How can people stand being on low-carb diets?

Helloitsdan

Whenever I eat less than 200 carbs I feel so weak and I have literally no energy. I always try to have some complex carbs for every meal because without them I'm never satisfied. If I could I would live off toast, oatmeal, and bananas. I was just wondering what everyone's opinion on low-carb diets were because I know a lot of people swear that carbs are the enemy.

It's because your body hasn't adated to it. Low carb diets, are usually modeate protein low carb and high fat.

Carbs arne't the enemy. I rather do low carb, instead of not being on low carb. Low carb meal might be a nice fatty steal with some broccoli covered in cheese.

Do the non low carb version of that, probably some chicken breast, with a potato and a side of broccoli. Where is the flavor?

I don't do low carb right now, i used to, it doesn't improve fat loss.

PU is drunk in this response.

I'll translate.....


"I like carbs! When I dont eat lots of carbs I eat lots of fat and meat!"
Roar!



From my understanding at some point the low/no carbers will want to have their blood tested for pH issues that occur in Keto type diets.
Check ur breath and if its bad then you better come out of your low carb diet for a while.
Unless you have food allergies you shouldnt avoid carbs or cut them excessively.

So it's safe to stay in a keto diet when you have food allergies, but not safe (due to pH issues?) when you don't? Hmmm... Not so logical there, Dan.

Did you know that ketogenic diets were used as treatment for children with epilepsy all through the early part of this century? The kids stayed on ketogenic diets for decades and the only impacts were fewer seizures and healthier lives. Then, pills were invented (that of course made lives easier on the parents - bread is pretty portable), so ketogenic diets went out the window as the treatment of choice. Point (in case you missed it), is that ketogenic diets are safe. And that's for people with and without allergies

From Ori Hoffmekler.
Great info on ketogenic diets and the pitfalls.

Page 107-108 Maximum Muscle, Minimum Fat.

"Low-Darb Ketogenic diets

Ketogenic diets are based on carb deprivation, and the motivating idea is to create a metabolic state in which the body is forced to increase production of ketone bodies because of increased demand for fatty acid oxidation. In early stages of the diet, the lack of dietary carbs and low insulin increases the mobilization of of fatty acids for fuel and increases liver synthesis of ketone bodies in the form of acetoacetate, 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetone. Ketones serve as fuel for peripheral tissue and spares protein breakdown. Promoters of ketogenic diets promise maximum fat loss when ketosis is induced.

What is great in theory, however, does not always work in reality. Ketogenic diets are doomed to fail. People who experience prolonged carb restriction reach a point of stagnation beyond which they cannot lose any more body fat. Moreover, they may suffer metabolic decline and gain back all the weight they initially lost, but this time the weight gain includes a higher body fat percentage. During ketosis, blood pH declines as the bodies acidity rises. Desperate to reduce acidity, the body secretes insulin, thus inhibiting lipolysis and halting ketosis, with its acidic effect.

Chronic carb restrictions may adversely reduce cellular adenosine triphosphate, thus impairing thyroid hormone activation-that is, the conversion of T4 to the active form, T3. Low thyroid activity often causes overall metabolic decline, with impaired muscle fuel utilization, lack of strength, sensitivity to cold, and fat gain. Low-carb ketogenic diets are very popular these days. People who suffer from insulin resistance may benefit from low-carb diets adjusted to their specific needs. Nevertheless, the desire to reach a metabolic state of ketosis related fat loss, such as high fat, no carb ketogenic diets is misleading and ill advised."


You can go keto if you want.
Have a doctors permission and get **** tested frequently.
I wouldnt recommend it if you dont need it though.
The bounce back of fat gain can be pretty bad.
Hop over to BB.com and look through the fat loss forums.
Or do keto for a month on and a month off.
Come up for air so to speek.
There are advocates on this forum for keto who claim huge losses but if you compare their tickers to their join dates....you get my point.
Now if you can produce the same fat loss through moderate carb diets like Zone or even following Tom Vanutos "Burn the fat feed the muscle" you can still enjoy carbs and lose fat.
Since carbs have such a great effect on leptin and what not.
Speaking about fat loss i'm going to eat 9oz of Jamaican Jerk chicken 2 cups of potatoes and a whole loaf of Marathon Bread from Wegmans today.

