Why Do YOU Eat Low Carb?

Marll

I tried losing weight for the longest, exercised like a mad man and even ran 2 half marathons and my weight stalled eventhough I was in a caloric deficit (I know, he's a liar right?).

I switched to low carb and the plateau finally ended and my caloric deficit is the same as before. Can I argue about studies and the value of a calorie? All I can say is that its working for me and that's all that matters.

Now by 'low carb' I mean I get about 25% of my calories from carbs (<150 grams/day) and I keep it at whole fruits and veggies, no sodas, juice, cereal, white potatoes, etc.

And I accomplished this without a personal hatred of Gary Taubes or Dr. Lutsig LOL!

OMG, you are such a liar! There is NO WAY that you lost weight with the same caloric deficit where you were stuck before!

^ actually it is very possible

i used to eat 1200 calories of high carb and gain whereas i can eat 1400-1500 cals low carb and loose.
its a total paradox but that my expereience

I know it's totally possible, I was just being facetious LOL :laugh:

The first time I ate low carb on Atkins, I routinely took in well over 2000 cal a day, sometimes 3-4k NO exercise and lost 105lbs in a year and kept it off until I started eating sugar and grains again like an idiot.

lolabluola

I try to eat low carb, because frankly carbs make my belly stick out...lol. The less I eat of them the flatter my stomach looks.

Me too!!! My stomach looks way better when I watch my carbs!

vytamindi

Stats: 5% of my calories come from carbs (ketosis). I've lost 30 lbs. since May 29. Diabetes runs in my family. I was 258 (245 when starting ketosis). Went from 258-245 using default MFP settings, but it was slow going since I kept sabotaging myself with ice cream and bread.

I can't eat carbs in moderation. Pasta, bread, etc. are very hard to turn down, in my experience. I know it sounds backwards, but the restriction of only getting carbs from my 1 tablespoon of Splenda in my coffee and veggies had had a detox effect on me. I no longer crave the stuff. I don't deny myself my mom's cheesecake on a VERY special occasion (like my nephew's birthday), but I make sure it doesn't push me over my macros. I log it, then log everything else around it. Same thing for my love of craft beer.

Except I feel I am finally listening to what my body is screaming at me. My digestive system is working great, my hunger only comes when I'm actually hungry and not just bored, and I feel *so* much better. It works for me. One of the coolest things is my bite rule. My SO can eat whatever he wants, and if something smells very good, or was something I used to enjoy, I take a bite. 99% of the time, I'm shocked that I've lost my taste for it. If it's still irresistible, I try to make a keto version.

It's not just bacon and eggs for me (unless it's right before payday). I don't mess with low-carb frankenfoods (like Atkins bars) because I'm trying to cut out heavily processed food. I drink my water. I try to be more active. That's why I'm doing low carb.

mmapags

I tried losing weight for the longest, exercised like a mad man and even ran 2 half marathons and my weight stalled eventhough I was in a caloric deficit (I know, he's a liar right?).

I switched to low carb and the plateau finally ended and my caloric deficit is the same as before. Can I argue about studies and the value of a calorie? All I can say is that its working for me and that's all that matters.

Now by 'low carb' I mean I get about 25% of my calories from carbs (<150 grams/day) and I keep it at whole fruits and veggies, no sodas, juice, cereal, white potatoes, etc.

And I accomplished this without a personal hatred of Gary Taubes or Dr. Lutsig LOL!

OMG, you are such a liar! There is NO WAY that you lost weight with the same caloric deficit where you were stuck before!

^ actually it is very possible

i used to eat 1200 calories of high carb and gain whereas i can eat 1400-1500 cals low carb and loose.
its a total paradox but that my expereience

I know it's totally possible, I was just being facetious LOL :laugh:

The first time I ate low carb on Atkins, I routinely took in well over 2000 cal a day, sometimes 3-4k NO exercise and lost 105lbs in a year and kept it off until I started eating sugar and grains again like an idiot.

This phenomena does seem to occur with some people, although not all. Many people have to also keep track of calories also or they gain.

Marll

Stats: 5% of my calories come from carbs (ketosis). I've lost 30 lbs. since May 29. Diabetes runs in my family. I was 258 (245 when starting ketosis). Went from 258-245 using default MFP settings, but it was slow going since I kept sabotaging myself with ice cream and bread.

