Has anyone lost weight not cutting down on carbs?

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  • uunearthedd
    uunearthedd Posts: 7
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    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.)
  • sjwilson0223
    sjwilson0223 Posts: 5 Member
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    The only thing I've really cut out is sweets. And fast food... and soda and juice... lol. I've cut out bad food. I don't feel carbs are bad when eaten in moderation. I'm eating 1200 cals a day and making sure it's all healthy choices. I try to work out when able, since I work full time overnights it doesn't always happen. I've lost 15.8 pounds in 3 weeks, so I think bread is still OK once in awhile. :) You are doing an amazing job! Keep it up!
  • goldied01
    goldied01 Posts: 149 Member
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    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!
  • nickijo2003
    nickijo2003 Posts: 19 Member
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    your body needs carbs to function properly, I just stick to under my calories and watch the amount of calories i use for junk. A good balanced diet is what your body needs without cutting things out, even chocolate and wine in moderation do you good. If you deprive yourself of the things you like you are more likely to fail, good luck :-)
  • trackmyday1973
    trackmyday1973 Posts: 393 Member
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    I lost all my weight without counting one carb. Calories, calories, calories :)

    EXACTLY
  • LandorsSpace
    LandorsSpace Posts: 2
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    You could focus on just eating a steady amount of calories at your maintenance level while exercising. Doing a recomp like this instead of dieting might be a needed change from what you've previously done. If anything it'll give your system a change to deal with. Just don't forget that as you do lose weight to adjust your maintenance calories accordingly so you don't start to gain.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
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    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.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
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    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......

    Amazing, amazing, amazing progress. Brought tears to my eyes. :-)
  • foxtrotpilot
    foxtrotpilot Posts: 1
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    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.
  • mrmagee3
    mrmagee3 Posts: 518 Member
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    your body needs carbs to function properly, I just stick to under my calories and watch the amount of calories i use for junk. A good balanced diet is what your body needs without cutting things out, even chocolate and wine in moderation do you good. If you deprive yourself of the things you like you are more likely to fail, good luck :-)

    Couple points of clarification:

    1. Your body does not need to intake dietary carbohydrate to function properly.
    2. "If you deprive yourself...you are more likely to fail." That's said a lot, but I've yet to see any convincing evidence that failure rate for the (rather loosely defined, if you ask me) "deprivation" diets are any higher than diets in general.
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
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    I lost 30 lbs while INCREASING carbs.

    *head explodes*
  • floop1207
    floop1207 Posts: 194 Member
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    thank you for posting this thread OP, and for the answers.

    a couple of friends told me i should cut carbs to lose weight. not that easy for a vegetarian but i cut them pretty drastically for the first couple of weeks. i became miserable and lethargic. i like carbs. i've stuck to the calorie tracking method and don't seem to be losing much yet but i will persevere with eating things i actually enjoy - but in moderation. i have changed the types of carbs i'm eating a bit.

    and my homebaked bread will be ready in approx 45 minutes :happy:
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    I agree with the others. I just count calories - I don't worry too much about carbs. However, I've learned that some carbs have a calorie count that, to me, is not really worth it.

    Amen. I have for the most part cut out pasta and cut down significantly on bread just because I decided the calorie count wasn't worth it - and they don't fill me up very well, either. But then, I am a shortie and don't have many calories to start with. On the other hand, I like to end the day with something sweet, so it's worth it to me to set aside enough calories for dessert every night, which is why you'll find chocolate, cake, pie, waffles, etc on just about every day of my diary.
  • takerbrat
    takerbrat Posts: 81 Member
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    I lost all my weight without counting one carb. Calories, calories, calories :)
    Sort of...

    2000 calories of fat vs. 2000 calories of protein vs. 2000 calories of carbs are not all going react the same way in the body. Generally speaking it's about energy balance... for body re-composition it's about getting the correct amount of macro and micro nutrients.

    The first time that I used MFP I was just trying to stay within the calories that were defined by the info I had entered under my goals. If I exercised, I usually ate the "extra" calories that I had earned and I didn't monitor the carbs, fats, proteins and sugars as long as I stayed within my caloric intake. I wasn't getting the results that I wanted and then life happened and I let my commitment to changing my lifestyle slide. On July 1st I accepted a friendly challenge with my son. My goal was to lose 2 lbs/week for 23 weeks and I have lost almost 25 lbs in 9 weeks. I am learning so much about food and what constitutes a "healthy lifestyle". My son is a personal trainer and has set my program based on several factors (including age and fitness level). He has set a specific number of carbs, fats and protein grams for me to eat daily. I don't count calories, I eat to my macros. I track my macros and weight daily and email these numbers to him weekly. Based on my weight loss goals, he either adjusts my macros or increases/decreases my number of cardio sessions each week or increases/decreases my number of resistance training sessions each week (most weeks he doesn't change anything). If you are interested in learning more about tracking macros versus calories, checkout my MFP blog - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/takerbrat/view/to-count-calories-or-not-to-count-calories-that-is-the-question-553891
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    Me!!
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    I didn't change my eating habit except for getting a little more protein. I still eat rice, pasta, bread, etc.
  • Nikki1_00
    Nikki1_00 Posts: 1 Member
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    Obviously, there is a good amount of people who haven't been watching their carbs and have done just fine. Me on the other hand, not so much. My endo found out I'm slightly insulin resistant. Not enough to be pre-diabetic, but she said I was pre-pre-diabetic. A little silly but, I can exercise my butt off but really, not lost any weight. In fact, I gain weight and it's not just muscle gain. So she has me counting my carbs. One to help lose weight, but also to help with insulin resistance. She mentioned to keep my meals 45 and under and my snacks 15 and under. I've only been on it a week and a half and actually, I'm feeling a little sick from it (which I hear is common, the carb flu) but, it should keep me from becoming pre-diabetic and it should help me lose weight. I was counting calories before while exercising 6 days a week for an hour, but nothing except gaining more weight happened, so if you're largely over weight like me I'm 83 lbs too heavy, it could be from insulin resistance. Keeping your carbs down will help your insulin from spiking which can make a large belly and make it hard to lose it. I'm not saying counting carbs is the right way to go, but it could be for some.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    I like carbs, I eat carbs, but they are overrated.

    Of the three macro nutrients they are the only non essential one.

    Carbs have there place in a diet and a small amount are definitely optimal in a balanced healthy diet.

    You are no less healthy by reducing them, but if you enjoy them, then eat them.

    They are not bad and you can certainly lose weight eating them, as weight loss is calorie deficit and that's all.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I like carbs, I eat carbs, but they are overrated.

    Of the three macro nutrients they are the only non essential one.
    That is hilarious!!! You do know sugar is a carb and we need glucose for our Brains to function. So yes Carbs are essential!
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    Of the three macro nutrients they are the only non essential one.
    That is hilarious!!! You do know sugar is a carb and we need glucose for our Brains to function

    Yes - but you do not need dietary carbs. However that said they are optimal, but not essential. :smile:

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