OMG CARBS ARE INDEED THE DEVIL HIMSLEF DISGUISED AS FOOD.

Or I could take the tack that a poster used in the "no carb" thread....

Low carb people choose that diet because they are addicted to meat! They can't stay away from meat and fat. They are weak, I tell you! (Just a little joke for the carb nazis, not intended for the polite low-carbers)

nom nom nom

I my high carb diet!

Because not every person is the same - some people can't handle carbs well, or gluten, or lactose or even veggies.

Yes, eating less and doing something will help w/ weight loss, but not for every person out there.

I've found I'm gluten sensitive, lactose intolerant, I have alot of food allegeries and some medical issues. Once I altered my diet to reduce my carbs to 50-100 a day, I started to loose weight, feel better, have extra energy and wasn't sick all the time. I removed bread/wheats/grains and white totaoes & rice. But I love beans, and sweet potatoes and some other veggies not considered "carb" friendly because I like them and they don't make me sick.

But that is me - the next person may feel like crap cutting out carbs like do. I can't go much lower than 50 because then I do start to feel iffy and sluggish. My hubby has chol issues & thyroid problems, so if I made him eat like I do, it might make him worse. His carb level is 2-4 times higher, so we adjust what he eats to be as healthy as possible for him.

As long as a person makes their "diet" choices stick - that's the bigger goal. Yes, if I where to go back to eating like I used to, I'd probably regain weight. I ate low fat, higher carb "healthy" food and it never worked well long term. What I have changed now I've done in ways I can maintain and stick too, without feeling deprived and punished. I still eat some "treats" although I watch what is in them more than anything else. Not just carbs, but to see if they contain anything I know will cause me issues.

However, the same information is why it is NOT good for someone who wants to have a very active lifestyle!

There are endurance athletes who eat low carb. Have a read at the recent book "Low carbohydrate performance" (or similar) by Volek & Phinney if you like research. The body carries a lot more energy reserves as fat than as carbs, I have been low carb for 2.5 years and I can ride my bike for 12 miles or walk and jog for a couple of hours, which is as active as I've ever been.

Why is it that people seem to think there's some special "trick" or shortcut to losing body fat? Why is it that people try to over-complicate weight loss by making up all these tricks and tips and fad diets (like the low carb or Atkins diets) that will supposedly just melt the fat off your body?

Cause people are lazy.

Preach!

My uncle has this no carb mind-set and it makes me want to smack him! (my husband and I live with him and his daughter so we all eat dinner together every day) When he gets over 200lbs he goes no-carb for a week or two to drop the weight. He claims it works the best, even though I point out that he always gains it back, he doesn't look like he lost any weight, and the weight he does lose is just water weight. He has seen me successfully lose weight and keep it off with MFP and he still won't listen. it drives me crazy!

I have been counting calories in, calories out for over 2 years. I have stalled for the past year and a half. NOTHING worked. I am finally trying Atkins, and if you do your research before blasting low-carb plans, you'd know it doesn't elminate ALL carbs. The carbs just come from vegetables instead of bread. What's so wrong with that? Just because something works for you, it doesn't work for all of us. I am proud to say that Atkins IS helping me bust through this dreadful plateau, and I feel a million times better since starting the program.

To each their own...I'm really tired of hearing people blast others choices.

Do you know WHY it is working so well?

Yes, I do. I read the Atkins book, I fully understand why it works. As with any plan, you have to commit to doing it the rest of your life. I am. I'm not harming myself, I feel great, and I know what I'm doing and how to do it.

The Atkins book is very biased and seems to twist a lot of information in it's favour.

.

Honestly, why do you care so much?? If you're against it and argue everything people say to help explain it, then DON'T DO IT. It's simple. Live and let live.

I'm actually not entirely against it - for the sake of losing weight, or living a very inactive lifestyle. I'm actually interested in doing it myself - to drop 30 lbs. I have read up on it, and understand what the body goes through, and why it works. However, if you wish to be very active, like riding a bicycle hard for 4 hours non-stop, you're not going to be able to keep up with the energy levels someone on a high carbohydrate diet will be able to.

If you'd like me to cite multiple sources, I can when I get back to my apartment. I've got books on this.

well, my two cents. It does work, and it does work fast. But it's not the only way to lose weight. If you incorporate carbs it does take longer but who cares? What I've found to work for me is a simple calorie deficit with filling foods...and filling foods to me have a lot of protein, not carbs. Everyone's body is different and I think the bottom line comes to... do what is SUSTAINABLE and HEALTHY for you and your individual body chemistry.

I have been counting calories in, calories out for over 2 years. I have stalled for the past year and a half. NOTHING worked. I am finally trying Atkins, and if you do your research before blasting low-carb plans, you'd know it doesn't elminate ALL carbs. The carbs just come from vegetables instead of bread. What's so wrong with that? Just because something works for you, it doesn't work for all of us. I am proud to say that Atkins IS helping me bust through this dreadful plateau, and I feel a million times better since starting the program.

To each their own...I'm really tired of hearing people blast others choices.

Do you know WHY it is working so well?

Yes, I do. I read the Atkins book, I fully understand why it works. As with any plan, you have to commit to doing it the rest of your life. I am. I'm not harming myself, I feel great, and I know what I'm doing and how to do it.

The Atkins book is very biased and seems to twist a lot of information in it's favour.

.

Honestly, why do you care so much?? If you're against it and argue everything people say to help explain it, then DON'T DO IT. It's simple. Live and let live.

I'm actually not entirely against it - for the sake of losing weight, or living a very inactive lifestyle. I'm actually interested in doing it myself - to drop 30 lbs. I have read up on it, and understand what the body goes through, and why it works. However, if you wish to be very active, like riding a bicycle hard for 4 hours non-stop, you're not going to be able to keep up with the energy levels someone on a high carbohydrate diet will be able to.

If you'd like me to cite multiple sources, I can when I get back to my apartment. I've got books on this.

Well....I'm not riding my bike for 4 hours. I'm a normal person who runs 4 times a week, who has a job, a family and a life. I am not out to do some marathon so my plan will work for me. You say the Atkins book is biased and offer to site sources from your books. I'm guessing your books are just as biased? Honestly, I don't care. This is my choice, and yours is to eat carbs. Or not? I'm super confused. Either way, what YOU do isn't MY business. Again...why do you care so much?

This conversation is pointless. Again...if you don't agree it, don't do it. Let people choose the plan that works for them. *leaving conversation*

Why would depriving your body of ANY crucial nutrient would be good, especially carbohydrates, which are the building blocks of energy?

Actually fat is the building main block of energy...? The reason carbs become what our bodies use to fuel themselves is because the average diet has such an over abundance of them coming in. Carbs are necessary to stimulate proper brain function, but it really doesn't take that many to do it...

I would like to see where you got that information from. >.>

Honestly, why do you care so much?? If you're against it and argue everything people say to help explain it, then DON'T DO IT. It's simple. Live and let live.

Well put.

:drinker: Ok. Seriously leaving now.