Anyone else have issues with low carb diets?

bigfatbino

I don't have as much beef with low carb in general. I think that sugar is the real culprit. I do limit my carbohydrate intake to whole grains in smaller doses and those found in veggies. But. Short term, if you need to lose 50+ lbs (to just throw a number out there), then there is no question that these plans do work. I have on following Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution for over a year now, and have been very successful. I just make sure I drink plenty of fluids (which we should all do anyway, right?) and get good exercise and sleep. I just FEEL better when I get most of my nutrition from veggies and lean proteins and very limited carbs.

PitBullMom_Liz

I just don't understand the fascination some people have with criticizing somebody else's diet. I'm eating Primally (put simply, paleo plus dairy) and I've never felt healthier. Yes, I'm losing weight, a touch over a pound a week. But you know what the best part is for me? My blood sugar no longer plummets within a couple hours after a meal. I don't get shaky/sweaty/dizzy if I don't eat every couple hours. I don't have to keep an emergency stash of granola/jerky/something to stop me from crashing with me at all times. I eat 3 meals a day, sometimes 2. It works for me. If you don't like it, or you disagree with it, DON'T DO IT. Nobody is holding a gun to your head and saying, "eat less processed foods! Eat lots of veggies! Eat some meat if you want it!" Because that's my diet - minimal processed foods, tons of veggies, meat once or twice a day. Yep, pretty horrific.

But seriously, why start a thread to debate it? I don't go around posting random threads to talk smack about non-Primal/Paleo diets, so why the fascination with knocking these. So simple - don't like? DON'T. DO. IT.

HypersonicFitNess

The only low carb I do is low processed foods and that goes for all processed foods not just carbs. I prefer my carbs whole the way they come from the earth (fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts & seeds...I am not vegetarian though - I do eat meat just not every day)....and I do stick with low glycemic "most" of the time b/c I do have problems with sugars....

californiagirl2012

That's why I like this saying: "Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent."

These were the diets I tried and failed and did the diet yo-yo with for 15 years:

Low fat high carb, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Organic, Weston Price Diet, The Schwarzbein Principle, Eat Fat Lose Fat, The Ultimate PH Solution, The Makers Diet, A friends diet from a personal trainer/dietician

I finally just got sick of it all and made up my own diet with healthy foods I enjoy and smaller portions.

I ate my meals from small desert plates and bowls. I stopped eating in the evenings. I started calling what I did mini-meals and mini-fasts and I lost 40 lbs. Then I found Eat Stop Eat and learned why it worked and everything took off for me at that point.
Eat what you want, eat what you like, mostly healthy.

So this is what I learned for myself. I'm not saying others have to follow it but I find such freedom now from diet food restrictions after spending all those years on the various diets. And what is interesting is that by giving up the food restrictions I finally lost weight: Don’t deprive yourself of foods you love unless there is a serious health risk. Depriving yourself of food you love and creating extensive good food and bad food lists at some point borders on a mental disorder. It will drive you insane.

TheVimFuego

The only issue I have with lowering carbohydrate (I see it as 'adequate carb', not 'low carb') is the rubbish that is parroted ad infinitum about the dangers.

RatherBeFishing

I personally love the low carb diets. I know what they do for me and my body type. I also get blood tests on and off of a low carb diet and my test results have always been better when I am on a low carb diet. They don't work for everyone, people say they always gain it back when they go off the diet. It's not the diets fault. It the persons fault, they don't understand how the diet works nor they they change how they eat (this is my issue I really love pizza) and keep doing the increased exercise. For me I know the first two weeks loss on a low carb diet is mostly water weight. I drop 10-14 lbs in the first few weeks just from water. I have also gained 20 lbs in one weekend for carb loading and drinking lots of water after doing a CKD (a type of low carb diet) for a week. This was all water weight I knew that when I started my carb load. I might have gotten a little off topic there. The fact is simple some diets work better for some people then others. I know because I have helped others drop weight. I helped my mom drop 70 lbs, one of my friends over 50 lbs. I have also helped people I work with drop weight by not using a low carb diet but a diet that works for them. I think the thing to learn is not every one is the same different diets work for different people. That is the fact.

Here is a good read from one of my favorite authors. It's on insulin and fat uptake.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/insulin-levels-and-fat-loss-qa.html

beckajw

Of course, she talked about the effect of ketosis on the kidneys, not fuel sources for the brain. Besides, the fact that the brain can use ketones doesn't change the fact that glucose is the brain's preferred source.

Not exactly. If glucose is available, the brain will use it. As far as "preferred", however, the brain has been shown to run better on ketones. The brain only truly requires about 30g to 40g glucose, which can be synthesized by the body, but it will use around 120g to 130g if available.

Right, if there is glucose available the brain will use it. Hence it is preferred. Whether the brain runs better on ketones or glucose is open to debate.

castlerobber

Of course, she talked about the effect of ketosis on the kidneys, not fuel sources for the brain. Besides, the fact that the brain can use ketones doesn't change the fact that glucose is the brain's preferred source.

Not exactly. If glucose is available, the brain will use it. As far as "preferred", however, the brain has been shown to run better on ketones. The brain only truly requires about 30g to 40g glucose, which can be synthesized by the body, but it will use around 120g to 130g if available.

Right, if there is glucose available the brain will use it. Hence it is preferred. Whether the brain runs better on ketones or glucose is open to debate.

We seem to be using the word "preferred" two different ways.

Let's say my 1999 Dodge car accelerates faster and gets higher gas mileage on fuel without ethanol added, since it wasn't designed to burn an ethanol-containing fuel. Unfortunately, there isn't a gas station near me that carries ethanol-free gasoline, so I have to use the 10% ethanol gas most of the time. By your logic, then, ethanol-added gas is my "preferred" fuel--which it obviously isn't...

Not a perfect analogy, of course, but I think you can see the point I'm making.