Is there any downside to low-carb diets?

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  • spottedkathy
    spottedkathy Posts: 196 Member
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    I am on low carb but I eat around 1500 calories a day. Why on earth would you eat only 500 calories a day. That is not healthy low carb or not.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    The Dukan Diet doesn't stay low carb for the rest of your life. And it certainly isn't calorie restrictive. If you go back to the book, phase I (no carb) is like 3 to 4 days , phase ii (till you drop the weight) includes some carbs. Oat bran, yogurt, etc.... and Phase III brings back a serving of carbs and "celebration meals". Phase Iv intro to "normal eating" for the rest of you life...

    If you follow the phases , the reintroduction of carbs allows you to maintain your weight very nicely.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
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    1. Throw out the scale.
    2. Get out a measuring tape and start tracking measurements.
    3. Take a selfie in the mirror.
    4. Eat more. Lots more. Carbs, proteins, whatever. I'm a woman and older than you, and eat a minimum of 1700 kcal/day to lose. Bet you could do at least 2000.
    5. Lift heavy weights.
    6. Check your tape measurements and selfies every so often.


    If you do it right, you will laugh at a scale by New Years. Not necessarily because you lost a lot of weight but because you will look good.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
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    For goodness sakes... EAT! I am twice your age and eat four times as much as that. And I have lost 121lb in 15 months. Read this link and do this sensibly before you end up making yourself very ill:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • LoggingForLife
    LoggingForLife Posts: 504 Member
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    Welcome, it appears to be your first day on MFP. Or maybe you are just messing with us. Hmmmmmm.
  • MountainHaven
    MountainHaven Posts: 3 Member
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    Low-carb diets reek havoc on your organs, especially on your kidneys. They put your body into starvation-mode. It is not a healthy, nor long-term solution to weight loss or life-long healthy eating. Remember that you need to focus on eating a healthy diet for the rest of your life. Quick weight loss from any type of diet is not the way to go (and usually it backfires because once you go off the low-carb diet the weight comes back on very quickly.) Also, low-carb diets reduce muscle mass, so after being on that type of diet you will have reduced your amount of muscle.
  • Pulvermos
    Pulvermos Posts: 13
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    Ok, guys. Thanks for your input. I'll get back to eating "healthy" tomorrow by upping my calorie intake by eating some carbs.
    All the best to all of you!
  • MountainHaven
    MountainHaven Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi. I've been on MFP for quite a while...I've just never written a comment before!:flowerforyou:
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    A 22 year old male eating 500 calories a day with only 12 kg to lose? AND exercising??

    Yes, your calorie intake is way too low!

    How much does MFP tell you to eat? Because I bet its closer to 2,000 cals after exercise.
    '

    MFP recomends 1650 calories. So...... Giant deficit.

    The 1650 already includes the deficit you need. I would absolutely eat more than what you are. You will gain a few lbs initially when you increase your cals just from replenishing your glycogen stores but don't let that scare you, you'll be better off in the long term.

    Ok. See, that scares me. Any pounds added just devastates me. Thanks for the answer, though.
    You should probably seek professional help for that, because it sounds like an eating disorder or whatever.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    A 22 year old male eating 500 calories a day with only 12 kg to lose? AND exercising??

    Yes, your calorie intake is way too low!

    How much does MFP tell you to eat? Because I bet its closer to 2,000 cals after exercise.
    '

    MFP recomends 1650 calories. So...... Giant deficit.

    The 1650 already includes the deficit you need. I would absolutely eat more than what you are. You will gain a few lbs initially when you increase your cals just from replenishing your glycogen stores but don't let that scare you, you'll be better off in the long term.

    Ok. See, that scares me. Any pounds added just devastates me. Thanks for the answer, though.
    You should probably seek professional help for that, because it sounds like an eating disorder or whatever.

    Yeah, this. I cut on 2500 calories a day, give or take a few. 500 calories a day plus exercise screams anorexia.
  • Pulvermos
    Pulvermos Posts: 13
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    Welcome, it appears to be your first day on MFP. Or maybe you are just messing with us. Hmmmmmm.
    I'm really not. You have to keep in mind that I'm a newbie and pretty much have no idea what I'm doing. But I understand that my posts sound rather unreal.
  • elkahallick
    elkahallick Posts: 1,138 Member
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    You're only eating 500 calories a day? Yes, there is absolutely something wrong with that.

    You should be worried about the absence of calories. :noway:
    ^^^^^^ this
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
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    Welcome, it appears to be your first day on MFP. Or maybe you are just messing with us. Hmmmmmm.
    I'm really not. You have to keep in mind that I'm a newbie and pretty much have no idea what I'm doing. But I understand that my posts sound rather unreal.

