A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

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Replies

  • RaqRey
    RaqRey Posts: 2 Member
    I have done low-carb, I lost some weight on it but ONLY if I also controlled how much I ate. Eating until I'm full and expecting to lose weight has never worked for me. Right now I'm loving calorie counting, it gives me a lot more freedom to choose where I want my calories to come from than any other diet I have tried in the past.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    and when step A proves, on multiple data points and calculations, that my "maintenance" level is drastically below my expected calculated BMR, and that the deficits have to be so low as to be in the realm of dangerous (both mentally and physically), then my first priority has to be determining what medical factors are impeding proper weight loss.

    Calculated BMR is just an estimate based on a population average. Eating below a calculated BMR that isn't your actual BMR isn't dangerous at all so I'm not sure what you mean by that. Eating at huge deficits is dangerous, getting inadequate nutrition is dangerous...eating below what a calculator tells you when that calculator is wrong is not dangerous. A "deficit" that is the difference between what an online calculator tells you and what your actual maintenance is is not a deficit at all, its the calculator not applying to you.

    Frankly those calculators don't exactly apply to anyone except for a broad average. The idea is to give you a ballpark to start with and then you take the time to determine how far off from maintenance that puts you and adjust accordingly.

    As for your efficiency comment if you are saying your BMR is much LOWER than expected that means your body is actually EXTREMELY efficient, much more so than the average population. So I am not sure why you are saying operating at low efficiency.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    0.03% of 300 million is 9 million people.


    ....
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    0.03% of 300 million is 9 million people.

    The number you're looking for is 90,000 not 9 million.

    But this is still good, because based on your post I strongly suggest you open your diary so we can check your math before you declare yourself a special snowflake.

    Gotta love the MFP forums, where one can feel superior for calling someone out on elementary math.

    It doesn't make me feel superior, it makes me feel sad. This is a person who is clearly struggling but unable to find their answer. :( While it appears, based on posting history, that most of the problem is self-inflicted, it's still saddening, because it's no fun when other people are struggling. :(

    my diary is open to friends. as i said before, everything is weighed, measured, and portioned. i cook at home, so every ingredient is listed in the recipe builder, matched with the appropriate database entry, and portioned accordingly. i log first, THEN eat, just in case a portion is going to send me over on one thing or another.

    and... i'm sorry, but... self-inflicted??? are you trying to claim that i over eat specifically so that i can whine about not losing weight?

    you're right that it's no fun when people are struggling... it's even less fun when you're the one struggling and people dismiss you as nothing more than an idiot.

    I'm not sure when being overweight is not self-inflicted.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    There is one person and one person alone that is responsible for your health as an adult and that is you. Your health is your responsibility and if you become overweight or obese it is because you have neglected your health. You may have reasons for that neglect associated with job or family but that does not mean you did not neglect that one aspect of your life. You may have various medical conditions that make your metabolism different than that of the population (hyper- hypothyroidism, PCOS etc) but then it is your responsibility to recognize that, understand your maintenance level and adjust accordingly. Placing blame on something beyond your control is just acceptance that being unhealthy is somehow your destiny and that is NOT the kind of mindset that is going to improve your life.

    Harsh reality time. If you are obese, if you are overweight, that is a self-infliicted condition regardless of what your life or medical situation may be. If there is a condition that forces you to gain weight to an unhealthy level regardless of what you do I have not heard of it.

    There CAN be things outside of your control that make you scrawny, or skinny, or unhealthily thin...but there isn't such a thing for being overweight.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    It does not matter what you eat as how much you eat ... no deficit no loss. Pure and simple.

    So, since it doesn't matter what I eat, I should be able to lose wight as long as there's a deficit, even if I'm living off of french fries, soda, and cake? :huh: Yeah, right. Dude, you're not going to lose weight by eating ****ty junk food all day even if you're staying within your calorie goal. Obviously we need the deficit to lose weight, but the quality of food matters too. What we eat matters.

