Will low carb help me?

syrcaid

Here's some background on me. I'm 29 years old, female and want to lose about 15-20 lbs. I am 162 lbs currently at 5'7". I am a big sweets and carb eater. I usually joke with myself that my meals and portion sizes are very healthy...but I fill in the gaps of my calories with sweets.

I seems like especially in the past few years, what worked for me in the past no longer works as well. I have had my bloodwork checked and it's all good and healthy, so no problem there. It seems like no matter what calorie level I eat at, I don't really lose weight: higher, lower, cycling..

I've never really tried low carb, but I'm willing to give it a shot since I"d like to lose a few more lbs for/during the summer. Do you think this will help me? What carb level should I try to stay at? Do you guys cycle your carb levels to mix it up or just stay low carb? Thanks in advance!

memelizzy

I'm not the pro on here, but what has worked for me is to do the 2 week Atkins Induction with no more than 20 g of carbs. You can do it for 2 weeks or extend the Induction Phase on (good for those who have a lot of weight to lose). Then in Phase 2, you can slowly add a few types of carbs (check Atkins site for list of appropriate foods for each phase) as long as you are still consistently losing if you need to.

Yes, I think low carb will help you! I am a carb addict and I think the only way to break the addiction is by restriction. Eventually the cravings get lighter and as long as you don't let yourself go too long without eating, the cravings are very manageable. It's great!!

melodymedlin

I did Atkin's induction for 2wks and the first few days were hard. I don't drink sodas (maybe once in a blue moon), but I love chocolate and other sweets. Pasta is also a fav. The induction showed me exactly how many extra carbs I could cut while still staying in a healthy level. After the two weeks I tweeked it to fit my style which includes some starchy veggies, some bread and fruit. I do carb cycle three days low carb (under 30g) and then one day HC (60g) and then back to 30g. It seems to be working well for me. Good luck and I have to say that I do not crave my sweets as badly anymore and sometimes things taste too sweet!!!

georgiagreeneyes

I did Atkin's induction for 2wks and the first few days were hard. I don't drink sodas (maybe once in a blue moon), but I love chocolate and other sweets. Pasta is also a fav. The induction showed me exactly how many extra carbs I could cut while still staying in a healthy level. After the two weeks I tweeked it to fit my style which includes some starchy veggies, some bread and fruit. I do carb cycle three days low carb (under 30g) and then one day HC (60g) and then back to 30g. It seems to be working well for me. Good luck and I have to say that I do not crave my sweets as badly anymore and sometimes things taste too sweet!!!

The carb cycling sounds really interesting, I'm glad to hear that you've had success with this. I always found that I lost weight most effectively when maintaining a low carb diet. If you're a sweets person and are on a low carb diet consider looking into fat bomb recipes (I posted one to my blog recently that I really like: http://medschoolmealprep.weebly.com/home/chocolate-almond-fat-bombs). I did two weeks of Atkins Induction and then decided to stay on a keto diet... and fat bombs were the perfect treat and helped me reach my target macros. One of the great things about this diet is that I really don't feel too deprived. The first few days will be difficult, but eventually the cravings will dissipate and you'll be on track to attain your weight loss goals. The community here is really supportive, don't hesitate to reach out when you need it!