Looking for Advice from Low Carbers

sweetsarahj

DISCLAIMER: I'm aware that it is possible to lose weight while still eating carbs. At the moment, I'm trying a low carb diet.

For those of you who eat low carb, i have a couple questions.

Did you feel a bit off when starting the low carb diet? I've had a few moments today where I felt dizzy. If you've had these before, how did you deal with them?

About how many carbs do you aim for each day? What about protein and fat? I've been aiming at 20% carb, 40% fat and 40% protein. I'm finding it hard to get enough protein and often end up eating too much fat. Worried this will stall me in weight loss.

Do you exercise? I'm currently doing very little because I have a broken leg. Wondering what energy levels are like for those who are on a low carb diet and exercising vigorously.

golferd

I follow Paleo. I do not try to hit a certain number of carbs. However, the amount of meat is regulating the amount of other foods. I have lost 20.6 lbs in 28 days. No cheats, only drink water w/lemon, no dairy, no sugars. meat, vegetables, fruit, almonds. No breads

Fruit every other day, 1-2 servings

Workout is p90x hybrid

yarwell

the initial dizziness thing is very common - Google 'Atkins flu'. When you cut out carbs your body releases sodium to urine, leaving you with less salt on board and consequently reduced blood pressure. Bump up the salt, drink bouillon or stock drinks etc.

5% carbs / 25% protein / 70% fat typically. Atkins induction is <20g net carbs, Dr Eric Westman uses <20g total carbs.

20% carb is ok but not "that" low. eg at 2000 cals it's 100g a day.

Yes, walk a bit, some running, have run both 5k and 10k events on low carb, walked 14 miles, cycled 19 miles. (not all in same day, obviously)

Aaron_K123

My diet for a while consisted of 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat and yes I exercised 6 days a week alternating weightlifting with cardio.

I did not experience dizziness but after 6 or so weeks of being on that diet I found that I would not be able to push through to the end of my workouts with the same intensity so I modified to 40% protein 40% carbs and 20% fat. That doesn't sound particularly low carb I suppose but given what people tend to eat I think it probably is still low carb.

I like that level (40/40/20) I find its enough protein to satisfy my hunger at lower calorie intake for weight loss while providing me the energy I need to do my workouts with intensity.

It comes down to personal experience though so I'm not about to claim that works for me would work for you.

That said if you aren't likening where you are at right now with the diet perhaps up the carbs to 30% and drop the fat to 30% so you are doing 40/30/30 instead. Unless there is some sort of medical reason you have to be at such low carbs?

sweetsarahj

That helps, thanks.

Glad to know I'm not eating too much fat. Usually my carbs end up under 40 grams per day, pretty much all from veggies. A 'great' day is about 20 carbs. Going to read some more about what Atkins "induction" is.

Curious to know if anyone has tried carb cycling? I think after a few weeks on low carb I may try cycling.

bcattoes

You might want to check out the groups section. There are several low carb groups where you might find good information.

Aaron_K123

I'll admit I only have a vague understanding of Atkins but this is what I think it is trying to accomplish.

With Atkins you are trying to change your body from metabolizing sugars (carbs) as its primary energy source to metabolizing fat instead via an alternative metabolic pathway (Ketosis). To basically trick your body into doing this you have to eat very VERY little carbs (like 5-10% carbs).

With low carb you aren't trying to do that, you are trying to just lower the amount of carbs you eat because its easier to eat at a deficit if you fill your diet with more satiating foods that are high in protein. A low carb diet is something in the 30-40% Carb range.

If, however, you go half way. Eat something like 20% carbs for example. It isn't enough to trigger the ketosis pathway and so your body is still trying to rely on carbs as a primary energy source but yet you aren't giving it much at all which might cause things like weakness, lethargy and light headedness.

I could be wrong but it seems like you'd either want to go full on Atkins or you would want to eat more carbs than you are. Personally I'd recommend just eating some more carbs bringing it up to the 30-40% range. I don't really like Atkins as a diet.

susannamarie

Wait. You said 20% carbs. Now you're saying 40g. Is it one, or the other?

If it's both, I'd suggest that it's the lack of calories that's making you feel dizzy rather than anything to do with carbs. 40g carbs being 20% of your intake has you eating about 800 calories/day.

If it's 20%, that shouldn't be low enough to trigger dizziness except possibly at the end of a workout, and you mentioned that you're not working out at the moment. Have you been hydrated, etc.?

If it's 40g, yeah, suddenly cutting carbs can do that, googling Atkins induction flu as others suggested will guide you to advice on what to do with it.

FWIW I've been eating low carb for a while, I didn't experience that but I do have some more carbs before a major event.

Aaron_K123

Wait. You said 20% carbs. Now you're saying 40g. Is it one, or the other?

If it's both, I'd suggest that it's the lack of calories that's making you feel dizzy rather than anything to do with carbs. 40g carbs being 20% of your intake has you eating about 800 calories/day.