Mcctin65

If you stick to a low carb diet for more than a couple of days, your body adjusts and you start getting energy primarily from fat, not carbs, and the energy issues go away.

Yeeeeup.

And so do food cravings and needing to eat every few hours.

Most adjustment fatigue is generally sorted with the addition of some salt.

We can either be primarily glucose burners or fat/ketone burners, I like the latter as I have some fat to spare that I'd quite like to be used as fuel.

Perfect! This is why I'm starving every few hours

lynz4589

I try to eat under 100 net carbs a day. At that level I don't crave them. At 200 grams are higher, instead of being full, I want more and more carbs which for me often leads to hypoglycemic episodes.

Don't get me wrong, it was up to me I would eat pasta and bread everyday, oh and cake, but that wouldn't be smart.

Exactly! 100 grams carbs tops for me and for the last month, I believe I've averaged at 50 grams, I have more energy now than before but I agree with another poster, you need to get over the initial shock which sometimes takes 2 weeks.

Im so glad you said this. Ive been reducing carbs increasing protein for the last week and the last 2 days Ive felt so tired to the point I went to bed early lastnight and today have struggled in work. More than the energy problem its more my eyes stinging with tiredness. I really hope it goes because I actually feel really good lately apart from that!

njitalian

I love it and I feel like crap when I do carb up.. The key to low/no carb is to keep the fats high else you will certainly feel fatigued and low carb isn't so great for endurance sports either.

janesmith1

FWIW, and I agree with Dan on this thread, I just got back from Paris, France.

Skinny & gorgeous, every single woman and man in Paris, many of the women are wearing MICRO-MINIS and they can too because they are skinny and gorgeous. Skinny & curvy many skinnier than most Asians with their magic metabolism.

They eat baguettes, every day. In fact possibly more than one. Baguettes are .60 pence there.

They also don't tend to go to the gym either.

The reason they look that great is that they have to walk literally 5 miles or 10 miles a day to get to the train station, to get where they're going. They walk to get groceries, pet food, walk to work many of them. They walk everywhere as well as take their public transportation.

So, it's not the carbs, it's not bread. I would suggest walking to get your groceries, not even riding your bike, walking, everywhere and that will do it. Wear your HRM.

vytamindi

What is great in theory, however, does not always work in reality. Ketogenic diets are doomed to fail.

While he explained the biology behind the diet, I feel less inclined to take him seriously for the tidbit above. ALL DIETS ARE DOOMED TO FAIL if you are not making lifestyle changes.

You can go keto if you want.
Have a doctors permission and get **** tested frequently.

^^^THIS advice is good for any dietary changes. Especially keto. If you have a thyroid/insulin issue, you'll need your doctor's guidance as keto could bring more problems to light or exacerbate underlying problems.

The bounce back of fat gain can be pretty bad.

If you stop doing low carb, even if you're following a calorie deficit, you will gain water weight initially as your glycogen stores are being replenished. They do hold onto water, and you will see a change on the scale. But as your body adapts to your newer changes, it'll even out. This goes the same for any dietary change.

There are advocates on this forum for keto who claim huge losses but if you compare their tickers to their join dates....you get my point.

I, personally, tend not to compare the two. I've been signed up for almost a year, and in that time I dropped the program from March-May. I would never judge someone's progress based on their ticker and comparing it to their date joined. I have lost 40 pounds since May, but I'm using my ticker to show overall fat loss as I lost a few pounds before joining MFP. You never know what others are going through, what struggles they're having personally and professionally, and whether or not they are having issues beyond their control that keep them from logging in.

