Losing body fat on low carb diet

WolfAlexandra

Hey.
I've just started working my way through a low carb eating plan, aiming for 50% protein, 35% fat, 15% carbs. My main goal is losing body fat. I combine this with around 60 minutes of cardio/day, including 20 minutes of HIIT, and strength training (weight lifting).

I have come across different opinions on the effectiveness of low carbs towards achieving this goal. Some say it makes no difference whether you go low carb or keep your carbs moderately in check while aiming for filling your protein goal and keeping it low fat.

Has anybody tried low carb for getting rid of body fat with minimum muscle loss? Is it effective, more effective than a Zone Diet plan, for instance?

(I'm 18, 166 cm, 56.8 kgs)

mihaiflorentin88

I`ve been doing the low carb diet for almost two weeks now and i'm starting to see resoults. It`s visible on my arms, neck and back, i`ve lost alot of fat from those areas, especially my arms.
My training is: 40-60 mins of cardio every day, and weight training 5 days/week
When i started this i was around 71kg and last time i checked i was at 68, that was one week ago.

NewTnme

How do you have the energy to work out so often and hard. When I do low carb I have nooooooo energy to work out like I do when I do the whole moderation thing.

pennyllayne

It's a controversial topic in the dieting world. Some people believe that your body more effectively burns fat when it is used to burning fat for fuel from foods. There seems to be limited scientific evidence that this is actually the case but it seems to make sense. If your body is used to burning glucose for fuel then it is believed it will turn to any source of glucose before it turns to fat which means it may choose to burn muscle instead of body fat. And the belief is that once is gets used to burning dietary fat, it will be used to burning fat for fuel and will easily burn body fat. Also, if you're eating a lot of carbohydrate and your body is producing a lot of insulin this does prevent fat from being released from cells whilst insulin is in the blood and so fat is more easily released from cells when there is a low insulin response. However, protein triggers insulin release as well and you're still not going to be able to burn the fat that is released from cells unless you're in and energy deficit and that is more difficult when most of your calories come from fat. When I did Atkins I gained weight because I wasn't able to produce enough of a deficit and the fat wasn't enough to keep my hunger at bay.

The other factor is that there is also limited evidence to suggest just how many carbs is the most effective at doing the above and personally I don't believe it's necessary to keep as low as 20g a day and this low amount of carbs appears to cause more problems than not (many people experience constipation and lack nutrients from veggies). I believe that you can still achieve ketosis if your carbs are under 100g a day and if you are very active the more carbs you can have and still achieve ketosis.

For many people the other benefits of being in ketosis are that it blunts hunger more than higher carb diets and once your brain gets used to burning fat for fuel you experience a lot of positive effects to energy and some people say brain function too. Others seem to show a possible metabolic advantage over other diets, but tis could just be down to the higher amount of protein as many studies have shown that there is no metabolic advantage as long as protein is kept constant. Protein has a higher thermogenic effect than cabrs and fat, meaning it takes more energy to break it down and vegetables and fruits are more thermogenic than starches so a diet that consists of decent amounts of protein and vegetables will burn more energy in digestion than a diet including a lot of starches and easy to break down food.

I've gotta say though, low carb diets seem to work better for people who are sedentary or do standard exercise. If you're doing a lot of high intensity exercise you may want to include some starches around your work outs to preserve lean muscle and give your body enough energy. A lot of people have great success with low carb diets, but this seems to have more to do with the appetite suppressing effects that is has on many people.

mihaiflorentin88

I cycle my carbs every 4 days. Also when the body has nothing in it's tumny to convert to enegy it starts looking for another source and it usualy goes for fat cells

WolfAlexandra

I aim for the classic 3 days low-carb/1 day high-carb too. Now I hope some greater power will keep me away from those apples. I plan to go as low as possible with it in low-carb days and increase the carbs percentage to a 50-55% in high-carb.
God, these people and the experiments they perform on themselves... )

WolfAlexandra

I have noticed no change in my level of energy, fortunately did not fall asleep in the gym. But I am only 2 days through, I will let you know whether I felt exhausted or lacking energy after these 2 weeks.

SunofaBeach14

When you just start out losing weight, a simple calorie deficit combined with adequate protein and weight training will result in mostly fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. There is absolutely no reason to complicate the process at that early stage. The people who play with carbs successfully, for the most part, already have very low body fat percentages and are trying to get ready for competition. It's like worrying about rack pulls and shrugs before you learn to deadlift. One step at a time.

gypsy_spirit

When you just start out losing weight, a simple calorie deficit combined with adequate protein and weight training will result in mostly fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. There is absolutely no reason to complicate the process at that early stage. The people who play with carbs successfully, for the most part, already have very low body fat percentages and are trying to get ready for competition. It's like worrying about rack pulls and shrugs before you learn to deadlift. One step at a time.

Yes.

focused4health

When you just start out losing weight, a simple calorie deficit combined with adequate protein and weight training will result in mostly fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. There is absolutely no reason to complicate the process at that early stage. The people who play with carbs successfully, for the most part, already have very low body fat percentages and are trying to get ready for competition. It's like worrying about rack pulls and shrugs before you learn to deadlift. One step at a time.

Yes.

h9dlb

I went low carb last year in addition to regular lifting and cardio and lost weight very quickly but a lot of it was muscle loss (not good). I had no energy and it was a struggle to get through a day at work and stay awake, so it simply wasn't sustainable for me.

albayin

if you plan on doing that much cardio (everyday?) this might be a little inadequate...but not impossible.

If I were you, I would increase my weight training while cutting back on cardio, while watch my macros...Your stats sound already pretty slim...if you weren't what they call "skinny fat" person.