Cutting carbs

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rjams
rjams Posts: 48
in Food and Nutrition
I read some where that cutting carbs only causes you to lose water weight and not fat. Does anyone know if this is true?
I've already lost 13 lbs lowering my carb intake and this info frightens me.
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Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    no, that is not true. There is an initial water loss as carbs lead to water retention and there is always some water loss associated with fat / weight loss but you will lose fat.
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
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    bump
  • gregpack
    gregpack Posts: 426 Member
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    I think it is a bogus claim. Any caloric deficit forces your body to burn through it's glycogen stores,and there is an associated water loss with that process. But it will level off.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
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    You have to find what works for you. If cutting carbs results in weight loss for you, then there's your answer. Cutting carbs worked for me.
  • KBGirts
    KBGirts Posts: 882 Member
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    I seriously doubt you've lost 13lbs of water weight. Enjoy your fat loss.
  • Katzm2
    Katzm2 Posts: 7 Member
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    I seriously doubt you've lost 13lbs of water weight. Enjoy your fat loss.


    This
  • richardsangel
    richardsangel Posts: 8 Member
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    I am currently following something similar to the Atkins Diet, which is cutting carbs. I have lost almost 8 pounds in one week. I did quite a bit of research and no, you are not just losing water. A low carb diet forces your body to start burning off fat. I decided to throw in some stationary bike exercising too. Check out their website and you should find tons of answers on low carb dieting.
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    No, it's not true. If you cut carbs you'll lose a little faster in the beginning (the water) then you'll keep losing as long as you have a deficit. I'm a "slow carb" eater myself.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!

    lol! You should have said yeah, and all this time I was just holding it.
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!

    lol! You should have said yeah, and all this time I was just holding it.

    Haha! =D

    After laughing at him, I asked him if he seriously thought I lost 75 pounds of WATER?!? He didn't have anything else to say after that =)
  • crimsontech
    crimsontech Posts: 234 Member
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    Your body has a storage of glycogen, and 3 times as much in water. That storage weighs about 3-4 pounds. When you go on a low-carb diet, that storage is depleted and (obviously) the weight goes with it. If (and when) you go back on a diet that includes carbs, you will gain back those 3-4 pounds when the glycogen storage is rebuilt. The rest of your weight loss actually IS fat, and so long as you don't overeat again, that fat will stay gone.

    I personally did a low-carb diet for a few weeks and lost 20-25 pounds in a short time. When I decided to go back on carbs, I gained a little of it back, but only for a few days. Because I kept my calorie deficit going and was exercising, I kept that weight off.

    I'm probably going to go back on low carb because I'm stuck in a 2 month plateau and it worked so well last time. I'm just going to modify the way I did it before because I had a lot of problems with hypoglycemia.

    Great job on losing all that weight, and don't worry - it is SOME water weight, but mostly it's fat, which is exactly what you want!
  • soulynyc
    soulynyc Posts: 302 Member
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    i wonder how far you have to cut down on the carbs to see the fat loss? a friend of mine insist i must cut it down to 20% and not to eat fruits except very few. im at 75 grams of carbs daily (give or take) on 1500 calorie intake
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    i wonder how far you have to cut down on the carbs to see the fat loss? a friend of mine insist i must cut it down to 20% and not to eat fruits except very few. im at 75 grams of carbs daily (give or take) on 1500 calorie intake
    You look to have 50% of calories from protein, which is very high. The excess will lead to production of some glucose from the protein, see for example http://lowcarb4u.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/how-can-eating-excess-protein-raise.html , and hence you aren't as low carb as you think :-)

    75g on 1500 cals is 20% and is around or above the point where you become ketogenic so with the protein effect as well I would say you're well outside the zone. You should see a fat loss at a deficit but won't be getting the full ketogenic benefit.
  • thriftycupl
    thriftycupl Posts: 310 Member
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    I started on a low carb diet, The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. I lost most of my weight very quickly and then hit a 2 month plateau. The problem for me is I love carbs and I know that this is a lifestyle I can't live for the rest of my life. I'm now trying to find some balance.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    Ive done cutting carbs,no carbs after breakfast and basically no carbs (excluding veg, etc), just eating protein, veg, salads, etc. I found it was ok for a while, but now I cant get by without them. I eat oats for breakfast, a pitta, ricecakes or cous cous or something with lunch, and a small amount of brown rice sometimes in the evenings. I havent gained. Im finding doing it balanced is better for me. I try not to eat a lot of breads, etc, as it flares my IBS.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    macro-nutrient ratio has zero effect on fat loss, minus maybe a 90 calorie advantage of eating high protein. However cutting carbs will often make it easier to eat less calories, which is what makes the fat loss take place. But cutting carbs is associated with a very large loss of water weight initially.
  • rjams
    rjams Posts: 48
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    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!

    Lol that is funny!

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