Has anyone else tried low carb?

for me, low carb does work but don't get results for weeks on end.
i don't get enough fibre so get problems.

I would research the low carb becaue it is not all that is cracked up to be. You have to have them but from fruit veggies and whole grains. Your body need them to function. Read my little blog on yo yo dieteting. What you need is a balance of carbs/ protien and healthy fats. Generally the % for most people is 40% carb 30 % protien and 30% fat. Your body need a balance of them all. Example a great breakfest is oatmeal or oatbran with flax seed egg and egg whites and maybe some berries, Good combo of all

Have a great day and hope this helps. Ps also can you live on low carb the rest of your life.. Prob not.

Tonya

I tried low carb once but there are so many carbs I love that it isn't feasible for me to do longer than a couple weeks or so (though back when I did it, I lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks)

Plus, at least for now, my difficulty with chewing means I can't really add on any other food type restrictions for now.

Yes I am doing this now. Staying away from bad carbs, white breads and noodles and rice and trying just good carbs. And I walking for 25 minutes every day also but I have lost 3 lbs and I only started on the 15th. I can really notice a difference. It does take some work to stay away from the bread, at least it does for me. I love bread and noodles. You will do great, stick with it.

I would research the low carb becaue it is not all that is cracked up to be. You have to have them but from fruit veggies and whole grains. Your body need them to function. Read my little blog on yo yo dieteting. What you need is a balance of carbs/ protien and healthy fats. Generally the % for most people is 40% carb 30 % protien and 30% fat. Your body need a balance of them all. Example a great breakfest is oatmeal or oatbran with flax seed egg and egg whites and maybe some berries, Good combo of all

Have a great day and hope this helps. Ps also can you live on low carb the rest of your life.. Prob not.

Tonya

If I needed fruit and grains to function, I'd be dead.

Just saying.

To the OP-low carb can be a truly wonderful way to go!! You said the book you are reading has 3 stages? Can I assume you are doing South Beach? I follow Atkins and have been for over a year-the numbers in my signature are proof that it works and I am very healthy now! Message me if you have any questions. :drinker:
So for the earlier poster who said that eating low carb was a BAD thing...you should really read before you speak or type! Following these low carb plans initially cuts out your white, starchy carbs-you eat proteins and good leafy veggies that have carbs. Then as you go through the phases you ADD carbs back in, such as fruits and good whole grains.
Eating low carb teaches you that your body does not need the crappy flour and processed crap that we've been feeding it!

And kudos to you Barneystinson I can't quite give up fruits and some grains but I admire your way!!

To the OP-low carb can be a truly wonderful way to go!! You said the book you are reading has 3 stages? Can I assume you are doing South Beach? I follow Atkins and have been for over a year-the numbers in my signature are proof that it works and I am very healthy now! Message me if you have any questions. :drinker:
So for the earlier poster who said that eating low carb was a BAD thing...you should really read before you speak or type! Following these low carb plans initially cuts out your white, starchy carbs-you eat proteins and good leafy veggies that have carbs. Then as you go through the phases you ADD carbs back in, such as fruits and good whole grains.
Eating low carb teaches you that your body does not need the crappy flour and processed crap that we've been feeding it!

And kudos to you Barneystinson I can't quite give up fruits and some grains but I admire your way!!

I do eat berries and canteloupe on occasion

I view them as treats, though.

As do I. Even though I follow Atkins protocol, my body doesn't handle all the sugar very well-so I don't eat fruit very often. I haven't had any now in well over a month and really can't say that I'm depriving myself or that I'm eating an unbalanced bad diet.

There's no magic here.

Calories are always paramount. By that, I mean you can gain weight while eating zero carbs if you're in a calorie surplus. And vice versa, you can lose weight eating nothing but carbs as long as you're in a calorie deficit.

Once calories are accounted for, picking and choosing what nutrients provide you your calories is next. And it is important, too.

For most everyone, creating a healthy base of protein, healthy fats, fruits and veggies is the name of the game. Where you go from there is the wild card, and this generally revolves around the other carbs (non fruit and veggies).

Some folks will certainly do better on lower/controlled carb type diets. Obese folks, for instance, who are generally insulin resistant, tend to fare better eating lower carb. On the flip side though... some folks do better eating higher carb. At the end of the day, it's all about experimentation really.

Just keep in mind that most low carb approaches stand only to indirectly control calories. They work in that once you remove a major food group, it's makes it that much harder to overeat calories. People write it up as the magic of low carbs forgetting that correlation does not equal causation.

