overweight to do a diet so strict, a simple reduction in gross over consumption will shed the pounds but some cant even hack sensible portion size never mind not continue to think how they can fit their sweet stuff in their daily goals.(diaries are littered with sweetstuff !!!) Talk about playing at it and non comitment and lack of self control !

unbelievable !

ewrob

truth be known it takes a good 30 days of sub 20g carbs to settle down and get the full benefits of very low carb and people grossly overweight starting a training routine and a diet like this i doubt are in a position to comment as mentally they ll be all over the place having given up all that got them out of shape in one fell swoop - nor will they feel the differance in untrained muscles to make a sound judgement.
As for those who say they lost weight and put it back on over the next months obviously when they stopped logging..well there is a suprise,- not.

And the fact is its not necessary for someone grossly overweight to do a diet so strict, a simple reduction in gross over consumption will shed the pounds but some cant even hack sensible portion size never mind not continue to think how they can fit their sweet stuff in their daily goals.(diaries are littered with sweetstuff !!!) Talk about playing at it and non comitment and lack of self control !

unbelievable !

What.

sixty_five

But, actually, it IS all about calories...

ellesab78

Wow you are quite misinformed in many areas of what you've said.
I have been battling obesity for more than 10yrs and have recently been told I am insulin resistant and I am only 34. I have been eating clean and mostly organic up until then for the past year and only lost 2kgs in that whole time. When told about my insulin resistance which is linked to my poly cystic ovarian syndrome, the doctor decided to treat me with diet and exercise instead of medication (shocking I know). So I've done EXTENSIVE research on the best diet which happens to be a ketogenic diet. In 2 months I have lost over 10kgs, gained lots of energy, manage to workout 7 days a week (including 3 days a week weights) and cut my cravings to ZERO! Unlike glucose which if not used by the body for energy gets stored as fat for later use thanks to good old insulin the fat storing hormone. Ketones on the other hand if not used all up by the body will be excreated through the urine. So therefore it's very rare and hard for the body to enter ketoacidosis. In fact there are people on carb laden diets who are probably more acid than Keto people. There is also evidence that the brain actually prefers ketones since they have production sites which produce their own ketones! Please do your proper research before bagging ketogenic/low carb diets. They are also used to treat cancer patients (as the diet helps starve the glucose loving cancer cells) and has been used since the 1920s to treat epileptics. Google a surgeon by the name of Peter Attia. He has a great site that explains extensively the benefits of ketosis and sites HEAPS of scientific evidence to back it up.