Low carb diets?

redskyharbor
redskyharbor Posts: 34 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What are peoples experience with low carb diets?
Currently I cannot afford to go and buy all new foods for my fridge and freezer, but I can limit the carbs I do eat with what we current have.

Does anyone who tried a low carb diet and it work have any tips/warnings/etc?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    No, I like carbs, about 40% of my calories cone from carbs and I am losing bodyfat just fine.

    You will lose more 'weight' when you first start a low carb diet, but it's only water.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    What are peoples experience with low carb diets?
    Currently I cannot afford to go and buy all new foods for my fridge and freezer, but I can limit the carbs I do eat with what we current have.

    Does anyone who tried a low carb diet and it work have any tips/warnings/etc?
    So you're only be going low carb for a while just beacause that's what you have in your fridge?
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    The majority of my diet is carbs and I'm losing weight.

    Carbs are not the problem (unless you have a medical condition). Are you going to go low carb for the rest of your life? Successful weight loss comes from making sustainable lifestyle changes.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
    I think it's a matter of doing research for yourself and your goals to determine if it's right for you. Most people on MFP are on the "calories in, calories out" boat and vehemently low carb, but I've had a lot of success on low carb. With that said, I do have a medical condition that makes it impossible to lose weight otherwise. I love it, though, and for me it is a lifestyle change that is easily sustainable. Lowering your carbs to 100-150g a day leaves room to still enjoy carby foods in moderation; personally I'd recommend replacing the calories with healthy fats rather than too much protein, but that's something you'll have to play around with to see what works for you.
  • jjplato
    jjplato Posts: 155 Member
    What do you mean by "low carb"? Are you going to do something like Atkins, or are you just going to limit your carb intake? You can be successful doing either, but if you're really going to do a highly carb-restricted diet like Atkins, you should read up on it first. It involves forcing your body to switch to a metabolic state called "ketosis", in which it uses fat as its primary source of energy. You have to follow some pretty strict guidelines to make this switch happen, and then you have to maintain a very low carb intake to maintain it. It is not very forgiving of cheating. Eat one slice of cake, and you may find that it takes 2-3 days to get back into ketosis. During that period, you will likely feel very tired (this is called the "low-carb flu").

    I've done Atkins, and it certainly works if you stay in ketosis, but you've really got to be a meat-lover to do this long-term. On the other hand, if you don't want to go full-blown Atkins, but just want to reduce your carb intake, you can do that by introducing some low-glycemic, slow-digesting carbs to your diet -- things like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice, beans, etc. There's nothing magical about these foods when it comes to weight loss, but calorie-for-calorie, they will fill you up much more than pizza and potato chips, making it easier to stay under your calorie target.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I eat fewer carbs because of having PCOS but I'm not what I consider an actual low carber. I do it by limiting grains and added sugars to a couple times a week. Most of my carbs come from veggies, fruit, and dairy. It was a very easy transition for me and I've had great results.
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I do low carb most days. But have one or two carb-up days / week. Easier for me to limit calories by limiting carbs.
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    I don't eat many traditional carbs (pasta, potatoes, rice ect) when dieting. I eat enough carbs just from fruit and veggies. I find I am fuller and more satisfied like this
  • Rainboots80
    Rainboots80 Posts: 218 Member
    No, I like carbs, about 40% of my calories cone from carbs and I am losing bodyfat just fine.

    You will lose more 'weight' when you first start a low carb diet, but it's only water.

    Wow so since January 31st I lost 55 pounds of water?
  • Rainboots80
    Rainboots80 Posts: 218 Member
    I think it's a matter of doing research for yourself and your goals to determine if it's right for you. Most people on MFP are on the "calories in, calories out" boat and vehemently low carb, but I've had a lot of success on low carb. With that said, I do have a medical condition that makes it impossible to lose weight otherwise. I love it, though, and for me it is a lifestyle change that is easily sustainable. Lowering your carbs to 100-150g a day leaves room to still enjoy carby foods in moderation; personally I'd recommend replacing the calories with healthy fats rather than too much protein, but that's something you'll have to play around with to see what works for you.

    This is what I pretty much do too. I just stick to under 100 g carbs a day and for me most of those carbs come from vegetables and a few fruits like berries.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    I do low carb about 2/3rds of the time.

    The other 8 hours a day I eat food :D.

    Worked fine for me.