As far as non-low carb diets, they don't always work for everyone, just as keto doesn't work for everyone else. Bottom line: you have to find something sustainable for you. If it's not low carb, that's okay. No one here is telling you it's the only way.

Did I lose weight just counting calories? Yes, but I was constantly hungry and craving more of the small allowances I gave myself. Keto is teaching me self control and what real hunger is, since I don't have cravings for the things I used to.

If you can control yourself and allow yourself moderate/high carbs AND lose weight, that is awesome! Not everyone is able to do that, though, so show a little tolerance. We're all here to get healthy. Some of us might take a different plan to get there, but as long as you're making healthy changes, why should it matter?

kelseyhere

I used to eat just like you and believe me it was a big change, but I did it and am happier for it. My body looks better and I feel better, not so sleepy and tired. I just eat wayyyyyy more meat now. Red meat used to gross me out, but now I crave it. I'm not really "low carb" though, because I eat 150-170 grams of carbs daily, it's just all veggie based carbs for the most part. I rarely eat bread, pasta, oats, etc.

skydivelife

Whenever I eat less than 200 carbs I feel so weak and I have literally no energy. I always try to have some complex carbs for every meal because without them I'm never satisfied. If I could I would live off toast, oatmeal, and bananas. I was just wondering what everyone's opinion on low-carb diets were because I know a lot of people swear that carbs are the enemy.

Some quick Tips

1. Give yourself 3 to four weeks on any nutrition change so that your body has time to adapt. at the end of that time, if you feel awful or aren't getting the results you want, switch...but not sooner. Many people feel really lethargic or flu like when they switch macronutrients...but AWESOME after a month.

2. Low-Carb SUCKS. Low grains and sugars RULES. don't ever count the carbs you get from vegetables...just have TONS of them all day. Every meal. Low-Carb Atkins style is an awful idea for long-term health...you shouldn't cut out all carbs...ALL...I repeat..ALL (100%) of my clients have seen incredible success cutting out grains, sugars and sugar substitutes and loading on vegetables (And fruits if they are athletes)

3. Everybody's body is different....there is no right or wrong across the board...it's dependant on you. 4 week cycles, then switch.

4. High FAt is not always the answer. I feel AWFUL ON A HIGH FAT DIET...just awful. on the other hand, some of my friends feel great

5. Play with these ratios as a starting point, then adjust from here. (Carb, Fat, Protein) (weight loss/Obese/sugar issues 15, 50, 35) (heavy weight lifting/Athlete/nautrally thin body 40, 30, 30)


EDIT: Sometimes the need for carbs is mental...we feel rejeuvenated mentally when we eat simple carbs because of the rush it gives our brains. seratonin makes us feel great...If you feel awful without carbs and are stressed....be aware that you may just be self-medicating and that you actually need to rebalance your life.


Hope that helps

@TrainerNate
wellfitlife.me

nerys72

I loved doing low carb. I got to eat things I like (eggs fish chicken veggies etc..)

and it does work. but the plataeus really suck and last a long time and its an EXPENSIVE way to eat (which is why I had to stop it)

now if your physically active YOU MAY have energy problems. I had no energy problems in my day to day activities but when I became more active things got weird.

I was at Naram and felt freakishly weird really low stamina thought their was something wrong with me and when a fellow flyer eating with me said that's why after seeing what I was eating.

I "carbed up" the rest of the week at that event and felt great.

so it depends on your body metabolism and level of activity.

low carb is only unhealthy if you EAT unhealthy. if you live on steak and bacon yeah its going to fubar you but if you life on fish chicken and TONS of veggies you should be fine.

annieviolent

I stopped eating grains for health issues and an added benefit is losing 40 pounds in three months. Still drink soda, still eat ice cream or chocolate for dessert everyday and the weight is just melting off still. And I feel 1000 times better. But it's not for everyone.

njitalian

low carb is only unhealthy if you EAT unhealthy. if you live on steak and bacon yeah its going to fubar you but if you life on fish chicken and TONS of veggies you should be fine.

