Low carb diet anyone?

dom300186
dom300186 Posts: 127 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
Thought I'd give it ago what's your views have you done it?

Replies

  • EKarma
    EKarma Posts: 594 Member
    There are good carbs like fruits and veggies.. I try and load up on that.. Also, 7-grain cereal and oatmeal.. I mean these things are good for you.. Why would you want to cut them out of your diet? I think it's more important to take into account portion sizes and cut out fat and sugar.. But there are good fats and there are good sugars out there for ya.. I think the whole "low carb" thing is just a way to get people to buy more products.. Adkins slaps it's name on everything now.. Bleh!
  • Ngolden1
    Ngolden1 Posts: 58 Member
    I did it for three weeks and am throwing in the towel as of today. Even while staying with 1200 calories most days, I GAINED weight with this. Totally weird. I'm going back to my regular healthy and more balanced eating.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    I hated it. Lost weight the first time, gained every lb. back. Tried it again and didn't lose a lb. because I was so unsatisfied I seriously overate on the protein. I am unwilling to give up some things for the rest of my life. I am doing much better using the moderation and portion control thing and being really mindful of what and how much I am eating. It's slower but doable and I'm not a cranky b***h! Depends on the individual whether it's right for you. Some folks swear by it and can truly make it a lifestyle change. Not me.
  • TheNewJessieMae
    TheNewJessieMae Posts: 767
    I have done the primal blueprint for 50 days. Never had more energy in my life!!!!! Even as a teen. I'm never hungry and my whole attitude is different!!! I am not sluggish and I'm happy. BESIDE THE FACT THAT I AM LOSING WEIGHT!
  • TheNewJessieMae
    TheNewJessieMae Posts: 767
    I hated it. Lost weight the first time, gained every lb. back. Tried it again and didn't lose a lb. because I was so unsatisfied I seriously overate on the protein. I am unwilling to give up some things for the rest of my life. I am doing much better using the moderation and portion control thing and being really mindful of what and how much I am eating. It's slower but doable and I'm not a cranky b***h! Depends on the individual whether it's right for you. Some folks swear by it and can truly make it a lifestyle change. Not me.


    It's a definate lifestyle change when done right. BUT I find that I am so happy now, I will never go back and I have absoluetly no cravings with Primal Blueprint.
  • jaylu
    jaylu Posts: 158
    how low is low carb?? how many gram per day are we talking about?
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    I am a low carb believer.

    I started out on Atkins in 2003 when I was first diagnosed with PCOS and Diabetes. I was able to lose 100 + pounds in a little more than 6 months along with going to the gym and exercising. I went by the book with the Phases and slowly added back in the carbs in the way the book is planned to do (according to the Glycemic Index). I eventually added back in beans, legumes, grains in small bits.

    I maintained that weight loss until 2008 when I started gaining weight very fast due to hormonal issues and developing hypothyroidism. Along the way I have discovered that I have a gluten allergy, so I have ditched grains, beans and legumes and most dairy.

    The plan I am on now for life is called The Primal Blue Print and I love it.

    I can eat fats, protein, lots of veggies and fruits are like treats and dessert. It is freedom from counting calories, carbs, etc……………….



    P.S. - To the poster that said that Atkins was only around to market products, that is not the way the plan is intended to be done. They have developed products for people that in my personal opinion are on the lazy side and don't want to have to prepare fresh foods……….

    Please don't market the plan in that way because that is not the way that it is written.
  • TheNewJessieMae
    TheNewJessieMae Posts: 767
    how low is low carb?? how many gram per day are we talking about?


    I eat NOOO wheats grains and rices. The FDA has everyone brainwashed to think these things are good, when in actuallity it makes you sick. Doctors and Rx make way more money on people ingesting these things. Even whole grain!!!

    I do 60 NET carbs a day give or take. Tons of Fiber (over 25 grams), Tons of Protien (over 100 grams).
    I eat meat, veggies, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, make pancakes out of almond flour.

    Cravings for stupid stuff like brownies and cakes and ice cream went out the door 1 week after I started eating Primally.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    how low is low carb?? how many gram per day are we talking about?

    It is different for every person.

    However, they consider a low carb or "controlled carb" plan to be any amount of carbs from 0-149. Anything over 150 grams per day is not low carb.
  • LilyFox
    LilyFox Posts: 3
    I love South Beach Diet...you start by cutting out a lot the first two weeks then can start adding things in..whole grains, fruits, there is a method to it and it does work..it was very easy to make it my lifestyle and not my diet! I have been doing it for 2 1/2 years and I do occasionally fall off the wagon and eat cake...it is very easy to get right back on...for me, it is the only way I can live..I am a carb addict and would probably be twice my weight if not more right now if I didn't live like this. It is not hard at all!! Best wishes to you!
    :flowerforyou:
  • jaylu
    jaylu Posts: 158
    hmm its mostly the fruit that gets me with the carbs! i also love my porridge oats - but i've managed to stay away for the most part from things like potatoes, rice, noodles, white bread, chips (fries), pasta etc tones of veg replace these on my dinner plate now and i wouldn't have it another way!
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    hmm its mostly the fruit that gets me with the carbs! i also love my porridge oats - but i've managed to stay away for the most part from things like potatoes, rice, noodles, white bread, chips (fries), pasta etc tones of veg replace these on my dinner plate now and i wouldn't have it another way!

