Has anyone lost weight not cutting down on carbs?

I agree, for some people Atkins will work, but i think for the long term it's better to look at the calories and eat healthier.

I only counted calories to lose weight

The OP has 150 pounds of excess fat which means she has very good reason to keep her carbs low. Excess fat causes insulin resistance, a real medical condition which means eating carbs can hamper her weight loss goals. I'm not saying she's insulin resistant but i'm saying she has a pretty damn good chance as the AMA recommends you get tested at only 30 pounds of excess fat. She was however, in excess of 150 pounds.

I was insulin resistant and diagnosed type 2 diabetic in 2009 and had over 300 to lose when I started my journey and worked with a Dietician through my Endo dr. and never once did she mention low carb. She had me set to eat 60-70 grams at my main meals and 20-25 at my snacks which averaged 240 to 290 grams of carbs a day... I have since lost a few pounds and my Carbs make up over 50% of my macro intake today which puts me over 400 grams a day... My A1c's the last 2 years have averaged 5.3........ OP there is nothing wrong with your plan as long as you are losing weight and exercising you will achieve your goals.... Best of Luck.....

Yes, the amount of calories still matter but it is easier to lose weight on low carb if you are insulin resistant. You are just making it harder on yourself by including carbs in your diet. Link below to read more on the topic.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/insulin-sensitivity-and-fat-loss.html




In addition to that, abnormal spikes in glucose levels still cause damage to your microvascular system(tiny arteries) even if it's just a 2 hour high spike.

http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/2/71.full


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Lol well we will agree to disagree then because I have been monitored every 3 months (A1c checks....and every 6 month lipid panels done) for the last 4 years with my Endo dr. and checking in every 4 weeks with my (the same) dietician who approves my meal plan and I had lost 312 lbs. in alittle over 3 years (been in maintenance for the last 9 months.... So I don't see where it as made my weight loss any harder.... but maybe I am just a special snowflake.......

Congratulations but no, you're not a special snowflake. Just anecdotal evidence. You only tried one diet and that's the only diet you know, so you have nothing to compare it to. Let me be clear here, if you are strict enough with your calorie counting than anyone can still lose weight even if they are insulin resistant but real scientific peer reviewed research that contains more than one participant shows that insulin resistant people feel better and lose more weight on a lower carb diet. How do you know you wouldn't have lost faster on a lower carb diet? You don't because you only did one approach to it and there was only one participant in your research, yourself. Get it?


As for your lipids test, great job, but I would not take the risk of spiking my glucose levels knowing that there's evidence that I could be damaging my arteries and I'm sure many people would not go the same route if they had that information either. That is why i posted it. (We're talking about insulin resistant people and type 2 diabetics here. Normal people should not have this problem)

http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/2/71.full#ref-25

My weight loss was set for me to lose 1-2 lbs. a week no more ( I wasn't in this for a faster weight loss), it was established by my endocrinologist and the plan was implemented by my dietician, there was no other plan. I was ask before we even ventured on this path if I would rather do gastric bypass but I was adamant that if I could not fix what was broken in my head then no weight loss surgery was ever going to give me the long term success I wanted so I told them I would do this with diet and exercise or die trying... At 560 pounds I was trapped in my home for over 2 years and my Endo dr. actually wrote me a script for aquatic therapy so that my Physical therapist could use water displacement to allow me to stand long enough to be able to exercise ( could not walk more than 20 ft back then with out having to sit down, actual ripped the back off a computer chair and would roll myself to the bathroom and kitchen from my recliner). So you see there was a medically supervised approach that I just surrendered to the process and stopped saying No to everything and started saying YES...... I know we are talking about Type 2 diabetics and insulin resistance because I am and have this disease and will for the rest of my life. The key now is to keep it in remission to allow me to keep the receptors I still have left so that I never have to go on insulin, so maintaining my weight, exercising, controlling my diabetes with my diet, testing daily are all staples in my arsenal against it.... So again we will agree to disagree but my approach to this was established from day one under doctors control and that has not changed...... But lumping all diabetic into this low carb group in my mind and from my experience is not necessarily the case for all so I am just voicing my side of the equation... Best of Luck OP on your journey......

Being a diabetic means having abnormally high glucose levels and having high glucose levels destroys arteries even if it's just for a 2 hour spike. In addition to that, being insulin resistant causes your body to flush more insulin in order to deal with the high glucose levels. I don't see how we can not lump them into one group and say that there is a special diet that works the best for them over everything else? Yes, you can still lose weight by counting calories even when eating carbs but we can be even more detailed than that by not contributing more to the already existing problem.


