Carbs-Good or Bad?

All diets require a caloric deficit.
Carbohydrate intake should consider the individuals training demands, personal preferences, and medical conditions.

Beyond that there's no magic/metabolic advantage.

(I love carbs, and when I'm losing weight I usually keep them between 200-250g. Below 200 and I have issues)

All diets require a caloric deficit.
Carbohydrate intake should consider the individuals training demands, personal preferences, and medical conditions.

Beyond that there's no magic/metabolic advantage.

yup...pretty much this sums it up. Eating less carbs doesn't make you lose weight, a deficit does. I think one of the reasons low carb diets work (at least initially) is because carbs also tend to be high in calories...but cutting them out, you're seriously reducing caloric intake. Unfortunately, most learn nothing about proper nutrition and how to fuel their bodies so as soon as they go off the diet, most gain their weight right back.

If you go very low carb you will go into ketosis, and then you will use fat for energy as opposed to using carbs for energy. Your heart likes ketones for energy better than it likes carbs for energy.

1. You still need to be in an energy deficit to see net fat loss

2. Will my heart double in size like the Grinch?

No, but the heart functions better on ketones.

I hear people who are gungho about low carbing. They lose weight quick and fast. I know some of it water weight, but still 20-100 pounds cannot just be water weight...really. I did do Atkins 4 months ago. I only did it 4 days and lost 5 pounds, but it made me sick as a dog..throwing up, weak, bad stuff.

Then I hear some people who are crazy about carbs. Surely whole wheat pasta and bread, brown rice, old fashioned oats cannot be that bad? They have fiber and protein and are relatively filling.

I have been back and forth on this thing. I do like low carb because it means I can eat lots of fat and protein. But I like "normal" eating because I can eat things like potatoes, grains..you know things that my husband and little one wants. I am not even sure if I can afford to do a low carb thing, who wants to keep buying meat when you can buy beans, lentils and brown rice for so much cheaper!

I never thought about or cared about carbs during my 70 pound loss. It wasn't fast loss, but it was very successful. I managed to go from a 14/16 to a size 2/4 and have pretty much kept most of it off (-15 pounds)

What you think?

My personal opinion is that low carb diets can work well for certain people (example, many "paleo" diet iterations). Low fat diets can also work well for certain people (example, Body for Life / Eating for Life type eating, how bodybuilders often eat). The common element of getting either to "work" is 1) including adequate protein and 2) eating foods that are satiating (leave you full).

#1 is as simple as actually tracking your protein intake (this site does the job), and #2 is usually a focus on whole, single ingredient type foods. #2 is probably where "clean eating" comes into play - technically this is kind of a meaningless term, and I'm almost reluctant to use it, but the reason people often do well on everything from paleo to vegan is usually a focus on these whole, single ingredient foods.

There is also evidence that this can be individual - some people will do better with comparatively more or less carbs, and the only real way to know how you respond is to actually experiment for yourself. I think the easiest rule of thumb to use is to ask yourself "is the way I'm eating consistently leaving me full and satisfied?" If you find yourself chronically hungry, it's a pretty good sign that you're not eating right "for you."

Different strokes for different folks. Many people get caught up in all the different atkins, low carb, zero fat, 10 meals a day, fasting for 20 hours a day, etc.. If a plan works for you use it, if not don't. In the end, you need to create a calorie deficit while while still eating enough of of the bodies essential nutrients to keep from having other issues. Most people who are serious about health, not just the number on the scale, discover that what usually works best is to create that caloric deficit through some form of exercise. Makes the muscles and cardio system stronger, in turn increasing the immune system and all the other benefits of exercise. You can certainly lose weight through diet alone, but doing so without any exercise and not having lots of bad side effects requires constantly maintaining just a slight calorie deficit (200-250 / day) for a very long time. In other words, 2 pounds a month or so. If you need to lose 100 pounds, 50 months is a long time to count and maintain a very controlled diet, which is why most fail.

Of course, this is just my $.02 worth. Take it or leave it, just know what is working for me!

I don't like going to extremes, so I eat all of the things.

As someone who's been following Atkins I can tell you that if you follow the diet you'll lose weight, rid yourself of carb cravings and late nite junk food binges. Admittedly Atkins was a last resort for me, I could not control myself at night.

One area I personally ran into trouble is I ate too much cheese (2 ozs a day), cream (6-8T) and eggs (1-3 a day). My cholesterol was borderline before Atkins and went thru the roof. I'm now transitioning into more of a low - moderate glycemic diet based on my activity level since I've been doing well slowly upping my carbs. No candy and chips, but nom nom sweet potatoes, beans, whole grains.

I'm more a believer of everything in moderation and consider low carb a lil extreme but sometimes that's what it takes.

I'm more a believer of everything in moderation and consider low carb a lil extreme but sometimes that's what it takes.

No. One never needs to go to extremes for simple weight loss. And those that do often fail because of it.