    I eat fruit on low carb, it is the media hype that leads people to believe your giving up stuff that your really not.................

    I had blue berries this morning with full fat greek yogurt and a granny smith apple this afternoon.
  • mebkk
    mebkk Posts: 9
    Along time ago I tried the carb diet and did lose a lot of weight but I had NO energy! Somedays I would seriously hold onto the rail and pull myself up the stairs. Plus once you stop being on a "low carb" diet you gain the weight back a lot faster. Watching your carb intake is really good but you do need those good carbs for energy.....especially the fruits! Good luck to you!
  • akuzell
    akuzell Posts: 7
    Going low to no carb can be very dangerous to your body. Like someone said before me..... there are good healthy carbs out there, why would you want to cut them out? Your body can go into a state of Ketosis. Search it. It can be very harmful. Your body needs carbs. Good carbs. Cutting carbs can send your body into "starvation" mode which in the end can cause you to gain..... as someone mentioned happened to them.
  • akuzell
    akuzell Posts: 7
    Going low to no carb can be very dangerous to your body. Like someone said before me..... there are good healthy carbs out there, why would you want to cut them out? Your body can go into a state of Ketosis. Search it. It can be very harmful. Your body needs carbs. Good carbs. Cutting carbs can send your body into "starvation" mode which in the end can cause you to gain..... as someone mentioned happened to them.
  • chrissym78
    chrissym78 Posts: 628 Member
    I have been eating primal for 2 1/2 months and have easily lost 36 pounds. I have never lost that fast with any other program. Breads and pastas are highly processed foods and your body DOES NOT NEED THEM. It does need natural foods, protein, veggies and fruit, nuts, etc. It was hard at first but the cravings stopped after a couple weeks. Primal is not low carb, only by default. Never tried Adkins and I don't think I'll ever need to. This will be my lifestyle from now on. I do still eat oats on occasion even though they are not "primal," I just like them. I feel very healthy and have tons of energy. Good luck with whatever you decide, it's a personal decision. To those who thinks it's unhealthy I would say I disagree.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    Going low to no carb can be very dangerous to your body. Like someone said before me..... there are good healthy carbs out there, why would you want to cut them out? Your body can go into a state of Ketosis. Search it. It can be very harmful. Your body needs carbs. Good carbs. Cutting carbs can send your body into "starvation" mode which in the end can cause you to gain..... as someone mentioned happened to them.

    I am sorry hun, but you have no clue as to what you are talking about. We all have searched it and we know that there is nothing wrong with being in ketosis (body being in a state of fat burning) and we get plenty of "good carbs" in the form of lots of veggies, fruit and nuts.

    Starvation mode is a myth and we know that we know that we will not gain weight.

    Thanks for your opinion, but please do some reading and research before bashing a topic that you obviously know nothing about.

    Have a great weekend!!! :flowerforyou:
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    Along time ago I tried the carb diet and did lose a lot of weight but I had NO energy! Somedays I would seriously hold onto the rail and pull myself up the stairs. Plus once you stop being on a "low carb" diet you gain the weight back a lot faster. Watching your carb intake is really good but you do need those good carbs for energy.....especially the fruits! Good luck to you!

    I am willing to bet that you were not eating enough protein or fats and maybe even vegetables.

    The other possibility is that you suffered from Candida and you were heavily detoxing, which makes you feel like poo........

    And yes, you will gain weight faster when you add back in junk carbs that your body does NOT need.

    The whole premise of a low carb plan is to make a lifestyle change, so it is not a diet that you would go off of.

    We do eat fruits with low carb plans, if you were not eventually eating fruit, then you were obviously doing something wrong.
  • dom300186
    dom300186 Posts: 127 Member
    Hi everyone such alot of different opinions, I've discovered about 4 years ago I have ibs it's awful and I've noticed potatoe pasta rice or even bread bloat me up and I need the toilet constantly so I'm just going to cut out these carbs for now, because it's all making me Ill, I've tried brown rice/bread/pasta granery soya and doesn't make a difference so I'm just gonna have my meat and lots of veg with cous cous it's my fav at the mo.
    So yes mine will be a change in my lifestyle to help my body put a lil i have Ibs A, which means I either suffer from diorreah or constipation and never ends, after just 3 days of cuttingthese foods out I feel like new again.
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    I've always been a fan of low carbing, my doctor actually recommended south beach (since its more healthy carb friendly). In the past I had lost more than 30lbs doing low carb, I gained them back, but that was over a course of like 5 years, so I don't think it was because of the low carb, I think it was from not sticking with it. I also have diabetes that runs in my family, so I worry about developing it because of my weight, and along the way I noticed that a diabetic diet and the low carb diet run pretty hand in hand because neither messes with your sugar levels very much (sugars making you have highs and lows in energy (or crash and burn), low carb keeps you pretty solid through the day)

    It has to be a life style change, not a diet, otherwise you'll just be mad when you go back and feel like your gaining.