Anyway, here is a research paper below that you might be interested in. It goes into detail about what causes Type 2 diabetes and how to reverse it. Even says that phase 1 insulin response came back to life, a true marker for reversing the condition and not just a management of glucose levels. Have you done an oral glucose tolerance test to see how fast your phase 1 insulin response is working? The study below also goes into detail about insulin resistance and changes your understanding of how much of a roll it plays into a type 2 diabetic's condition.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/4/1047.full

I test before my meal and 2 hours after I eat and that is at each meal.... my bs b4 I eat averages mid 80's and my 2 hour test following my meals is always below 110 which is exactly where my endo wants my numbers.... my diet consists of lean meats, veggies, fruits and whole grains. Once I hit my macros and nutrient for the day any calories remaining are spent on discretionary items of my choosing. ... Look I have 4 years of trial and error with my diet and exercise, and have been medically supervised my actual doctors and dieticians that there whole careers are based around diabetics so I will continue to follow the path that they have laid out in front of me because had I not taken the steps they laid out I more than likely would not be sitting here typing this today.... Best of Luck to you..........

Yes :bigsmile: Lots of natural foods, not too much processed food and count those calories!! Best of luck!

I responded earlier that I am losing while eating carbs but I want to expand on what I said.

The question is, has anyone lost weight not cutting down on carbs and my answer is, of course I've cut down on carbs. I've cut down on all the types of calories I consume. I wouldn't be able to lose otherwise. However, I still eat bread, tortillas and even sweets, just a whole lot less.

I

No rice, no potato, no pasta? No way.

Carbs, balanced diet, calories in and out. Job done. xx

Being a diabetic means having abnormally high glucose levels and having high glucose levels destroys arteries even if it's just for a 2 hour spike. In addition to that, being insulin resistant causes your body to flush more insulin in order to deal with the high glucose levels. I don't see how we can not lump them into one group and say that there is a special diet that works the best for them over everything else? Yes, you can still lose weight by counting calories even when eating carbs but we can be even more detailed than that by not contributing more to the already existing problem.


Anyway, here is a research paper below that you might be interested in. It goes into detail about what causes Type 2 diabetes and how to reverse it. Even says that phase 1 insulin response came back to life, a true marker for reversing the condition and not just a management of glucose levels. Have you done an oral glucose tolerance test to see how fast your phase 1 insulin response is working? The study below also goes into detail about insulin resistance and changes your understanding of how much of a roll it plays into a type 2 diabetic's condition.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/4/1047.full

I test before my meal and 2 hours after I eat and that is at each meal.... my bs b4 I eat averages mid 80's and my 2 hour test following my meals is always below 110 which is exactly where my endo wants my numbers.... my diet consists of lean meats, veggies, fruits and whole grains. Once I hit my macros and nutrient for the day any calories remaining are spent on discretionary items of my choosing. ... Look I have 4 years of trial and error with my diet and exercise, and have been medically supervised my actual doctors and dieticians that there whole careers are based around diabetics so I will continue to follow the path that they have laid out in front of me because had I not taken the steps they laid out I more than likely would not be sitting here typing this today.... Best of Luck to you..........

You sound like you're taking it personal. I'm only trying to have a civil conversation and posting informative links for people who want to learn more about their condition. Following your doctor is a great idea. Never said anything was wrong with that. I'm curious though, how many calories did they start you off eating at?

No not taking anything personal.................. That being said my dietician calculated my intake at my heaviest and figured I was eating over 10,000 calories a day @560lbs. Of course that was calorie dense foods of the highest content like Pizza, Chips, desserts etc. So the week I began this journey..... abstinence was the key, we brought in 2- 35 gallon trash cans and empty the house of all my trigger foods, filled the fridge with lean meats, veggies, fruits, and whole grains and set my calorie intake at 2500 with a macro split of 40/30/30 which like I said put my carb intake at 60-70 grams at my main meals and 20-25 grams at my snacks which is right in line (the ADA recommends a carb intake of 40-60 grams at main meals and 20-25 at snacks so I was on the higher end but also coming down from a carb intake way north of that lol) with ADA recommendations. Now they do (ADA) believe that not all diabetic respond the same way and that a low carb approach may work for some while a higher carb diet may work best for other, this is established by working with a Endo dr. and dietician and proper blood glucose monitoring.... As my exercise increase (I had to spend 17 months in a therapy pool using water displacement to allow me to stand long enough to exercise) so did my caloric intake needs, and again this was strictly monitored my doctors and dietician. So respectfully I have to disagree with your approach that ALL diabetics fall under one category, some may but not all.....