That's not entirely true. I follow the anabolic diet which can be found on stronglifts.com and consists mainly of red meats and high fats and my overall Chol dropped by 14 points and raised my HDL by 10.

hazelovesfood

FWIW, and I agree with Dan on this thread, I just got back from Paris, France.

Skinny & gorgeous, every single woman and man in Paris, many of the women are wearing MICRO-MINIS and they can too because they are skinny and gorgeous. Skinny & curvy many skinnier than most Asians with their magic metabolism.

They eat baguettes, every day. In fact possibly more than one. Baguettes are .60 pence there.

They also don't tend to go to the gym either.

The reason they look that great is that they have to walk literally 5 miles or 10 miles a day to get to the train station, to get where they're going. They walk to get groceries, pet food, walk to work many of them. They walk everywhere as well as take their public transportation.

So, it's not the carbs, it's not bread. I would suggest walking to get your groceries, not even riding your bike, walking, everywhere and that will do it. Wear your HRM.

The walking yes , that will keep off weight but the bread, well they dont eat whole baquettes to themselves lol, can you imagine the cals in that,alot. Bread is one of the worst carbs to have and most people I know who eat too much bread are very overweight. Europeans like the french eat small meals not huge ones, thats there way, thats how they stay slim

mermer45

There is now very good evidence thar high protein diets are potentially damaging for long term health.

It has been shown that high protein, particular from milk, is linked to certain cancers and neurological diseases.

The Recommended Daily amount is 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight.

TyFit08

FWIW, and I agree with Dan on this thread, I just got back from Paris, France.

Skinny & gorgeous, every single woman and man in Paris, many of the women are wearing MICRO-MINIS and they can too because they are skinny and gorgeous. Skinny & curvy many skinnier than most Asians with their magic metabolism.

They eat baguettes, every day. In fact possibly more than one. Baguettes are .60 pence there.

They also don't tend to go to the gym either.

The reason they look that great is that they have to walk literally 5 miles or 10 miles a day to get to the train station, to get where they're going. They walk to get groceries, pet food, walk to work many of them. They walk everywhere as well as take their public transportation.

So, it's not the carbs, it's not bread. I would suggest walking to get your groceries, not even riding your bike, walking, everywhere and that will do it. Wear your HRM.

If that was true New Yorkers would be rail thin but we are not and we walk a lot and have a larger public transportation system then Paris. We may not have baquettes on every corner, but a cheap slice of pizza or bagel are and all the walking in the world isn't going to be enough for some people to keep off the lbs without a balanced diet

drmerc

There is now very good evidence thar high protein diets are potentially damaging for long term health.

It has been shown that high protein, particular from milk, is linked to certain cancers and neurological diseases.

The Recommended Daily amount is 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight.

glad you provided that evidence so we don't have to just take your word for it

lizziebeth1028

I LOVE my carbs! I could never thrive on a low-carb diet and I certainly couldn't make it a sustainable way of life!!!

sin485

i wouldnt last long on a low carb diet.

jynxxxed

I doubt I could last long on a low carb diet either. I eat around 140-165g a day (on non-workout days) and could EASILY eat more than that if I had calories leftover. I enjoy carb-filled foods and I really struggle to work out or accomplish many things without eating any beforehand. I feel dead otherwise.

Topher1978

Carbs aren't the enemy, but it gets really easy after a while. I once lost 93lbs in 6 months doing heavy lifting, limited cardio and very low carb/low fat diet. I will never eat tht way again, though. It can't be healthy.

Loulady

WeekndOVOXO

I know that feel.

Currently eating no grains, flours, sugars or fruit for a week and on my 4th day I didn't have the energy to do anything, and felt really light headed. Just gutted it out.

After this weak I get my grains back. I need my steelcut oatmeal,my protein pancakes, and my shrimp chipotle quesadillas!!

