Opinions on a low carb - high fat diet

madassipsi

So, back here in cold, little Norway people are totally hung up on a low carb – high fat diet. The later years it seems that this is the new, big thing – and people really do stick to their diet, especially since many actually are able to eat more than ever. Okay, cutting down on bread, pasta and rice may be a good idea, but beans, grain and even fruit and berries? Really? I have always considered these important and healthy carbs, and don’t think my body would be better without them. However, people (especially very obese people) get great results from this kind of diet. So I’m just curious what the trend is “over the pond”? I heard that Kelly Osbourne lost her weight this way. What do you guys think about a low carb – high fat diet?

mishmash73

very few people do this long term... i did it & lost... but you are cutting out not only bad carbs, but the good ones too. It's not something that you should participate in if you want to change your lifelong eating habits... do it the right way.

and eating high protein - makes you constitpated

CaptainGordo

High fat = heart disease. Not worth it. Best to follow a balanced, healthy diet and ignore the fads.

luv2ash

High fat will only kill ya.

I do a lower carb plan and high protein--but very extra lean protein only. No red meat, only turkey,fish and chicken. Lots of egg beaters, too. People who follow these plans are hopefully guided very well during their journey to know that it is extreme only during the weight loss phase, then once goal is achieved, you have to slowly start adding back some things because one cannot live this way. BUt when you add it back, it has to be done very , very slowly with a close watch on the scale.

MakingAChoice

Sounds like an Atkins style of diet. The problem with that type of diet is it is not healthy. Maintaining a balance between good whole grains, fruits, veggies and lean protein is the best path as you can do that your entire life. You also get to keep enjoying those good carbs.

Jenna423

I agree, you need whole grains and healthy carbs just as much as the protein. Balanced diet is the healthiest way to go! You may lose weight quickly but eventually you'll need to add healthy carbs back in and you may struggle all over again.

sylvia1970

all depends on the type of fats, oils and proteins you have in your diet.

Remember the atkins diet?. Well I'm sure Mr Atkins, the founder, died of heart disease. You need carbs to move and burn energy and not have a doggy breath. You can certainly lower your carbs but you do need them; hence a well balanced diet.

Shua456

I'm a bit wary of this based on past experience. My husband and I have tried this twice - both times we lost weight but a couple of things happened.

First thing was it was impossible for us to stick to long term and every bit of weight we lost came back FAST and brought friends.

Second thing was my dh got REALLY, REALLY sick and ended up in the hospital. He was sick for almost 6 months and came close to dying. It wasn't the low carb diet that made him sick - he actually got meningitis. However, we both believe that the low carb diet and lack of healthy fruits and nutrients knocked his immune system down so much that he couldn't fight it off (it was the viral meningitis, not bacterial).

If you want to do low carb in a healthier way you can try South Beach but again we found this impossible to stick to long term. We just do better trying to keep calories, fat, protein, sodium, fiber and cholesterol in balance.

rolandhulme

I tried this, but I found it difficult to get enough fiber and, let's just say, my digestion did NOT appreciate it!

Where in Norway are you from? I spent a month in Stavanger one - lovely place!

fitnezrox

Your body really needs the right balance of nutrients. Carbs are your body's fuel. Each meal should consist of healthy whole grain carbs (small amounts), a vegetable (larger amounts) and protein (about 3 ounces). Diets that have you cut out an entire food group is not healthy in the long run. Fad diets do not work becuase you cannot sustain them for a lifetime, you will gain all the weight plus some once you go back to regular eating, thus creating a yo yo effect. You are better off retraining your brain and learning how to make lifetime healthy choices. Losing weight and becoming healthy is a marathon not a race. We didn't become unhealthy over night and we won't get healthy over night either. Sure you will lose weight becuase any time you have a caloric deficit you will drop pounds regardless of what you eat, BUT, it does not mean that you are going to be any more healthy if your diet is consisting of unhealthy foods or saturated fats, even if you stay below your caloric goal. If anyone is at a plataeu it is time to take a good look at your food intake, calories and nutrition and your true exercise activities. I see a lot of logging in cleaning the house, casual strolls, and general daily activities, these should really not be logged as exercise. You are not truly going to burn fat until you get your heart rate up and work up a sweat. Really it is a dis-service to yourself by not being truthful in your logging of foods and true exercise (workouts). The best thing you can do for your body is eat a variety of healthy real unprocessed foods, including, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, meat, fish, poultry and dairy.

I hope this helps somewhat.......It is a learning and growing process for everyone......I was a certified personal trainer and lifestyle weight management consultant for 9 years and I still learn daily. (I had to leave the industry because of Rheumatoid Arthritis)

Have a happy and healthy day
Kim

If you would like to add me as a friend here feel free, I also have a fb page set up specifically for healhty living, diet and fitness support, with quite a few friends from mfp already on there. I post daily, recipes, tips, links, exercise, articles, questions and more. Here is the link you can copy and paste to friend request if you like. I think we can all use all the support we can get.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/

Jeepster152010

We've eaten this way for over a year. We strive to eat 80/20 primal. Losing weight is a reason we eat like this but mostly for long-term health benefits.

MissKim

I eat primal, which most would consider being low carb, but it's more of a lifestyle than any kind of diet. www.marksdailyapple.com is an awesome website for information. Just look at the success stories! they are awesome. Basically we believe that humans are meant to run on less carbs and more protein and fat. all healthy ofcourse. I always judge "fad" diets and the such by results. The results of these people that have been eating like this for years was enough to get me involved. Not just with weight loss, but with health in general. It makes no sense to me how Conventional Wisdom tells us that most of our diet should be made up of grains, when grains have only been around about 10,000 years. So how did we manage to stay alive for all those years before the big agricultural boom?! lol. duh, with hunting our own food, and eating plants that are grown from the ground. Basically that is what primal is, eating things that are aminal/animal byproducts or grows from the ground! I love it!

sylvia1970

m

sylvia1970

mmm

sylvia1970

I eat primal, which most would consider being low carb, but it's more of a lifestyle than any kind of diet. www.marksdailyapple.com is an awesome website for information. Just look at the success stories! they are awesome. Basically we believe that humans are meant to run on less carbs and more protein and fat. all healthy ofcourse. I always judge "fad" diets and the such by results. The results of these people that have been eating like this for years was enough to get me involved. Not just with weight loss, but with health in general. It makes no sense to me how Conventional Wisdom tells us that most of our diet should be made up of grains, when grains have only been around about 10,000 years. So how did we manage to stay alive for all those years before the big agricultural boom?! lol. duh, with hunting our own food, and eating plants that are grown from the ground. Basically that is what primal is, eating things that are aminal/animal byproducts or grows from the ground! I love it!

]actually, the death rate was quite high, although i totally understand what ya saying but it is harder to live like that in this age. Food isn't the same as it was even 50 or 60 years ago. Times change and we have to deal with the now and each individual has to reflect on that and make the changes themselves to force action on the sh**e food that is surplus to us] by not buying it. Massive task i know when you look at the GM crops that are about; more than you realise.