If it's 20%, that shouldn't be low enough to trigger dizziness except possibly at the end of a workout, and you mentioned that you're not working out at the moment. Have you been hydrated, etc.?

If it's 40g, yeah, suddenly cutting carbs can do that, googling Atkins induction flu as others suggested will guide you to advice on what to do with it.

FWIW I've been eating low carb for a while, I didn't experience that but I do have some more carbs before a major event.

Good point. 20% carbs and 40g carbs does not add up unless you are eating way fewer calories than you should be. 40g carbs is just 160 calories!

Bookwitch

Hey. I am a diabetic and I am following a Carb,not calorie way of eating. Not a diet. I just changed the way I eat. I am eating between 168-170 grams of carbs per day, but then Im a lot bigger than your picture shows. This is what my dietician reccommended for me. Maybe after I lose some more weight I will be able to lower that down some.
ALWAYS check with your doctor before dropping carbs too low. You could pass out and we dont want that.
You also need tyo balance out your foods by adding protein and dairy. Being a woman we need that dairy, even if its just once a day and dont forget the grains.

tennisdude2004

If you are going through the adaption process, you would be wise to cut back on the exercising for a week or two.

Also the dizziness can last from a day to two weeks it's different for everyone, but once you're through it it's great.

Carb wise I am for about 100g, but if I'm 50g either way its not too much of a problem.

Good luck

Aaron_K123

I do have to ask now how many calories are you eating in a day.

The idea that 40g of carbs could be a full 20% of your total calorie intake for the entire day is troubling and I'm hoping it was just a typo. If it is true then you are eating 800 calories a day which would go a long way to explain why you feel dizzy or light headed. If that is true you need to eat about twice as much food as you are eating.

jrose1982

I feel that way every now and then. It's part of the transition. I'm just starting week 3, and I'm feeling a little foggy today. It gets better as you become fat-adapted. For some people it only lasts 1 week; for others it lasts 5-6. So hang in there.

I wouldn't worry too much about how much fat you're eating; on a low-carb diet you need fat. The goal of low-carb is not to restrict your fat intake, but to control your calorie intake while getting all the nutrients you need (without the stuff you don't need, like sugar or wheat). Remember that part of the goal is to retrain your body to burn fat; you can't do that if you're not eating any.

I find using percentages like MFP does really doesn't make much sense for low-carb, but I've found a way to make it work.
Basically, I stopped paying attention to the pie chart and just look at the numbers.

I set my carb limit at 50g. That works out to be less than 15%, so I selected 15% in MFP just to ball-park it. If I increase my calories, I'll still hold that 50g, so the percent will go down. Also, I don't beat myself up if I go a bit over 50. I look at the whole week, so long as the whole week is less than 350g, than I don't worry about it.

I estimated how much protein I need and did the same thing (88g/day for me).

As for calories: I set my limit at 1500, but by following the other rules I usually only need 1300-1400. Sometimes I exceed 1500, but on other days I'm under 1200. So long as I'm meeting my carb and protein rules, and I'm satisfied and not hungry, I don't worry about my calories. Mostly I only track calories to force myself to decide if I'm really hungry, or just bored. I don't want to exceed 1500 calories just because I'm bored. But if I exceed it because I truly need to (and I don't have any tricky carbs messing with my appetite) than I don't worry about it.

So my rules are:
- Don't exceed carb limit
- Get the necessary amount of protein
- Eat if hungry; don't eat if not hungry
- Avoid trans fats
- Minimize polyunsaturated fats

sweetsarahj

Ok. SO it's obviously not as simple as eating less carbs.

Let me clarify regarding how many carbs i'm eating. My diary is set at 20% carbs, which is about 80 grams (my calorie goal is at 1600 which I admit is a bit high but I'm not hitting it anyway). What I'm trying to do is just keep as much under that 80 gram target as possible. WHen I mentioned that a good day was uinder 40 grams of carbs, obviously the percentage is way lower than 20%. Which is why I was worried about eating too much fat.

ALso - I'm brutal about logging..... I used to be all over the site and logging every single thing, I'm trying to get back into the habit.

I did some reading about atkin flu yesterday and that could have been what was making me dizzy. I had some salty potatoes when I got home and felt better. Could have been other things too... since I don't think my carbs are low enough for ketosis.

I do want to get to ketosis- I have 40 pounds to lose (my profile pic is my 'best weight" and is there as an inspiration for me) and I have a broken leg so exercise has to be at a minimum and gentle. I'd really like to 'jump start' my weight loss with ketosis, and then transistion maybe to carb cycling.

I really appreicate all your advice! Going to be adding all of you

dsb188

I've been doing low carb but more recently keto for a while. I'm alot bigger I started at 350 and down to 314. I felt HORRIBLE at first on low carb. I am down to under 20 g of carb a day but usually I am under it. There are sooo many low carb recipes that mimic bread and other bread like things like cauliflower pizza. I would start out at a higher carb content and than go lower. I am at the point where I pretty much eat meat and protein and hardly any veggies. Fruits are out of the question for me.