Going with a Low Carb Plan

mindhorizon

Hi! I'm new here. I've tried a whole bunch of different diets in the past. This time, I've chosen to go with a low-carb high-fat diet as presented in Barry Groves' book, "Natural Health & Weight Loss." His program seemed like a good idea because:

1. In the past, I've been able to eat cream cheese by the brick and not gain weight.
2. I've found that I'm less hungry on a high-fat diet.
3. If I eat bread or cereal of any kind in any amount, my weight will generally go up the next day. Whoever it was that decided that Americans should have 6 - 11 servings of grains a day was misinformed, in my opinion. For me, that's a prescription to gain weight.
4. The macro-nutrient numbers of Barry Groves' diet are similar to the ketogenic diet recommended for epileptics. Although it hasn't been tested yet, it has been suggested that this same ketogenic diet might be good for a medical condition that I have.
5. I tried a vegan diet and my medical condition got worse. Apparently, I need meat and animal fat to be healthy.
6. I haven't been hitting my calories goals or even my carb goals since I started here, but apparently I've been getting close enough to do the job. I've been losing weight since I began tracking my foods.

I like the fact that I can adjust my macro-nutrient balance for my tracking. That makes it easier to see how I'm doing.

JennLifts

5. I tried a vegan diet and my medical condition got worse. Apparently, I need meat and animal fat to be healthy.

If in fact you do better on low carb... it wasn't the meat. Vegan are quite high carb.

dittiepe

I too am on a low carb diet. Not everyone's metabolism and body are the same. Which is what the usual nay-sayers of low carb seem to think. I can't eat carbs like they suggest. I gain weight. I gain a LOT of weight, and I'm always hungry.
But cutting out wheat, pasta, flour, and starches, I do fine.

Best of luck on your new lifestyle!

sandislim

I am the same as you - if I eat bread I will gain the next day - if I don't I usually lose or stay the same. I've tried keto diets though and they worked for me in the short term but in the long term I didn't lose weight. It was very strict. At the moment I'm on paleo which is still low carb but incorporates fruit and lots of vegetables which I'm much happier with. Also I've exercised consistantly for a long time even when I was gaining weight on bread.

Good luck with your new diet and hopefully you will see some pound droppage and welcome to MFP!

anthonysig

Great choice. I've been going strict Paleo for about 2.5 months now and nothing sheds fat quicker. Lean meats, eggs, protein shakes, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, veggies, and berries are the way to go.

Never go to bed doubting if you had enough protein.

Nikkiham520

Good Lord, I burned more calories thinking about what you wrote than when I worked out today.
Did you ever try just eating in actual moderation and getting 5 vigourous workouts per week?

I am always amazed at how some people would rather beat someone down than encourage them. No matter what plan we choose, we all have the same goal. HEALTH.

Swoodsen

Hi I am new here and I am also going low carb, this is my first time I have tried this diet. I have already seen some weight loss and I feel a lot more energetic, which is needed because I have a 9 month old. I think part of the problem for me was I had no idea how high in carbohydrates the foods I was eating or drinking, I was uneducated in nutrition and this website is really helping me. Good luck to you and I would love to add you as a friend for us to motivate each other.

Leanne1795

I am an Atkins girl. I am also diabetic and since I have been on the Atkins lifestyle I have had the tightest control I've ever had. My blood pressure has come down and I am no longer taking meds for cholesterol. This is all besides the weight I have lost so far. I'm an Atkins lifestyler for ever!

greatdanediva

Hi My name is Leeann. I have just begun this also about a week ago. So just feeling my way. I am a diabetic so I have to try to stay away from carbs as well. Which is my downfall ....

greatdanediva

HI. What exactly is Paleo?

mrphil86

HI. What exactly is Paleo?

A placebo

rlynnc1955

Hi! I am also diabetic and have some other unrelated problems that make regular exercise difficult. In the past I have only been able to control my blood sugars by seriously restricting carbs, but high protein/fat diets cause problems for me too. Sometimes it has felt as if my only solution is to stop eating altogether... I am allergic to FOOD!! :P

Yesterday, my dietitian told me I'm not getting enough carbs to give my body the fuel it needs so I have to add them back in, but to stick with all whole grains, nothing refined. Well, I guess I'll try that and see how it works, since the amount of carbs she recommends seems to fit with the recommendations on the food tracker here. Hopefully it will improve my situation.

I know that every individual is different though, and many doctors (including mine!) and dietitians don't seem to realize that. I wish you luck for great success in your endeavors!

reeldancer

HI. What exactly is Paleo?

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portexploit

Hi! I'm new here. I've tried a whole bunch of different diets in the past. This time, I've chosen to go with a low-carb high-fat diet as presented in Barry Groves' book, "Natural Health & Weight Loss." His program seemed like a good idea because:

1. In the past, I've been able to eat cream cheese by the brick and not gain weight.
2. I've found that I'm less hungry on a high-fat diet.
3. If I eat bread or cereal of any kind in any amount, my weight will generally go up the next day. Whoever it was that decided that Americans should have 6 - 11 servings of grains a day was misinformed, in my opinion. For me, that's a prescription to gain weight.
4. The macro-nutrient numbers of Barry Groves' diet are similar to the ketogenic diet recommended for epileptics. Although it hasn't been tested yet, it has been suggested that this same ketogenic diet might be good for a medical condition that I have.
5. I tried a vegan diet and my medical condition got worse. Apparently, I need meat and animal fat to be healthy.
6. I haven't been hitting my calories goals or even my carb goals since I started here, but apparently I've been getting close enough to do the job. I've been losing weight since I began tracking my foods.

I like the fact that I can adjust my macro-nutrient balance for my tracking. That makes it easier to see how I'm doing.

