The Low Carb Debate

I would reccomend taking a nutrition course on coursera its free. the one I am taking I am learning a lot from. incidently the most unhealthy diet is the atkins diet according to the college professor and the data done on it. the idea is to eat good carbs like squash, plant based carbs and lower the animal based carbs. hope this helps some.

I had to go low carb as of November 2012 to keep my blood sugar levels in check... I follow the Keto lifestyle which is 20grams carbs daily and I can honestly say the first week I felt like crap..tired, blah, flu like... but now.. I am proud to report no more Diabetes meds, also lost 33 pounds so far since the diet change and I am full of energy and have a clear mind.. I wish I would have done it yrs ago.. as other posters have said its not for everyone..some people try it out and they cant stick with it.. pick something you can stick with, as this really isnt a 'diet' for the wedding... its a journey..a change of your lifestyle and eating habits for life... best wishes to you, you can add me as a supportive friend if you would like...

I had to go low carb as of November 2012 to keep my blood sugar levels in check... I follow the Keto lifestyle which is 20grams carbs daily and I can honestly say the first week I felt like crap..tired, blah, flu like... but now.. I am proud to report no more Diabetes meds, also lost 33 pounds so far since the diet change and I am full of energy and have a clear mind.. I wish I would have done it yrs ago.. as other posters have said its not for everyone..some people try it out and they cant stick with it.. pick something you can stick with, as this really isnt a 'diet' for the wedding... its a journey..a change of your lifestyle and eating habits for life... best wishes to you, you can add me as a supportive friend if you would like...

Great news for you! Congrats. I'm on Primal and I get my carbs from plants/fruits, not grains and I've increased my protein/fats and I feel great. Wish I had done this years ago. I had been researching it for months but didn't know if I could kick my sugar addiction. Luckily, that wasn't as hard as I thought, although I did have withdrawals for a couple of days. I try to stay lower than 150 gm of carbs. I'm set at 30/30/40 c/p/f. The biggest thing I've noticed is that I no longer crave sugary/carbs....finally!

Calorie for calorie, there is no fat loss advantage to a low carb diet.

This is the answer. There is no metabolic advantage. If you prefer to eat low carb, that is up to you and driven by your preference. Some like it some don't but it is not at all advantageous for fat loss.

You don't have to be very low carb to still be low carb. My macro split is 50/25/25 fat/protein/carb. This gives me enough carbs (90g total) to eat veggies, fruit, dairy, and occasionally some grains (if I work it in), but enough fat and protein to keep cravings at bay and keep me satisfied (carbs are not as satisfying as fat and protein are). I am losing weight very well doing this.

I have to disagree with this commonly made statement. Complex carbohydrates are equally as satisfying as protein and more satisfying than fat, calorie for calorie and pound for pound. All that fiber (found only in high carb foods) contributes to a sense of satiety as well.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/61/4/960S.abstract

Having glanced at your diet, I have to say: I (personally) could never do this. I'd be hungry all the time. Glad it works for you though!

I think everyone is different. I tried to eat low carbs and I found my weight loss slowed. I slowly added some slow carbs and have started loosing weight again. I eat fruit/vegs/protien/slow carbs. I absolutely eat no white flour,pasta,rice etc....I feel better and more energized with the slow carbs 2 or 3 times a day.

I have been trying meal replacement shakes 2 meals per day and a low carb dinner and when stuck to to the letter I lose weight. However, when I go off plan (mostly with wine!) the regain is almost instant. Has anyone else found this?

I know it's not the most nutritionally sound way of shifting the pounds but I needed a bit of a kick start. Now I'm starting to doubt whether it is worth it in the long term.

What I don't understand is that each shake is 200kcals + high protein low fat meal (500kcals) so, for example, even with 3 small glasses of wine (171kcals x 3) I'm still only consuming 1,413 kcals per day (+ exercise on top!) so I don't understand how even with this deficit I put on weight when I add in the carbs.

I had yoghurt for breakfast and a banana for snack so far today and went to the gym this morning but am feeling much more hungry now I'm eating "real food" as opposed to when I'm having the shakes.

Carbs are stored in the body as glycogen and require water to be stored. When you go low carb, you deplete the glycogen stores and the water with it. This is why you often see people drop 10lbs or more the first few days of a low carb diet. As soon as you consume carbs, your body replenishes the glycogen stores and your weight goes back up. You aren't losing or gaining 10lbs of fat, it is merely water weight due to glycogen levels.

Boom. Low Carb is a waste of time.

You don't have to be very low carb to still be low carb. My macro split is 50/25/25 fat/protein/carb. This gives me enough carbs (90g total) to eat veggies, fruit, dairy, and occasionally some grains (if I work it in), but enough fat and protein to keep cravings at bay and keep me satisfied (carbs are not as satisfying as fat and protein are). I am losing weight very well doing this.

That said, the foods I like best fit very well into this plan, which means maintaining it is (and will be) a breeze. If the majority of your nutrition comes from carbs and don't like or actively avoid fat, it probably will not work for you.

The above Macro split works for me too!

I started with the 17 Day Diet, which is low carb, low glycemic, low fat and it worked. I also didn't feel bad, because the diet is extremely nutrient rich due to the vegetables and fruits you eat. It's hard to do Cycle 1 all the time, but I found I felt better when I didn't add the carbs back in during cycle 2 and 3... which is basically low carb eating. I don't eat high fat meats, refined flour or sugar, in fact, I don't eat bread, rice or pasta as a rule of thumb, but I will have some occasinally. I do eat lean meats and fish, nuts, avacaods and other healthy fats as well as fruits before late afternoon and lot and lots of veggies. I'm "carb sensative" though. I have digestive issues and bloating when I splurge on high carb, low nutrition or even grains for too many days in a row. Some people don't have the sensativity to carbs (and metabolic syndrome) and may do better on other diets. Bottom line is I don't cut out anything totally, even alcohol, but try to maintain under 100 g or carbs and a high protein and low fat diet at least 80% of the time.

No carb is not the same as low carb. Low carb consists of vegetables that have high nutrional content: broccoli, green leafy veggies, spinach, cauliflower, berries just to name a few. Low carb eliminates most frankenfoods, sugar and incorporates good fat (olive oil, coconut oil).