Low Carb

emnk5308
emnk5308 Posts: 736
in Health and Weight Loss
I sort of want to try this out... BUT I don't understand how it all works. I've done some research but most of what I find is 'Atkins!' or 'South Beach'! No real info..

How many carbs would be considered low? What do eat instead of pasta?
All info would be appreciated =)

Replies

  • ifallsupstairs
    ifallsupstairs Posts: 10
    Basically carbs are the easier types of foods to break down into energy. If you've heard the phase "calories are not created equal" you should know that if true. Say, if you ate 100 calories worth of bread vs. 100 worth of fish/meat, you would feel fuller longer eating the meat because the calories in the meat take longer to break down than the bread. Atkins is pretty unhealthy because it cuts out all carbs, which are beneficial to you. Plus all the meat raises your cholesterol. If you want to go low carb, just eat less starchy foods like pototoes, pasta, or change to whole-grain. Also try to get more fruits and veggies in, they give you some carbs and fiber. ^-^
  • GreyBinkie
    GreyBinkie Posts: 5
    Well, i am doing a low carb diet at the moment - Keto.


    Keto in a nutshell:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aiHSPoto_YqsNTDvL-g60nytMnyH-CJcCbiAx1IEUYM/edit?pli=1

    That document explains a lot about the low carb diet and it's advantages.

    I can not support Ifallsupstair'S view on carbs. In my opinion carbs are not beneficial for a normal human, who is not doing extreme sports. Even then there are athletes who are doing low carb diets. There is nothing in carbs you can not get somewhere else.

    There is also a nice FAQ on Reddit - http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/keto
  • msheffi972
    msheffi972 Posts: 1
    I am just starting Induction on Atkins - around 20 net carbs per day. It is not "all meat" and "no carbs". You are eating your carbs in the form of mostly veggies - how is that unhealthy? They want you to have 12-15 carbs a day from veggies and your others from other spices, condiments, etc. It's getting rid of the "bad carbs" - bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar, etc. After the induction phase you can gradually add a little back in.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I am doing low carbs, but somedays my carb count is high and it's because I eat veggies and fruit. I've cut out all the bad carbs. No rice, bread, pasta's things like that. Basically if it's white or made with white stay away from it.

    Fruits and veggies are your friend and should be eaten. If you eat wheat or grains in moderation then that's good too. I don't particulary care for wheat so I don't do a lot of that.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    I sort of want to try this out... BUT I don't understand how it all works. I've done some research but most of what I find is 'Atkins!' or 'South Beach'! No real info..

    How many carbs would be considered low? What do eat instead of pasta?
    All info would be appreciated =)
    Your best bet would be to eliminate all processed carbohydrates, but don't limit whole plant based carbohydrates, like fruit and vegetables, not even a little bit. I'm sure many disagree, but say eat all the raw unprocessed fruit and veg you care for.

    Instead of pasta, you can use some type of whole grain, like brown rice or quinoa. You can also make pasta noodles in various shapes and styles out of zucchini or cucumber, which have very few carbohydrates.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    i eat meat, nuts, dairy, and veggies. 20 grams of carbs a day (and i subtract fibre)

    why do you feel you need a pasta substitute?
    for some spaghetti squash works well.

    feel free to add me.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    Atkins is pretty unhealthy because it cuts out all carbs, which are beneficial to you. Plus all the meat raises your cholesterol.

    no. if you get your blood checked, your cholesterol is lowered when you stop eating junky carbs.. despite eating more protein/fat.

    your blood cholesterol is rarely affected by the cholesterol in food you eat.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    I did atkins for four weeks and nothing! haha..that is why I am here.. it works for some...for others no. so try it...it is great to eat all that fat. I did maintain thought.but not lose. now that I'm counting calories..I see the wisdom and freedom in variety. However..I also know the urge to just want to lose it as fast as possible. good luck.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    I sort of want to try this out... BUT I don't understand how it all works. I've done some research but most of what I find is 'Atkins!' or 'South Beach'! No real info..