    Yes if you stay within your calorie goal you would be losing weight. I'd like to know what cake you're eating if you're sitting on the couch all day eating it and STILL within your calorie goal. Don't muddy the waters more and bring in nutrients. Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    It does not matter what you eat as how much you eat ... no deficit no loss. Pure and simple.

    So, since it doesn't matter what I eat, I should be able to lose wight as long as there's a deficit, even if I'm living off of french fries, soda, and cake? :huh: Yeah, right. Dude, you're not going to lose weight by eating ****ty junk food all day even if you're staying within your calorie goal. Obviously we need the deficit to lose weight, but the quality of food matters too. What we eat matters.

    Yes if you stay within your calorie goal you would be losing weight. I'd like to know what cake you're eating if you're sitting on the couch all day eating it and STILL within your calorie goal. Don't muddy the waters more and bring in nutrients. Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance.

    I see this come up all the time on the forums and feel like the two "camps" just talk past one another even though they actually believe the same things.

    1. It is absolutely true that if you are at a caloric deficit you will lose weight regardless of what the source of said calories is. You can lose weight eating nothing but twinkies if you want.

    2. It is absolutely true that if you do not get a proper balance of macros and nutrients you will find it impossible to maintain your diet in a sustainable, satisfying and healthy way long term and therefore eating nothing but twinkies is not a viable way to lose weight.

    Both are true and I doubt either side would disagree with either statement, its just one person arguing that the glass is half full while the other yells back that it is half empty. It is boring.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    It does not matter what you eat as how much you eat ... no deficit no loss. Pure and simple.

    So, since it doesn't matter what I eat, I should be able to lose wight as long as there's a deficit, even if I'm living off of french fries, soda, and cake? :huh: Yeah, right. Dude, you're not going to lose weight by eating ****ty junk food all day even if you're staying within your calorie goal. Obviously we need the deficit to lose weight, but the quality of food matters too. What we eat matters.

    Yes if you stay within your calorie goal you would be losing weight. I'd like to know what cake you're eating if you're sitting on the couch all day eating it and STILL within your calorie goal. Don't muddy the waters more and bring in nutrients. Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance.

    Yeah, we don't want those waters all "muddy" with crazy talk about nutrients!

    We just want to lose weight, and we want it now!

    Do you guys even read what you write? Should someone desire weight loss, regardless of health risks (yes, that's a rhetorical question)?

    If not, why even mention that you can lose weight eating crap?
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    It does not matter what you eat as how much you eat ... no deficit no loss. Pure and simple.

    So, since it doesn't matter what I eat, I should be able to lose wight as long as there's a deficit, even if I'm living off of french fries, soda, and cake? :huh: Yeah, right. Dude, you're not going to lose weight by eating ****ty junk food all day even if you're staying within your calorie goal. Obviously we need the deficit to lose weight, but the quality of food matters too. What we eat matters.

    Yes if you stay within your calorie goal you would be losing weight. I'd like to know what cake you're eating if you're sitting on the couch all day eating it and STILL within your calorie goal. Don't muddy the waters more and bring in nutrients. Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance.

    I see this come up all the time on the forums and feel like the two "camps" just talk past one another even though they actually believe the same things.

    1. It is absolutely true that if you are at a caloric deficit you will lose weight regardless of what the source of said calories is. You can lose weight eating nothing but twinkies if you want.

    2. It is absolutely true that if you do not get a proper balance of macros and nutrients you will find it impossible to maintain your diet in a sustainable, satisfying and healthy way long term and therefore eating nothing but twinkies is not a viable way to lose weight.

    Both are true and I doubt either side would disagree with either statement, its just one person arguing that the glass is half full while the other yells back that it is half empty. It is boring.
    I don't see how eating low carb is the same as eating only cake and French fries all day. It is POSSIBLE to lose weight only eating those items. You seem to have this view of low carb that it's very restrictive.

    From a weight loss standpoint it really is about calorie deficit. Like I said before, if you bring nutrients into it then it's not just about simple weight loss and CICO. I don't see how it's a "camp" thing at all.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    It does not matter what you eat as how much you eat ... no deficit no loss. Pure and simple.

