Noob Questions on high carb/ low carb, calorie intake

OhLelena

Hi everyone! My name is Elena. I recently started exercising again and decided to change my diet as well(duh) but found myself a bit lost and overwhelmed. Over the past two years I've gained a little under thirty pounds so I'm looking for a food plan focused on weight loss. I'm 23 years old, 5' 3, 178 lbs and live a sedentary lifestyle. I strength train 5x a week and 30 mins of cardio 3x a week. So, I've researched quite a bit and still find myself confused about how many calories I should be consuming? I also looked into a diet that is low carb(50g)for 4 days then 3 high carb (150-200) days, said it confused the metabolism making weight loss faster which sounded interesting? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

ldy_78

I did a little research online and found some research material on pubmed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16476868). It simply states that either a low carb OR low fat diet results in weight loss and fat loss. The study did not include high fat high protein diets like atkins however, The groups studied were also eating at a calorie deficit. The only real difference, according to the research, was that the low carb dieters were more satisfied and able to stick with the diet. Personally, I find 50g/day of carbs really difficult to maintain. I stay between 50-100g/day total carbs (not netcarbs), and since the beginning of my journey I have seen a difference in muscle tone and weight loss (though that may be attributed to my calorie deficit). Confusing the metabolism I don't know about. I have read up on refeeds and carb-cycling. I don't really practice that, though they are handy scapegoats when I have a day of eating too many carbs. So not sure if carbcycling is just a justification for me. Anyway, I hope that helps and good luck.

JustSomeEm

My personal take on weight loss is to eat NOW the way you plan to eat for the rest of you life if you plan to keep the weight off. With that in mind, I logged ALL my foods and made sure to fit in the occasional cookie or bowl of ice cream or serving of chips. I've managed to lose the weight, and have been maintaining for a couple of months.

Sidenote: You said you live a sedentary lifestyle, yet you are lifting AND doing cardio. I hope you're logging your exercise so you can eat back your exercise calories? Alternatively, you could figure out your TDEE and then eat THOSE calories if you're not logging your exercise here. Check out this link: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

TheSheepFollower

Carbs don't matter too much for weight loss! But they can make you hungrier and less hungry. Because of blood sugar. So eat whatever works for you! And continue with the exercise, keep doing what your doing cuz it sounds good. And eat the number of calories according to your TDEE. And I wouldn't eat back the exercise calories!

beths4kids

I disagree. I have seen way too many people lose a ton of weight following a low carb diet.

OhLelena

Thanks for all the advice, guys! I'm going to try the low carb but let myself have a little extra if I'm really craving it. As for eating back my calories, I think I'll try it for a couple months but that number of calories does look a bit scary. Lol.

cajuntank

And science for the win!
http://ironwarriorstraining.tumblr.com/nutrition101 -Alan Aragon

parkscs

There's no metabolic advantage to a low carb diet, but a low carb helps if you have PCOS, insulin resistance and the like. Otherwise, low carb tends to be a more restrictive and more satiating diet than a high carb diet. If you deal well with restrictions and like feeling full, low carb might be a good choice. If on the other hand you highly value the ability to eat whatever you want while still losing weight, I would probably stay away from the low carb diet and opt for something with balanced macros.