Success on a Low Carb Diet?

dfonte

I tried it, and I lost weight. I didn't like my body composition though because I looked flat. My body looks a lot better when I have carbs in my diet. Decide what works for you.

mrsedge1

I've been eating this way (low carb for me = about 20 net carbs a day) for about 3 years and feel great. But, according to a lot of people on this site, I shouldn't feel great, I should be having a hard time maintaining, and I should have put all of the weight back on and then some. I should feel sluggish and lethargic.
The truth is that I have more energy than I've ever had. I don't feel the need to take an afternoon nap every day. I am never hungry, I don't have cravings....on and on!
I just wanted to know if anyone else is having these same results.

When I look at your ticker it doesn't seem to jibe with this glowing success story:

Nope, it doesn't. I lost 67 pounds, got preggers, hormones went crazy, I ate every bad thing I could get my hands on, miscarried a few months later, went into a depression, didn't give a crap about my body for a year, gained some weight back, and half-assed maintained for over a year. Now I'm getting serious about weight loss again. Since I got serious about weight loss again in March I've lost 10 pounds. Thanks for bringing up a painful subject.

I had lost weight before I even joined MFP, so the ticker isn't all that accurate.

You shouldn't have to explain yourself to all the negative people. Good for you bouncing back from a horrible situation in life. Some people just cant't help but be negative.
If it works for you then do it. I lost 4stone a few years back by cutting carbs and have kept it off. I have gained a little after my wedding last year which i am now working on but for the most part have kept it off and it suits me

ilikejam33

It really depends on the person. I believe that overall you need to eat as clean as you can. Remember that overall many people who have success eliminating anything will eventually have a stumble or two.

Personally I have done Atkins and other low carbs and they worked great, until I stopped using them, and sometimes I had to give up something I wanted.

But after I started using MFP and tracking everything, what I noticed was that that the success wasnt just due to cutting all carbs, but specific ones. For me it seems to be getting rid of the high sugar and the gluetin. Now this is just me, but I am steadily loosing by excercising regularily and watching how my body reacts to certain foods. For example, if I eat bread or rice or pasta I gain, but if i reduce these and replace with quinoa and eat more vegetable, even high carb ones I maintain.

Just my 2 cents DO what works for you and is good for YOUR body.

ryry_

My opinion on low carb dieting, as a former low carb dieter that lost 80 pounds doing it and kept it off for several years.

Low carb can work but the laws of energy balance still apply. Low carb tends to advertise that the insulin effects and such are what is causing the weight loss so you can eat how ever much you want. When pressed into a corner they will admit that calorie balance still applies.

People tend to have success for these main reasons

1. It restricts the macro that makes up the largest portion of the average person's diet
2. It automatically eliminates the majority of foods that people tend to overreat (bread, pasta, pizza, cookes, cake, ice cream, candy etc.)

By effect, people tend to snack and eat less and automatically create a calorie deficit. They just don't know they are creating a calorie deficit.

When people struggle, that is why the first recommendation is to eliminate cheeses and nuts, the two low carb snack foods high in calories that is easy for people to overreat.

I also think, people tend to attribute some of the benefits of a low carb diet (increased energy, better health markers, etc.) is not the low carb diet per se but rather the effects of a reduced calorie diet, not overreating and losing weight.

For me, i was never a binger until I started low carb dieting. Because of my belief that eating carbs put me into fat storage mode, I would start saying to myself, well if I'm ruining my day I better make it count.

Controlling overall intake tends to help that tendency much better than low carb. And once you realize it's the calories that are causing weight loss instead of the low carb, it makes sense to add in some foods you enjoy with carbs in moderation.

martinah4

Everyone of you posting here look great, and it's encouraging to see that a lot of you have maintained the low-carb lifestyle! Thank you for the encouragement to keep going this way.

Whether it's about caloric intake or not, cutting down on bad carbs and avoiding sugars and processed foods seems to make me feel better physically and mentally. It seems to be sustainable for me and a lot of other people here for a lifetime.

ktm96

how do you maintain your weight? how did you reintroduce carbs back into your diet without gaining weight? I just finished a very low carb diet and am trying to maintain weight and slowly adding carbs back in

autumnsquirrel

It really depends on the person. I believe that overall you need to eat as clean as you can. Remember that overall many people who have success eliminating anything will eventually have a stumble or two.

Personally I have done Atkins and other low carbs and they worked great, until I stopped using them, and sometimes I had to give up something I wanted.

But after I started using MFP and tracking everything, what I noticed was that that the success wasnt just due to cutting all carbs, but specific ones. For me it seems to be getting rid of the high sugar and the gluetin. Now this is just me, but I am steadily loosing by excercising regularily and watching how my body reacts to certain foods. For example, if I eat bread or rice or pasta I gain, but if i reduce these and replace with quinoa and eat more vegetable, even high carb ones I maintain.

Just my 2 cents DO what works for you and is good for YOUR body.

Bumping this one up so I can read this post over again. I reallize this is an old thread, but this makes good sense:)