Has anyone lost weight WITHOUT reducing carbs?

Yes it is possible. Maybe not the health way of doing it. I lost about 37 lbs doing it, but I reduced calories hoping to reduce cholesterol and glucose levels. One year later it did work but not as good as I had hoped and glucose levels still high.

Let me add the only thing I cut was the sweets and soft drinks. Now trying to cut carbs , which I'm struggling with.

60 lbs lost without restricting ANYTHING!! Eat clean! Dont follow fads!

Hey,

Reading this thread sort of concerned me - people are saying they eat what they want and get weight loss. But what about being healthy? Eating pizza, potato chips and a hamburger may be in 1200 for the day, but is high in salt and is just not good for providing the minerals and so on that your body needs to function!!!

I just want to stress that... it's not just how many calories. What you take in is SO VITAL for your health. You will lose weight by cutting calories, but have fun with low energy, higher chances of heart disease and liver failure etc...

There are many healthy whole foods that are super yummy salmon fillet is my favourite! lots of carrots and broccoli too.

I don't think that's what people are saying on this thread at all. Mostly people are just saying that carbs aren't bad and you can lose weight eating carbs. The original question was "can you eat carbs and lose weight?"; not "is good nutrition important"? You can eat carbs and lose weight, and carbs can form part of a nutritionally well-balanced diet (though most people would agree thaey're not as important as protein and fats).

I agree with you that salmon, broccoli and carrots are good for you, and very tasty too. I disagree that eating pizza and hamburgers is necessarily bad. A pizza can be part of (or even solely) a well-balanced meal, depending how it's made. Beef has a lot of nutrients, and burgers are not necessarily high in sodium. I agree with what I think is your intention with this post, but I think you're being a tad bit alarmist.

Yeah, I guess it was some of the responses I was looking at rather than the main question itself. But let's be realistic, especially if we are talking about pizzas made in the west (I'm from Aus, I assume the case is the same in the US) pizzas are just cheese and canola oil and everything bad. Luckily I'm in Japan now where everything seems so gourmet! hehe! And fried chips? They really can't be that great either, unless you try baked sweet potato with a tiny drizzle of olive oil (oh so yummy).

I personally don't think eating a lot of red meat (beef) is good either, it's been linked to heart disease that many times that I can't feel happy eating it more than once a week.

ANYWAY! I hope people just manage a healthy diet and stay away from processed crap. It's super hard at first (I love bread rolls and stuff here) but worth it. Personally, I have found going gluten free 5-6 days a week not hard at all and I feel less bloated too

EDIT: And from looking at open diaries in this post, people are eating WAY too much cheese, white bread and sausages. My body would just shut down if I did that, VEGETABLES PEOPLE!

I'm down 25 pounds on a diet that's 65% carbs :-)

This is my new favorite thread, I think!

Yes, it is absolutely possible! I lost my weight in 2009 and have NEVER been on a low carb diet. Seriously, muscle does weigh more than fat by volume - people who say they lose weight quickly without exercise on low carb diets are losing muscle- because muscle is the first thing the body breaks down to get glucose when you aren't supplying it through the diet. Carbohydrates are a great energy source for the muscles and brain - they supply energy more efficiently to your muscles and brain and keep you going longer, like slow release capsules, as the complex carbs slowly digest. That is IF they are not sugars - sugars will spike your blood sugar and then plummet it shortly later, making you hungry again, so save your treat for after you eat a meal for that reason - sugar after a meal does less damage than before one.

Yep! I have not restricted carbs at all! I did try once but I nearly fainted! Not cool! I don't eat a lot of bread though as I have a wheat allergy and I don't have much gluten or lactose in my diet because of intollerences but thats it! I eat rice and pasta and potatoes like a good'un! I do workout as well but not 6 or 7 days a week or anything!

It is possible (I have done both), but it is significantly easier to lose body fat more quickly while on a ketogenic (very low carb diet) because maintaining an aggressive calorie deficit is effortless. On a ketogenic diet, 75% of the brain's energy needs are provided endogenously by the ketone body betahydroxybutyrate. The other 25% of the brain's energy needs can be met by eating about 25 grams of carbohydrates. The rest of the body's energy needs (save red blood cells) are also provided endogenously by fatty acids. Consequently, hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia are no longer part of your life. It's very easy, therefore, to do things like intermittent fasting, protein-sparing modified fasts, 1000-calorie a day deficits etc. Those things are far more challenging when eating carbohydrates because hypoglycemia is a daily concern.

To further illustrate the point, there have been times where I have gone from 7PM to 8AM, without any food, and then did a complete powerlifting routine followed by an 8 hour hike without ever once thinking about food. A person could never do that while eating 100+ grams (let alone 300+ grams) of carbohydrates per day because hypoglycemia would kick in and shut them down.

The above is what has allowed us to survive and evolve as a species during the harshest famines and blights in human history.

weight loss is an equation between cals in vs cals out...........

As long as you're burning more than you're taking in, you'll lose weight, even if what you're taking in is Twinkies. What most people find, however is that protein, and complex carbohydrates keep them feeling full longer, with fewer calories. So many people, myself included, find themselves edging toward fewer simple carbohydrates simply because it's more satisfying.

I agree with the above. I didn't do anything low carb perse, but found that lunch consisting of veggies and eggs or a salad with cheese or some meat keeps me fuller longer then a sandwich does. Also, for me it is too easy with sandwiches to go overboard calorie wise with toppings.

I've lost 10 lbs so far doing nothing but calorie restricting. It's entirely possible.