Low Fat VS Low Carb?

sophia_uk

Hi everyone,

What are the pros and cons of both of these diet methods and which one do you think is the most effective for weight loss?

Anyone have any more information about these diets and their experiences or some advice?

Thank you in advance.

Sophia

stayxtrue

Honestly you are going to get a lot of different oppinions on this this one. What works for one person doesnt work for the next person.

I highly suggest trying a few things and see how you go.

I did low carbs for some time lost fat but lost energy... So now I do carb cycling.. So eat low carbs monday-thursday and start to increase it late thursday through to sunday. I highly recommend to do your research.

Low carb means you put more fats int your body and you will need to bump up your protein intake. But this will force your body to burn the 'fats' as an energy source rather than carbs, thus burning more fat.

But as I said before.. do your research.

I am a low carb lover but you will get the low carb haters saying their thing as well

Good Luck

arlyn70

i have a doctor, and he said to me, low carbs and more proteins.. because of my age, everyone is differents.. so.. i feel good.. i add rice once a week (wild rice) and carb just from fruits and vegetables..

chefkev

I eat 60% of my calories a day in fat, but I am a recovered diabetic. No longer taking meds, but my body doesn't deal well with carbs so I avoid them.
It's all about what works for you. Don't let anyone try to force something on you. All these plans work, it is just about finding what is best for you.

60% of my calories are from fat, yet my total cholesterol is 155. Many people will tell you that isn't possible. (no drugs for it either!). But that is how MY body works best. Not everyone can do what I do, and they shouldn't. Find your plan and go with it.

mroger801

I did the low carb diet when it was the fad in 2004ish. It worked great, until I started eating carbs again. I have found that the low-fat works better because you're not really eliminating anything from your food bank, just limiting portions/calories/fat/etc. With low carb, I felt like I failed if I had a piece of bread. With low-fat, I watch what I eat and make sure that the choices I make are the best possible.

Ultimately its up to you, but make sure you won't feel like you're screwing up if you go against your plan.

pixieakabigd

I have tried both and find Low Fat to be more realistic and less anti-social. On reading Low Carb diets they make it sound like it is easy to avoid carbs but there are carbs in everything so if you go to a friend's house and they serve lasagne, you're supposed to pick at the meat and leave the pasta to the side? I dunno, it just didn't work for me! Like someone else wrote, I felt guilty if I ate an apple or something very normal like that.

That said, sugar is a killer and the reason for such a huge increase in diabetes these days. So low fat and try keep your sugars down too. Weight loss was very quick for me on low carb but very hard for me to maintain.

So it's low fat and MFP for me!

Good luck!

kaetra

I don't watch either. I watch calories and aim for getting 5 fruit/veg servings every day, and enough protien & fiber every day. Having a balanced diet works better for me than trying to eliminate anything specific.

grrrlface

Low carb doesn't work for me, I feel low in energy and sluggish. Then when I got back on the carbs I gained again. So for me carbs is a big no to cut out.

On low fat I lost a substantial amount of weight, I lost my first 15lbs in 3 weeks on low fat and kept it off. I have more energy and feel less bogged down when I eat less fatty foods.

That's what works for me and my body. You should try both and see what works best for you.

morganadk2_deleted

I don't watch either. I watch calories and aim for getting 5 fruit/veg servings every day, and enough protien & fiber every day. Having a balanced diet works better for me than trying to eliminate anything specific.

^ i agree

teelynn35

I say lower your bad carbs, switch to whole grains, get your sweets from fruit etc... and lower your fat intake intake. Eat healthy fats like nuts avacados etc. Its all about balance and keeping your food journal true. Your journal will show where your sitting with carbs and fats on a daily basis. Also don't forget your lean proteins.. Good luck on your life changing journey. Always remember diets only work while your on them. Make healthier choices all around and you'll see results and stay with it.

bsalis76

Here's one way of looking at it...

Length of time of modern humans (since mid-Paleolithic)
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Length of time of agriculture, with high availability of grains/carbs
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Note that I don't think that carbs are evil. Just that modern diets where grain based foods are treated as a staple (bottom of the food pyramid!) is just wrong.

chrisdavey

Protein & fats are more important to your body than carbs.

Protein 1g per lb of lbm minimum
Fat .35g per lb of bw minimum

Fill the rest if your cal intake with whatever you want.

Newfiedan

The single biggest problem is that many whom attempt low carb limit fat, which is a huge mistake you should have around a 50:50 ratio of fat to protein for low carb to really give you the energy you need. Once I tweaked mine to hit that I had tons of energy more than on carbs. Also once per week you are supposed to pile on the carbs to boost metabolic rate. If you do decide to go low carb look into Carb Nite Solution. There is real science behind the method, and once you are done that look into Carb Backloading the second book and follow up to the carb nite solution. I am using both to achieve my goals as cutting cals just was not doing it for me anymore.

sars_68

I don't watch either. I watch calories and aim for getting 5 fruit/veg servings every day, and enough protien & fiber every day. Having a balanced diet works better for me than trying to eliminate anything specific.

I do the same as this^^

4theking

People respond differently. Some do better on low carb, others on low fat. It's trial and error to see what works for you. You could try to cycle your macros. Eat low carb/high fat, then have days of high carb/low fat.

chefkev

Cycling carbs defeats the entire purpose of a low carb diet. If you are cycling your macros then you will never lower your stored glucose enough to enter into dietary ketosis, which is the whole point of a low carb diet.

So I guess that would be a whole different kind of diet. I've never looked into it. Might be cool.

psuLemon

Neither, unless you have an intolerance to carbs (such as PCOS), there is no reason due a low carb diet. The only advantage to low carb is slightly less water weight due to less glycogen storage. The downside to this, once you increase the carbs, you immediately gain weight as your body will store more water due to the increased glycogen. Fats are actually healthy for you, except transfats. If you look at all the designated "super foods", you will see this: avocado, nuts, olive oil... are all high in fats.


The best thing to do, in my opinion is see what the minimum number of carbs is for you (mine is 200g's) to be able to push your workouts to the max and then ratio the protein and fats appropriately. For me, based on a 2800 calorie diet, I have 35% carb, 30% protein and 35% fats.