Call me convinced: I'm going low carb

AlabasterVerve

The first time I ever heard about a low carb diet was about 20 years ago when I was at the WaWa with friend getting breakfast before class. I grabbed my coffee loaded with sugar and flavored creamer along with a banana and she grabbed two sausage and cheese biscuits and started pulling them apart to throw away the bread in the car--I thought she lost her mind when she told me about the Atkins diet. I even remember telling my mom about it later and laughing at the crazy stuff people will do to lose weight. And ever since I've heard anyone mention a low carb diet I remember that and dismiss it as a fad diet (my friend didn't stay with the diet for long which reinforced that impression). So I stuck to eating "right" and exercising and counting calories to lose weight. After all it works. I know it works, I've been doing it for twenty years.

But in the last 4 years my weight has spiraled out of control which isn't surprising considering the massive amount of soda and food I was eating, probably 3 to 5 thousand calories a day. So in January my husband and I made up our minds to do something about it and change the way we were living. We've eliminated all of the soda and junk food, are keeping the processed foods to a minimum and are eating a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, brown rice and whole wheat bread and counting our calories of course. And we're happy with our progress so far, I've lost 42 pounds and my husband has lost over 60.

So why change if it's working? Well, after all of the "Is fruit bad?" type of threads I decided that I'd like a little more information on it considering I eat a ton of fruit everyday. And after getting information on diet and nutrition from the "official" sources I inevitably came across the fringe groups like the paleo, Atkins and diabetic communities who are following a low or lower carb diet which got me thinking there was more to this than I thought. Which lead to reading Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes which goes into great detail explaining just how we got to the point where everyone knows fat (especially saturated fat) is bad and whole grains are good. It is absolutely shocking and infuriating that these guidelines and recommendations aren't backed by solid science.

If you're at all concerned about obesity, diabetes and heart disease here are some videos I think are well worth the time to watch:

Authors@Google: Gary Taubes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4

How Bad Science and Big Business Created the Obesity Epidemic David Diamond, Ph.D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vr-c8GeT34

Enjoy Eating Saturated Fats: They're Good for You Donald W. Miller, Jr., M.D.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRe9z32NZHY&feature=related

Sugar: The Bitter Truth Dr. Robert Lustig
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Sugar 101 - How harmful is sugar? Petter Attia, M.D.
(Blog post in response to the Lustig video)
http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/sugar-101-how-harmful-is-sugar-part-i

TED Talk: Dr. Terry Wahls - Minding Your Mitochondria
(Interesting to note what she doesn't eat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc

We've cut down a ton on the carbs already compared to what we were eating just because you have to when you're counting calories but I'm absolutely going to do my best to eliminate the sugar, pasta, rice and grains...including the whole wheat bread we're eating which has a glycemic index higher than table sugar! (http://www.glycemicindex.com/) And the fruit which started this all? I'll be limiting that by the number of carbs in my diet instead of by calories which means I'll be eating a lot less fruit and replacing it with more vegetables.

I'm not convinced a ketogentic diet (which is carbs under 50 I think?) is worth the effort or offers any health benefits beyond what you'd get by eliminating the sugar, starches and grains though so for right now I'm just aiming to keep my carbs under a 100 and see how that goes (I changed my macros to 30% Carbs, 25% Protein and 45% Fat). This has to be something I can live with for the rest of my life after all--that hasn't changed--and those numbers seem reasonable for right now.

So where do you stand on the whole carb thing?

RayRay1500

I love it. I also did counting calories and did not feel well. I was getting dizzy. I did lose weight,, but you could not really tell. When I started low carb, I had researched it a long time ago and more recently, I felt great. I even look better in my clothes because I am losing inches. I have read all of the studies on the doctors who did low carb on their hypertensive and diabetic patients and how all of their numbers went down along with their weight!!

AlabasterVerve

I have read all of the studies on the doctors who did low carb on their hypertensive and diabetic patients and how all of their numbers went down along with their weight!!

Yeah, one of the things in particular that convinced me after considering it a fad diet all of these years are the people using a low carb diet to not only treat but reverse their type II diabetes. If all of these diseases are linked together--which ALL doctors are telling us they are now--and a low carb diet can reverse one? That's awfully persuasive.

