Questions about Low Carb Diet

shoppinglegends
shoppinglegends Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been on a low carb diet (around 20-50g of carbs a day). I've been doing this for around 5 days and lost around 3lbs. I have been eating very clean and only eating meat and vegetables etc.

However I don't plan on doing this for the rest of my life so I was wondering whether if I went from eating 20-50g of carbs a day to the standard 150-200g carb a day would I gain all the weight I lost back?

And also what if some of these carbs are considered 'dirty' carbs such as from icecream, desserts, fries etc cos I don't plan on never eating a single one of these 'dirty' carbs ever again. I will just eat them in moderation.

So for example if I had a diet of lets say 20-50g but then had one cheat day with like 150-200g carbs containing 'dirty' carbs, would I have gained all the weight I lost back in that one day?

Thank you! Sorry if this is confusing!
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Replies

  • taytaylynn3
    taytaylynn3 Posts: 601
    BUMP
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
    Most likely you'll gain it back. Its a lifestyle change, not a "diet." Its the exact same as if you lost weight by cutting calories and then went right back to eating big macs and fries for every meal. Make a change for LIFE, not for right now.
  • shoppinglegends
    shoppinglegends Posts: 8
    what I meant was not for every meal. I would only have them now and then. I certainly wouldn't have them every single day and most like would only have these bad foods like once every two to three weeks. Would that still make me gain all the weight back?
  • jess_1993
    jess_1993 Posts: 151 Member
    From reading many other threads (i considered doing the whole low carb diet thing too), many people said that once they ate a bowl of pasta they gained everything back. Basically, don't do anything you can't stick to because you'll just gain the weight back.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I have usually below 100 carbs a day, went over today but I'm okay with it cause it was fruit and veggies. At least I hope the scales say it's a good thing in the morning.
  • shoppinglegends
    shoppinglegends Posts: 8
    so basically even one meal of bad carbs can make you gain all the weight back? to me that sounds a bit impossible but thats what people are saying :S

    surely if I eat healthy so the same as my diet now but then once every few weeks add like a small portion of cake to my diet or something I won't gain it all back?
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
    I have absolutely no medical background, just personal experience to offer. So, in my own experiences, if you began to change your diet back to 150-200g carbs, you'd gain it back. If you have a "cheat day," you'd put on some water weight, but going back to your normal <50g would help you lose it quickly. I find that low of a carb intake to be unsustainable-- I like LOTS of veggies and some fruit, and find that 75-125g to be better for me, personally.

    This is what I use to guide my intake:
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/#axzz223iCUzGI

    I hope this helped somewhat! Good luck <3
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
    The 3lbs you have lost until now is only water weight. With that said, if you eat "dirty" carbs tomorrow those 3lbs will be gone since you'll retain it as water again. If you don't plan on limiting carbs to some extent the rest of your life (obviously not 20, but definitely not back near 300 like a "standard" diet), maybe you should chose a different plan. If you don't think you can change your lifestyle, don't do it because you'll just be disappointed and think it "didn't work" (when in reality it only works as well as YOU make it work).
  • shoppinglegends
    shoppinglegends Posts: 8
    ok thank you so much! so basically if I had a cheat day so just one day where my carbs were way higher, I wouldn't gain all the actual weight (excluding water weight) back if I resorted back to my normal diet of around 20-50g.

    Thanks!
  • GrettaBaker
    GrettaBaker Posts: 9
    I did the low carb diet which also suggested high protein (starts the Ketoses process in the body) to target fat lose, however my carb intake was between 80 - 90 g of carbs, over 80g protein and keep the fat down below 30g. I lost 11 lbs in 8 weeks then went up to 120g carb and dropped the protein a little and have maintained so far. Moderation is key for sure. I have had to make a life style change since I was raised with carbs which are my go to choice when eating. Sadly no two people are the same so what works for one person may not for the other. You may have to experiment to see how your body reacts. Best Wishes in your journey.
  • paj315
    paj315 Posts: 335 Member
    If you quit now and went back to the carbs then yes you'd gain back your three, because it is most likely just water weight that you have lost so far.