    So, since it doesn't matter what I eat, I should be able to lose wight as long as there's a deficit, even if I'm living off of french fries, soda, and cake? :huh: Yeah, right. Dude, you're not going to lose weight by eating ****ty junk food all day even if you're staying within your calorie goal. Obviously we need the deficit to lose weight, but the quality of food matters too. What we eat matters.

    Yes if you stay within your calorie goal you would be losing weight. I'd like to know what cake you're eating if you're sitting on the couch all day eating it and STILL within your calorie goal. Don't muddy the waters more and bring in nutrients. Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance.

    Yeah, we don't want those waters all "muddy" with crazy talk about nutrients!

    We just want to lose weight, and we want it now!

    Do you guys even read what you write? Should someone desire weight loss, regardless of health risks (yes, that's a rhetorical question)?

    If not, why even mention that you can lose weight eating crap?
    We are talking specifically about weight loss and cico. Are you saying if you eat your daily allowance of cake you won't lose weight?

    It's also obvious that others who don't eat low carb think that nutrients isn't a concern. WHERE DO YOU THINK CARBS COME FROM IN A LOW CARB DIET? Veggies and minimal amounts from dairy mainly. But, since it's clear you don't know much about eating low carb you wouldn't know that.

    I do read what I write but it's been shown before your comprehension is lacking.
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  • Fit_Housewife
    Fit_Housewife Posts: 168 Member
    0.03% of 300 million is 9 million people.

    The number you're looking for is 90,000 not 9 million.

    But this is still good, because based on your post I strongly suggest you open your diary so we can check your math before you declare yourself a special snowflake.

    Gotta love the MFP forums, where one can feel superior for calling someone out on elementary math.

    It doesn't make me feel superior, it makes me feel sad. This is a person who is clearly struggling but unable to find their answer. :( While it appears, based on posting history, that most of the problem is self-inflicted, it's still saddening, because it's no fun when other people are struggling. :(

    my diary is open to friends. as i said before, everything is weighed, measured, and portioned. i cook at home, so every ingredient is listed in the recipe builder, matched with the appropriate database entry, and portioned accordingly. i log first, THEN eat, just in case a portion is going to send me over on one thing or another.

    and... i'm sorry, but... self-inflicted??? are you trying to claim that i over eat specifically so that i can whine about not losing weight?

    you're right that it's no fun when people are struggling... it's even less fun when you're the one struggling and people dismiss you as nothing more than an idiot.

    This
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  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    My brain is too tired to get involved in any internetz debates/arguments about such things... not really that important to me, in the grand scheme of life.

    But... I found for me, personally, low carb left me unable to do anything much beyond walking for exercise. I could not train hard, as I usually do, nor for long. I also do not feel satiated with just fat and protein. I need a balance of all 3 macros to feel full and energised for my workouts. Thus, although I mostly avoid wheat and beans (the latter because they cause me digestive issues), I am quite happy to have potatoes and nuts and fruits and vegetables, as well as dark chocolate and the occasional chips, pizza and cake. Maybe some function well on low carb, but I am certainly not one of them, and since I have never been overweight anyway, I currently do not worry too much about it as long as my diet is balance and nutritious overall. And I have hypothyroidism as well as hormonal issues.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    You know, I'm starting to see the point of dismissing individuals that don't have a profile pic (such as yours truly).

    However, I have a question:

    If I place a pic showing washboard abs (for instance), would I have to suffer through individuals who seem to know everything, but apparently can't figure out how to lose weight themselves?

    Now, if it would shut those types up, it would be well worth it.
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  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    It does not matter what you eat as how much you eat ... no deficit no loss. Pure and simple.

    So, since it doesn't matter what I eat, I should be able to lose wight as long as there's a deficit, even if I'm living off of french fries, soda, and cake? :huh: Yeah, right. Dude, you're not going to lose weight by eating ****ty junk food all day even if you're staying within your calorie goal. Obviously we need the deficit to lose weight, but the quality of food matters too. What we eat matters.

