Does a low carb diet make a big difference?

QuietBloom

not to confuse you anymore but try reading the book Wheatbelly, it's all about how wheat puts on the weight.

Wheat does not make you gain weight. A calorie surplus makes you gain weight. Wheat Belly has been thoroughly debunked.

http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-smoke-and-mirrors-behind-wheat-belly-and-grain-brain/

tennisdude2004

Hello everyone!

Last year I lost 20lbs very slowly by just watching what I ate and making sure it was lower calorie. I tried to cut down on the worst offender foods and have healthy snacks to keep me from getting too hungry. But I didn't do any special dieting. It did take me a while but I felt like I was doing it an ok way. I've put on a few lbs since I stopped for a new job and I would quite like to get rid of them and the remaining 20 or so lbs to get down to my goal weight.

A friend of mine has said she's done really well with basically no carbs diet. I wanted to know if trying to keep calories low and also eating less carbs would be more effective than just lower calories?

In short, would it be quicker for me to lose weight with a less carby diet?

Thanks!
Christina

Low carb might not necessarily be quicker (at the end of the day it is all about eating in a calorie deficit), but it might be easier!

My personal experience of low carb is:

1) my appetite is less and I am hungry less often, so I naturally am eating less.
2) because I have my carb cravings under control, I do not have the hassle (IMO hassle, others don't mind it) of weighting and logging food.
3) since I have been more efficient at using ketones as fuel, as opposed to mainly glucose (this process - commonly known as carb flu only lasted 2 days for me), I have constant energy. On low level exercise (hiking, biking and doubles tennis) I do not need to eat carbs to fuel my activity and am rarely that hungry when finished.

It's all about personal choice. If you love your carbs and cutting back on them will be too much of a struggle, I would say stick with calorie counting. If like me carbbie foods don't float your boat as much as, in my case meat, then give it a go.

Good luck

Francl27

You can try it, but unless it's a change you're willing to stick to way after you've lost the weight you want to lose, it's probably pointless... as long as you add back carbs in your diet, you won't know how to eat them in moderation and will gain weight back.

Lower carb can help because protein and fat fill you up more though.

PennyVonDread

It depends heavily on your genes. Every body will react differently. I happen to have a blood disorder which makes me anemic (I struggle to absorb protein, iron, calcium, etc) and keeps my BP hypotensive and cholesterol good. I also have diabetes. Absolutely, ketogenic/low carb has been vital- for me. It may not be good for everyone, and I don't recommend it for everyone. If you will feel deprived eating as such, then you are likely to be unhappy and binge. If you have a family history of kidney or gallbladder problems, take extreme caution.

Truth is that any approach to diet that you stick to will work, but the key is to actually stick with it long-term. That said, I am happy being able to eat filling meals, and as someone who hates bread and pasta, the only problem I have with eating low carb is that (as a college student) I sometimes can't afford to eat at all, and settle for carbs over starvation.

And no, eating carbs again doesn't make you magically balloon up in weight. I portion control, and usually maintain while I'm eating on a budget. Typically the foods (like potatoes,etc) are higher calorie, but I've heard some weird myths about ketogenic diets.

Don't let other people decide what's best for you. It's your body and you have agency over how you fuel it and whether or not you think it's best. A lot of people will harbor strong negative opinions about dietary habits based on their own experiences, but your diet isn't really anyone's business so don't let concern trolls bully you.

KarenE86

I know some people on here will jump on in, but I've worked on cutting out bread and pasta. I still get plenty of carbs in my diet, they just come from fruits and veggies. Personally, I feel like bread is a waste of calories, it doesn't really have any flavor in itself, its just used as a way to get other foods in your mouth...butter, dips. I'm completely satisfied eating a cheeseburger (homemade, not fast food) without the bun, I'm still getting the full flavor of the food I was craving. This kind of life changes may not be sustainable for everyone, but they are for me and you should do what will work for YOU. I like food and if I can have more of other foods by skipping the calories in bread, then that's a long term sustainable life change for me.

tracydr

I think following a decreased carb diet is very beneficial, especially for individuals with a high likelihood of diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
(PCOS, gestational diabetes, strong family history or descended from Native Americans, Samoans, Black and a few other high risk populations.
I try to follow decreased carbs with grams less than 100. When I'm very careful and not eating potatoes, drinking milk and decrease to 50 grams a day I've noticed a very positive effect on weight loss and blood sugar levels.
When I go open loop I find it much harder to lose, even with the same amount of calories.
I don't believe in the strict no-carb diets like Atkins was,originally. Too much risk of gallbladder disease, severe constipation and even increased risk of various cancers from the fatty content of the diet. ( bacon,ribs, pork rinds).
20 carb grams per meal, mixed with fiber,fat and protein ( no pure carb meals or snacks) seems to be a good place to start.