    After you've been low carb for a while, I would say that one cheat meal every 2 weeks is not going to completely derail you but don't weigh yourself within a couple days after your cheat meals because the extra carbs will probably play with your water weight.
  • shoppinglegends
    shoppinglegends Posts: 8
    I personally don't think the 3lbs is water weight as I've never seen the numbers before. I've already lost around 5lbs before these 3lbs which I considered water weight.

    But thanks! I think I'm just going to try increasing my carbs to 150-200g one day just for personal experience to see how that affects my weight and body and then take it from there.

    I'm in no means overweight at all but I just want to slim down anyways so I've always had a relatively healthy diet.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    When you go on a low carb (ketogenic) diet you will lose about 5 to 8 lbs of water weight and then begin to lose some fat. Will you gain back all the weight/ Well you'll gain back the 5 to 8 lbs of water weight but you can lose some fat. the question is how long can you maintain that eating style? And have you learned a different eating pattern while doing it so that your loss and change is permanent/
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    If you've been doing it for 5 days, almost all of that weight is water weight. It's normal to drop 5-10 pounds of water weight in the first 2 weeks of going on a low carb diet. It will all come back as soon as you start eating carbs again (it's due to reduced muscle glycogen levels, and for each gram of muscle glycogen that is depleted, you lose 4g of water weight).

    Carbs are not bad, and weight loss and gain have nothing to do with carbs, only with net caloric deficit or surplus. The idea that carbs are responsible for weight gain is based on a 20 year old understanding of physiology... the insulin-based pathways for weight gain are not even vital for survival... the vital fat metabolism pathway (ASP) does not rely on insulin, so if you eat a caloric suplus on a high fat/protein diet, you will still put on body fat.

    In short, the best way to get in shape is still to eat a reasonable (300-500 calorie/day) deficit, lift weights 3x/week, and do short periods of HIIT and long periods low-intensity cardio with any remaining workout time you have.

    The only time low-carb will make a difference in fat loss is if your body fat levels are so low that there is not an adequate supply of FFA in your bloodstream (below 8-10% for guys, and maybe 15-18% for women), otherwise it is a waste of time as a weight loss strategy.
  • shoppinglegends
    shoppinglegends Posts: 8
    I did the low carb diet which also suggested high protein (starts the Ketoses process in the body) to target fat lose, however my carb intake was between 80 - 90 g of carbs, over 80g protein and keep the fat down below 30g. I lost 11 lbs in 8 weeks then went up to 120g carb and dropped the protein a little and have maintained so far. Moderation is key for sure. I have had to make a life style change since I was raised with carbs which are my go to choice when eating. Sadly no two people are the same so what works for one person may not for the other. You may have to experiment to see how your body reacts. Best Wishes in your journey.

    thank you so much! I was wondering whether your 120g of carb contained any bad foods or was it all healthy carbs?? Thank you! and congrats on maintaining it and hoping you continue!
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
    If you're really serious about about it, you should go as long as possbl without a cheat meal, and you'll probably find that you don't wnt that small piece of cake even. I don't plan cheats, if they happen though..they happen. I also try to keep it to a cheat meal, not a whole day. Usually how crappy I feel after having "dirty" carbs is enough to keep me from cheating
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    If you have no intention of doing it this way forever, that should be an indication that you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. Just eat normal.
  • jasonpclement
    jasonpclement Posts: 146 Member
    Gaining all the weight back after one meal is not a truth. When you have a diet high in carbs, your body stores more water than on a low carb diet. So, after low carbing for a while, you will lose a lot of water weight, which can quickly be gained back (as water) when you consume a lot of carbohydrates. The change in fat accumulation is minimal. Low carb diets do work well mostly because they force you to be attentive to the foods you eat, and thus you don't overdo it on your meals (which is easy to do when your used to eating lots of carbs).
  • shoppinglegends
    shoppinglegends Posts: 8
    ok thank you so much for all the answers. I think I'm going to keep my calories down for now and maybe start slowly increasing carbs and definitely will be maintaining a healthy lifestyle and only allowing myself these so called bad carbs once in a while which hopefully won't make me gain all the weight I will eventually hopefully have lost.