I don't know how people doing paleo do it.

altacosturabeth

I tried low carb once, didn't go too well! Possibly because I'm a vegetarian and....well I quite like carbs! I tried 30g, 50g, 80g, 130g and now I leave myself up to around 170-200g.

I'd read so much about low carb diets and presumed it was the 'correct' way to eat but I struggled to hit over 800 calories a day and then I was eating foods I really didn't want to eat. I was a little scared that if I started eating.....normally.... again, I'd start gaining weight.

I eventually got over my fear of carbs and I can say that I feel much better! My stomach looks a little nicer as well

I can barely even look at eggs these days...

tuffytuffy1

I did a very low carb/high protein diet years and years ago and lost 20 pounds quickly. As soon as I added carbs back in, I gained all the weight back plus some. The second time I did the diet, I only lost about 12 pounds. Gained it all back plus some. The third time I did the diet, I lost 7 pounds. Gained it all back plus some. It just isn't sustainable for me, but that is just me.

klacount77

I honestly HATE low-carb diets. I am a carb addict. I love pasta, bread, rice, sweets, grains ... all the good stuff. But, I have done low carb before and am doing low carb now. It is not a sustainable diet for me, but it does help me lose weight. The first low carb diet I went on was last May, when I first joined MFP. I stayed on it for 3 months with as "cheat day" every other week. I lost over 20 pounds! I kept it off too. I am doing low carb again, this time probably only for a month, and have already lost 3.5 pounds.

I find that a low carb diet, just like a juicing diet for a short period of time can help jump start my metabolism. However, it doesn't work for everyone. My sister tried a juicing diet and ended up sick from lack of proteins. She tried low carb and felt depressed and lethargic. My sister can cut soda out of her diet and drop 10 to 15 pounds in two weeks! I cut soda and usually gain weight.

I think that everyone needs to find the diets that work for them. More importantly, just use them sparingly. No one wants to live on a diet for the rest of their lives. Changing habits and exercising more often is the key to long term weight loss. Diets are never the enemy or the solution. They just help people reach their goals or jump start a new life style.

morningmud

I tried a low-carb diet once and my feet and legs swelled up so much that it hurt to walk!

livaneah

Your body will crave carbs like it craves caffeine or nicotine when you try to quit or cut back... A super-low carb diet is not *usually* a permanent solution, as you would only maintain energy while your body has fat to burn in Ketosis. Protein is a great source of energy too!

My first week on Ideal Protein I had headaches, fatigue, you name it! But as soon as my carb reserves were burned up and my body began burning fat I felt like me again.

mermer45

There is now very good evidence thar high protein diets are potentially damaging for long term health.

It has been shown that high protein, particular from milk, is linked to certain cancers and neurological diseases.

The Recommended Daily amount is 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight.

glad you provided that evidence so we don't have to just take your word for it

This is part of another article which I wrote, which contains references to the evidence you seek.

If a goal, as part of doing IF, is to reduce your IGF-1 levels then current evidence suggests that a good strategy is not to exceed the recommended daily allowance of 0.8 grams of protein per kilo of body weight and/or limit the consumption of dairy foods, in particular milk.

Why reduce IGF-1 at all?

IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor) is a hormone which is very similar to insulin. Studies have shown that higher levels of IGF-1 stimulate growth of cancer cells.

In addition it is now widely postulated that signalling through the insulin/IGF-1-like receptor pathway is a significant contributor to the biological ageing process in many organisms.

Conversely, studies of humans with IGF-1 deficiency have shown exceptionally low levels of cancer and diabetes.

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3357623/)

However, it should be also be noted that IGF-1 is vitally important for growth and there is evidence to suggest that low IGF-1 levels have higher risks associated with osteoporosis and heart conditions.

Therefore, it may be advisable to only actively pursue a strategy to lower IGF-1 if it is on the high side and/or you are older ( as cancer is generally an age related disease ).

