LOW CARB...HOW LOW IS "TOO LOW"?

I'm also doing a low carb diet. The induction phase on atkins diet is less than 20g carbs a day, i try to stay around 10g or less. Its safe but a hard diet! Looking forward to my next cheat day, am starving! The induction phase is meant to be only 2 weeks but most people usually stay on it til they loose the weight they want to and then go to maintanance phase where you gradually increase the carbs daily

"hard" and "diet" are why this won't be long term. You should strive to be living a healthy lifestyle - something you can do forever basically.

I don't know how low is too low. I couldn't do it though. I just looked at my breakfast and had 59g of carbs without even having any bread. Carbs are good for you as long as you eat the right kind

I find that when I stick to meat (mostly fish) and vegetables (cooked at dinner time, raw throughout the day), I get lower carb days. I actually feel better when I don't have the carbs too high. That said, I don't go as low as 10g. I think that, as long as you are healthy, then high protein, low carb is okay, but I am not a doctor. Maybe you could go on the Dr. Oz website and ask this question.

I'm also doing a low carb diet. The induction phase on atkins diet is less than 20g carbs a day, i try to stay around 10g or less. Its safe but a hard diet! Looking forward to my next cheat day, am starving! The induction phase is meant to be only 2 weeks but most people usually stay on it til they loose the weight they want to and then go to maintanance phase where you gradually increase the carbs daily

"hard" and "diet" are why this won't be long term. You should strive to be living a healthy lifestyle - something you can do forever basically.

Some people do better with the boost that a short-term diet gives them. They see some progress and then they maintain it.

omg i cant do that i love carbs!!!

Well, this is a somewhat complicated topic. I personally follow a "lower carb" diet and never go below 60 grams of carbohydrates. I still get the advantage of appetite control that one gets with a very low carbohydrate diet but not so low that it crushes the appetite (which is what I found that a very low carbohydrate did to me--and I got pretty sick from the resulting undereating). I generally eat lower amounts of carbohydrate on my rest days and then up the amount on my cardio days (to about 120 grams) and a little on my resistance training days (I generally come in around 80-90 grams). The reason why I don't ever go below 60 grams is because that is the threshold of ketosis and I don't think that is a good choice because of the muscle wastage that I personally have experienced on a very low carbohydrate diet. I lost a lot of fat but I lost a lot of muscle mass as well, and ended up regaining all that I had lost plus more. I do not eat sugar and wheat and eat very little of other types of grain preferring to get my carbohydrates from starchy vegetables instead (on my cardio days). When I do eat grain it is usually either 100% whole organic sourdough rye bread, or a bowl of steel cut oats. I quite enjoy my current plan and it is very sustainable. Most people who look at my food diary think it is great and healthy. I should be able to up my portions slightly and maintain when the time comes. I know from experience that it is VERY difficult for me to keep up an exercise program on a very low carbohydrate diet. I used to fight exhaustion constantly. Part of that, I think is because I lost a lot of mineral wealth from not eating enough fruits and vegetables. I have corrected that with this diet. I still don't eat a lot of fruit but I do eat a LOT of vegetables. I always eat at least one serving of fruit per day.

I followed Atkins guidelines (but not the diet) for about 1 year and successfully lost 50 lbs. Although low carb means high fat, I only ate baked turkey and fish and many times cured raw salmon with kosher salt and splenda, (sashimi). The rest of the carbs came from raw veggies and fruits. My carb intake was around 40 grams.

Once I lost weight, I slowly began introducing carbs (fruit) back into the diet. Currently I am on raw veggie and fruit diet with only 10% of animal protein

Carbs are actually a non essential nutrient. You learn that in Nutrition 101. If it were possible, you could eat zero carb indefinitely with zero health effects. Your friend is probably fine. Veggies and fruits do have a lot of useful micronutrients, so in the long run, low carb is better than zero carb.

Starting out super low on your carbs is a good idea. Most low-carb diets start SUPER low, to shock your system into not wanting/needing carbs as much. I'm following a sort-of South Beach diet, where the focus isn't only on low carbs but also on good choices and healthy eating. I think if you're following a low-carb diet, that's the best kind to do. I would suggest having her add in 5 to 10 carbs a week, and when she stops losing weight decrease back to a level where she is losing again.

Sounds like he is trying to put his body into Ketosis. Like others said Carbs are non essential. As long as he is Hitting his protein and fat macros then he is fine.

Yes, going very low carb and low fat at the same time will hurt you. I think that is what gets some very low carb dieters in trouble. They cut both carbs and fat. You cannot go low fat and very low carb at the same time it seems.