LOW CARB DIET from today.- who's with me?

You know what made me switch from LC to IIFYM? Tickers.

those darn tickers! they attach themselves to some pretty smart people.

That's pretty much my lifestyle. I don't eat potatoes as a rule. Same goes for bread, anything white pretty much. I don't count carbs. I just watch the junk and try to eat clean. No junk in this house. Started in September and I'm in for the long haul.

As far as Taubes, I have done other research his book was just the start. I've had years of personal experience and found that calories in/calories out does not help me. That's why I'm here looking for support from others who have the same needs. It appears that you don't - congratulations.

Ah the vaunted n=1 "evidence", so you do not gain or lose fatt based off of a caloric surplus/deficit? It all depends on the amount of carbs you eat? You can eat in a surplus, but low carb and lose fat just fine? Skeptical hippo

What about you? How many n's are you working with? Isn't everyone here looking for their ideal plan? Yes, for my experiment the n=1 and calorie deficit alone does not work for me to sustain a weight loss. Reducing my carbs is working and I can imagine eating this way long term.

If it doesn't work for you that's OK, too.

A lot more than 1, I lose fat exactly how everybody else does, a caloric deficit. I should add except apparently you, you do not need a deficit since the energy balance equation doesn't work for you

I edited my original post.

Apparently I and everyone in Sweden needs something different: http://www.examiner.com/article/sweden-s-new-national-dietary-recommendations-low-carb-low-glycemic-foods

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1131528-sweden-s-new-national-dietary-recommendations-lchf

Yes, I've seen it. What' the point you're trying to make? That some folks here on MFP don't want to admit that their paradigm might be wrong?

I love low-carb and it is a lifestyle and not a "DIET" or a quick fix in my eyes. It is just like commiting to anything else, if you want it bad enough, you will do and the weight will come off. I don't feel deprived on low-carb at all and what keeps it going for me is I find low carb recipes (that taste really good) and I get variety that way. I started at 100g of carbs back in January and now I am at 40g and still losing. Good luck.

So a lot of people are saying they did low or no carb and lost a load of weight.....and then put it all back on .....and now want to do it again.

This is a vicious circle.

Can you honestly eat 'low' (however low you choose i do not know) carb for the rest of your life...?

I am being cautious of carbs - less bread and potatoes but things like rice and pasta will always be in my life!!

fool me once, shame on Taubes. Fool me twice, shame on me.

As far as Taubes, I have done other research his book was just the start. I've had years of personal experience and found that calories in/calories out does not help me. That's why I'm here looking for support from others who have the same needs. It appears that you don't - congratulations.

Ah the vaunted n=1 "evidence", so you do not gain or lose fatt based off of a caloric surplus/deficit? It all depends on the amount of carbs you eat? You can eat in a surplus, but low carb and lose fat just fine? Skeptical hippo

What about you? How many n's are you working with? Isn't everyone here looking for their ideal plan? Yes, for my experiment the n=1 and calorie deficit alone does not work for me to sustain a weight loss. Reducing my carbs is working and I can imagine eating this way long term.

If it doesn't work for you that's OK, too.

A lot more than 1, I lose fat exactly how everybody else does, a caloric deficit. I should add except apparently you, you do not need a deficit since the energy balance equation doesn't work for you

I edited my original post.

Apparently I and everyone in Sweden needs something different: http://www.examiner.com/article/sweden-s-new-national-dietary-recommendations-low-carb-low-glycemic-foods

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1131528-sweden-s-new-national-dietary-recommendations-lchf

Yes, I've seen it. What' the point you're trying to make? That some folks here on MFP don't want to admit that their paradigm might be wrong?

Tightly controlled trials have shown no difference in fat loss between high and low carb diets holding protein and cals constant. Moving on to ad lib trials, you have about a 50/50 split between showing low carb has slightly greater weight/fat loss which as time period lengthens all but disappears in most trials. So what paradigm are you talking about? The one based in Taubes fantasy land that insulin is the devil and carbs make you fat?

+1 A quote below from James Krieger, a nutritional researcher and author (unlike Tuabes who is an engineer and journalist).

1. The proposed metabolic advantage (MA) for low carb diets is a hypothesis, not a fact
2. There is inadequate data to support the MA hypothesis
3. There is inadequate data to reject the MA hypothesis
4. The MA hypothesis does not trump the concept of energy balance. It postulates inefficiencies in energy metabolism, which would translate to an increase in measured energy expenditure (due to heat loss) in a living organism. Thus, if the MA was true, "calories out" would increase for a given "calories in".
5. A definitive study examining 24-hour energy expenditure (using room calorimetry), comparing a ketogenic diet to a traditional diet (with matched protein intake) for subjects in an energy deficit, has not been performed. This is the only study that will adequately test the MA hypothesis in humans
6. Weight loss still requires an energy deficit. If a MA exists, it still cannot make up for an energy surplus or energy balance. To assert otherwise is to assert that energy can be created or destroyed out of thin air, or that human tissue can be created in the absence of any energy input.

I did low carb for a few months and lost weight. I did IIFYM for the rest of the time also lost weight. The initial weight loss in low carb is water weight because of glycogen being used and not replenished due to the nature of low carb. Pound for pound of FAT LOSS, there is no difference between low carb or anything else. All that's required to be successful in weight loss is a caloric deficit.

Exactly. Eat less, move more.