I lost a good deal of my extra weight by just cutting calories and exercising. I ate a much cleaner diet and focused on adding protein, so that cut my carbs a bit, but not that much and not on purpose. Although I did still lose more fat than lean through exercise, I did lose both. I got down to the target weight I wanted, but not the body fat I was hoping for. I got smaller and a little leaner, but for as hard as I was working out and cutting back, I expected more.

The past month, however, I have been following more of the primal diet trying to keep total carbs under 100 grams a day, keeping up the protein, and eating good fats to fill out all of the rest of the calories that I normally filled with carbs. My body fat is now dropping and my lean mass is increasing. I've plateaued weight wise and actually gained a few pounds from my low, but my body fat from both scale and caliper measurements has dropped almost another 2%.

So, you can definitely lose weight and still keep a higher fat to lean mass ratio by not cutting way down on carbs, but if you specifically want to lose body fat, then cutting carbs seems to be the way to go. Either way can still drop several sizes in clothing and have you looking better. I think cutting back on sugar and processed grains should be on everyone's list for health anyway, though.

I could care less what my weight is and that my BMI stills pegs me as overweight. Body fat and body composition are what really matters to me. I was never a low carb advocate and still think the people who shun all carbs are crazy, but cutting way back on sugar and grains has been great for me and I'm totally in the sensible low carb camp now.

I totally agree. I have done the Southbeach and the Atkins and in due time the weight comes back on. With being able to eat a variety here with MFP I feel more satisfied and less deprived. Moderation does work!:bigsmile:

At my lowest weight, I did not cut out a single carb.
Just calories.
Even now that I'm tracking on here which tracks everything..
I don't get upset if I slightly go over my carbs.

Actually, I've tried Atkins and other protein based diets before...
I felt soooo sick trying that. Bloated, constipated, gross.
Gained all the weight back.

It's best to eat a variety of foods... carbs a like.
The best advice I've heard is...
"Eat your carbs and your protein together."
I.E fruit + nut butter (peanut, almond, hazelnut, whatever.)

The OP has 150 pounds of excess fat which means she has very good reason to keep her carbs low. Excess fat causes insulin resistance, a real medical condition which means eating carbs can hamper her weight loss goals. I'm not saying she's insulin resistant but i'm saying she has a pretty damn good chance as the AMA recommends you get tested at only 30 pounds of excess fat. She was however, in excess of 150 pounds.

Great response! Sooooo true! As a former taker of diabetic pills, I am now free of them by watching my weight. Carbs as well as fat.
Although I am not a true "HEALTHY" eater. I Don't want to have to take insulin in my "Silver Days". So, please be careful of the fats!

I lost all my weight without counting one carb. Calories, calories, calories

EXACTLY

The calorie deficit rules but cutting carbs for a bit can help some people manage this as far as I can tell.

My work day is typically a 12 hour fast which I get through no problem at all, I could not have done this before I did my low carb thing. No way, too much craving. I love being able to eat like a pig (within reason, obviously) in the evening with no fat loss consequences.

My on-going success still comes down to a calorie deficit but my low carb phase has got me in better touch with my feelings of real hunger.

So, I guess to answer the question, cutting carbs really helped the process but I'm not cutting them now.

When I was in my mid thirties (I'm male), I wanted to lose about 25 pounds to go from 205 to 180 or so. All I did was count fat grams - i totally ignored any calorie concerns. However, as you all know, cutting fat will likely result in cutting calories. I ate no more than 20 grams of fat per day - that was my only rule. I ate loads of pasta and bread - just being careful not to use anything with fat content. I know it was bad but I ate a lot of sugar in the form of fruit - and if i needed something sweet I went for an all sugar 'hard candy' vs. say chocolate. The pounds rolled off - 2 pounds a week. At 162 pounds, I started to look 'too thin' and balanced my diet again. I continued to be careful about the fat but my memory is I stabilized at around 40 grams of fat per day. My blood pressure and cholesterol where excellent. It took 15 years before I put that weight back on.

I am not very knowledgeable about these things, it may not have been a 'healthy' diet. But it worked for me to take off the pounds. Most recently and now in my fifties it has not been as successful - but I am not as diligent either.

My biggest comment is - DO NOT trust the 'fat free' products. It is a gimmick. you have to just stick with things that are naturally fat free.