Yeah a ketogenic diet is good for epilepsy. The issue with a vegetarian diet is that vegetarians eat a lot of crap. They think they're healthy. Make sure you drink a lot of water on low carb diet, protein needs more water to digest it can dehydrate you and cause kidney issues. I just got off a low carb diet, under 20grams of carbs a day. I'd usually eat under 10grams. I moved on to an alkalarian diet. It's 80% alkaliazing foods (green vegetables) and 20% of acidic food(anything else). This can kind of be seeing as a vegetarian/vegan diet. But notice I don't eat breads, pastas, or grains. I can do a straight vegetarian diet with out grains breads, or pastas. I am just trying to say, don't blame the vegetarian diet, it's the people who are on the diet that make the choices. Cupcakes and twinkies can be considered vegetarian too.

TheBraveryLover

Good luck! I've been sticking to a lower carb intake (less than 100 grams) myself although not as low carb as some others. I've had some bad days recently, but generally, do pretty well and I love it. If you need any ideas or recipes add me as a friend! :-)

mindhorizon

I've studied the Paleo diet. I actually think you could do Groves' diet in Paleo style and do fine. Doing it Paleo in this case would mean doing without the dairy and getting the carbs from veggies. Groves recommends 50 - 60 grams carb, so that would be a lot of veggies. Groves recommends veggies, too. It would work the Paleo way. I don't have problems with dairy, though, so I'm keeping it.

mindhorizon

They think they're healthy. Make sure you drink a lot of water on low carb diet, protein needs more water to digest it can dehydrate you and cause kidney issues.

I'm replacing the carbs I take out with fat, so this shouldn't be an issue.

mindhorizon

When I was eating vegan, I was eating lots of veggies, lots of beans, and whole grain bread. That should have been healthy. It wasn't for me, though.

redalphababe

Well I think you are all amazing to be so scientific about this - good luck to you. I am not being very scientific at all except to stick within my calorie goal and increase the amount of exercise I am doing. The only thing I have done with respect to carbs is restrict severely how many potatoes I eat and increased my portions of green vegetables.

bluebird321

I do a "no bad carb" diet. It's just coincidence that it ends up being in the low carb range. Keeping sugar under 15 and carb under 70 has worked well for me. Everyone is different, but for me the body doesn't seem to metabolize the carbs as well after 40.

Guinivere

Good Lord, I burned more calories thinking about what you wrote than when I worked out today.
Did you ever try just eating in actual moderation and getting 5 vigourous workouts per week?

Different strokes for different folks - That wouldn't work for me.

I think if we all had easy and free access to nutritionists and personal trainers we'd all be much healthier. we don't so we gotta keep researching for ourselves and finding what works for our individual physiology. I'm 38 - it's taken me ages but I have now found my own key to my true weight thanks to Dr Pierre Dukan.

(Before July this year I had never heard of him)

I wish everyone luck on their personal journeys.

javablondie

5. I tried a vegan diet and my medical condition got worse. Apparently, I need meat and animal fat to be healthy.

If in fact you do better on low carb... it wasn't the meat. Vegan are quite high carb.

What?

javablondie

Hi! I'm new here. I've tried a whole bunch of different diets in the past. This time, I've chosen to go with a low-carb high-fat diet as presented in Barry Groves' book, "Natural Health & Weight Loss." His program seemed like a good idea because:

1. In the past, I've been able to eat cream cheese by the brick and not gain weight.
2. I've found that I'm less hungry on a high-fat diet.
3. If I eat bread or cereal of any kind in any amount, my weight will generally go up the next day. Whoever it was that decided that Americans should have 6 - 11 servings of grains a day was misinformed, in my opinion. For me, that's a prescription to gain weight.
4. The macro-nutrient numbers of Barry Groves' diet are similar to the ketogenic diet recommended for epileptics. Although it hasn't been tested yet, it has been suggested that this same ketogenic diet might be good for a medical condition that I have.
5. I tried a vegan diet and my medical condition got worse. Apparently, I need meat and animal fat to be healthy.
6. I haven't been hitting my calories goals or even my carb goals since I started here, but apparently I've been getting close enough to do the job. I've been losing weight since I began tracking my foods.

I like the fact that I can adjust my macro-nutrient balance for my tracking. That makes it easier to see how I'm doing.

Sounds brilliant. I can totally relate.

bonkers5975

I've lost my last 65lbs on the Primal Blueprint, and even that stopped working for me. I am moderate in all my food choices, and I am highly active, and yet after 106lbs lost (you'd think I'd know what I was doing by now! ) suddenly I can't budge an oz. And haven't been able to for months.

I thought I could go back to healthy whole grains, baking my own bread, and all that jazz, but then the tummy aches and bloating, and, oh yeah, well within calorie range but there's an added 10 lbs on the scale all of a sudden!

So I'm lower carb whether I like it or not.

Low carb seems to be a dirty word around here. Yet we will stuff our faces with "fake" products, but as long as we're following the pyramid, it's all good! /end sarcasm/

Be healthy. I have no choice in that I can't do grains, whole or otherwise. But I eat a family garden every week. I have the kids at the checkout in the grocery store commenting on how healthy my food is, and asking me for recipes on eggplant and spaghetti squash! You know why? Because I buy fruits and veggies and chicken and fish and eggs and nuts and seeds. How is this unhealthy?

Best of luck to the OP, and I think you'll do great. Some of us don't have the option of eating what we want. Some of us have to be scientific in our approach, because "everything in moderation" just does not apply.

Oh, a multivitamin is also a good thing, and I take a psyllium fiber supplement as necessary, too.

janiepumphrey

It's also possible that you might be sensitive to gluten without realizing it. I saw lots of improvements in my health when I went grain-free but later I discovered that gluten-free grains don't bother me in the same way (rice, quinoa)

bonkers5975

Same here.