Who has lost weight without restricting carbs?

Punkedpoetess

Major soap box for me! I do NOT restrict carbs I restrict the types of carbs I eat. I aim for as many veggies as I can handle, some (nor more than 2 servings/day) fruits, and very few whole grains. :flowerforyou:

This is me also. Since I have PCOS and feel unable to eat low carb, I just focus on eating mostly good carbs like whole grains, legumes, and veggies. I also eat 1-2 servings of fruit per day to help keep away sugary cravings and it helps a lot. I very rarely eat refined carbs and limit sugary snacks.

wendylady76

Um... Have you actually read ANY of the scientific clinical trials regarding this "mumbo jumbo"? Because you might find yourself QUITE surprised.

jezmarie89

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

toniann97

I've done extremely low carb diets several times, which should tell you something. I will not deny low carb diets will cause you to lose weight BUT the minute you stop it's 10x worse for your body because the body is so happy to have carbs it grabs them and holds on to them because it doesn't know when it will get then again. You will most likely gain all the weight back and then some. Low carb really isn't too good if you will be working out a lot too because you need carbs for energy. Hope this helps

Salpica

I've lost all my weight off of eating healthy and watching my calorie intake. Calories are the only thing I care about when it comes to any of my meals.

A diet is a diet. If you restrict eating a certain thing and then watch your portions of everything else you eat you will lose weight. Give the carb diet a try if your trainer really wants you to do it. If you don't like it then don't do it and go to something you are more comfortable with.

whydonttheywrite

Great question, I have tried that before and had some good success but then when it wasn't new anymore it became very difficult to maintain, because in real life (at least for me) everything has some level of carbs to it when you go out or look in the pantry (since I have kids, they weren't on the low carb thing with me of course) when you go out to eat difficult to find a meal with low carbs. I lost weight on it, but after a while to me at least it got old and when it did I very quickly put the weight back on. I've been trying the calorie deficit thing for a while now and had more success than low carb and I get to enjoy my meals again, and can eat what my family eats (maybe in different portions or slight variations) and it seems to work well for me so far. Everybody is different, but like someone else said if you don't think you can maintain it forever I wouldn't even start with it.... just my 2 cents

Wynterbourne

Honestly, I only count calories. I pay no attention to fat, carbs, sugar, protein, sodium, fiber, etc. I only drink maybe four glasses of water on the days I work out. None on the days I don't. I drink diet soda on a regular basis. I eat whatever I want any time of day I want. The ONLY thing I do is make sure my calories are in check. I've lost 39.6 pounds in nine weeks.

BUT, everyone is different. Not everything works for everyone whether it be due to mental or physical hurdles. Find what works for you.

bcattoes

I haven't changed my carbs... I figure if you go for low carbs... what happens when you do start eating them again????

You smile a sigh of relief. A rainbow appears as the clouds separate, and a unicorn runs accross your lawn.

Seriously? That is the only good argument I've heard for going to low carb. How long do you have to do it in order to see a unicorn? Because I'd really like that.

Acg67

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

can you explain what makes a carb good or bad?

MrsCon40

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

can you explain what makes a carb good or bad?

"Bad carbs" smoke Lucky Strikes and have a rap sheet a mile long.

rockstarginaa

I've never watched my carbs and am down 39lbs. I find restrictive diets don't work long-term.

celticmuse

I have lost 32 lbs. without restricting carbs, except for the first month. It has been a year since I began, and I basically stay within my calorie goal, but I do try to eat less unrefined carbs and the carbs I eat tend to be whole grains and brown rice, usually. I do eat less pasta than I used to, but that's about it. Worked great for me.

foremant86

This girl right here, i eat around 150g of carbs a day, sometimes more and my weight loss is great!

bcattoes

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

can you explain what makes a carb good or bad?

Glycemic load?

joejccva71

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

can you explain what makes a carb good or bad?

Glycemic load?

And......... you'll get water weight at worse case scenario unless you eat a surplus.

Acg67

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

can you explain what makes a carb good or bad?

Glycemic load?

how is that relevant to the vast majority of people? unless most people are eating said carbs isocalorically in a fasted state

bcattoes

There are good carbs and "bad" carbs... stick to dark carb sweet potatoe..whole grains/wheat..brown rice and veggies.. it def gets easier.. Portion size ans calorie intake is key. Stay away from sugar and sodium and eat lean

can you explain what makes a carb good or bad?

