Cutting out Carbs

Jayme2787

I'm doing that myself because I don't feel well when I eat processed carbs - and it seems that processed carbs are what you're talking about. There are plenty of carbohydrates that our bodies need in fruits and vegetables. Don't overdue eat things like berries - maybe once a day. People freak out when someone wants to do away with carbs but it's not as difficult as it seems and it's good for you. I feel more clear-headed and energetic than I have in quite sometime by cutting out breads and pastas and basically grains in general. I'm gluten intolerant and don't do well with many grains so it's actually been a relief for my body. I've found some alternatives to things - zucchini can be spiraled into pasta - look for a spiralizer on Amazon - it's awesome I use mine several times a week. Cauliflower is another way to go even for pizza crusts - look it up online - look up cauliflower pizza crusts. You can also use grated cauliflower in place of rice - it's amazingly good and doesn't bloat you. Look that up too. We get into a mindset that we need all these grains and we really don't. Eat good protein and lots of vegetables and you'll be fine. All the best to you.

Cauliflower pizza crust is a great idea! I've seen some ideas for using cauliflower for things like substitute wings on Pinterest before, and I am a huge fan of it. I will have to remember that next time we make pizza at home!

ALNoog

I'm doing that myself because I don't feel well when I eat processed carbs - and it seems that processed carbs are what you're talking about. There are plenty of carbohydrates that our bodies need in fruits and vegetables. Don't overdue eat things like berries - maybe once a day. People freak out when someone wants to do away with carbs but it's not as difficult as it seems and it's good for you. I feel more clear-headed and energetic than I have in quite sometime by cutting out breads and pastas and basically grains in general. I'm gluten intolerant and don't do well with many grains so it's actually been a relief for my body. I've found some alternatives to things - zucchini can be spiraled into pasta - look for a spiralizer on Amazon - it's awesome I use mine several times a week. Cauliflower is another way to go even for pizza crusts - look it up online - look up cauliflower pizza crusts. You can also use grated cauliflower in place of rice - it's amazingly good and doesn't bloat you. Look that up too. We get into a mindset that we need all these grains and we really don't. Eat good protein and lots of vegetables and you'll be fine. All the best to you.

Cauliflower pizza crust is a great idea! I've seen some ideas for using cauliflower for things like substitute wings on Pinterest before, and I am a huge fan of it. I will have to remember that next time we make pizza at home!

I make Meatza pizza and we love it! You just make a crust out of beef! I never can get cauliflower to turn into all of her fancy stuff other than mashed cauliflower.

Jayme2787

As others have said, take your own food in, it's cheap and you will get plenty of variety.

I'm not sure why you think you would get bored of eating salads though, but didn't mention getting bored of pizza. As with most changes, it's largely psychological.

So you may struggle to start with, but keep remembering why you are doing it.

Whenever I try eating more salads in order to eat healthier I get bored eventually. Maybe I don't know how to get variety in the flavors in the salad, but eventually they just start tasting the same to me. There is variety for pizza, which helps, plus I don't always eat pizza at work. We do sell other things, they just aren't much healthier.

ndj1979

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

Jayme2787

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

There's no medical reason behind this, I've just known some people to do it either by choice or necessity, and it's worked as a good kick-start for them. I haven't been doing what I should for my diet as much lately, so I'd like to get myself started and really motivated again.

ndj1979

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

There's no medical reason behind this, I've just known some people to do it either by choice or necessity, and it's worked as a good kick-start for them. I haven't been doing what I should for my diet as much lately, so I'd like to get myself started and really motivated again.

you can't really "jump start" weight loss…

you either eat in a calorie deficit or you do not…

what is going to happen after two weeks of low carb and you go back to regular carb…you are going to gain about 5 pounds as glycogen replenishes and then you will gain another 5 pounds in water retention….

So why not just get a food scale, create a 500 per day calorie deficit, and lose actual fat..?

ALNoog

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

There's no medical reason behind this, I've just known some people to do it either by choice or necessity, and it's worked as a good kick-start for them. I haven't been doing what I should for my diet as much lately, so I'd like to get myself started and really motivated again.