    Before the diet, I had a relatively healthy lifestyle anyways so hopefully everything goes well.
  • CommandaPanda
    CommandaPanda Posts: 451 Member
    I've been on a low carb diet for 5 weeks now and have seen ridiculous results. I'm currently on the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet, as I saw a poster before mention. Currently, my carb intake is less than 30g/day but once a week I do carb-load for about 30 hours or so. Won't get into the science behind it but I pretty much take in an absurd amount of carbs (way past 200g.... closer to 700g in that time frame). I am heavy on stats so I am strict with daily recordings and measurements.

    You'll gain a noticeable amount of water weight after the first day you go hard on carbs. If you are strict with your diet, carb intake, and exercise then the bulk of the weight you gained will come off very quickly (usually within the first 24-48 hours after you go back to your normal routine).
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    I successfully lost 20 pounds over the span of about 4 months on the slow carb diet last year -- but it wasn't sustainable for me at all and I gained all of it back when I stopped.

    I've been much more successful counting calories and working on portion control, although I do admit that I tend towards higher protein/veggies/fruit and significantly less towards the 'no' category from low carb. I avoid potatoes like the plague, and only have pasta or bread 2-3 times a week. I avoid white flour and processed foods as much as possible (but as a very low income student, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do)
  • basillowe66
    basillowe66 Posts: 432 Member
    The Adtkins diet is a low carb diet. I did it for a while and lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks, however when you go off of it ,yes you gain it all back.

    To be serious about losing weight, ice cream, cookies and chips are not part of the program. You just have to decide how quickly you want to lose it. If you don't have a serious weight problem then what ever you want!

    Basil
  • LowcarbNY
    LowcarbNY Posts: 546 Member
    please see the thread
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/684525-why-the-rapid-weight-loss-on-low-carb-induction-stops
    for those and other answers
  • LowcarbNY
    LowcarbNY Posts: 546 Member
    From reading many other threads (i considered doing the whole low carb diet thing too), many people said that once they ate a bowl of pasta they gained everything back. Basically, don't do anything you can't stick to because you'll just gain the weight back.

    Want to qualify that statement? Would someone who lost over 100 lbs on a low carb diet gain it all back with one bowl of pasta? That would be quite remarkable.

    If you only did low carb for a week or so, then yes you will probably gain it back quickly. Of course you could say that about any diet that you quit after a week or so.
  • Loozin
    Loozin Posts: 91
    I've been eating a LOWER Carb diet too, BUT not as low as you are though.

    My current target every day is 78g of Carbs, but I usually aim for 50g or less.

    I've been told to try to consume Carbs ONLY when I need them.
    That is up until lunchtime or around midday.

    Minimum consumption after that, but bearing in mind anything logged from Vegetables (not potatoes) are OK
    e.g. Greens, Cucumber, Mushrooms (low to none anyway), tomatoes (careful on the Sugar the later it gets)

    I'm no expert and am learning as I go along, but I have heard a VERY low to NO Carb diet can be detrimental in the long run,
    glad you are only doing it for a short time.

    Listen to your Body.

    Loozin
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    Am I reading your profile incorrectly? You currently weight less than 100 pounds and hope to lose another 15-20, with an end goal of 80 pounds?
  • LowcarbNY
    LowcarbNY Posts: 546 Member
    Am I reading your profile incorrectly? You currently weight less than 100 pounds and hope to lose another 15-20, with an end goal of 80 pounds?

    Hummm. Nice catch.. Looks like that to me unless it is a mistake. Maybe that is why no pictures.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    No point going too low in carbs. 100g daily is a good amount. You could do what a lot of others do and eat more starchy carbs on days when you do resistance training.

    All diets stop working when you go off them just like the low carb diet. You don't magically just gain weight when you stop a low carb diet. Yes, some water weight but you've got to continue eating a surplus to start putting on fat.
  • Loozin
    Loozin Posts: 91
    Am I reading your profile incorrectly? You currently weight less than 100 pounds and hope to lose another 15-20, with an end goal of 80 pounds?

    Oh my gosh, I'll be checking in future...

    That's gotta be too light or a mistake.
    Do you want to LOSE 80lbs or be 80lbs ! (5st 10lbs)

    I'm hoping you say the former...
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    Keep calm and become a skinny ***** - that may be a bit of a give away but you never know when commenting to a stranger.

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