Glycemic load?

how is that relevant to the vast majority of people? unless most people are eating said carbs isocalorically in a fasted state

That's what generally is begin referred to when people call carbs good or bad. Wasn't that the question?

tisamg

I lost 62 lbs. by eating less and moving more. When I have tried low carb in the past, as soon as I eat an increase in carbohydrates, I gain or at least feel very bloated. Wise advice given to me long ago - whatever you do to lose weight is what you will need to do to maintain that weight loss. Fad diets, quick loss schemes, etc. do not work for me.

cpldjski

I didn't want to do low-carb mostly because I LOVE bread and white rice. I was able to lose about 55 pounds just with limiting calories and exercise. However, when I went to the doctors for my thyroid check-up (I have hashimotos disease) she told me that based on the analysis done by her fancy scale that I was retaining a lot of water weight. She told me the only way to get rid of it was to do a low carb diet. I have begrudgingly started to do a little more low carb and I don't feel like I am losing weight any faster or slower than before. I just might be losing the water weight instead of the fat that I want to get rid of.

MJ7910

i cannot restrict carbs. i have lost 15 lb just reducing quantities. you prob don't need to unless you are really struggling and just want to try something different

HMonsterX

I never look at my carbs. Not yet anyway.

Calories and protein are the two things i pay attention to.

ctprofessional

I have done both and lost. Although restricting carbs can become very unhealthy easily.

funkycamper

I say you should try different types of eating plans to see what works best for you. I am one that must restrict my carbs in order to lose weight, feel healthy, have energy, and have a better emotional balance. If I eat too many carbs for me...and what works for me might not work for someone else...I can't lose any weight even if I'm restricting my calories, have aches and pains in my joints, feel sluggish and need to nap a lot, and have severe mood swings. I have never been a big eater in terms of eating large quantities of food or eating tons of calories yet I gained over 100 pounds while trying to lose weight eating low-fat/high-carb. I felt like a failure and was an emotional wreck wondering what the heck was wrong with me. And, yes, I was exercising. In fact, I taught aerobics (6 classes per week), worked out on the weights 5-6 days per week, and ran for an hour every morning except Sunday. And, yeah, gained weight. And it wasn't muscle, that's for sure. Once I restricted carbs, the weight started coming off even though at that point, with all the weight gain, I wasn't exercising. Now I exercise 5-6 days per week doing anything from running to cardio kickboxing to zumba to elliptical to swimming and more and am losing even faster.

I think there are a lot of people on here who are totally misinformed about low-carbing and how it works. Unfortunately, the media has promoted an idea that it means eating lots of meat, especially bacon, in unlimited quantities. Not so. For example, with Atkins you restrict to 20 grams per day for the first two weeks and then go into the continuing weight loss part of the plan. This means that every week you add 5 grams of carb/day until you get your carbs raised to the point where you still see a slow weight loss of 1-2# per week. For some people this means they might only be able to eat 50 grams of carbs per day. For others, it might be 150. Atkins also promotes getting most of your carbs from green leafy vegetables at first and then adding more vegetables plus things like brown rice, whole-grain breads, etc.

For me, I do best if I stay to around 60 grams/carb per day. Although I also do calorie and carb cycling so I will sometimes splurge and have pizza or lasagna or some other carb-loaded meal that I enjoy without harming my overall weight loss. I do, however, still pay for these splurges by getting achy joints and edema in my feet. Shoes that I wore before dinner can be so tight they hurt within an hour or so after the carb splurge. The only way I can avoid this is if I go exercise, even if it's just a fairly long walk, almost immediately after eating the higher carb meal. Since most social events means that there are higher-carb food choices around, I tend to have a high-carb day about once a week. My calories will also be higher that day. Again, I just plan around it, eat less for a day or two before and/or after the splurge, and it doesn't effect my weight loss. I can't do it more than about once a week though or I start getting lethargic, sleepy, grouchy, etc.

So, we're all different but there is really nothing of nutritional value in breads, pasta, etc. so it's not a health risk to limit those types of foods if you feel better and lose better without them being a major part of your diet.

Oh, I should add that my blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc., are all in very healthy ranges eating this way. While they were never really bad, they were worse when I was eating at higher carb levels. So, yeah, we're all different and you should do what works best for you.