DebbieMc3

Until very recently, I was against the LC thing.
Well, 6 weeks ago, I decided to see for myself what it was all about. I have an autoimmune disease that is carb sensitive.
In the last 6 weeks, I've lost 15 lbs and feel better then I have in a very long time. My inflamation is way down too.
I don't think it's for everyone but for me, so far, so good.
Debbie

cckellympls

Personally i have changed my eatiing to higher protein and lower carbs. I am not counting carbs at all. Just trying to eat foods that are higher in protein and contain a 10 to 1 ratio with calories. Than the carbs just fall in line and i don't have to worry abt them. I try to eat very little processed anything. Mostly lean protein, greek yogert and good cheese and lots of veggies and fruit. i don't eat bananas though. My guide for fruit is this: I will eat it if it is colorful, crunchy and juicy. And, i try to eat more green veggies than fruit anyway. I don't really eat any bread, pasta and if i eat rice it is very little an brown or wild rice. I will eat a flat out type of bread if it is high in protein and low in cal and high in fiber. Fast food and candy are not even on my mind and never in my mouth. If i eat out i usually have a salad with lots of veggies and a chicken breast. i have lost almost 50 pounds since Jan 18 this year. Works for me!!!

ericablu

I love low carb - it's the best thing I've ever done. I feel fantastic, I'm not hungry, I don't crave carbs, and I'm losing weight. (And I aim for less than 20g of carbs a day!)

llstacy

I want to go low carb too but I don't know how to start. Which diet are you going to do?

BR3ANDA

I'm on a 30/40/30, Some days my carbs go over, some days they dont, and unless its a cheat meal, then I only eat good carbs, whole grains, veggies, etc. I tried a really low carb once, 26g a day, didnt work out for me, but my sister lives by it! Try different macros every month or so, see what works best for YOU.

serdesto

I've been on a faithful (I say faithful because i tried for two weeks prior to that and didn't do so well) keto diet for two weeks now. I've lost some weight (about 9 llbs) but I'm not sure how much of it is water weight.

It was tough at first but now I think (and hope) its more of a lifestyle. I've learned how to make a whole bunch of meals low carb. I learned how to deal with my cravings and how to satisfy them in a healthy way. During these last two weeks I was able to successfully go out to eat with friends and make smart choices. I feel great! I try to keep my macros at 10% carbs (Aiming to get no more than 20g of carbs) 60% fat and 30% protein. I also try to have abt 2 cups of veggies every meal (for fiber) but I don't count them in mfp. Still losing weight

Tomorrow is my carb day and I'm not counting the hours. I'm not all excited to get my oatmeal, sweet potato, etc tomorrow. Bacon sounds better haha!

The only thing I still haven't figured out is how to get my chocolate low carb... I love chocolate haha.

epcooper

I strongly recommend looking into the South Beach Diet. It's based on sound scientific studies, and although it doesn't cut carbs completely out, it does work to break the carb addiction (physical and psychological) that many of us suffer from.

nibbynoo

i've been so tempted to do this as i keep halting after losing about a stone then abandoning for a year and trying again!
i've set my goals to 30/40/30 and will aim to lower even more in the future

paulwgun

I strongly recommend looking into the South Beach Diet.

This ^^ But also check out the Dukan Diet

I lost 16lb in 10 days on the attack phase of the Dukan Diet and have kept it off plus lost more but due to the extreme low carb did not have the energy to run or work out so ive modified it somewhat to suit me

Im now on a lower carb diet, replace the whites with wholegrain but do occasionally eat white pasta/rice
i suppose i look at it as healthier eating rather than a diet, with the occasional cheat which i put in the extra calorie burn to compensate

Cheshire_Kat

bump, i reammy want to finish reading this when i am not at work.

Sneakypeek1972

Ive been thinking about lowering my carbs aswell due to finding out that its one of the causes of feeling tired alot of the time, didnt know eating alot fruit was considered bad though lol

fteale

I have started thinking about this. I know I can't do proper Atkins style low carb as a) I run a lot and b) I am vegetarian, but I do need to find a way of eating which doesn't leave me permanently hungry.

PercivalHackworth

This ^^ But also check out the Dukan Diet

One of the worth diet ever imo

I strongly recommend looking into the South Beach Diet. It's based on sound scientific studies, and although it doesn't cut carbs completely out, it does work to break the carb addiction (physical and psychological) that many of us suffer from.

You can't really remove carbs from your diet ad vitam eternam

Ive been thinking about lowering my carbs aswell due to finding out that its one of the causes of feeling tired alot of the time, didnt know eating alot fruit was considered bad though lol

That feeling is only related to the regulation of the glucose within the bloodstream. It is proportional to the amount of circulating levels. By chosing food with low glycemic index, you would avoid that feeling of hypoglycemia.
Fruits are bad ? Really ?

athensguy

The way I see it, low CHO diets only make sense if you are very sedentary or have certain medical problems.

toriaenator

Im sick of all this bashing of macronutrients. Low fat, low carb... Human bodies were created to utilize all three macronutrients so I don't see the point in trying to limit one so much... I Personally take pleasure in my occasional fatty bowl of pasta and it hasn't killed me >< and as for saying fruit is bad, that's just rediculous considering the nutrients and fiber they pack in.

PercivalHackworth

luzmidd

Im on Dukan diet so low carb all the way. Craved carbs for about 3 days when I started out, now not at all! Not feeling as tired as I used to when eating carbs, so I'm convinced low or no carb is the way to go.

Matt_Wild

Lo carbing works but I prefer dieting on moderate carbs and only dropping them at the end of a diet myself and the guys I prep.