Success on a Low Carb Diet?
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Been following a Paleo lifestyle since Jan 2012, and loving it .... Still tracking downward slowly.....
Keeping net carbs between 70 and a 100 most days...
I have friends that has been Paleo for over 3 years - it is truly a lifestyle for us, and none of us view it as "non-sustainable"
Every time I go non- Paleo ( when I visit friends and family that is non-Paleo) I can not wait to get back to eating food cooked from scratch (very little coming out of packaged containers) - more vegetables ......it seems my daily vegetable consumption is what "normal" people cook for a family of 5...
I just laugh when the non-informed make comments about Paleo being non-sustainable .
In the end every person needs to research what works best for them - that is the secret to success0 -
just make sure you drink "tons" of water if you plan to lower your carbs and raise ur protein so your kidneys stay healthy. im trying it for about 2 weeks . ill let you know how it goes0
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I've been following a low-carb diet for 15 months. Since I'm diabetic, I'll be following it for the rest of my life0
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"Uhh, you can eat as many darned vegetables as you want on a ketogenic diet"
That's probably true. But I reset myself by going back to the original recommendation - 2 cups of greens, 1 cup of other vegetables, every day. Since I used to hate vegetables, this is a significant change.0 -
just make sure you drink "tons" of water if you plan to lower your carbs and raise ur protein so your kidneys stay healthy. im trying it for about 2 weeks . ill let you know how it goes
It takes some people 2 weeks just to adjust. I needed a lot of water in the 1st week, but not so much after that.0 -
It has worked for me (2 years and counting). I prefer the term "lifestyle" rather than diet. I will make changes when it stops working -- no big deal.0
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i have been on the low carb lifestyle for about 13 month i lost 50 pounds although i fell off the band wagon for about 3 months and gained 10 back i put it back in check about 3 days ago and have lost 4 more. so 6 more to go and ill be back to normal0
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The best way to lose weight is to stay away from diets. Everytime I do I end up falling off the band wagon or gaining it all back instantly!Your body NEEDS carbs for energy.
Eating lower carb (how low depends on my activity level and goals) and no grains has been much more sustainable for me (will be 2 years in August), and has enabled me to stop taking a lot of medications (no more acid reflux medicine after 7 years, no more bc pills since I have a regular period now, etc) and allieved other ailments (allergy symptoms, eczema, IBS symptoms, etc lessened to gone). So for rme, it's not just been for weight loss/maintenance, it's for overall health.
Yes, there were a couple times in that 21 months that I fell off the wagon; one being the first holiday season in 2011 when I went back to eating what I wanted without the exercise I had been doing - and gained back with a vengeance. I learned my lesson, and actually lost weight over the 2012 holidays (10lbs in December 2012, versus gaining that much the previous year). If I can sustain and even LOSE during the holidays, I say I can do this for life.0 -
Low carb helped me lose 110 pounds to reach my goal weight and I'll be utilizing it to maintain my weight for the rest of my life.0
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@ martinah
Looks like you're doing great! 40 lbs loss is nothing to scoff about. Keep up the amazing work!!0 -
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.0
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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 me0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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 in0
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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.0
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