    Yes if you stay within your calorie goal you would be losing weight. I'd like to know what cake you're eating if you're sitting on the couch all day eating it and STILL within your calorie goal. Don't muddy the waters more and bring in nutrients. Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance.

    Yeah, we don't want those waters all "muddy" with crazy talk about nutrients!

    We just want to lose weight, and we want it now!

    Do you guys even read what you write? Should someone desire weight loss, regardless of health risks (yes, that's a rhetorical question)?

    If not, why even mention that you can lose weight eating crap?
    The problem is when people start arguing extremes. You have one side saying eat "clean". The other side says "What is clean? You can eat what you like and hit your macros".

    But the arguments are read as "You must eat clean all the time" and "You can eat donuts all day and as long as you're in a deficit you lose weight".

    It's so easy to find a middle ground but it gets lost.

    We all knew it was coming but it's finally happened - the chihuahua is sick of the backhanded remarks and has taken over the keyboard to set things straight. I, for one, welcome our new canine overlord...

    And yes, you'd think it would be pretty easy for people to reach a middle ground on these issues but instead it seems to devolve into a ****storm about, oh, I'd say 99.9% of the time. But it's the Internet, so that sounds about right.
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  • wagglesworth
    wagglesworth Posts: 53 Member
    I lost 44 lbs in my first 7 weeks. I've cut out all grains, legumes, refined sugars, and dairy products except a wee bit of butter now and then. I stay just at or below 1,200 calories each day. By cutting down drastically on the carbs I've lost my cravings and don't feel deprived. My snack is usually almonds or cashews. What I'm doing is working and is approved by my Doctor. Not only is my weight dropping so has the cholesterol and blood pressure. The Doctor said according to my blood studies I may be also be getting off daily insulin injection 3 times a day. So I am happy. I think that whatever is healthy, works for you and you can live with it - well that's the way to go. Best wishes to all.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    I love this line of thought - you can eat Twinkies and drink Coke all day as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

    One package of Twinkies (two cakes) = 270 calories

    One can of Coke = 140 calories.

    Total = 410 calories

    So if you are on a 1,650 calorie daily limit you can have four packages of Twinkies (1,080 calories) and 4 Cokes (560 calories) during the course of a day.

    Nobody would make it through more than a couple of days (you could substitute Twinkies with any equivalent pastry, and Coke with fruit juice). So why does anyone even bring up these ridiculous hypotheticals? And if you are limiting calories, why would you want to fill your daily intake with this junk, which does nothing to fill you up?

    You certainly have a thing against Coke.

    To clarify, I'm not advocating for a cake, soda and French fries only diet HOWEVER we are talking calories in, calories out for weight loss. Theoretically yes, you can lose weight doing that. If you don't think so, then it's not as simple as cico for weight loss as this whole thread has been talking about.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    I love this line of thought - you can eat Twinkies and drink Coke all day as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

    One package of Twinkies (two cakes) = 270 calories

    One can of Coke = 140 calories.

    Total = 410 calories

    So if you are on a 1,650 calorie daily limit you can have four packages of Twinkies (1,080 calories) and 4 Cokes (560 calories) during the course of a day.

    Nobody would make it through more than a couple of days (you could substitute Twinkies with any equivalent pastry, and Coke with fruit juice). So why does anyone even bring up these ridiculous hypotheticals? And if you are limiting calories, why would you want to fill your daily intake with this junk, which does nothing to fill you up?

    You certainly have a thing against Coke.

    To clarify, I'm not advocating for a cake, soda and French fries only diet HOWEVER we are talking calories in, calories out for weight loss. Theoretically yes, you can lose weight doing that. If you don't think so, then it's not as simple as cico for weight loss as this whole thread has been talking about.

    Most should have a "thing against Coke" (at least if they're trying to lose weight).

    Unlike many other calorie-dense foods, soda is nothing but empty calories (and yes, empty certainly applies here). All it provides is sugar. And please don't waste your time telling me how important sugar is; we can live just fine without drinking soda.

