low carb high fat

Butterpecan888

so im upping my calories well almost eating on tdee now! i see my face getting slimmer and so. last monday i started low carb high fat however i already feel deprived... is it still possible to lose weight eating carbs? thanks!

AnitraSoto

My advice would be to never do anything to lose weight that you are not willing to continue for life... You may lose weight initially doing the Low Carb thing, but like you can see, you feel deprived. Those feelings usually lead to binges or just generally falling off the wagon. Personally, I would just stick to eating at or slightly below TDEE (depending on your goals) and eat lots of healthy whole foods.

each_day_stronger

Not all carbs are created equal. In my own experience (which is all I can speak for) when I eat lots of sugary stuff and things from refined flours (breads, sweets, treats) I start to crave more and more of it and feel out of control, I gain weight/hold water, and I feel sluggish/depressed.

But I don't feel that way from eating some chickpeas, or tons of veggies, or a sweet potato, or even a big old fruit smoothie here or there.

For me it's not about how many carbs, it's the quality of the carb. And it goes something like this(best to worst):

Veggies>Starchie Veggies>Whole Fruit>nuts and seeds>Dairy>Legumes>ACTUALLY WHOLE GRAINS (rice, corn)>things with a *little* bit of sugar added (adding some raw honey to my yogurt, or eating a piece of dark chocolate)>grain free sweetened treats(grainfree cookies)>things made from whole grain flour (whole wheat bread)>wonder bread and stuff with high fructose corn syrup.

For me I'm not going to rule anything out completely. There will be days in my life where I eat a slice of wonder bread or high-fructose whatever. But if I can, I'm going to fill up on the stuff near the front end (veggies, fruits, etc) because I feel better on it, and I happen to lose weight that way.

graysmom2005

Not all carbs are created equal. In my own experience (which is all I can speak for) when I eat lots of sugary stuff and things from refined flours (breads, sweets, treats) I start to crave more and more of it and feel out of control, I gain weight/hold water, and I feel sluggish/depressed.

But I don't feel that way from eating some chickpeas, or tons of veggies, or a sweet potato, or even a big old fruit smoothie here or there.

For me it's not about how many carbs, it's the quality of the carb. And it goes something like this(best to worst):

Veggies>Starchie Veggies>Whole Fruit>nuts and seeds>Dairy>Legumes>ACTUALLY WHOLE GRAINS (rice, corn)>things with a *little* bit of sugar added (adding some raw honey to my yogurt, or eating a piece of dark chocolate)>grain free sweetened treats(grainfree cookies)>things made from whole grain flour (whole wheat bread)>wonder bread and stuff with high fructose corn syrup.

For me I'm not going to rule anything out completely. There will be days in my life where I eat a slice of wonder bread or high-fructose whatever. But if I can, I'm going to fill up on the stuff near the front end (veggies, fruits, etc) because I feel better on it, and I happen to lose weight that way.

^^^^ This. TOTALLY!

jordymils

Not all carbs are created equal. In my own experience (which is all I can speak for) when I eat lots of sugary stuff and things from refined flours (breads, sweets, treats) I start to crave more and more of it and feel out of control, I gain weight/hold water, and I feel sluggish/depressed.

But I don't feel that way from eating some chickpeas, or tons of veggies, or a sweet potato, or even a big old fruit smoothie here or there.

For me it's not about how many carbs, it's the quality of the carb. And it goes something like this(best to worst):

Veggies>Starchie Veggies>Whole Fruit>nuts and seeds>Dairy>Legumes>ACTUALLY WHOLE GRAINS (rice, corn)>things with a *little* bit of sugar added (adding some raw honey to my yogurt, or eating a piece of dark chocolate)>grain free sweetened treats(grainfree cookies)>things made from whole grain flour (whole wheat bread)>wonder bread and stuff with high fructose corn syrup.

