Low carb or calories, which is best? which will work?

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Replies

  • Calorie count has worked for me. I do not want to be restricted to low carbs all my life. Just make it a lifestyle, which means you will have up and downs, but do not give up.
  • LianaG1115
    LianaG1115 Posts: 453 Member
    I'm looking at your diary and girl you ain't gonna lose nothing with the food you're eating...Yeah you're watching your calories but you aren't watching a hole lot of nothing else, if that, because you have lots of blanks and missing info. I also see you're missing exercise another key component to weight loss...just stating the facts, don't take it personal but until you're truthful with yourself and add exercise to your regimen you may stay stagnant at your weight.
  • jamiesokd
    jamiesokd Posts: 99 Member
    I'm looking at your diary and girl you ain't gonna lose nothing with the food you're eating...Yeah you're watching your calories but you aren't watching a hole lot of nothing else, if that, because you have lots of blanks and missing info. I also see you're missing exercise another key component to weight loss...just stating the facts, don't take it personal but until you're truthful with yourself and add exercise to your regimen you may stay stagnant at your weight.

    Putting in the disclaimer "don't take it personal but..." pretty much insures that it is a personal remark....

    If you had taken the time to read through the thread before replying you would have seen where I mentioned that I have been eating like crap the last few days, that I watched calories and nothing else for the weekend as I ate all the foods I felt deprived of so that I could start fresh today without those cravings hanging over my head.

    As for blanks and missing info, I'm not sure what you are referring to? If a section is blank, it means I ate nothing at that time - it does not mean I was lazy or "untruthful" as you suggest. In fact I am quite the opposite - I have logged everything I have eaten - that is why you will see all my not so good choices this weekend. ;) If I were going to be untruthful, I wouldn't have included those things at all.

    You also would have seen where I stated that I have not been exercising because at the moment I don't have the time. I work 8:30am to 10pm at two jobs, and am not allowed to leave my work for lunch or supper breaks (I am paid supervision during those times). I have fitted it in where I could - you will see some cleaning, some walking and a bit of strength this weekend. at the moment that is all I can do and still have time to sleep.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I'm looking at your diary and girl you ain't gonna lose nothing with the food you're eating...Yeah you're watching your calories but you aren't watching a hole lot of nothing else, if that, because you have lots of blanks and missing info. I also see you're missing exercise another key component to weight loss...just stating the facts, don't take it personal but until you're truthful with yourself and add exercise to your regimen you may stay stagnant at your weight.

    Actually, she IS going to lose with the foods she is eating because she is watching calories. If a person burns 2000 and eats 1500 calories worth of lard per day and nothing else, they would still lose around a pound a week. Would it be the best choice? Not exactly. But when it comes to weight loss, the body can't tell the difference between chicken breast and mars bars.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
    Just sayin' .... sometimes, I'll go a few days and eat some junk and say "I don't eat that all the time" or "It's just the weekend," but I find it becomes a trend. This especially happens after a holiday or family events. For instance, we had Easter, 2 birthdays, and a graduation in the past two weeks. After a few of these occasions, sometimes I "get used" to having treats that should be occasional, just because the stuff is around the house. The takeaway from this is to be honest about what you eat and what is occasional and what is becoming habitual.

    For instance, I didn't log this week-end because I ate out Saturday, and had a graduation on Sunday (and yes, I had a piece of cheesecake on Sunday). That being said, I'm not going to look for any results on the scale today and complain because I don't see them. Also, for a woman to "burn 2000 calories," she would have to be either a larger woman or an active woman. I'm 5'2" and my TDEE is around 1500. To lose very slowly -- .5 a week, I have to eat 1200. I eat 1300 or more only if I have some extra activity.
  • tbogart1
    tbogart1 Posts: 4
    I have been there and drove myself crazy until I just started MFP and realized that I can lose weight while still having a half serving of grains (whole grains) at each meal along with the other low carb foods. Then I firmly believe you have to exercise. It doesn't have to be drastic. I started with Jillian Michaels DVD but she gets up and down too much and I have a badly damaged foot. So I picked out all the strength training moves I liked and could do, made my own 15 min routine to do once a day. For cardio I like to dance so I just dance to music I like for 30 mins a day. I am steadily losing weight now and feel that I have finally broken the plateau I was on from all the low carb dieting. I think low carb dieting lowers your metabolism and you lose muscle weight which slows your metabolism. I feel so much better at work, have more energy and can concentrate better. Hope this helps, just my two cents. Feel free to add me as a friend. Good luck! :-)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    But when it comes to weight loss, the body can't tell the difference between chicken breast and mars bars.

    Yes it can. Protein and carbs don't behave the same in the body and higher protein diets win most clinical shootouts.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    But when it comes to weight loss, the body can't tell the difference between chicken breast and mars bars.

    Yes it can. Protein and carbs don't behave the same in the body and higher protein diets win most clinical shootouts.

    Read: "when it comes to weight loss"
    Yes they behave differently, and produce different parameters and body composition, but for that specific purpose other than protein creating better satiety there is no significant difference in actual weight loss produced.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Read: "when it comes to weight loss"
    Yes they behave differently, and produce different parameters and body composition, but for that specific purpose other than protein creating better satiety there is no significant difference in actual weight loss produced.

    As I said, weight / fat loss is better in higher protein diets in many studies, and seldom if ever worse.

    For example, http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/3/425.full "women on the HP diet lost significantly more total (5.3 vs. 2.8 kg, P=0.009) and abdominal (1.3 vs. 0.7 kg, P=0.006) fat compared with the women on the LP diet, whereas, in men, there was no difference in fat loss between diets (3.9 vs. 5.1 kg). Total lean mass decreased in all subjects independently of diet composition." HP = High protein, LP = low protein higher carb.
  • kateangel2312
    kateangel2312 Posts: 242 Member
    I've tried low carbing but I feel like I can't function so I eat normally and lose weight anyway. I eat an average of 2400 a day
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Read: "when it comes to weight loss"
    Yes they behave differently, and produce different parameters and body composition, but for that specific purpose other than protein creating better satiety there is no significant difference in actual weight loss produced.

    As I said, weight / fat loss is better in higher protein diets in many studies, and seldom if ever worse.

    For example, http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/3/425.full "women on the HP diet lost significantly more total (5.3 vs. 2.8 kg, P=0.009) and abdominal (1.3 vs. 0.7 kg, P=0.006) fat compared with the women on the LP diet, whereas, in men, there was no difference in fat loss between diets (3.9 vs. 5.1 kg). Total lean mass decreased in all subjects independently of diet composition." HP = High protein, LP = low protein higher carb.

    Of course it is better. No one disputes that! Hence my "lard" example which may not be a good idea but could still produce weight loss. That was intended as an answer to a post that stated there would be no weight loss with the current things OP is choosing to eat. What she chose to eat may not be optimal for the best results but saying that there will be no weight loss is simply wrong.