As a jump start it's not really a good idea because once you stop it you WILL gain back.... If you do it you need to stick with it....
If you don't plan on doing it full time I would probably recommend doing lower calories instead.

I have to do it to stabalIze blood sugar for insulin resistance because I tried low calorie and got no where with my blood sugar problems and my PCOS symptoms....

Jayme2787

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

There's no medical reason behind this, I've just known some people to do it either by choice or necessity, and it's worked as a good kick-start for them. I haven't been doing what I should for my diet as much lately, so I'd like to get myself started and really motivated again.

you can't really "jump start" weight loss…

you either eat in a calorie deficit or you do not…

what is going to happen after two weeks of low carb and you go back to regular carb…you are going to gain about 5 pounds as glycogen replenishes and then you will gain another 5 pounds in water retention….

So why not just get a food scale, create a 500 per day calorie deficit, and lose actual fat..?

I eat at a deficit. With my activity level I should be eating around 2000 calories a day, but I limit myself to 1300 or 1400. I haven't seen any downward movement on the scale in months, it just stays the same. It's hard to stay motivated to keep trying when nothing is working.

MarucaSoledad

I tried a low-carb diet last year to get some quick results before "settling down" with my new lifestyle. I lost about 20 lbs, but gained them all as soon as I started expanding my foods again. I did not take the time to research how much was ok to eat and what types to eat. Just went back to old habits. We need some carbs, veggies and fruits if you can have them, people talk about grains, etc. I am not an expert yet. From what I see in the previous posts it has to do with making a real-life plan and planning on sticking with it. If you find good recipes in the internet for low-carb and you feel that's the right thing for you, go ahead and enjoy it! If you want a quick start-up, make sure you have a plan for when you end that period and move on with what is next without missing a step. Good luck!!!

ndj1979

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

There's no medical reason behind this, I've just known some people to do it either by choice or necessity, and it's worked as a good kick-start for them. I haven't been doing what I should for my diet as much lately, so I'd like to get myself started and really motivated again.

you can't really "jump start" weight loss…

you either eat in a calorie deficit or you do not…

what is going to happen after two weeks of low carb and you go back to regular carb…you are going to gain about 5 pounds as glycogen replenishes and then you will gain another 5 pounds in water retention….

So why not just get a food scale, create a 500 per day calorie deficit, and lose actual fat..?

I eat at a deficit. With my activity level I should be eating around 2000 calories a day, but I limit myself to 1300 or 1400. I haven't seen any downward movement on the scale in months, it just stays the same. It's hard to stay motivated to keep trying when nothing is working.

open your diary …

do you weigh/log/measure every single thing that you eat? If you are are in a deficit you will lose weight.it is basic math ...

PikaKnight

I've known a few people who have cut carbs out of their diet for a few weeks and have lost a bunch of weight, and I'm really interested in trying it for a few weeks as a bit of a kick-start to get myself back into my diet. My biggest problem with this, though, is my job. I work 4 nights a week at a pizza place, and eat dinner there each of those nights (I work 10+ hour shifts each night). Our menu is almost all pizza or fried food or sandwiches, which isn't going to help me with not eating carbs.

The only option I can come up with is to just eat salads when I'm working, but I worry that I'm going to get sick of them really fast and won't be able to keep up with it. The other option I've considered is, because we also deliver for a Mexican restaurant, I have ordered a shredded chicken/Spanish rice dish before that would work, but it's not very filling and I wouldn't know what to get with it. Can anyone give me some suggestions for how I can eat without carbs while working at this restaurant? Or at least how I can cut way, way, way down on the carbs I do eat at work?

umm....salads are carbs so....

Mangopickle

Two words:

Lunch+Box

This!!!i. It takes 30 sec to pack your lunch when you have all the items ready in your fridge. Spread some cream cheese on a whole grain tortilla, slap on some meat, shove in sandwich bag. Grab orange, cheese stick, yogurt and a few crystal lights and you are good to go. All for around $1.75

bheathfit

Every time a person begins a "low carb" diet plan, an Angel somewhere cries...

