Low Calories, or Low Carbs? What is better.....
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I eat more vegetables, more protein (which is good for anybody who is lifting or doing any other kind of exercise and wants to build muscle), and more healthy fats when watching my carbs. I also have way more energy for both daily activities and can exercise more intensely for longer periods of time. I feel better and look better (even my skin improves). I do eat occasional higher carb items, trying to stick with things like double-fiber, whole-grain bread when eating bread, for example, but try to keep this to my meal/snack after an exercise session and don't do it every day keeping it to maybe every other day. When I do this, I lose weight and am never hungry.
As soon as I start doing carb-creep, i.e. eating a bit more grain-based carbs or starches like potatoes, my hunger levels shoot through the roof and I want to eat more and more. I also lose all my energy, get sleepy, get strange phantom pains, bloat-up as I become constipated and get water weight, yada yada.
I should add I do fine with the carbs found in yogurt and other dairy products without any of those negative effects. And that I do have occasional splurges with carb-based foods as I zig-zag my calories a bit during the week to allow for calorie splurges. I do try to exercise after, even if it's just a walk or something fun like dancing, in order to minimize or eliminate any of those negative effects as listed above. I do this because my taste buds prefer high-carb foods even though the rest of my body clearly doesn't. So I try to balance better health and improved weight loss while splurging once in awhile in a controlled manner so I don't start feeling deprived.
I just think we're all different and we have to experiment to find out what works best for us. Based on my own experience, while I really don't understand how someone can eat 300 grams/carb a day without feeling like crap and gaining weight, it obviously works for some people.0 -
Lower calorie and good carbs. :drinker:0
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Low cals! No need to deprive yourself of certain foods. Sounds like auto fail to me.0
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oh boy, here we go...........everytime someone post a low carb question the debate is on!! lol
I can only speak from my own weight loss, i am low carb. I did have some loss with calorie counting of course, but when i went low carb i FELT better. I do not have the bloating, fluffy feeling. No more headaches, or upset tummy. No more blahhh feeling. I didnt relize all the carb food i was eating was making me feel that way until i quit eating all the sugar and carbs. No more cravings either!
I ate alot of carbs on Christmas and spent 2 days feeling sick. So I DO LOW CARB because it makes me feel better AND i can lose weight. its a win win.0 -
Low calorie, low carb to high calorie high carb (cycle) works for me but it's not a lifestyle / way of eating on a regular basis.
Also it's not a good approach to start off with as you can get off in the weeds / not follow the "plan" for the day0 -
After a while you start to get sick of eating protein constantly.
Speak for yourself LOL. There are so many vegtable/meat combinations that I could probably make a different dish every night for months on end. There is no boredom here in my cooking habbits. More often than not I think that people that don't like to cook or enjoy cooking have issues with variety. There is no doubt about it, low carb is less convenient and a bit more time consuming to cook for, and there are hardly any quick take out type meals that mesh with it well, you just have to make the time like you make time for anything else.
How does low carb cooking take longer? In my experience dried beans and grains are usually the longest cooking foods. I suppose slow roasting meat could take longer, but otherwise vegetables, fruits and meat all cook in a shorter time.0 -
My point is that you generally can't just open a package and dump some noodles into water, there are hardly any real convenience foods for low carb that are that great, and prep time for chopping, grating etc is usually more than some people are used to. I don't have an issue with it, but I know plenty of people that if you can't microwave it or open a bag and start eating they probably won't bother with it.0
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I just wanted to quote this from Acg67. It seems this entire concept went totally ignored by the "pro-Taubes" side in this debate. If the insulin response from carbs are to blame for all the evils, then why doesn't the insulin response from protein cause just as many evils? Protein can cause the same, and in some cases, an even higher insulin spike than carbs. Doesn't that basically invalidate Taubes' entire theory?
No it does not, because the other contributing factors are being conveniently ignored. While high protein foods cause a spike in insulin, they do not have the corresponding spike in blood sugar levels.
Insulin by itself is a necessary chemical and not bad, and does its job by storing nutrients, and is a vital process. The other part of the process when protein is eaten is not shown in the argument is that the body also releases another checmical that has a contrary effect to insulin, glucagon. Protein rich foods prompt a release of glucagon while carb rich foods do not.Glucagon raises blood sugar levels in part to allow for absorption of amino acids in the liver and their subsequent transformation there to glucose. In our evolution, we developed the capacity to make what we required out of what was available.