For me I'm not going to rule anything out completely. There will be days in my life where I eat a slice of wonder bread or high-fructose whatever. But if I can, I'm going to fill up on the stuff near the front end (veggies, fruits, etc) because I feel better on it, and I happen to lose weight that way.

I definitely agree with this, but I also strongly believe in not only eating the right carbs, but USING the right carbs. Ie; fuelling my training and recovering from training with carbs, and focusing on protein, fats and veggies at other times.
I will never rule anything totally out of my diet just because it might be 'bad' for me, but as munzinni said I will fill up on the good stuff most of the time, and eat for joy occasionally. On a daily basis I will eat oats, sweet potato, fruit, beans/legumes, tonnes of veggies, occasionally bread and other grains, etc. But almost all of my carbs are eaten before and after training, so that I can perform better and recover better.

Is there a particular reason that you want to go low carb?
The other thing to remember with low carb diets is that while you may lose weight initially, most of that will be water. For every gram of carbs your body holds, it will hold 4g of water with it, so when you lose the carbs you lose the water and vice versa. I wouldn't recommend going low carb in general because for most people it's not sustainable and will not give you the energy you need to get through the day, let alone exercise and activities.

In short, yes it is most definitely possible to eat carbs and lose weight, but the focus should be on what type of carbs you eat and when you eat them.

kathleenjoyful

I eat heaps of carbs and still lose weight. I found it difficult to balance eating more protein and also eating enough carbs, but I found it easier once I upped my calories (again). I try not to eat too many refined carbohydrates but I do eat bread and pasta --- rye or whole grains. I eat heaps of vegetables, of course, and legumes etc. I often recommend people make sure they eat ENOUGH carbs, because it makes exercise very difficult if you don't. As Jordy pointed out, she times her carbohydrates around her workouts. I'm not as disciplined about it, but I do try to be mindful of what I'm eating and workouts, so I have enough energy.

kathleenjoyful

This is a great and informative article from Precision Nutrition on the problem with low carb diets, especially if you're training, or you're a woman:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/low-carb-diets

The article covers:

But if you like to exercise regularly and enthusiastically, restricting your carb intake too drastically can lead to:
decreased thyroid output
increased cortisol output
decreased testosterone
impaired mood and cognitive function
muscle catabolism
suppressed immune function.

In other words: Your metabolism slows, your stress hormones go up and your muscle-building hormones go down.

Yet because low-carb diets can significantly disrupt hormone production, women with too-low carb intakes — especially active women — can face:
a stopped or irregular menstrual cycle;
lowered fertility;
hypoglycemia and blood sugar swings;
more body fat (especially around the middle);
loss of bone density;
anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues;
chronic inflammation and worse chronic pain;
chronic fatigue and disrupted sleep; and
a host of other chronic problems…
…ironically, this is the exact opposite of what they wanted in the first place.

each_day_stronger

As the article you site states it really depends on the person though:
"Very sedentary people, as well as people who are extremely metabolically dysregulated (e.g. metabolic syndrome, diabetes), may benefit from a lower-carb diet for a while as part of an overall transition towards more activity and healthier metabolism."

For me this is definitely true. I don't go keto or anything, but I try to keep my carbs between 20-30% of my intake. While I'm not diabetic, my family is, and I'm sort of borderline metabolic syndrome-y. For me that shakes out to as many veggies as I want, some dairy, and maybe a starchy something (sweet potato or something).

On days when I'm running all over the place, I try to eat more, but in general I don't worry about it. I'm not an athlete, though I am striving to walk more and lift heavy on occasion. Some day I'd love to be able to do some serious workouts, but at the moment not so much.

Also as best I can tell eating gluten tends to cause depression. I don't really understand it, and perhaps I'm blaming gluten for some other thing in my diet, but the longer it is out of me the better I feel both physically and mentally. It's really about reading up about how these things interact with our bodies and finding what works best for us, and not just cuz it worked for someone else, ya know?