tracydr

I know some people on here will jump on in, but I've worked on cutting out bread and pasta. I still get plenty of carbs in my diet, they just come from fruits and veggies. Personally, I feel like bread is a waste of calories, it doesn't really have any flavor in itself, its just used as a way to get other foods in your mouth...butter, dips. I'm completely satisfied eating a cheeseburger (homemade, not fast food) without the bun, I'm still getting the full flavor of the food I was craving. This kind of life changes may not be sustainable for everyone, but they are for me and you should do what will work for YOU. I like food and if I can have more of other foods by skipping the calories in bread, then that's a long term sustainable life change for me.

Obviously you haven't tried my whole grain, homemade sourdough breads. I make a full rye, full whole wheat and sandwich rye/whole wheat with freshly ground grains. To die for!!

_KitKat_

I do not think anything but a calorie deficient attributes to weight loss. With MFP though I did discover I am not a big carb person over all, it my carb get above 50% of my daily, I feel bloated and awful. I don't watch this, it is just a by product of my tracking that I discovered this. I love the little pie graph in the app! Scientifically I have no clue why this is, it is just antidotal evidence.

I do think macros are important for health and fitness.

Athijade

There is no reason to do low carb. While studies show that low carb does lead to initial higher amounts of weight loss, this is mostly due to a loss in water weight. In the long run however, calorie counting vs low carb shows no overall difference. Plus, diets that require hard restrictions are shown to be harder to stick to.

Don't be fooled by all the "diets" out there. They are simply there for people to make money off of. They don't have your best interest at heart and many are backed by questionable science at best.

tracydr

I personally think people are much better off learning how to eat a more balanced diet and focus on getting proper nutrition...which means not only getting your vitamins and minerals, but hitting dietary fat requisites and higher protein requisites than the RDA (which is basically bare minimum intake for a sedentary person...don't be sedentary and get more protein).

When people focus on having a more balanced and nutritious diet, they generally find that their protein intake increases, their fat intake increases or remains static, and their carbohydrate intake is often substantially reduced from the SAD. To boot, when people are trying to hit micro vitamins and mineral goals, they find that their carbohydrates sources tend to be less "junky" with some starches and whole grains and a lot of wholesome vegetables and fruits making up the better part of that carbohydrate intake.

This is so true! I cannot meet my protein requirements very easily if most of my calories come from carbs. The RDA and food pyramid are away to heavy on "grains".
If focus on my protein intake and calories I have the same weight loss as when I'm on the South Beach diet, probably because my diet becomes nearly identical. If I don't follow my macros and just track calories I have found that I don't lose as well. I also feel better when my macros are tracked.
I do love that following the South Beach diet I didn't have to track calories. It was tough to stay strictly with their meal plans but even eating as much olive oil and avocados as I wanted I still lost easily.
I've had a lot of stress in the past five years and was also in a wheelchair for many months. Otherwise, I think my weight would have stayed stable. I am trying to get to a lower weight this time, though, mainly to unload my knees and ankles.

agymah

Did you guys ever see that controversial movie Supersize Me? That's where a guy ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days straight. He gained 24.5 pounds, his body fat shot up 63% and his cholesterol skyrocketed by 65 points.

Well, recently a physician in North Carolina ALSO ate all of his meals at McDonald's for 30 days. But he LOST 9 pounds, shed 20% of his body fat, his high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol went up and his blood sugar and triglycerides went down!

How the heck did he do that?

By making two changes, both of which hold the secret to creating unstoppable fat loss for anybody, even if you're stuffing your face with fast food.

Unlike the guy in “Supersize Me” who ate all the meals as they came, this physician NEVER ate starch with fat. That's a deadly combo that creates a belly-fat bulging calorie bomb. Starch is processed to produce many of the sugars in processed foods.

The starch spikes your #1 fat-making hormone insulin. And the fat delivers a megaton of calories for that insulin to convert into fat. For example, he took off the bread from his burger and he didn't eat fries. Everything else was fair game though.

So if you want to block the fat-making capacity of your meals, never eat starch and fat together. For more weight loss unusual tips go to why I can’t lose weight. com. http://www.whyicantloseweight.com/