You may remember that Mike Moseley, in the Horizon programme, was particularly concerned about IGF-1 because he had a higher than normal count, he's in his 50s and his father had suffered from Prostate cancer.

For those that are interested here's some of my notes/findings/observations on the relationship between IGF-1, protein, calorie restriction and IF:-

Long term CR (Calorie Restriction) is shown to decrease IGF-1 concentration by approximately 40% in rodents, and this reduction in IGF-1 levels is assumed to be a major reason why these animal live significantly longer than the control groups that are not on CR.

However, long term CR does NOT seem to impact levels of IGF-1 in healthy humans when protein intake is high according to some research:-

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673798/.

This research suggests that protein intake is a more powerful modifier than calorie intake in modulating circulating IGF-1 concentration in humans. The research also shows that when humans who practice CR drop their protein intake to around 0.8 grams per Kilogram of body weight ( the Recommended Daily Allowance ) their IGF-1 levels fall significantly.

Other research suggests that the type of protein, is more important than the quantity.

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/11/9/852.full

This research (on around 1000 women in the NHS) found the strongest correlation of higher IGF-1 was with milk consumption and there was little correlation with other animal proteins.

"In particular, we found that total energy and protein intake were positively associated with plasma IGF-I levels. The association with protein intake was largely attributable to higher IGF-I levels among women who consumed higher amounts of milk"

There is evidence that fasting acutely lowers IGF-1 in humans. However, the results of intermittent Fasting and its impact on IGF-1 in humans seems to be mixed. Some studies show a decrease and others an increase in IGF-1 levels and gender may also play a role. Therefore, one may assume when it comes to IF that variables such as protein intake may be more important in controlling IGF-1 levels than IF alone.

As an aside, this information may partly explain why a recent long term study of Rhesus Monkeys did not improve the longevity of a group of monkeys on CR versus a control group of monkeys on a healthy non-restricted diet

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11432.html

There is speculation that this may be because the monkeys were on a relatively high-protein diet and therefore did not have low levels of IGF-1.

What does still seem clear is that CR on both humans and mice have shown health benefits regardless of lower IGF-1…such as significant improvement in insulin sensitivity, significant reductions in serum leptin (a circulating hormone that reflects the amount of energy stored in fat tissue), C-reactive protein (a marker of systemic inflammation), insulin and triiodothyronine levels ( though it is also worth pointing out that some of these health benefits vary or are partly dependant on gender).

bcattoes

So I guess the question for all the carb lovers is this - if you knew eatIng a carb heavy diet meant you'd have to eat a lot less calories to lose weight than if you ate low carb, would you change. If not, I respect that you'd take a harder road in exchange for continuing to eat a certain class of foods. But if you would eat low carb if it allowed you to eat more calories and still lose weIght, you owe it to yourself to do a little research and give it a try.

I'm a carb lover. And a fat lover. And a protein lover. I'm a food lover. I find that I can eat more than enough food to keep me satisfied without worrying about how many grams of each macronutrient I've had each day and still maintain a healthy weight and firm body, as well as getting healthy checkups, as long as I exercise regularly.

So I just try to eat a good variety of healthy foods that I like and to avoid eating too much of foods that have been linked to increased risk of disease. I really feel that if the majority of people not born diseased did this they'd be healthy.

morint1

I also need carbs. Like you i feel i have no energy, especially when exercising without them.

bcattoes

Insulin is the hormone that regulates storage of excess calories into fat, and it also prevents your fat stores from being used for energy. Insulin is elevated when you eat carbs. So, in order to access your fat deposits, you need to have a low level of insulin in your system. If you eat a so called conventional, balanced diet, fat burning will likely occur only at night (when your insulin levels drop sufficiently). If you go low carb, your body can use fat for energy all day long because your insulin will never spike very high. That's why low carb works so well. And it works especially well for people with so called "insulin sensitivity".

I'm not sure what you mean by "so called conventional balanced diet" But a diet containing a moderate amount of fiber rich carbs along with regular exercise will do the same thing.