I agree that caloric deficit is technically the answer for weight loss (in terms of the science of it); however, I'd like to add that for some of us, simple carbs such as sugar and white flour act as a signal/trigger in our brains to crave food and thus eat more. The food itself, in terms of its chemical makeup, doesn't "make" us gain weight anymore than any other food does - but it does "make" us eat more in terms of volume/quantity/calories...thus we gain. I see it the same as an alcoholic and how his brain reacts to vodka. Once he's had a sip, he cannot control himself to not have another. There is something in the addict's brain that makes him crave more and more - never being satisfied.

This is why I believe it is beneficial for certain people (like myself) who have addictions to bread, cookies and other baked goods, pasta, ice cream, etc. to consider eliminating all simple carbs. Permanently. For me, it was my drug, my alcohol. I gave up sugar, white flour, and articifical sweetner on January 3rd, 2012 and it was the best decision I ever made. I started eating complex carbs such as whole raw fruit, starchy veggies, and whole grains. I packed my diet with protein. I added more dairy. I did not "substitute" things for my trigger foods (ex., I did not eat "whole wheat pancakes" or "sugar free ice cream"). I gave up the foods themselves, and any semblance of those foods. The result? I dropped 70 lbs in one year and it was EASY. Why? Because I didn't want to eat eat eat eat eat all the time. I discovered that the sugar and white flour were fueling my cravings and thus fueling the insane binge/diet cycle I'd been on for years and years.

This does not apply to everyone. You know yourself. Deep in your heart, you know if you're a food addict. If you are, and are reading this, I highly recommend doing two things:

1.) Check out the Overeaters Anonymous website and start reading the 12 Steps and the Big Book. Consider going to a meeting for support. You won't regret it.
2.) Consider practicing the "tool of abstinence", which means, figuring out what foods trigger you into binge and compulsive overeating, and abstain from eating them. Do not cheat. Do not convince yourself "I can have a little". Literally wipe it out of your life. Do this for an extended period of time, and if you find the cravings go away and you're thinking more clearly, having success on your diet journey...then you have your answer. It's the food acting as a drug, it's not that you're "weak" or have no self control. Watch your self control go through the roof when you eliminate the drug.

If anyone has any questions, let me know.

Everyone has their own opinions and ideas of how and what works and doesnt. Therefore o leave that upto you to go along with your ideas. I am merely giving suggestions to people to suggest what does work. If you look at research you will see the negative effects of white carbs (unhealthy) carbs such as rice pasta and bread whixh makes you gain weight so if you are just going to do calorie controlling you may lose weight but will not learn to eat the right foods for our body. Carbs are difficult to digest which then can cause it to come and stay on our tummy, thighs and other fatty areas of our bodies.

So much nonsense and misinformation I wouldn't even know where to begin to unravel it!

I did low carb for a few months and lost weight. I did IIFYM for the rest of the time also lost weight. The initial weight loss in low carb is water weight because of glycogen being used and not replenished due to the nature of low carb. Pound for pound of FAT LOSS, there is no difference between low carb or anything else. All that's required to be successful in weight loss is a caloric deficit.

Exactly. Eat less, move more.

I agree that caloric deficit is technically the answer for weight loss (in terms of the science of it); however, I'd like to add that for some of us, simple carbs such as sugar and white flour act as a signal/trigger in our brains to crave food and thus eat more. The food itself, in terms of its chemical makeup, doesn't "make" us gain weight anymore than any other food does - but it does "make" us eat more in terms of volume/quantity/calories...thus we gain. I see it the same as an alcoholic and how his brain reacts to vodka. Once he's had a sip, he cannot control himself to not have another. There is something in the addict's brain that makes him crave more and more - never being satisfied.

This is why I believe it is beneficial for certain people (like myself) who have addictions to bread, cookies and other baked goods, pasta, ice cream, etc. to consider eliminating all simple carbs. Permanently. For me, it was my drug, my alcohol. I gave up sugar, white flour, and articifical sweetner on January 3rd, 2012 and it was the best decision I ever made. I started eating complex carbs such as whole raw fruit, starchy veggies, and whole grains. I packed my diet with protein. I added more dairy. I did not "substitute" things for my trigger foods (ex., I did not eat "whole wheat pancakes" or "sugar free ice cream"). I gave up the foods themselves, and any semblance of those foods. The result? I dropped 70 lbs in one year and it was EASY. Why? Because I didn't want to eat eat eat eat eat all the time. I discovered that the sugar and white flour were fueling my cravings and thus fueling the insane binge/diet cycle I'd been on for years and years.

This does not apply to everyone. You know yourself. Deep in your heart, you know if you're a food addict. If you are, and are reading this, I highly recommend doing two things:

1.) Check out the Overeaters Anonymous website and start reading the 12 Steps and the Big Book. Consider going to a meeting for support. You won't regret it.
2.) Consider practicing the "tool of abstinence", which means, figuring out what foods trigger you into binge and compulsive overeating, and abstain from eating them. Do not cheat. Do not convince yourself "I can have a little". Literally wipe it out of your life. Do this for an extended period of time, and if you find the cravings go away and you're thinking more clearly, having success on your diet journey...then you have your answer. It's the food acting as a drug, it's not that you're "weak" or have no self control. Watch your self control go through the roof when you eliminate the drug.

If anyone has any questions, let me know.

I should have mentioned that along with abstinence from those particular foods, I also figured out my ideal caloric intake based on my BMR and stuck to that faithfully. In other words, I created the calorie deficit as well - I didn't just change what I ate, I change how MUCH I ate. The deficit created the weight loss, the abstinence gave me the ability to stick with it.

Hahahahaaa! This was SO me, for years and years! i just ate and ate and ate cookies all day long.