has anyone else tried low carb?

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mekhala
mekhala Posts: 123 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i think i posted this in the wrong section....

Hi All

I have felt all carbed out over the last couple of days so decided to bring my carb goals right down to 15% and have lost 3lb in 1 day.

I gained 5 last week, i believe the scales havent been moving (or if they move its in the worng direction) for me because i have been eating far too many carbs.

Has anyone else tried this kind of thing, let me know the pro's and cons.... i will be eating some carbs eg, pulses and the multigrain breads and things - i am going to try and steer clear of the "white" foods my body loves so much.

Its good because today i got to eat smoked salmnon and scrambled eggs.... ham and a fillet of poached salmon for snacking, salad for lunch and a steak with veg for tea....

I am not talking about the low carb high saturated fat diets - i am talking of the healthier eating, low refined carbs with healthy proteins and lots of vegetables.

Let me know your thought, i would be very interested to find out!

Mekhala

Replies

  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
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    Has anyone else tried this kind of thing, let me know the pro's and cons.... i will be eating some carbs eg, pulses and the multigrain breads and things - i am going to try and steer clear of the "white" foods my body loves so much.

    There it is. White carbs = bad. They are useless to us.
  • ickybella
    ickybella Posts: 1,438 Member
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    I have tried (unsuccessfully) to do the low-carb thing, but I don't bother anymore. I eat a banana every day for breakfast, but I also try to stay away from white bread, rice etc. It might taste good, but it really just makes me feel bloated and lethargic. I don't eat much bread at all, but when I do, I eat a wholemeal bread. I really should try to stay away from carbs because my grandma and aunt were diabetic, but I do enjoy a potato every so often. In moderation, nothing is too bad for you, but you know what works for your body, and if eliminating carbs works for you, then you should keep it up! Don't give in and good luck with your efforts.
  • sav_c
    sav_c Posts: 14
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    Hi, I've done most diets going and Atkins was one of them. I went with the 20g of carbs per day and lost about 3-7lb/week for about 2 months. I looked great and felt terrible!

    Things to note

    - you crave carbs constantly - bread, sweet things, potatoes - the list goes on.
    - you have to drink gallons of water or you back up badly and feel really bloated all the time
    - you get sick of eating meat and eggs
    - your taste buds give up and everything becomes bland
    - when you leave the diet the weight piles on quick

    these are my personal observations and not necessarily what everyone experiences.

    Controlling carbs definitely has an impact on weight loss. The thing I love about this site and the goals the site sets for you calorie wise allow you to eat all the bad things but make you think about what you are eating and reflect on whether you want to waste calories on them.

    You'll find a lot of the bad carb things are high in calories anyway so you naturally avoid them and choose better alternatives e.g. brown rice, not white rice or potatoes or white bread.

    You need to look at the Glycemic Index (GI) value of the foods you are eating. High levels result in you getting a massive boost of sugar and big come down afterwards, whereas low GI means a slower release of sugars over a period of time. White bread and such are high GI.

    Go ahead and eat the carbs but have a small amount, don't deny yourself. Pulse and multigrains are perfect choices.

    Good luck.
  • lucifa73
    lucifa73 Posts: 110
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    Maybe look at low GI rather than cutting carbs. Low GI sustains you longer reducing the swings in energy and cravings for more. It also means there is no need to 'reintroduce' foods once you reach goal and see a disheartening gain :wink: If you Google 'low GI' you'll get loads of hits.

    @ickybella The recommended diet for a diebetic is essentially a low GI one (my mum & dad were recently diagnosed with adult onset diabetes and this is the diet they have to follow to manage the condition without medicating):flowerforyou:
  • leanmass24
    leanmass24 Posts: 304 Member
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    Yeah I tried atkins and agree with what sav_c said... you are suppposed to transition good carbs back into the diet over time but I couldnt stand it any longer so I stopped and the weight came back pretty quick, and I gained more than what i had lost. I say just eat healthy and stick with that. you will lose all the weight that you want. It might take longer, but it will be better in the long run.
  • Joyjmb
    Joyjmb Posts: 221 Member
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    I lost about 45 lbs 7 years ago on Atkins and actually had NO problem with cravings or headaches. I was just in the HABIT of wanting filling starch, not necessarily needing it. You don't always have to eat meat and eggs. I did nuts, legumes, turkey, chicken, and then started adding in good whole grains (good for us anyway, any diet!) and lots of fruit and vegetables.
    Now, this didn't help when 3 years ago I got into a relationship and everything just went out the window as we ate out all the time and both ended up gaining weight. But it can work. Even now if I make rice, I take twice as much veggies as starch.
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
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    I keep my carbs around 70ish and I don't get them from the "whites" When I first started this I dropped lot's fast. I have stuck to it and intend on sticking to it for....ever. Like a previous poster said white carbs=bad I agree with that. Good luck!

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