    Here's a link that may help you if you still want to eat low carb. It's helped me a ton. Good luck!

    http://josepharcita.blogspot.com/2011/03/guide-to-ketosis.html#Vegetableslowsugar00
  • JaxDemon
    JaxDemon Posts: 403 Member
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    Only issue I have is reintroducing carbs. If I had in too many too quickly I feel groggy for days. I have stuck to below 50 carbs per day for awhile and done even lower. I prefer this way of eating though.
  • SkinnyFatAlbert
    SkinnyFatAlbert Posts: 482 Member
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    Trollllllin' hard.
  • Pulvermos
    Pulvermos Posts: 13
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    A 22 year old male eating 500 calories a day with only 12 kg to lose? AND exercising??

    Yes, your calorie intake is way too low!

    How much does MFP tell you to eat? Because I bet its closer to 2,000 cals after exercise.
    '

    MFP recomends 1650 calories. So...... Giant deficit.

    The 1650 already includes the deficit you need. I would absolutely eat more than what you are. You will gain a few lbs initially when you increase your cals just from replenishing your glycogen stores but don't let that scare you, you'll be better off in the long term.

    Ok. See, that scares me. Any pounds added just devastates me. Thanks for the answer, though.
    You should probably seek professional help for that, because it sounds like an eating disorder or whatever.

    Yeah, this. I cut on 2500 calories a day, give or take a few. 500 calories a day plus exercise screams anorexia.
    BELIEVE me, I'm just very eager to reach my goal weight. I occasionally binge eat because of the strict diet.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Is this a joke?

    22 year old male, 20 ish pounds to lose, 500 calories and exercise every day...how have you not collapsed/fainted yet?

    I get dizzy a lot actually. I've been ignoring it since the results have been so great. I'm not trolling you guys, I'm being honest.

    That's a sign you're pushing too hard.

    Look, you're going to get a lot of histrionic over the top responses to this, but the reality is the human body is designed to go long periods on very little food. That's why we have this giant internal battery called a Beer Belly, that can sustain us for a ridiculously long time on nothing but water.

    But the body also gives off signals when it's being pushed too far, too fast, and dizziness is a classic warning sign. Try not to ignore it.

    The body is also designed for binging/fasting cycles, so if you do have fairly regular refeeds, it will be important to log those so you can see your intake over an extended period of time. 500 calories a day is not the same as 500 calories a day for a week and then a 5000 calorie pig-out.
  • HPB2
    HPB2 Posts: 23 Member
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    I had 500 calories for breakfast! I :heart: carbs.
  • Bella0531
    Bella0531 Posts: 309 Member
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    Thanks for the answers. I kinda thought it seemed crazy myself. It's obviously taking a toll on my body. It's just that I've been off carbs for so long that I'm scared that I'll put weight back on if I start eating carbs again. I'm looking for a fast way to lose the last pounds and LCHP diet seemed like the best choice. I'm freaking tired of it, though.

    You can add calories without adding a ton of carbs. I stay under 100g of carbs/day and still eat around 1,300 calories/day. Please start eating more!! You might gain a little right away, but it will go away (and more) if you start to give your body the nutrition it needs!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    A 22 year old male eating 500 calories a day with only 12 kg to lose? AND exercising??

    Yes, your calorie intake is way too low!

    How much does MFP tell you to eat? Because I bet its closer to 2,000 cals after exercise.
    '

    MFP recomends 1650 calories. So...... Giant deficit.

    The 1650 already includes the deficit you need. I would absolutely eat more than what you are. You will gain a few lbs initially when you increase your cals just from replenishing your glycogen stores but don't let that scare you, you'll be better off in the long term.

    Ok. See, that scares me. Any pounds added just devastates me. Thanks for the answer, though.
    You should probably seek professional help for that, because it sounds like an eating disorder or whatever.

    Yeah, this. I cut on 2500 calories a day, give or take a few. 500 calories a day plus exercise screams anorexia.
    BELIEVE me, I'm just very eager to reach my goal weight. I occasionally binge eat because of the strict diet.
    I'm not just talking about the extreme calorie restriction. I'm talking about the mindset that leads to the desire to use severe calorie restriction, or thinking it's justified because you really want to reach a goal weight, and the being devastated over adding weight. That is NOT healthy and you should seek professional help for it.

    Also, if the only way to reach your goal weight is to starve yourself, that indicates that your goal weight is NOT a healthy weight for your body.
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