Also keep in mind that initially people tend to low quite a bit of water weight eating low carb. People get ecstatic about this as if reaching a number on the scale was what's really important - when in fact it's really about optimizing body composition and health.

Once again, Steve does make a lot of sense. :happy:

I will point out that I'm one of those folks that does better keeping my carbs down. While I do see the logic that calories are calories, there is more to it than that. There's blood sugar. While I'm sure that I would lose weight eating a low calorie, high carb diet... A. It would be unsustainable for more than a day or so because I would be STARVING and B. Even if I could keep it up, I'd never know I was losing weight because I'd be very swollen. For some of us, controlling water weight is just as appealing as controlling pure fat. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... Severe edema has made weight loss just as much of a struggle for me as any other cause, including a sluggish metabolism due to hypothyroidism. In the past, I have lost 20lbs in less than 6 weeks by doing nothing more than taking a diuretic. (That's a lot of weight for a small woman.) I digress... In the end, different people have different metabolisms. You have to pay attention to how your body reacts to the food you give it. I think if your tolerance to carbs is less than great, you probably know. Regardless, make sure that whatever you put in your body is HEALTHY and as natural as you can possibly make it. :bigsmile:

I would research the low carb becaue it is not all that is cracked up to be. You have to have them but from fruit veggies and whole grains. Your body need them to function. Read my little blog on yo yo dieteting. What you need is a balance of carbs/ protien and healthy fats. Generally the % for most people is 40% carb 30 % protien and 30% fat. Your body need a balance of them all. Example a great breakfest is oatmeal or oatbran with flax seed egg and egg whites and maybe some berries, Good combo of all

Have a great day and hope this helps. Ps also can you live on low carb the rest of your life.. Prob not.

Tonya

I am not posting this to create a debate or argument. I am merely passing on first hand information on how I am able to live a controlled carb lifestyle and became healthier in the process.

In order to make an educated decision, you need to be able to hear all sides of this discussion.

The approach of moderation for everyone DOES NOT FIT.

You don't need grains. The government only tells you that we need them because they are cheap and easily farmed.

Grains have to be processed to be eaten. You can not go to a field and pick a stalk of wheat, rye, etc and eat it straight like you can veggies and fruits.

That is one of the MAIN reasons it is not in my eating plan.

Also, amongst my research and then testing that research on me and my family, I have found that saturated fat is NOT BAD for us.

I have been on a very low carb, higher fat and moderate protein plan for 7 years and I didn't gain any weight back UNTIL I developed a pituitary tumor, adrenal gland fatigue and hypothyroidism.

I have a major wheat intolerance, so if I do eat any bread, it is either made with oat flour or almond flour and in the winter I do enjoy an occasional bowl of steel cut oats.

Other than that, I enjoy raw milk, raw cheese, greek yogurt with berries, lots of fresh veggies and fruits from my CSA subscription or the local farmers market.

I only eat eggs, chicken, beef and pork from a local butcher shop that gets his meats from local farmers with in a 35 mile radius of Downtown St Louis, MO. (Illinois and Missouri).

I have gotten off all Diabetes medications, anti-depressants, high blood pressure meds, etc. The only meds I currently take is Armour Thyroid.

My husband is completely off his high blood pressure meds also. My husband has kept off a 60 pound loss for 4 years now eating this way.

Our cholestol, triglycerides and all other blood work is completely normal too. So much so, my doctor asked us how we did it.

I told her that we followed Atkins by the book, from Phase 1 (induction) all the way through Phase 4 (Maintenance).

There is nothing FADDISH about a low carb lifestyle. We live it.

I would research the low carb becaue it is not all that is cracked up to be. You have to have them but from fruit veggies and whole grains. Your body need them to function. Read my little blog on yo yo dieteting. What you need is a balance of carbs/ protien and healthy fats. Generally the % for most people is 40% carb 30 % protien and 30% fat. Your body need a balance of them all. Example a great breakfest is oatmeal or oatbran with flax seed egg and egg whites and maybe some berries, Good combo of all

Have a great day and hope this helps. Ps also can you live on low carb the rest of your life.. Prob not.

Tonya

If I needed fruit and grains to function, I'd be dead.

Just saying.

That is true..............Then again, we eat very similiarly.......... :drinker: :drinker:




I also wanted to add the part about what you said of an example of a great breakfast..............

Well according to both Atkins and South Beach (which are low / controlled carb plans) that is a perfect breakfast. So, in essence you are subscribing to a controlled carb lifestyle.

