Low carb

Neliel

I've been at a bit of a standstill coming up to 2 months now and needless to say i'm pretty sick of it. I've heard a lot of good things about low carb diets and I was wondering if anyone out there knows much about how low carb works? Whatever you can tell me would be splendid!

Pragmatica

Hey, I got the post on my wall from you! I am going to do a full write up this weekend on low carb with some articles to back it up. It will include information on how it works (actual science!), what to eat/what to avoid, tips and stuff like that!!

Grokette

Yes, Low carb works. I am very well versed in low carbing (almost 8 years experience) and I have been successful and failed and now being successful again.

I can tell you that if you are going to low carb, it has to be a lifestyle change. If your not prepared to eat this way forever, then I would advise against low carbing.

Neliel

Yes, Low carb works. I am very well versed in low carbing (almost 8 years experience) and I have been successful and failed and now being successful again.

I can tell you that if you are going to low carb, it has to be a lifestyle change. If your not prepared to eat this way forever, then I would advise against low carbing.

Well I adjusted to eating less and drinking more water so i'm pretty sure watching carbs won't be so bad either! I'm willing to give anything a try, especially if others have found it so effective. Please, hit me with what you recommend!

VJ150

Living low carb is fantastic. However, you must decide if you are willing to change your lifestyle. It isn't "phase" to do for a while. It is a way of life. You have to be prepared to change the way you eat. I would suggest you visit www.atkins.com to read up on low carb and see if it is something you are willing to do.

I have had success on low carb. I lost about 40 pounds. I have had failure - gained 20 back because I tried to go back to my old habits. That doesn't work.

taletreader

Oh, dear, can of worms. This is just such an emotive topic, and please be prepared to hear a lot of half-truths and biased opinion... either way.

A while ago I put my nose into what I could find that at least looked like reliable, known fact. The main points that stood out are:

- Low-carb tends to get weight down faster. However, the results tend to be harder to maintain.
- Two years or so after start of the weight loss, there's no significant difference between groups of low-carb and low-calorie dieters.

There are a number of question marks over low carb regarding the health effects of what is ultimately a diet the human body isn't made for. There are also reports of bad mood swings.

Last, I just read through some German weight-loss forums and was surprised how often I saw the following story: "I lost a lot of weight with low-carb, but then had the hardest time to maintain. Now I've managed to, by permanently restricting my carbs."

Bottom line, it certainly works in the short term, it works about as well as just calorie-counting in the long term BUT may require long-term changes to one's diet that may be hard to put into place. For me, that equates to a "no". (I eat about 45% calories from carbs, and 25-30 % from fat/protein, respectively, ie slightly raised protein, but not low-carb.)

taletreader

PS: Neliel... YOU HAVE LOST 29 POUNDS IN 17 WEEKS. That is by no means a sub-standard loss. Really, I'd think that if you just keep tweaking the lifestyle that you've been practicing, you'd do absolutely fine, without exposing yourself to the same level of risk of entering a major yo-yo cycle.

By all means, *watch* your carbs. They *are* right now about 25% higher than what I eat, and especially you're eating a lot less protein and quite a bit more fat than I do. You have a lot of ways of playing with your macro-nutrients -- what works for one won't work for the next one. But that doesn't mean low-carb is the only way.

NOLAdy

Look to the others for scientific information, I can only offer personal experience. It's a great lifestyle change. It was really hard for me to do at first. I gave it a shot a few times and failed, than eventually decided that I couldn't live low carb. Than I changed the way I looked at it. In the beginning I considered low carb to be no carb. I first started on the Atkins/sugar buster diet, where you start off with no carbs and eventually work them in as you go. I LIKE carbs, still do, so that diet was impossible for me to get into. Than I just hit a point in the road where I thought there has to be something "right" about all of these people eating sprouted grain, and whole grain products. So I started switching out all of my "white" foods for the whole grain options. That was my start. Than I just started paying attention to how often I was eating them, eventually only doing one or two in a day. At this point I never considered it a "diet", just a change I wanted to make. There's more flavor in the whole grain varieties, they're more filling, and it just makes me feel better to know that I'm making the healthier choice.
If you're struggling with it, my advice is to not think of it as a diet. If you're struggling to the point of it being upsetting for you than eat the carbs, just make them whole grain variety and gradually work your way down to less a day. They can be an easy choice for busy people, and that's not a bad thing.

shannontatana

I have just started the Harcombe diet. I bought the book "stop counting calories and start losing weight". Very interesting read.
Its a low carb diet but it goes into talking about insulin levels shooting up when you have carbs and combining foods etc. I have tried the Atkins and found it was so successful the only problem is you get bored and its hard to stick to. So this diet is much easier. Although you have to start the diet with 5 days no carbs at all..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubdJKYpDEWU&feature=related

Some videos there.. for explanations...

katzplay62

I have watched my sister live low-carb since June last year and she has lost over 50 lbs. She's found products like Carbquik (replaces Bisquik) so she can indulge her longing for blueberry muffins & pizza. She found a great cold cereal that tastes great with a little fat-free half & half. Check sites like Netrition.com for low-carb products of all kinds.