    Even when I was losing 2lb/week, some days I'd have 600g of carbs along with 175g protein and some fat.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    No, I like carbs, about 40% of my calories cone from carbs and I am losing bodyfat just fine.

    You will lose more 'weight' when you first start a low carb diet, but it's only water.

    Wow so since January 31st I lost 55 pounds of water?

    WOW, obviously can't read...
  • Rainboots80
    Rainboots80 Posts: 218 Member
    Never mind, lol.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    What are peoples experience with low carb diets?

    Did it for a year. It was miserable and I'll never do it again. Constant deprivation and no energy for exercise/working out.

    Much MUCH happier, healthier and thinner with a sensible ratio of macros.
  • Bewiltered
    Bewiltered Posts: 2
    I've had great success with low carb diets. I've kept most of the weight off that I lost and am now using it to lose what I gained back over the winter and 30 more.
  • PunkyDucky
    PunkyDucky Posts: 283 Member
    I have PCOS and have been told to follow a low-carb diet...NOPE ain't got time for dat.
    Can't do it. I get soo foggy headed and hangry all the time.
    I'd rather just have a moderate intake of carbs with high protein and high fats for my condition.

    Nothing wrong with carbs, boo-boo.
    Eat whatever is in your kitchen, just in moderation/within your specific calorie goal. :flowerforyou:

    Good Luck!
  • redskyharbor
    redskyharbor Posts: 34 Member
    I never got any notifications come through for the replies I'm so sorry!

    Thank you all for the advice

    I meant that all the food in my house currently has excesses of carbs and I haven't got the money to go and buy 'alternative' food at the moment.

    But yeah I'll limit my intake of 'traditional' carbs until payday, it's just the damn cravings that come with my medication I'll have to argue with for a few weeks ergh.
  • CCSavage88
    CCSavage88 Posts: 191
    No, I like carbs, about 40% of my calories cone from carbs and I am losing bodyfat just fine.

    You will lose more 'weight' when you first start a low carb diet, but it's only water.

    Wow so since January 31st I lost 55 pounds of water?

    No you misread that poster...WHEN YOU FIRST START.... ITS ONLY WATER!...Which is TRUE...When low carbing at first you drop a nice amount in the first few weeks and it's mainly water. Of course with time it's fat but your "weight dropping" slows down.
  • CCSavage88
    CCSavage88 Posts: 191
    Low carbing SUCKS and it's such a waste of time really, the moment you don't stick to it all it damn near out the window. Unless the rest of your life will consist of low carb, why not just change your eating to include a health amount of carbs. Personally I dealt with low energy, confusion sometimes, forgetfulness, hard time sleeping sometimes...I'll never do it again, I eat carbs and I'm still dropping so I won't put my body through that when I don't need to.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    No, I like carbs, about 40% of my calories cone from carbs and I am losing bodyfat just fine.

    You will lose more 'weight' when you first start a low carb diet, but it's only water.

    Wow so since January 31st I lost 55 pounds of water?

    No you misread that poster...WHEN YOU FIRST START.... ITS ONLY WATER!...Which is TRUE...When low carbing at first you drop a nice amount in the first few weeks and it's mainly water. Of course with time it's fat but your "weight dropping" slows down.

    :flowerforyou:
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    I can only speak from experience. If you are referring to low carb diets overall, by limiting vegetable sources of carbohydrates AND grain/legume carb intakes then I can tell you from what I realized during my 6 month paleo experiment, is that you will probably lose a lot of weight fast but just like anything else, when you cut down on something your body needs naturally to produce energy, and go back to eating again you will gain most of that weight back in almost as much time if not less then when you took it off.

    I lost about 30 lbs in around 6months by eating paleo, but still adding in some carbs here and there (like 80/20). But I HIGHLY recommend you just limit your carb intake to less simple carbohydrates and focus on the complex ones that can produce better energy if you really want to go through with it. So I can honestly say that the paleo diet is a fad that isn't a healthy way to go about your life for weight loss in the long run. Not saying that it doesn't work for some people but it is really un realistic as I don't remember the last time I spent a 36 hour trip tracking down a mammoth to spear it for food, or trekking across a state just to find shelter or a place to settle in with my clan while I drag my club on the ground and pick nuts and berries. But that's just me.

    But if you really want to do anything I recommend just spreading out your macros throughout the day and eat about the necessary proportion of carbs/proteins/and fats in each meal and you'll be much happier, and it won't leave as much error for spiking your weight gain when you revert back to eating carbs again.

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