    How many carbs would be considered low? What do eat instead of pasta?
    All info would be appreciated =)
    I'm a fan of the beginners guide on dietdoctor.com. Everything you need to get started is there and it's all completely free. If you just follow the guidelines your carbs are going to easily fall under a 100g without even trying, which is considered low carb and great for weight loss. If you want to deliberately go into ketosis you can follow the same plan but limit yourself to about 20g of carbs a day.

    For myself, I eat around 50g of carbs a day and slip in and out of ketosis, which to me seems like the best of both worlds. I'm getting great weight loss and I don't have to limit my non-starchy vegetables, there's room for berries in my diet and I can freely cook with spices, onions, garlic and things like that -- if I was trying for under 20g of carbs a day I would have to cut back on all of that and that wouldn't be sustainable for me.

    Good luck, I hope low carb works as well for you as it has for me so far. :smile:

    LCHF for beginners:
    http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Fwiw, I would never call South Beach "low carb". Carbs aren't counted on south beach. He just tells you which ones are slower and therefore "better".

    And, fwiw, it's not a bad or unhealthy diet. He makes you sorta "detox" for two weeks if you have big issues with sweets, but if you don't, he says go ahead and start with "phase two".
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Basically carbs are the easier types of foods to break down into energy. If you've heard the phase "calories are not created equal" you should know that if true. Say, if you ate 100 calories worth of bread vs. 100 worth of fish/meat, you would feel fuller longer eating the meat because the calories in the meat take longer to break down than the bread. Atkins is pretty unhealthy because it cuts out all carbs, which are beneficial to you. Plus all the meat raises your cholesterol. If you want to go low carb, just eat less starchy foods like pototoes, pasta, or change to whole-grain. Also try to get more fruits and veggies in, they give you some carbs and fiber. ^-^

    WRONG^^^ Atkins does NOT advocate cutting ALL carbs. It advocates reducing carbs very low for 2 weeks to get things jump started. By the 3rd week you start adding 5g per day until you find the level of carbs that allows you to meet your goals ( lose or maintain). If speed is not your goal, you can just reduce your carbs to whatever level you want. For me, 100g net is very workable.
  • Lizajane42
    Lizajane42 Posts: 133 Member
    I have a few friends who swear by Low Carb who read this book
    http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Challenging-Conventional/dp/1400040787

    My disclaimer is that I haven't read it and don't know where it will take you, but these guys have had good luck.
  • gayje
    gayje Posts: 230 Member
    I sort of want to try this out... BUT I don't understand how it all works. I've done some research but most of what I find is 'Atkins!' or 'South Beach'! No real info..

    How many carbs would be considered low? What do eat instead of pasta?
    All info would be appreciated =)
    I'm a fan of the beginners guide on dietdoctor.com. Everything you need to get started is there and it's all completely free. If you just follow the guidelines your carbs are going to easily fall under a 100g without even trying, which is considered low carb and great for weight loss. If you want to deliberately go into ketosis you can follow the same plan but limit yourself to about 20g of carbs a day.

    For myself, I eat around 50g of carbs a day and slip in and out of ketosis, which to me seems like the best of both worlds. I'm getting great weight loss and I don't have to limit my non-starchy vegetables, there's room for berries in my diet and I can freely cook with spices, onions, garlic and things like that -- if I was trying for under 20g of carbs a day I would have to cut back on all of that and that wouldn't be sustainable for me.

    Good luck, I hope low carb works as well for you as it has for me so far. :smile:

    LCHF for beginners:
    http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

    I just took a look at the LCHF website cited above and I've bookmarked it for total reading once the kiddos are in bed tonight. I like the idea of all natural healthy eating, ie veggies, fruits, meats etc. and I've tried low carb (didn't work) eating at TDEE for the past month (gained on that one no matter how much I exercised) and just watching and counting and weighing foods. I don't know what will finally end up working out for me but I'm not going to give up. Not now, not ever.

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