Low carb?

tsamuels215

Hello there !
I have been a vegetarian for 2 years and just recently decided to add white meats such as fish, chicken and turkey to my diet. I am looking to try to reverse the major weight gain I encountered during my last few weeks of school, where I was so swamped for finals that i lived off of muffins, pastries and pastas.

Wanting to know if anyone knows some of the percentage guidelines for adequatley following a low carbohydrate, high protein diet?

The help would be tremendously appreciated!

Taylor!

SHBoss1673

I know them all, but before I give any, I would like to know why you came to the conclusion that you wanted to follow low carbohydrate guidelines. Low carb is a serious decision, not to be made without acquiring a plethora of information, and before you begin it you should know all of the up and down sides of low carb (and yes, there are both serious up sides, and serious down sides to it, I mean besides not being able to eat bread and/or pasta).

tsamuels215

Thanks for the response!
To be honest, there were quite a few reasons that attracted me to this idea of a high protein diet. Firstly, being a vegetarian for the passed years while in college may not have been done as responsibly as it could have been, and there isn't much of a doubt that protein has come few and far between. Secondly, I have always been a carbohydrate hoarder, or binger, for lack of any pretty words. I tend to snack more frequently throughout the day because I have found myself unable to fully satisfy my hunger. I read that proteins actually digest slower than carbohydrates and fats, leaving a person fuller for longer.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/pros-cons-of-high-protein-diets?page=3

I really thank you for having me do some research before I decided. Because of your response I visited a few sites, including the one above that seemed more than educational. Low carbohydrate High Protein diets sounded so fulfilling. But judging by my state of health, perhaps it would be wise to perhaps keep some carbs in me Do you have a suggestion for me percentage wise that would be both effective and not so detrimental to my body in the long run?

SHBoss1673

Thanks for the response!
To be honest, there were quite a few reasons that attracted me to this idea of a high protein diet. Firstly, being a vegetarian for the passed years while in college may not have been done as responsibly as it could have been, and there isn't much of a doubt that protein has come few and far between. Secondly, I have always been a carbohydrate hoarder, or binger, for lack of any pretty words. I tend to snack more frequently throughout the day because I have found myself unable to fully satisfy my hunger. I read that proteins actually digest slower than carbohydrates and fats, leaving a person fuller for longer.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/pros-cons-of-high-protein-diets?page=3

I really thank you for having me do some research before I decided. Because of your response I visited a few sites, including the one above that seemed more than educational. Low carbohydrate High Protein diets sounded so fulfilling. But judging by my state of health, perhaps it would be wise to perhaps keep some carbs in me Do you have a suggestion for me percentage wise that would be both effective and not so detrimental to my body in the long run?

I would agree with your final assessments. It's why I wanted you to do some research first. See, low carb and ketogenic diets are not something people should undertake as a way to either lose weight, or get rid of a bad eating habit. They should be done, IMHO, because of a specific dietary need. By that I mean, people with some kind of an allergy to grains, or someone who isn't all that crazy about bread and/or pasta would probably do quite well with this kind of lifestyle.

there are some proven up sides to low carb, like better cholesterol levels and lower occurance of plaque in the arteries. And yes, you do lose weight immediately if you move from a carbohydrate metabolism to a protein/fat metabolism, but the thing that people don't realize is this is not fat you are losing, it's fluid (glycogen), and that really doesn't help you.

In fact one of the major downsides to a low carb diet is the very significant possibility of dehydration, which is a serious serious problem.

The biggest thing I hope you, and others, would take away from any un-bias study of low carbohydrate research is that it's a change you make for the long term, a lifestyle change, not a way to drop some weight fast. Or in your case, maybe overcompensate for eating too much of a specific food.

Anyway, my recommendation for you would be to block off two or three hours, sit down at a computer, and start writing out a good, balanced nutrition program that takes into account a healthy amount of carbs, complete proteins (something many vegitarians have a big problem getting even though they don't realize it), and healthy fats. Just because you went overboard on the carbs before, doesn't mean you can't eat them now, it just means you have to figure out how to encorporate a healthy amount of quality carbs into your daily life, do this and you will both eliminate your cravings for carbs, and give your body what it needs to be healthy and work for you.
I have found the site www.calorieking.com a first rate resource in finding out nutrition information. And places like epicurious.com and recipe.com invaluable in helping me figure out some low calorie, but still highly nutritious and delicious foods.

hope this helps!

-Banks