So it is not fair to say without reading any of the low carb plans out here from start to finish that someone can't adhere to it for life, because that is very simply false.

*waves* Hi lioness! I was hoping you'd find us over here! Hehe.
I think we've lucked out though and only had one person say something negative about low carb eating...that's a change!

*waves* Hi lioness! I was hoping you'd find us over here! Hehe.
I think we've lucked out though and only had one person say something negative about low carb eating...that's a change!

For what it's worth, I'm generally pretty neutral. If someone enjoys low carb better than something else, who am I to judge. That said, I'm against the push from the scientific and huckster community to get the masses to believe there's some sort of metabolic advantage associated with low carb diets.

Unfortunately, it seems that the low carb world is buried in a lot of zealotry.

Which is unfortunate since, while there are select populations who would probably do better with low carb dieting, there are many folks who'd do better avoiding low carb diets.

Of course you can blame it on the user for being ignorant. But when you have diet programs and "experts" telling people carbs make you fat... well... it's sort of hard not to generalize and knock the low carb approach as a whole. Granted, I'm well aware of the fact that it's not the approach per se... rather it's the fanaticism and BS marketers/authors who drive the ridiculousness.

Not really applicable to this thread... but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents at your comment about negativity towards low carb diets.

My comment was definitely not intended for you - I thought what you had to say was very well put and well thought out. It's what people need to hear!
People need to realize that not everyone can lose weight by counting calories. I've just seen too many threads around here where everyone says that calorie counting is the only way to go and god help you if you say you eat low carb. It fairly irritates me when people like the one earlier in this thread just go "it's not all it's cracked up to be" and "can you really eat that way for the rest of your life? Prob not." I know a lot of these groups of thoughts are to blamed on what's currently popular but people should read for themselves before giving out info, if you know what I mean.

My comment was definitely not intended for you -

Sorry, I should have clearly expressed that I was more using your commentary to reply to the entire bunch for general discussion. I knew you weren't directing at me. I just like jibber jabbering.

I thought what you had to say was very well put and well thought out. It's what people need to hear!

Well thanks!

People need to realize that not everyone can lose weight by counting calories. I've just seen too many threads around here where everyone says that calorie counting is the only way to go and god help you if you say you eat low carb. It fairly irritates me when people like the one earlier in this thread just go "it's not all it's cracked up to be" and "can you really eat that way for the rest of your life? Prob not." I know a lot of these groups of thoughts are to blamed on what's currently popular but people should read for themselves before giving out info, if you know what I mean.

I hear ya.

Personally, and this is strictly my own personal issue, I have an issue when people compare calories counting to carb counting. That's like arguing what brand or gasoline is better compared to various brands of oil. They're not one in the same.

Calories are a measure of energy. Carbs are one type of nutrient, and nutrients provide our bodies energy or calories.

And this is to the entire group... not just you specifically... but it bares repeating.

All diets that work, and by work I mean cause weight loss over extended periods of time, are controlling calories. You can manipulate your nutrient profile whichever way you want, but nothing's going to "work" unless calories are controlled.

But here are the kickers:

1) Controlling calories doesn't mean you have to count them. You can follow some set of guidelines (such as low carb) which are going to automatically control calories for you generally speaking.

2) While calories apply to everyone, the various ways of structuring nutrient profiles does not. I've clients who tend to respond best to very controlled carb diets. Insulin resistance can be a bi&*%!

These are the two messages that seem to get lost in the shuffle whenever people start talking about one particular way of dieting.

I agree with most of what you wrote, but I do agree that there is a "metabolic" advantage" to eating an all natural, lower carb eating plan, so hat is where we disagree.

Explain that a pretty natural diet of 1,200 - 1,400 calories that includes grains and low fat will cause me to gain weight.

Where as, I can eat a natural diet of upwards of 2,000 - 2,200 calories - high fat, moderate protein, low carbs and lose weight effortlessly.

There are lots and lots of people that are just like me on this website, on other websites and in general in the world................

I guess I must say that no matter what you call your plan...................we all agree that eating food in its most natural form is the way to go!!!

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

You said it, lady! :flowerforyou: These days, when I do choose to eat starches, I tend to lean more toward rice, sweet potatoes, or even corn (although Dr. Agatston doesn't particularly advocate corn.) I don't go in much for grains, and wheat is my absolute last choice. Something must be working, because lately my clothes are getting SO baggy (need to go weigh!), and this is in the midst of needing a thyroid hormone adjustment! Of course, I think everyone should give South Beach a whirl, but that's just because it's working so well for ME. Whatever plan you follow, it's always a good idea to eat non or minimally processed foods and look for all natural or even organic foods.

