Any Advantage to a Lowish Carb Diet?

patrickaa5

Is there any advantage to lowering carbs without going to the extremes of Keto? - say 100g or 25% of calories. I'm not sure I would (or could) do Keto or even 50g carb type of diet, but could probably do 100g by just cutting out some of the sweets and processed foods I eat. Over the last 180 days, my average macros have been 40% carbs, 40% fat, 20% protein. I calculated this from a MFP file download of all of my data. So, would going down to 25% Carbs accomplish anything?

I've been doing calorie counting for the last 6 months and have lost 46lbs. I have probably another 50lbs to go. I can't say that I've been disappointed with being able to eat anything I want, but would like to know if there would be a benefit to lowering my carbs - but keep overall calories the same - either from a weight loss standpoint or overall health.

CarvedTones

Is it something you can keep doing after the weight loss? I would encourage you to try alternatives only if the answer is yes, or maybe try long enough to see if it is.

apullum

There’s no reason to eat a low carb diet unless you want to or your doctor told you to. It doesn’t do anything special for weight loss.

kimny72

The advantage to playing with your carb level is appetite control. Some people find carbs filling (like me) others find they are not filling and can actually make them hungrier. If that's you, lowering your carbs could help.

If you do not have a medical condition related to blood sugar, reducing carbs will not make you healthier. Fruit, veggies, and whole grains all fit quite well into a healthy lifestyle.

You are already losing weight quite quickly, you certainly shouldn't be looking to lose faster. If you are successfully losing weight, and are not struggling to hit your calorie goal, I wouldn't change a thing!

If you are just in that mindset of wanting to do more, I'd suggest looking towards fitness, like incorporate strength training or flexibility if you aren't already. Congrats on your success so far!

cwolfman13

patrickaa5 wrote: »

Is there any advantage to lowering carbs without going to the extremes of Keto? - say 100g or 25% of calories. I'm not sure I would (or could) do Keto or even 50g carb type of diet, but could probably do 100g by just cutting out some of the sweets and processed foods I eat. Over the last 180 days, my average macros have been 40% carbs, 40% fat, 20% protein. I calculated this from a MFP file download of all of my data. So, would going down to 25% Carbs accomplish anything?

I've been doing calorie counting for the last 6 months and have lost 46lbs. I have probably another 50lbs to go. I can't say that I've been disappointed with being able to eat anything I want, but would like to know if there would be a benefit to lowering my carbs - but keep overall calories the same - either from a weight loss standpoint or overall health.

There's overall no weight loss advantage to lowering carbohydrates to either low carb or keto. People see early water weight losses, but in terms of fat loss, calories being equal, there is no difference.

In regards to health, there's nothing wrong with carbs and there are a multitude of high carb foods with awesome nutritional profiles.

When I am trying to cut some weight (like right now) I do typically reduce carbohydrates, but that's largely because it's the easiest macro to flex. I don't eat much in the way of sweets anyway, but I will be cutting them out completely for the next month or two for this cut, mostly because they are calorie dense and it's just an easy way to cut back on calories...same for beer.

Most of my carbohydrate intake whether I'm in maintenance or trying to cut 5-10 Lbs come from things like oats, beans, lentils, potatoes and other root vegetables, fruit, and vegetables.

patrickaa5

kimny72 wrote: »

The advantage to playing with your carb level is appetite control. Some people find carbs filling (like me) others find they are not filling and can actually make them hungrier. If that's you, lowering your carbs could help.

If you do not have a medical condition related to blood sugar, reducing carbs will not make you healthier. Fruit, veggies, and whole grains all fit quite well into a healthy lifestyle.

You are already losing weight quite quickly, you certainly shouldn't be looking to lose faster. If you are successfully losing weight, and are not struggling to hit your calorie goal, I wouldn't change a thing!

If you are just in that mindset of wanting to do more, I'd suggest looking towards fitness, like incorporate strength training or flexibility if you aren't already. Congrats on your success so far!

I go to the doctor next week and will have my blood workup done then. I'll be curious to see if there is a change in my lipid panel. I'll also be curious to see if my doctor even notices. I am borderline pre-diabetic with BG around 100. I also have mild coronary artery disease (clogged arteries) and moderate disease in the arteries going to the brain. I take a Statin and baby aspirin - which are the only drugs I take. Blood pressure is fine. I'm hoping losing the weight will help with some of my health issues. Not sure if lowering carbs will help any, but might ask my doctor. Thanks for the replies so far.

zeejane03

Different people do better with different macros ratios, in terms of satiety levels-it's highly individual. I've learned that I do really well on a high carb woe, for someone else that would be a disaster.

OP, in terms of weight loss the only thing that matters is that you're hitting your calorie targets. Within that context it may be a good idea for you to experiment with different macros ratios and see what works best for you