Also an excerpt from marksdailyapple explains it better than I can:
"For people without diabetes, the insulin and glucagon responses mitigate each other, and we’re looking at a healthy picture. For people with diabetes or impaired insulin response, however, this picture is much different. In diabetics, this crucial equilibrium is damaged. The body not only has difficulty compensating for blood sugar spikes from carb intake, it’s also at a disadvantage when it comes to low-carb, protein-based meals with the lack of insulin-glucagon balance. (Another reason to avoid developing diabetes from the outset.) Nonetheless, diabetics fare better with a low-carb diet."
Impaired insulin response can be seen when giving some people too many carbs, and keeping blood sugar at higher levels than it should be.0 -
I just wanted to quote this from Acg67. It seems this entire concept went totally ignored by the "pro-Taubes" side in this debate. If the insulin response from carbs are to blame for all the evils, then why doesn't the insulin response from protein cause just as many evils? Protein can cause the same, and in some cases, an even higher insulin spike than carbs. Doesn't that basically invalidate Taubes' entire theory?
No it does not, because the other contributing factors are being conveniently ignored. While high protein foods cause a spike in insulin, they do not have the corresponding spike in blood sugar levels.
Insulin by itself is a necessary chemical and not bad, and does its job by storing nutrients, and is a vital process. The other part of the process when protein is eaten is not shown in the argument is that the body also releases another checmical that has a contrary effect to insulin, glucagon. Protein rich foods prompt a release of glucagon while carb rich foods do not.Glucagon raises blood sugar levels in part to allow for absorption of amino acids in the liver and their subsequent transformation there to glucose. In our evolution, we developed the capacity to make what we required out of what was available.
So what you're saying is, carbs spiking your insulin and raising your blood sugar is evil, but protein spiking your insulin and raising your blood sugar (through the release of glucagon, which really has nothing specifically to do with protein, and is actually an automated response to blood sugar dropping in general) is ok? Do you not understand how that doesn't make sense? Both ways spike insulin and raise blood sugar.
Not to mention you're completely ignoring the fact that the body's response to food changes completely when you eat different macros together. Taubes theory only works at all, from a clinical standpoint, in a few studies,. if you only eat one macro at a time and let them disgust completely before eating the next one, which is just about impossible in a normal diet. Every food has a mix of macros in it, which completely changes the way things work.
The human body is not as simplistic as Taubes likes to make it out to be. Also, if Taubes is so right in all of his theories, and knows all the reasons why people are overweight, and his theory of how to never be overweight is so perfect and correct, WHY IS HE OVERWEIGHT? Taubes is a journalist, and as a journalist, it's his entire job to spin whatever topic he's writing abut to get you to believe whatever it is he wants you to believe. That way,people keep buying his books, and he keeps making money, real facts be damned.0 -
I disagree with the above posts saying watching calories is better for a multitude of reasons. I suggest reading the book "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It" by science journalist Gary Taubes to understand why. Amazing book that really opened my eyes and has helped me to lose 47 pounds in 6 months so far.
Awesome book! Opened my eyes as well and I can't believe the weight loss and success from low carb. It boils down to doing whatever works for you. I have been doing keto (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) and I find it easy and I don't actually feel like I am dieting. Not everything works for everyone. If you don't see results... change it up.
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I avoid sugars and refined grains, as those are empty carbs and calories, and actually, they increase my appetite. I eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.
I keep my calories under control as well. So you have to watch both, but make sure you eat enough complex carbs to sustain yourself.
Sounds like a fab plan to me 0 -
So what you're saying is, carbs spiking your insulin and raising your blood sugar is evil, but protein spiking your insulin and raising your blood sugar (through the release of glucagon, which really has nothing specifically to do with protein, and is actually an automated response to blood sugar dropping in general) is ok? Do you not understand how that doesn't make sense? Both ways spike insulin and raise blood sugar.
Yep, I think that is what they are saying. I actually don't think they are both the same because when you eat carbohydrate you can control the amount and type but when your body initiates gluconeogenesis, which is essentially a starvation response, it often creates much more than you really need (which is why type 1 diabetics who don't have a bed time snack will often wake up with high sugar levels rather than the low you would expect). You will actually have much better blood sugar control if you eat regular meals containing regulated amounts of complex carbohydrates, preferably low GI than if you don't eat carbohydrates at all.0 -
I just wanted to quote this from Acg67. It seems this entire concept went totally ignored by the "pro-Taubes" side in this debate. If the insulin response from carbs are to blame for all the evils, then why doesn't the insulin response from protein cause just as many evils? Protein can cause the same, and in some cases, an even higher insulin spike than carbs. Doesn't that basically invalidate Taubes' entire theory?