    Do I think soda is evil? No. Do I like soda? Yes. Will I drink soda? Another yes.

    Will I drink soda when supposedly trying to lose weight? No, it's not worth it to me.

    To each his own, but I can't imagine mocking someone for excluding soda from their diet, when their goal is to lose weight.

    Note: To be clear, I'm talking about full-calorie soda, lest I get picked apart by someone saying I'm trying to demonize artificial sweeteners.
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  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    I love this line of thought - you can eat Twinkies and drink Coke all day as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

    One package of Twinkies (two cakes) = 270 calories

    One can of Coke = 140 calories.

    Total = 410 calories

    So if you are on a 1,650 calorie daily limit you can have four packages of Twinkies (1,080 calories) and 4 Cokes (560 calories) during the course of a day.

    Nobody would make it through more than a couple of days (you could substitute Twinkies with any equivalent pastry, and Coke with fruit juice). So why does anyone even bring up these ridiculous hypotheticals? And if you are limiting calories, why would you want to fill your daily intake with this junk, which does nothing to fill you up?

    You certainly have a thing against Coke.

    To clarify, I'm not advocating for a cake, soda and French fries only diet HOWEVER we are talking calories in, calories out for weight loss. Theoretically yes, you can lose weight doing that. If you don't think so, then it's not as simple as cico for weight loss as this whole thread has been talking about.

    Most should have a "thing against Coke" (at least if they're trying to lose weight).

    Unlike many other calorie-dense foods, soda is nothing but empty calories (and yes, empty certainly applies here). All it provides is sugar. And please don't waste your time telling me how important sugar is; we can live just fine without drinking soda.

    Do I think soda is evil? No. Do I like soda? Yes. Will I drink soda? Another yes.

    Will I drink soda when supposedly trying to lose weight? No, it's not worth it to me.

    To each his own, but I can't imagine mocking someone for excluding soda from their diet, when their goal is to lose weight.

    Note: To be clear, I'm talking about full-calorie soda, lest I get picked apart by someone saying I'm trying to demonize artificial sweeteners.

    I'm not mocking someone for not including soda in their diet while losing weight. I DO have a problem when the OP just can't accept that people can include soda into their diet while losing weight.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    I love this line of thought - you can eat Twinkies and drink Coke all day as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

    One package of Twinkies (two cakes) = 270 calories

    One can of Coke = 140 calories.

    Total = 410 calories

    So if you are on a 1,650 calorie daily limit you can have four packages of Twinkies (1,080 calories) and 4 Cokes (560 calories) during the course of a day.

    Nobody would make it through more than a couple of days (you could substitute Twinkies with any equivalent pastry, and Coke with fruit juice). So why does anyone even bring up these ridiculous hypotheticals? And if you are limiting calories, why would you want to fill your daily intake with this junk, which does nothing to fill you up?
    My point I made a few post ago ^^^^^

    You are the one arguing extremes and creating the all or nothing hypothetical situations. You've been asked many times before and I'll ask again, link us to the posts or a post where someone is telling people to have nothing twinkies and/or coke all day.

    Scroll up on this page. That's as far as you have to go! "Purely for a weight loss purpose alone, yes you can eat only soda, cake and French fries and still lose weight if you're within your calorie allowance."
    Nice try so you try and quote a post made after you posted your original claim.

    That poster is talking about calories and deficit. You claim people tell members to eat nothing but twinkies and Coke. When? Where did a member advocate that diet? The person who posted above was in no way telling people to eat nothing but french fries.

    I don't care. Just let's stop talking about that you "could" just eat garbage the rest of your life and lose weight.

    Why even bring this up? We should be telling people to avoid, as much as possible, high calorie foods that tend to nothing for satiety. This is not rocket science. If you are trying to lose weight, don't drink Coke or any sugary soda; drink water or diet soda. Don't eat Twinkies because one package could represent 15% of your daily limit.

    Instead of "could," how about "don't?"
    Why do you care so much about how people "spend" their daily calories?
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