Success on a Low Carb Diet?

I lost about 25lbs by cutting carbs and I've kept it off for about a year now. I do have times when i fall off the wagon and I do allow myself to indulge on the weekends but during the week I'm quite strict about it. I just stay away from pasta and bread and sugary stuff. It's worked for me and I never have that icky stuffed "full" feeling that I used to when I ate ALL the carbs.

DH has kept off 50 pounds for over a year, and he started on Atkins. The thing people tend to do with low-carb diets is that when they reach goal weight they just go back to eating whatever, and unsurprisingly, end up back at the weight they started at (or higher). The thing people do with Atkins in particular is try to stay on the super low carb part for too long, when in reality, there is a whole process for introducing foods back and increasing carb levels, and another phase for maintenance. The thing is, DH *likes* meat, salads, nuts, and low-carb veggies, and carbs do not agree with him at all, so when he cheats he feels it the next day. I am not sure what carb level he is at now because tracking is not his thing, but he is still off bread, potatoes, and most processed foods and as far as I can tell that is permanent. He is OK with meals that have 30g of carbs, so I suspect he is under 100g per day. If he has a bad week and eats too much crappy carby food at work, it definitely shows up quickly because of the glycogen/water.

Before he started, I showed him what maintenance looked like and made sure he was OK with it. Not saying that he couldn't have gone on another type of maintenance plan, but maintenance is the key here. Too many people view losing weight as a goal-oriented lose X proposition when really that is a tiny part of the rest of your life at maintenance.

Me, I started Atkins with him and did 99% of the legwork on reading and meal prep, but for me it was not sustainable. I see the value in lowering carbs and I eat a lot of the same meals as he does, but 150g seems to be OK for me and gives me more flexibility in the types of food I choose to eat.

I've been on and off a ketogenic diet since October. I've lost 15 lb that way. The Ketogenic diet is strict (3 cups of vegetables a day, no more/no less; 20g carbs a day). I fall off about once a month (and it was hopeless during the holidays), but it's easy to get back on (not true with any other diet I've tried). And even when I "fall off" I still have less than 100 g carbs a day.

When I'm not following the ketogenic diet, I follow Primal Blueprint. That's easy to follow. Eat organic; No grains or sugar, less than 100g carb per day. Easy. I still have trouble saying no to the cookies and stuff people bring in to work, but even then I can still follow Primal at least 80% of the time and keep my total carbs under 100. My weight goes up and down (gain 1, drop 1, gain 2, drop 1.5, gain 1, drop 5 - that sort of pattern), but it's steadily trending downwards at an average rate of 1 lb/week.

I don't miss grains at all (just can't say no when they're right in front of me). I find I'm not nearly as lethargic as I used to be. I have much better focus (although that wasn't the case when I first got started). I can go longer periods without getting hungry. Hunger doesn't make me stupid and dizzy anymore. The biggest way it's helped is that I'm free to exercise spontaneously. I used to go for a walk and afterwards I was so hungry nothing would satisfy. So I had to carefully plan my meals before exercise to make sure I had enough fuel. If I didn't eat properly in the hours before, then exercise made me over eat, big time. Now I can eat naturally all the time and if I go walking for a couple hours, without planning it, I still feel fine afterwards.

I think a lot of people either find it didn't work FOR THEM, or they don't like the theory so they don't bother learning anything more.
Low-carb (the Primal method, not ketogenic) is something I can stick to for life. I'll keep going on and off the keto diet until I reach my goal weight, then go Primal permanently.

i've just started the atkins diets too!

long story short -
it's great short-term if you can keep yourself in check.
it's great long-term if you can keep yourself in check.

sense the pattern here?

it's really individualized and each person's response to the carbohydrates is unique to themselves.
find out if this diet works for you - change it if you have to.
modify if you need it.

i've been trying to stay under 50g of carbs per day, but today i completely cheated.
it's usually easier for me to avoid carbohydrates, though. i normally do not eat bread and pastas anymore, i stick with my fish and eggs.

it is true that the more you refrain from eating the carbs, the less you crave them.