No it does not, because the other contributing factors are being conveniently ignored. While high protein foods cause a spike in insulin, they do not have the corresponding spike in blood sugar levels.
Insulin by itself is a necessary chemical and not bad, and does its job by storing nutrients, and is a vital process. The other part of the process when protein is eaten is not shown in the argument is that the body also releases another checmical that has a contrary effect to insulin, glucagon. Protein rich foods prompt a release of glucagon while carb rich foods do not.Glucagon raises blood sugar levels in part to allow for absorption of amino acids in the liver and their subsequent transformation there to glucose. In our evolution, we developed the capacity to make what we required out of what was available.
So what you're saying is, carbs spiking your insulin and raising your blood sugar is evil, but protein spiking your insulin and raising your blood sugar (through the release of glucagon, which really has nothing specifically to do with protein, and is actually an automated response to blood sugar dropping in general) is ok? Do you not understand how that doesn't make sense? Both ways spike insulin and raise blood sugar.
Not to mention you're completely ignoring the fact that the body's response to food changes completely when you eat different macros together. Taubes theory only works at all, from a clinical standpoint, in a few studies,. if you only eat one macro at a time and let them disgust completely before eating the next one, which is just about impossible in a normal diet. Every food has a mix of macros in it, which completely changes the way things work.
The human body is not as simplistic as Taubes likes to make it out to be. Also, if Taubes is so right in all of his theories, and knows all the reasons why people are overweight, and his theory of how to never be overweight is so perfect and correct, WHY IS HE OVERWEIGHT? Taubes is a journalist, and as a journalist, it's his entire job to spin whatever topic he's writing abut to get you to believe whatever it is he wants you to believe. That way,people keep buying his books, and he keeps making money, real facts be damned.
Taubes overweight?
http://i.imgur.com/zCynO.jpg
From last march I think. Doesn't appear that way to me.0 -
I disagree with the above posts saying watching calories is better for a multitude of reasons. I suggest reading the book "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It" by science journalist Gary Taubes to understand why. Amazing book that really opened my eyes and has helped me to lose 47 pounds in 6 months so far.
Awesome book! Opened my eyes as well and I can't believe the weight loss and success from low carb. It boils down to doing whatever works for you. I have been doing keto (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) and I find it easy and I don't actually feel like I am dieting. Not everything works for everyone. If you don't see results... change it up.
you obviously did not read through this thread then if you are calling the nonsense contained in Why We Get Fat awesome. Some people in this thread clearly posted relevant studies and other things debunking Taubes' nonsense.The human body is not as simplistic as Taubes likes to make it out to be. Also, if Taubes is so right in all of his theories, and knows all the reasons why people are overweight, and his theory of how to never be overweight is so perfect and correct, WHY IS HE OVERWEIGHT? Taubes is a journalist, and as a journalist, it's his entire job to spin whatever topic he's writing abut to get you to believe whatever it is he wants you to believe. That way,people keep buying his books, and he keeps making money, real facts be damned.
not only that, but he actually makes people more ignorant about nutrition
"If you restrict only carbohydrates, you can always eat more protein and fat if you feel the urge, since they have no effect on fat accumulation"
Location 2519 Kindle edition of Why We Get Fat
"But protein and fat don't make us fat-only the carbohydrates do-so there is no reason to curtail them in any way"
Location 3064 Why We Get Fat0 -
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I disagree with the above posts saying watching calories is better for a multitude of reasons. I suggest reading the book "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It" by science journalist Gary Taubes to understand why. Amazing book that really opened my eyes and has helped me to lose 47 pounds in 6 months so far.
Awesome book! Opened my eyes as well and I can't believe the weight loss and success from low carb. It boils down to doing whatever works for you. I have been doing keto (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) and I find it easy and I don't actually feel like I am dieting. Not everything works for everyone. If you don't see results... change it up.
