Are you confused and discouraged?

makinica

Are you guys on some specific diet or simply follow kcals? I got slammed with info tonight how I need to shift to LCHF if I want to see any results, quit fruits etc. Is that true? Are you doing it?

They really discouraged me. I eat healthy, clean, and zero processed junk. I do cardio 3x week and now I added 2 strength workouts a week too. I'd be happy to go down 1lb/0.5kg a week so I keep my kcals at 1300.

But now this LCHF limit-all-carbs thing just got me confused. Am I doing it wrong?

kommodevaran

I'm in maintenance; losing weight I just counted calories - admitting that I aimed for slightly higher fat, but generally, I just relearned how to eat normal food.

You can eat any way you want and lose weight, you don't have to eat clean or avoid processed food, whatever that means to you, you don't even have to exercise to lose weight. All you need is a consistent calorie deficit.

concordancia

Who told you that and why?

Low carb diets can be very beneficial for certain medical conditions. Even then, it isn't always a requirement to see results. My mother lost 50 lbs. on the a medium carb diet, even with diabetes.

There are also people who feel more full on these diets. It helps them see results because it is easier for them to stick to because they don't feel as hungry.

Switching to a low carb diet (whether it is particularly high in fat or proteins) can cause you to lose a lot of water weight in the first week or two, so some people like the fast results early on.

Some people cut their carbs so low that they have to limit their vegetables in order to stay within their goals. That is not something I am willing to explore.

dmcnur

I am on LCHF to lose weight due to insulin resistance. I have found it very easy to stick to as I still get to eat a lot of the foods I most like. While I love pasta and bread, I find that I don't miss eating them. So much so I went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant that has the most amazing pasta and pizzas and was content to eat some delicious scampi, broccolini and a side salad. As with any weight loss journey it is a matter of finding what works for you. LCHF isn't for everyone but there is an increasing amount of research coming out, so it is just a matter of doing your homework before deciding if it is the eating plan for you. I am 61, female and started at 92.8kg (I am in Australia so we run on the metric system) in November last year. I currently weigh 73.6kg and my insulin resistance has disappeared with fasting BGL down from 6.7mmol/L to 4.3mmol/L.

Good luck on your journey whichever road you use to get to where you want to be.

kshama2001

LCHF works great for some people, and some of them go on to evangelize.

When I was in Costa Rica, I dropped over a size without even trying. I ate mangoes all day long, plus lots of other tropical fruit, and lots of rice and beans.

However, overall I had a calorie deficit, and that is why I lost weight.

I also know plenty of healthy and fit vegans who eat high carb.

frankiesgirlie

I would never start any style of eating unless I thought it was something I could happily do my entire life.
I’m an intermittent faster for 40 years because I like the way it makes me feel, but give up bread, pizza, pasta?? Only if it was medically necessary, and it wouldn’t make me one bit happy.

callsitlikeiseeit

not depressed or discouraged. ive lost 100+ pounds. i eat what i want, as long as i can make it ft in my calories. i had chips, beer, and chicken tacos today.

yesterday i had sesame chicken.

day before that, a club sandwich.

learn how much you need to eat to lose/ maintain weight, and dont lose it by some fad diet, and youll be just fine.

1houndgal

makinica wrote: »

Are you guys on some specific diet or simply follow kcals? I got slammed with info tonight how I need to shift to LCHF if I want to see any results, quit fruits etc. Is that true? Are you doing it?

They really discouraged me. I eat healthy, clean, and zero processed junk. I do cardio 3x week and now I added 2 strength workouts a week too. I'd be happy to go down 1lb/0.5kg a week so I keep my kcals at 1300.

But now this LCHF limit-all-carbs thing just got me confused. Am I doing it wrong?

Carbs are not going to keep you from losing weight. I have eaten around 50% carbs on avg daily since new years eve and I have lost close to 24 pounds.

If eating carbs in your diet causes weight gain, everyone on this good earth that eats carbs would be overweight.

How you lose weight is to eat enough calories to stay healthy but with enough of a calorie deficit to lose weight.

If you do endurance or cardio activities, carbs provide vital energy/fuel to do those things.

Focus on complex carbs and limit simple carbs. But don't toss carbs out because someone says you should.

Stuffielover

Discouraged? Absolutely. Couldn't find strength training to meet my needs and in pretty bad of putting weight on. Been losing this week instead.

kimny72

I dont follow any particular diet. I eat @ 200g of carbs a day. I did so while losing 20 lbs and continue to for the last 2 years while maintaining. I also eat some "processed junk". Calories determine whether you lose, gain, or maintain your weight. Macros can help with satiety but diff combos work for diff people. I find carbs (like potatoes, rice, pasta, barley, etc) fill me up whereas going higher in fat makes me sluggish. Other people find carbs don't fill them up and do better minimizing them.

Don't be discouraged. Just log accurately and consistently, take notes of how you feel and figure out what works for you. Good luck!

AnvilHead

Sounds like you've been struck by a ketovangelist - one of the ones who treat keto as the One True Religion rather than what it is - one possible method of creating a caloric deficit for weight loss, which is no more or less effective than any other method.

No, you don't need to shift to LCHF to lose weight. Many people (myself included) have been quite successful without doing so. It's helpful if you find fatty foods satiating (since a ketogenic macro distribution is mostly fat), because it can help you stick to your calorie goals and not feel hungry - but if you're not one of those people who are satiated by fat, it can be a nightmare. Fat is very calorie dense and you can rack up a lot of calories in a hurry eating mostly fatty foods. You lose weight by eating less calories than you burn, not by eating less carbs.

Think about it for a minute: If the miracle claims of ketovangelists were true, there would be no skinny vegans, would there? (I'm not vegan either, but just saying).

Machka9

Are you confused and discouraged?

Not at all.

Any time I want to lose weight, I simply eat fewer calories than I burn.