    This go around, I'm just also so busy and stressed out (I'm waiting to go bald I get so stressed sometimes), that I just decided to go with regular calories instead of calories & carbs. So far so good, its not as fast as low carb, but it is easier.

    Good luck :)
  • lindabuckiewicz
    lindabuckiewicz Posts: 15 Member
    I don't necessarily advocate low carb; the type of carbs make the difference; I try to avoid the "white" carbs: potatoes, rice, white flour most processed foods. I eat whole grains, veggies, fruits and notice that this aids in my weight loss.
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
    I've been in a pretty consistent state of ketosis for the past 2 months. Weight loss has slowed within the past month, as expected as I get closer to goal weight. I went from around 146 starting to my current weight of 130 with low carb eating. Started out very low - 20-30grams/day and am now at around 45-60grams/day total carbs. Now that I am getting closer to my goal weight, I will cycle - eat low during the week, then allow several higher carb meals (starchy meals) on the weekends. This helps me avoid throwing in the towel and gives some variety to my meals.

    There's a lot of misinformation out there about low carbing. It's not dangerous. Nor is the state of ketosis. LC is helpful for those who need to maintain control of blood sugar levels or have had a difficult time with standard low fat dieting. Because LC diets are fairly high fat / protein, there is a greater sense of satiety from meals. This is extremely helpful for those, like myself, who had considerable problems with higher carb diets leaving them hungry most all the time. It's also helpful to bust sugar addiction.

    Energy-wise, it's led to a greater level of energy for me. I currently lift 3x per week, take one dance class, and run 2-3 times per week - 3-4 miles per run, avg. 9:00 mile. So to say that ketosis leads to low energy levels is not true at all in my case. Quite the opposite. So either I'm superhuman, or ketosis isn't as bad as it's perceived.

    I also have a clean bill of health from my doctor. Woo hoo.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    I've been in a pretty consistent state of ketosis for the past 2 months. Weight loss has slowed within the past month, as expected as I get closer to goal weight. I went from around 146 starting to my current weight of 130 with low carb eating. Started out very low - 20-30grams/day and am now at around 45-60grams/day total carbs. Now that I am getting closer to my goal weight, I will cycle - eat low during the week, then allow several higher carb meals (starchy meals) on the weekends. This helps me avoid throwing in the towel and gives some variety to my meals.

    There's a lot of misinformation out there about low carbing. It's not dangerous. Nor is the state of ketosis. LC is helpful for those who need to maintain control of blood sugar levels or have had a difficult time with standard low fat dieting. Because LC diets are fairly high fat / protein, there is a greater sense of satiety from meals. This is extremely helpful for those, like myself, who had considerable problems with higher carb diets leaving them hungry most all the time. It's also helpful to bust sugar addiction.

    Energy-wise, it's led to a greater level of energy for me. I currently lift 3x per week, take one dance class, and run 2-3 times per week - 3-4 miles per run, avg. 9:00 mile. So to say that ketosis leads to low energy levels is not true at all in my case. Quite the opposite. So either I'm superhuman, or ketosis isn't as bad as it's perceived.

    I also have a clean bill of health from my doctor. Woo hoo.

    I concur as I feel the same way!!!

    Now I truly believe that people are confusing ketosis with the diabetic condition ketoacidosis, which the 2 are very, very, very different.

    One is a medical emergency and the other is a natural fat burning state.
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
    I've been in a pretty consistent state of ketosis for the past 2 months. Weight loss has slowed within the past month, as expected as I get closer to goal weight. I went from around 146 starting to my current weight of 130 with low carb eating. Started out very low - 20-30grams/day and am now at around 45-60grams/day total carbs. Now that I am getting closer to my goal weight, I will cycle - eat low during the week, then allow several higher carb meals (starchy meals) on the weekends. This helps me avoid throwing in the towel and gives some variety to my meals.

    There's a lot of misinformation out there about low carbing. It's not dangerous. Nor is the state of ketosis. LC is helpful for those who need to maintain control of blood sugar levels or have had a difficult time with standard low fat dieting. Because LC diets are fairly high fat / protein, there is a greater sense of satiety from meals. This is extremely helpful for those, like myself, who had considerable problems with higher carb diets leaving them hungry most all the time. It's also helpful to bust sugar addiction.