I agree with most of what you wrote, but I do agree that there is a "metabolic" advantage" to eating an all natural, lower carb eating plan, so hat is where we disagree.

Hmmm, maybe we should define what we mean by metabolic advantage. I spend a lot of time reading all the available published, peer-reviewed research on low carb dieting and metabolic advantage. Maybe I'm missing something and you can provide me a link to the data or paper you're referring to? Or at least the abstract?

Everything I've seen doesn't indicate a metabolic advantage to low carbs. By metabolic advantage I mean by lowering or nixing carbohydrates metabolism actually speeds up as a direct result.

I'd appreciate the reference if you have one.

Explain that a pretty natural diet of 1,200 - 1,400 calories that includes grains and low fat will cause me to gain weight.

Sorry, I'm replying as I read along. By this, I'm assuming you're basing your "metabolic advantage" statement on anecdote. Which is fine... I'm happy you've found something that works for you.

However...

If I was forced to explain, I'd assume you're calorie intake estimation is off or inconsistent. But that's without knowing you. I'm basing that on the reams of research that clearly show how poorly even dietitians are at tracking their intakes. I'm also basing it on the research that shows people who "simply couldn't lose weight regardless" or the people who "would gain weight on extremely low calories" that, when placed in a metabolic ward with clinically controlled calories, would lose weight. I'm also basing that on my experience as a professional in this industry, but I don't want to appeal to authority here.

So please don't take offense as it has nothing to do with you, personally.

I can say unless you're in the low 100s in terms of weight... if you're truly gaining weight (not water weight, but true weight as in bodily tissues) while eating 1300 calories, then you've got something going on. It might be a medical problem. Outside the realm of medical issues, it's very easy to get a rough estimate of what sort of calories people expending each day based on weight and activity. Sure, there will be some variability on the individual level... but not the sort of variability we're talking about here. Metabolism simply doesn't vary that much across populations when adjusted for weight.

If something isn't medically wrong and the intake is accurate and you're gaining weight.... this is sort of joking and sort of serious.... maybe your body is some sort of walking fusion reactor that creates stored energy without an additional input from the environment (food). In this latter case, scientists would love to get their hands on you as creating energy out of nothing would be a huge step in solving the world's energy crisis.

There are lots and lots of people that are just like me on this website, on other websites and in general in the world................

Part of me is thinking I should simply back out of this thread. I'm saying that based on experience dealing with low carbers... the zealotry I spoke of earlier. I'm hoping I'm wrong and you can discuss this while remaining emotionally neutral. Mind you, I'm not very active on this forum (except for the last few days) compared to others... so I'm not familiar with the general "code of conduct".

I should also note that I'm not anti low-carb at all. I have a number of my clients following low carb regiments.

I'm simply interested in maintaining the integrity of information.

I do understand there are people everywhere on the net claiming that they gain weight on what should be huge calorie deficits. However, there isn't one piece of research that shows this as being possible. In all the cases where people are actually clinically controlled on the calorie front, weight is lost. And there are literally reams of research showing how people just suck at self-reporting their intakes.

Also, I've been in this industry for just over a decade. And you're right... I've come across quite a few clients who claim what you're claiming. Invariably though, things don't pan out the way they claim once we dig into the numbers. In fact, I can count on one hand how many times their claims stood the test of rigor and in those cases, there were actually medical issues explaining why their total daily energy expenditures were so much lower than would be assumed based on weight and activity.

As noted, low carb may very well be ideal for you. I'm sure it is based on what you've said here. But high carbs in the face of a calorie deficit isn't causing tissue gain. Especially not over extended periods of time. Sure, it might lead to water gain if you're coming off of a lower carb time period... but that's not a violation of energy physics.

At the end of the day, none of this really matters. People are going to eat however they believe best and hopefully they're smart enough to realize when something isn't working and to try something different. That's the name of the game.

Look forward to your reply and thanks for the conversation.

I'm not being a zealot when I mentioned that there are a lot of people here like me...........

Terribly sorry. I did not mean to imply you're a zealot. Not even remotely. What I meant was typically when I engage in factual conversation on forums regarding low carbohydrate dieting... the conversation spirals downward into the abyss of anecdotal "he said she said."