If it works for you, do it. You do not need carbs for anything unless you have a medical condition. The same applies to avoiding carbs, you do not need to unless you have a medical condition. But if this way of eating is effective for you and not dangerous, by all means stick to it.

I've been eating this way (low carb for me = about 20 net carbs a day) for about 3 years and feel great. But, according to a lot of people on this site, I shouldn't feel great, I should be having a hard time maintaining, and I should have put all of the weight back on and then some. I should feel sluggish and lethargic.
The truth is that I have more energy than I've ever had. I don't feel the need to take an afternoon nap every day. I am never hungry, I don't have cravings....on and on!
I just wanted to know if anyone else is having these same results.

When I look at your ticker it doesn't seem to jibe with this glowing success story:

You can't judge anyone on here by their ticker without knowing what they want to accomplish

Mine doesn't show a huge weight loss but yet my Body Fat % has gone down significantly and I have more energy as well within my works and other aspects such as sports

I've been on and off a ketogenic diet since October. I've lost 15 lb that way. The Ketogenic diet is strict (3 cups of vegetables a day, no more/no less; 20g carbs a day).

<record scratch sound>

Uhh, you can eat as many darned vegetables as you want on a ketogenic diet as long as you keep net carbs to 5-10% of your macros. Hell, as long as you stay in ketosis, even a higher percentage than that. Not sure where you came up with that. 0_o

I went 7 months with no vegetables at ALL and that was my most successful time but I also had the most to lose during that period. I eat plenty of vegetables now... like once a week, hahahaha.

If you have PCOS like I do you have to eat low carb to lose, or maintain weight loss. I haven't been doing low carb for a year but the fact is that when I reach my goal, if I want to stay there I will have to continue eating low carb. btw I'm doing the Low GI diet, I've read it is similar to keto.

This is also not true. Women and girls with PCOS aren't all the same, and we don't all need to restrict carbs to lose weight. I've got a handful of great ladies with PCOS on my friends list here who have not restricted carbs and are doing great with their weight loss, and know others outside of MFP as well.

I'm one of those who does have to watch carbs/sugar, as I have insulin resistance...but we're all different.

OP, I have been eating low carb paleo since last July. I don't have trouble sticking with it, but I also can't really go too crazy with the carbs for the reasons I mentioned above.

just make sure you drink "tons" of water if you plan to lower your carbs and raise ur protein so your kidneys stay healthy. im trying it for about 2 weeks . ill let you know how it goes

"Uhh, you can eat as many darned vegetables as you want on a ketogenic diet"

That's probably true. But I reset myself by going back to the original recommendation - 2 cups of greens, 1 cup of other vegetables, every day. Since I used to hate vegetables, this is a significant change.

It has worked for me (2 years and counting). I prefer the term "lifestyle" rather than diet. I will make changes when it stops working -- no big deal.

The best way to lose weight is to stay away from diets. Everytime I do I end up falling off the band wagon or gaining it all back instantly!

If you go back to eating the same way you did when you got fat, you'll gain back, no matter what "diet" you went on.

Your body NEEDS carbs for energy.

False. Your body needs glucose, which it can make via gluconeogenesis - from other sources besides dietary carbs.

Eating lower carb (how low depends on my activity level and goals) and no grains has been much more sustainable for me (will be 2 years in August), and has enabled me to stop taking a lot of medications (no more acid reflux medicine after 7 years, no more bc pills since I have a regular period now, etc) and allieved other ailments (allergy symptoms, eczema, IBS symptoms, etc lessened to gone). So for rme, it's not just been for weight loss/maintenance, it's for overall health.

Yes, there were a couple times in that 21 months that I fell off the wagon; one being the first holiday season in 2011 when I went back to eating what I wanted without the exercise I had been doing - and gained back with a vengeance. I learned my lesson, and actually lost weight over the 2012 holidays (10lbs in December 2012, versus gaining that much the previous year). If I can sustain and even LOSE during the holidays, I say I can do this for life.

@ martinah
Looks like you're doing great! 40 lbs loss is nothing to scoff about. Keep up the amazing work!!