Low carb

I was doing low carb and it was working fine, until I started adding back in real exercise (running and 30 Day Shred). I was dizzy and shaky, but it cleared up immediately once I bumped my carbs back up. I'm at between 30-40% carbs per day now. Like others have said, it is still calories in, calories out.

I would definitely not jump into Atkins etc unprepared, do a bit of research first. I like Gary Taubes 'Why we get fat and what to do about it' but my favourite is Jenny Ruhl's 'Diet 101: The truth about low carb diets'. She provides a very balanced view which you don't really get in any of the Atkins books (or Gary Taubes' book), she has a website as well. What I took away from Jenny's book; if your blood glucose is fine there is really no compelling reason to go on a low carb diet as you will lose weight on the classic low fat, moderate carb diet. If you do have Type II Diabetes (or are pre-diabetic), lowering your carbs will benefit you but there is no need to go very low (ie go on a ketogenic diet), sticking to about 100 grams of carbs a day will yield similar benefits as a very low carb diet of 20 grams a day.

I agree with what others have said, the best diet is the one that works for you and that you can stick with. If that's not the case it will just be a short term solution and there's a large chance that you will quickly gain what you lost.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I get such a kick out of the mindless people who say " low carb is too restrictive, or you cant maintian it..." Like their knowledge is vastly superior to everyone elses.

You can have a good healthy diet while moderating your carbs and lose weight, and its not hard, you dont have to deny yourself indulgences.. just make smart choices, track your macros and excercise. If it works for you, then thats excellent, if not, you have to find another approcach. But dont listend to the fitness bozos who make broad based comments that it cant and wont work.... like they speak for the entire population.

BTW... been doing primal since 1 Jan, down 17 lbs.. I still drink Diet coke, have a cookie once in a while etc and for excercise I only walk a mile a day. I'm not deprived, I'm not hungry, I dont get spikes or lows. And all this by maintiaining 50-100 grams of carbs a day. It IS doable.

I've lost 207 pounds doing low carb for the last 2 years. I had to decide that i would never eat the "bad carbs" good carbs yes veggies etc.. It can be done its hard yes and people do gain it back because it is very very very hard to go anywhere and not have carbs stuck in your face. I buy my groceries and cook totally different meals than my family.. going out to eat is pretty much impossible but ive figured ways around it. DONT DO IT JUST TO LOSE A FEW POUNDS ITS A COMPLETE LIFESTYLE CHANGE

BTW IT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT WORKED FOR ME. I WAS 420 LBS AND A DIABETIC.

Congrats!

Thank you

Has anybody had as much success doing a low carb diet as they advertise?? Thinking about trying it. Any input??

The best diet is the one that is easiest for you to adhere to, barring any medical issues that require special diet practices. Low carbers as with other "special" diets like to make all sorts of fantastic claims about their diet that are more fantasy then reality

Exactly. I am one of those people who HAVE to eat low carbs because my blood glucose is too high and if I continue down that path I will most likely get diabetes. I noticed when I eat low carb, my sugar stays normal and doesn't spike unhealthily. If you are just someone who wants to lose weight by watching carb its very possible, but its also a lot harder to keep for a long period of time. I think the best diet is moderation and trying to incoroporate things that you know are good for you. I wish I could just do that but every time I have anything over 30g of carb per meal, my sugar goes up. Best of luck to you!

Yep. Medically necessary over here, too. I would kill to eat pasta and potatoes again, but I keep to a net of 20g or less a day. However, it's not hard for me to stick to, because I have consistently lost weight, WITH carb-laden cheat meals (maybe one or two max since I started in October) and haven't had any adverse effects. In fact, I've LOWERED the viral load in my body from my illness by 30%. It's not for everyone, mostly because it's a full lifestyle shift. Not something you can do temporarily, and definitely not something you want to do if you aren't willing to eat 90% of your meals at home.

I agree with THExNEKOxCHAN

Yes! Thank you for being the first person to bring up the fact that we each have our personal carb limit, and have to slowly incorporate them back into the diet. People gain back from low carb ways of life after they reach their goal weight, but then they go back to all the food that got them to a high weight in the first place. My body, personally, has a low tolerance for carbohydrates, so even when I get to where I would like to be, I'm guessing it'll be 60 carbs a day, max. I feel better without the grains, pasta, rice, etc. that I used to eat. I don't do Atkins or any specified diet per se, just listen to my body, eat when I'm hungry, and make sure what I'm eating is healthy for me. I did read Dr. Atkins' book from 1972 and the information about the way our bodies process carbs into fat, how fat isn't necessarily bad to eat (when you're active and not eating lots of simple carbs)...it was fascinating stuff and put me on track.