I was just stating what works for me and apparently many others after looking through this thread. I don't care what the naysayers say. I will ALWAYS choose what works best for me. I am not a zealot like some and I don't care if I change any opinions. Do what works for you!
you obviously did not read through this thread then if you are calling the nonsense contained in Why We Get Fat awesome. Some people in this thread clearly posted relevant studies and other things debunking Taubes' nonsense.The human body is not as simplistic as Taubes likes to make it out to be. Also, if Taubes is so right in all of his theories, and knows all the reasons why people are overweight, and his theory of how to never be overweight is so perfect and correct, WHY IS HE OVERWEIGHT? Taubes is a journalist, and as a journalist, it's his entire job to spin whatever topic he's writing abut to get you to believe whatever it is he wants you to believe. That way,people keep buying his books, and he keeps making money, real facts be damned.
not only that, but he actually makes people more ignorant about nutrition
"If you restrict only carbohydrates, you can always eat more protein and fat if you feel the urge, since they have no effect on fat accumulation"
Location 2519 Kindle edition of Why We Get Fat
"But protein and fat don't make us fat-only the carbohydrates do-so there is no reason to curtail them in any way"
Location 3064 Why We Get Fat0 -
are all the threads on this subject like this here?
how about this- if you are accomplishing your goals on a restricted cal diet, then great- that is what works for your body. please continue doing such and sharing and helping others to have the same success as you.
however there will be some ppl for whom the simple cals in/cals out premise doesn't work. if you gave that a FAIR (this means at the very least over a month, not 3 days) amount of time and achieved nothing then it is time to explore other options starting with a trip to your dr for a comprehensive work up. if the usual weight loss formula is not working for you then you might want to use that as a clue that 'something' is off w/ your metabolism and go find out what, carbs processing *might* be an issue for you.
there are far too many "help! not losing!" and "what am i doing wrong?" threads every. single. day. here for there not to be a flaw in the formula for SOME ppl. they all can't be idiots that cannot weigh or measure food and calculate the calories correctly, they all can't possess enough intelligence not to realize that MFP's exercise burns are wildly off. and they all can't be in 'starvation mode' (sigh), esp those that never lost anything in the first place on the formula. if the formula works for you - then great~ shout it from the rooftops, you have every right to be ecstatic about your success.... however if the same formula is not working for the guy next to you then turning to them and saying "well you're doing it wrong" is categorically UNhelpful. if you are not here because you need help or here to be helpful to the next person....maybe reexamine why you are on this website at all.
maybe it is just me, but i find the lack of understanding and unwillingness to possibly believe that anyone's metabolism might be operating outside the norm an the blame placing back onto the OPs that start all those "help!" threads by some members here distasteful and unproductive. if we all were the same then we all would have the same conditions and dz's or lack there of and the world of medicine would barely need to exist.
imho there is a reason why it is not a statistical anomaly that the overwhelming majority of type II diabetics are overweight or obese. there is a metabolic alteration there that we, as a community on a web site designed to help ppl get to a healthier body mass, should try to be more mindful of. there are probably many ppl here that are in that pre-diabetic state and if they are having problems rather than the 'eat more calories!' 'eat less calories!' exercise more!' 'exercise less!' contradictory feedback the first suggestion should be: 'have you had a recent work up w/ your doctor, esp focusing on endocrinological issues? your lack of success points to that being first step here. let us know how it went, good luck!' see? far more helpful than than the link wars, pseudo science, half truths, and warped physiological statements (ex: "ketones are acids. you'll die. haha" hmm..no. i think maybe you confused dietary ketosis with diabetic ketoacidosis) that are all just NOT helpful for the posters looking for help.
all i'm asking for is a little less10 page threads were everyone is just trying to prove their own reality and how utterly brilliant [sic] they are and instead just some simple logic~ if it ain't broke don't fix it and if it is not working then something might be broke and exploring that concept w/ your dr. is by far more important than anything anyone can recommend over the internet . that's all.
geez that was a waste of my time i'm sure, excuse my idealism ..makes me think we all thought mr spock was our childhood hero and value logic above all else. i gotta get to gym before they close. continue on! laters!0 -
Well said, anyonebutmeha!0
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+1 The best answer for me.I disagree with the above posts saying watching calories is better for a multitude of reasons. I suggest reading the book "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It" by science journalist Gary Taubes to understand why. Amazing book that really opened my eyes and has helped me to lose 47 pounds in 6 months so far.
^ only read the above book if you want your head to be filled with nonsense (other then the section on the lipid hypothesis)
whats your advice....? curious!
make sure you are getting adequate protein and fat each day (a minimum of approx 1g of protein per lb of lbm and .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight) then fill in the rest of your remaining cals how you please. focus should be on nutrient dense whole foods, but no reason you can't fit treats into your everyday diet0 -
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