    Energy-wise, it's led to a greater level of energy for me. I currently lift 3x per week, take one dance class, and run 2-3 times per week - 3-4 miles per run, avg. 9:00 mile. So to say that ketosis leads to low energy levels is not true at all in my case. Quite the opposite. So either I'm superhuman, or ketosis isn't as bad as it's perceived.

    I also have a clean bill of health from my doctor. Woo hoo.

    I concur as I feel the same way!!!

    Now I truly believe that people are confusing ketosis with the diabetic condition ketoacidosis, which the 2 are very, very, very different.

    One is a medical emergency and the other is a natural fat burning state.

    Even nutrition students and dietitians can't seem to grasp the difference. It's either extremely biased or lacking education for them, as most qualified endocrinologists will set you straight on the real difference between the two.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    I've been in a pretty consistent state of ketosis for the past 2 months. Weight loss has slowed within the past month, as expected as I get closer to goal weight. I went from around 146 starting to my current weight of 130 with low carb eating. Started out very low - 20-30grams/day and am now at around 45-60grams/day total carbs. Now that I am getting closer to my goal weight, I will cycle - eat low during the week, then allow several higher carb meals (starchy meals) on the weekends. This helps me avoid throwing in the towel and gives some variety to my meals.

    There's a lot of misinformation out there about low carbing. It's not dangerous. Nor is the state of ketosis. LC is helpful for those who need to maintain control of blood sugar levels or have had a difficult time with standard low fat dieting. Because LC diets are fairly high fat / protein, there is a greater sense of satiety from meals. This is extremely helpful for those, like myself, who had considerable problems with higher carb diets leaving them hungry most all the time. It's also helpful to bust sugar addiction.

    Energy-wise, it's led to a greater level of energy for me. I currently lift 3x per week, take one dance class, and run 2-3 times per week - 3-4 miles per run, avg. 9:00 mile. So to say that ketosis leads to low energy levels is not true at all in my case. Quite the opposite. So either I'm superhuman, or ketosis isn't as bad as it's perceived.

    I also have a clean bill of health from my doctor. Woo hoo.

    I concur as I feel the same way!!!

    Now I truly believe that people are confusing ketosis with the diabetic condition ketoacidosis, which the 2 are very, very, very different.

    One is a medical emergency and the other is a natural fat burning state.

    Even nutrition students and dietitians can't seem to grasp the difference. It's either extremely biased or lacking education for them, as most qualified endocrinologists will set you straight on the real difference between the two.

    Very true!!! I think it is mostly bias as society is conditioned to think that plans such as Atkins, South Beach and the Paleo plans are just fads and gimmicks.

    I am actually sitting here listening to Michael Pollan video now at work and I love his philosophy!!
  • Heliconia
    Heliconia Posts: 166 Member
    luvbnamom - do you track your fats? saturated or good fats?
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    luvbnamom - do you track your fats? saturated or good fats?

    I am on the same plan as luvbnamom and she shouldn't be tracking fats.

    The whole premise of doing the Primal Blue Print is to eat natural Protein, fat and carbs from veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds.

    There is no need to count anything, just eat until you are full and satisfied.

    Primal Blue Print is higher fat, moderate protein and very low carb (0-50 grams per day) when you are trying to lose weight.
  • TheNewJessieMae
    TheNewJessieMae Posts: 767
    luvbnamom - do you track your fats? saturated or good fats?

    No I do not. My nutritionist informed me that good fats, are good for the body. I mean to the point where she DOESN NOT want me to use margarine-but real butter, kinda fat lovin. If you get the primal blue print book you can read all about how bad carbs destroy your body with diabetes, cancers, and other ailments and how fat helps your body.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    luvbnamom - do you track your fats? saturated or good fats?

    No I do not. My nutritionist informed me that good fats, are good for the body. I mean to the point where she DOESN NOT want me to use margarine-but real butter, kinda fat lovin. If you get the primal blue print book you can read all about how bad carbs destroy your body with diabetes, cancers, and other ailments and how fat helps your body.

    Yes, bad fats also do that.............Vegetable Oils (Corn, Vegetable, Canola, Peanut oils) aka The Polyunsaturated Fats they keep trying to tell you is so good for you are not!! Stay far, far away from Margarine and all those "heart healthy" spreads. You might as well melt plastic and pour it on your food!!


    The only fats we should be eating are animal fats (chicken skin, fat on steak, butter), Coconut Oil, other Tropical Oils, oils from nuts and seeds and Olive Oil.

    people can't wrap their head around it because the "low fat" mantra has been beat into people's heads and no one wants to open their eyes to the truth.
  • dom300186
    dom300186 Posts: 127 Member
    Just an update lost 8lbs in 2 weeks!!!
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