I live low-carb, too, but I had RNY last November so I have different issues.

Cheer!

Kat

Grokette

Yes, Low carb works. I am very well versed in low carbing (almost 8 years experience) and I have been successful and failed and now being successful again.

I can tell you that if you are going to low carb, it has to be a lifestyle change. If your not prepared to eat this way forever, then I would advise against low carbing.

Well I adjusted to eating less and drinking more water so i'm pretty sure watching carbs won't be so bad either! I'm willing to give anything a try, especially if others have found it so effective. Please, hit me with what you recommend!

My first suggestion is to make sure that you are eating adequate protein. Low carb in its PROPER Form is moderate protein, not high amounts of protein. You also want to get adequate fat intake so that you stay fuller longer and helps with energy levels tremendously.

I also recommend eating LOTS AND LOTS of veggies, small amounts of fruit (like dessert). If you want to have fruit everyday, I would recommend eating berries. They are the lowest on the glycemic index and are brimming with vitamins and anti-oxidants.

Drink lots of water and get some exercise several times a week.

Nuts and greek yogurt are your friends. With the greek yogurt, I personally like Fage brand full fat yogurt. YUMMO with a handful of berries and a packet of stevia.

Look for hidden sugars in the labels of anything packaged you might eat.

Don’t gauge your progress by the scale………..

Ask yourself these questions:

How do I feel?
Do I have more energy?
Am I sleeping better?
How are my clothes fitting? You are probably losing inches……..

Grokette

I have watched my sister live low-carb since June last year and she has lost over 50 lbs. She's found products like Carbquik (replaces Bisquik) so she can indulge her longing for blueberry muffins & pizza. She found a great cold cereal that tastes great with a little fat-free half & half. Check sites like Netrition.com for low-carb products of all kinds.

I live low-carb, too, but I had RNY last November so I have different issues.

Cheer!

Kat

Personally, it is better to stay away from the products because you are just swapping one bad habit for another and not actually breaking the sugar addiction that is there. It is merely being masked.

I specialize in coaching those to a whole foods eating plan and not depending on products, but actually breaking the addiction to sugars and starches.

Neliel

It's probably not for me if it means i'm stuck on a low carb diet forever then. I don't like the idea of being THAT restricted forever. Didn't realise once you're on low carb you're pretty much stuck on it or the weight will come back. Dang!

bostonwolf

Take a look at a new book called The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. His diet is essentially low carb/Atkins but with one cheat day a week, which he feels is essentially to keeping your body's hormone balance correct.

I'm lost about four pounds this week (I started the diet on Sunday) and have yet to really add in exercise to the mix. Can't wait to see the results when I do that.

Grokette

It's probably not for me if it means i'm stuck on a low carb diet forever then. I don't like the idea of being THAT restricted forever. Didn't realise once you're on low carb you're pretty much stuck on it or the weight will come back. Dang!

I am going to suggest that you read the Atkins book or the South Beach book.

Basically you start adding back in all the foods you were eating - but healthier versions and everything is added back in, in a particular order.

Whole grain breads, sweet potatoes, brown rice, steel cut oatmeal, etc..........

Personally, I am adopting a way of life without grains and limited dairy because that is what is best for MY body.

Grains make my joints swell and I also get symptoms of IBS. - Grains, for a lot of people are very inflammatory.

Dairy causes me to excrete a lot of extra mucous and have sinus issues.

I am eating more and more raw (aka living) foods each day. Raw veggies, raw fruits and nuts.

I do, however, cook my fats and meats, LOL.........

llkilgore

It's often hard to tell whether the author of a forum post is on a no-carb/ultra low-carb diet or a more moderately low-carb diet, and I can tell you from personal experience, it makes a huge difference.

The more extreme diet was easy enough to follow in that its rules were simple and it pretty much eliminated hunger and cravings, but I couldn't stick with it because of the frightening physical symptoms. I had zero energy after the first few days, got light headed when I stood up, and had heart palpitations. I didn't make it through the first week and quickly regained the weight that I'd lost - not that I expected anything different. I knew it was mostly water weight at that early stage of the diet.

A moderately low carb diet - one that allows an unlimited number of servings of non-starchy vegetables, plus more carbs as the diet progresses, has proved in my case to have pretty much all of the advantages of an ultra low-carb diet without any of the scary side effects. I may not be losing weight as fast, but I am losing, I'm not hungry, I don't crave starch or sugar, and I feel great. If anything, my energy level is up.

I can see that getting from where I am now to the maintenance phase of the diet will take some work, though, because it can't be an all or nothing thing with the higher carb foods. I'm already eating oatmeal again (so far, so good) and will eat bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice again. I'll just have to work out how much of which kinds I can eat without getting myself into trouble. But at least I'm aware that evolving an effective maintenance diet will take some work. My last "successful" diet was of the low fat, calorie restricted variety, and while I concede that I could have, and should have, given more thought to maintenance than I did, I went back to my old way of eating within a few months and weight came back. And then some.