ALNoog

OP …do what you want to do ..

but why can't you just eat in a moderate deficit and get 30% of your calories from carbs…? Do you have some kind of medical condition/carb sensitivity?

I would rather enjoy all the foods I like, be healthy, and still lose weight/maintain, etc….

There's no medical reason behind this, I've just known some people to do it either by choice or necessity, and it's worked as a good kick-start for them. I haven't been doing what I should for my diet as much lately, so I'd like to get myself started and really motivated again.

you can't really "jump start" weight loss…

you either eat in a calorie deficit or you do not…

what is going to happen after two weeks of low carb and you go back to regular carb…you are going to gain about 5 pounds as glycogen replenishes and then you will gain another 5 pounds in water retention….

So why not just get a food scale, create a 500 per day calorie deficit, and lose actual fat..?

I eat at a deficit. With my activity level I should be eating around 2000 calories a day, but I limit myself to 1300 or 1400. I haven't seen any downward movement on the scale in months, it just stays the same. It's hard to stay motivated to keep trying when nothing is working.

I went through the same thing before my official diagnosis... I lost 89 pounds in around 5 months doing Atkins and it was great. Then I was put on a medication that was making me gain weight at an alarming rate and gained about 15ish pounds a month for two months so I stopped taking it and went on back to eating normal but still nowhere near as many calories as I had been before low carbing and in about 4ish months I had gained back about 70+ pounds and by the end of the year I had gained it all back and then some......

bheathfit

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but it may help make food decisions easier in the future.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Might also benefit you to research If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM). The IIFYM is a personal choice, but I find it rather liberating...

Cheers!

nomorebingesgirl2014

Bump

ell_v131

the only way you lose by cutting out carbs is water weight. Your glycogen stores deplete (and they are the ones "holding" water) so your body releases the water it's held and you get a few pounds lighter. Once you go back on carbs the glycogen stores replenish and hold water again, so you will gain it back. And you are not shifting any fat which is the ultimate goal, right?

The above is assuming you eat the same amount of calories in a day regardless of whether you eat carbs or not.

Just figure out the maximum amount of calories you can eat and lose weight, increase your protein consumption for satiety and muscle protection and you're good to go

Wow... So I lost 89 pounds of water weight? Interesting......

ALnoog, I said assuming you eat the same amount of calories per day (eating carbs or not), you're going to lose only water weight. In the end it boils down to calories in/calories out, unless there is a medical condition.

I myself have reduced pasta and bread, but i don't credit my success to low carbs. It was simply the food that I would eat too many unnecessary calories of. So while I might eat less carbs now, the main thing I did by reducing the bread and pasta was cut down calories.

if you cut out carbs and just replace it with other food, then you will only lose water weight.

ALNoog

I never lowered the calories I ate... In fact I ate more because old Atkins encouraged SO much fat intake...

ell_v131

I never lowered the calories I ate... In fact I ate more because old Atkins encouraged SO much fat intake...

if you eat more calories, you will gain weight. unless you defy the laws of thermodynamics.

You may have felt like you were eating more, because protein and fat keep you satiated longer. Another reason I don't eat too many carbs, I prefer to spend my calories on meat.

If you think you have truly eaten less calories with carbs, then stopped eating carbs but increased your calories and lost 90 lbs, then you must have been logging inaccurately at one part of this process or the other.

I mean you see the logic, right, eating more calories will make you bigger, just like adding bricks to a house will make it bigger. Can't keep adding bricks and make a mansion into a studio flat

hasta_la_vista_belly

I've been on a ketogenic diet for a little over a year now,. Lost over 130 lbs in that timeframe strictly less than 25g of carbs a day. You don't "need" carbs at all to survive. Have to look at it as a lifestyle change, and not a "diet."

^ This.

I only started in January. But even since then, its been great, never felt better. You don't need carbs. Like any other diet, it works best as a lifestyle change not a diet. And I don't know about other people, but I'd rather spend my calories eating fat/protein which will keep me fuller longer, and eliminate those energy crashes as opposed to spending it on carbs.