I can't eat carbs in moderation. Pasta, bread, etc. are very hard to turn down, in my experience. I know it sounds backwards, but the restriction of only getting carbs from my 1 tablespoon of Splenda in my coffee and veggies had had a detox effect on me. I no longer crave the stuff. I don't deny myself my mom's cheesecake on a VERY special occasion (like my nephew's birthday), but I make sure it doesn't push me over my macros. I log it, then log everything else around it. Same thing for my love of craft beer.

Except I feel I am finally listening to what my body is screaming at me. My digestive system is working great, my hunger only comes when I'm actually hungry and not just bored, and I feel *so* much better. It works for me. One of the coolest things is my bite rule. My SO can eat whatever he wants, and if something smells very good, or was something I used to enjoy, I take a bite. 99% of the time, I'm shocked that I've lost my taste for it. If it's still irresistible, I try to make a keto version.

It's not just bacon and eggs for me (unless it's right before payday). I don't mess with low-carb frankenfoods (like Atkins bars) because I'm trying to cut out heavily processed food. I drink my water. I try to be more active. That's why I'm doing low carb.

Pretty much this^^

I could never turn down 2nds or 3rds of pasta, bread, etc. but now I've lost a taste for them. Pasta tastes like nasty globs of dough to me and is just annoying filler for the good stuff, and bread is so below my radar that I just don't even care anymore. If for some odd reason I feel like bread, I'll make a loaf out of almond flour or something similar.

I eat WAY more vegtables than I do otherwise and have discovered varieties that are rarely or never ate that have become staples.

I find that I am much more creative in the kitchen and have invented quite a few substitutes that are nearly impossible to tell the difference from regular such as waffles, pancakes, muffins and other normally wheat based treats.

mmapags

Stats: 5% of my calories come from carbs (ketosis). I've lost 30 lbs. since May 29. Diabetes runs in my family. I was 258 (245 when starting ketosis). Went from 258-245 using default MFP settings, but it was slow going since I kept sabotaging myself with ice cream and bread.

I can't eat carbs in moderation. Pasta, bread, etc. are very hard to turn down, in my experience. I know it sounds backwards, but the restriction of only getting carbs from my 1 tablespoon of Splenda in my coffee and veggies had had a detox effect on me. I no longer crave the stuff. I don't deny myself my mom's cheesecake on a VERY special occasion (like my nephew's birthday), but I make sure it doesn't push me over my macros. I log it, then log everything else around it. Same thing for my love of craft beer.

Except I feel I am finally listening to what my body is screaming at me. My digestive system is working great, my hunger only comes when I'm actually hungry and not just bored, and I feel *so* much better. It works for me. One of the coolest things is my bite rule. My SO can eat whatever he wants, and if something smells very good, or was something I used to enjoy, I take a bite. 99% of the time, I'm shocked that I've lost my taste for it. If it's still irresistible, I try to make a keto version.

It's not just bacon and eggs for me (unless it's right before payday). I don't mess with low-carb frankenfoods (like Atkins bars) because I'm trying to cut out heavily processed food. I drink my water. I try to be more active. That's why I'm doing low carb.

Pretty much this^^

I could never turn down 2nds or 3rds of pasta, bread, etc. but now I've lost a taste for them. Pasta tastes like nasty globs of dough to me and is just annoying filler for the good stuff, and bread is so below my radar that I just don't even care anymore. If for some odd reason I feel like bread, I'll make a loaf out of almond flour or something similar.

I eat WAY more vegtables than I do otherwise and have discovered varieties that are rarely or never ate that have become staples.

I find that I am much more creative in the kitchen and have invented quite a few substitutes that are nearly impossible to tell the difference from regular such as waffles, pancakes, muffins and other normally wheat based treats.

I can completely relate to the cravings thing and struggled with that myself. After of time of about 3 months of keeping my carbs around 50 to 80 grams, my cravings disappeared. Now I keep them between 150 and 200 depending on exercise activity. To the lower end on non active days and higher on active days. I have no issues anymore with cravings and get enough carbs to fuel intense workouts and recovery. Just my story and what worked for me. YMMV

vytamindi

Oh yea. I'm not swearing off pasta or bread for good. Eventually I'll hit maintenance and I'll most likely SLOWLY raise my carb levels to around 100g.

The difference between my old diet and the one I'm now adapting? I'm looking forward to those 100g carbs to be from fruit and veggies than pasta and breads. I can't wait to eat (in moderation) apples and bananas!

ETA: Oh, and craft beer!