I'm not claiming that's the direction you're taking the conversation. I don't even know you and I try my best to remain emotionally neutral when discussing stuff on boards like this.

I'm simply explaining my experience in similar threads on other forums... as they seem to spring up time and time again since carbohydrates are the current red-headed step child to demonize. Before it was dietary fat.

I am talking about those people that are faithfully counting calories (not over or under estimating), exercising and still not losing weight. Most of the people that I am speaking of "that are like me" also have undiagnosed medical issues.

I'm going to respectfully dodge this claim. And I'm never referring to medically challenged people. The "rules" change for them. I'm solely speaking about normally functioning folks who claim to create stored energy while inputting inadequate energy into their bodies to cover their daily costs.

When I'm presenting claims on message boards, I have the actual peer-reviewed data to back them up. When I'm simply speaking based on experience and anecdote... I'm going to preface my claim letting the readers know I'm speaking anecdotally.

There are so many chemicals and stuff in our food that it is ruining our bodies. I firmly believe this.

I'm not talking about processed vs. unprocessed foods. I'm not interested in debating about processed vs. unprocessed. However, a friend of mine recently blogged about this debate, which some of you might find interesting:

http://weightology.net/thehealthsleuth/?p=139

In this particular debate, I'm talking about metabolic advantage to low carb dieting. Where is it?

Yes, your correct. I have Thyroid, Pituitary and adrenal gland issues that affect my metabolism as well as every other system in my body. You can also add to that list, PCOS and diabetes...............

Sorry to hear that. Your anecdotes make more sense now and don't necessarily apply to what I'm discussing here.

Yes, I was accurate on my calorie counts. Had my doctors baffled as I counted EVERYTHING that went into my mouth, even sugar free gum at the time..............

What sort of doctors were you dealing with that were monitoring your calorie intake? Were they using doubly labeled water to confirm your true intake?

Unfortunately I'm a believer that nobody is 100% accurate.

In fact, I know they're not simply because using calories as the "measuring stick" to track energy consumption is extremely outdated. As in 110+ years outdated.

The factors that we use for measuring energy in our foods are called the Atwater factors, which are 4, 4 and 9 kcals for protein, carbs and fat respectively. These are not perfect representations of what energy is available to the body. Atwater factors are estimates, and averages of metaboliseable energy. They are gross energy (Bomb) less the energy that is lost in the urine, feces, breath and skin. This is not the energy available to the body, but unfortunately we are stuck with using them for now.

What the body "sees" is the NET metaboliseable energy. This is the energy that is provided to the body after metabolic inefficiencies are accounted for. When viewed from the bird's eye level, different macronutrients have unique "energy" costs to breakdown and utilize them. For instance, protein requires the most energy to digest and utilize so even though 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of carb provides our body with "4 calories," that's on a gross basis. Not net. On the micro level, even different types within the same macronutrient family (digestible vs. nondigestible carb for instance) provides unique energy densities on a net basis.

So nobody is actually accurate b/c the entire system isn't accurate. There are ways to estimate these inefficiencies... but still... they're estimates.

And even if it were spot-on accurate, humans subconsciously do things they don't even realize. Here's a start at the mountain of research regarding energy intake reporting:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17197279

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9741036

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18313427

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20010905

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15251058

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15251058

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15251058

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19226926

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16536182

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20010905

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7594141

My intent is not to discredit you. It is to show you that correlation does not always equal causation. It's fine to have a discussion based on our own unique experiences. That's what these forums are all about. But that's not why I'm here. I'm hear to chime in when I see claims being made that do not stand up to the body of research we have available thus far.

I'm not close minded. I realize there's a ton we need to know yet about our bodies and the effects of various nutritional protocols. But debating about the unknown is a dead end on this sort of medium if you ask me.

I will get some studies for you to read. But I am living proof!!!

Living proof of a metabolic advantage? Or something else?

To make a substantiated claim, you need to control for confounding variables, which is what science is all about. In free living organisms... there's too much "going on" to prove cause and effect, unfortunately. It's like the folks who do a billion crunches, start to see their abs, then claim that doing a billion crunches is the key to a lean stomach. This never minds the fact that they also completely overhauled their nutritional intake by controlling calories and eating healthier foods and started a balanced exercise routine at the same time. Not to mention the research that we have available pertaining to "spot reduction." Like I said... correlation is not causation and in free living settings, you're simply not going to be able to define causative variables.

I don't mean to be a hard *kitten*... I assure you I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I'm actually enjoying the conversation.

Thanks for your time.