Does low-carb still work if not in ketosis?

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Cakewalk25
Cakewalk25 Posts: 71 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Also, does anyone have an idea what your fat/protein ratio should be when you're doing a low-carb but not ketogenic diet?

I don't think I'm disciplined enough to do the ketogenic diet, as I love my fruit. Right now I've cut out all carbs except for fruits, vegetables and Greek yogurt, which comes to about 75-80 g a day. Is that low-carb enough that I'll benefit from a low-carb diet, or do you have to be in ketosis to benefit?

I adjusted my ratios to be 25/25/50 (fat/protein/carbs) which is 75 g carbs/75 g protein/67 g fat. That seems like a LOT of fat (on my old eating habits I probably ate like 20 g a day tops), and I'm afraid if I suddenly up the fat ratio without going into ketosis I'll gain a bunch of weight.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    If you are still in a deficit you will not gain fat.

    You may gain water weight as the carbs will replenish some of your glycogen stores, and glycogen retains water
  • gabbygirl78
    gabbygirl78 Posts: 936 Member
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    Should work it just may be a little slower. When your in Ketosis they weight falls off fast. South beach is basically a low carb diet just not as drastic and it doesn't put you in ketosis and you still loose weight. For me though , if I am on the low carb I want my keytone strips to show up purple lol.. I know it is working then. It's probably more healthy the way you are doing it though!!! Good luck and let me know how it is working because I love friut and greek yogurt more than I do bread and pasta.!
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    What are your goals? Like, are you hoping to lose tons of weight by only eating 80g of carbs/day? Or are you also eating at a calorie deficit?
  • willnorton
    willnorton Posts: 995 Member
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    im eating about 20 net carbs a day right now.....i got some tricks....fiber fiber fiber
  • Cakewalk25
    Cakewalk25 Posts: 71 Member
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    Thanks for the responses! Yeah, I'm still running a 500 calorie defecit every day, eating 1200 and burning estimated 1700.

    I'm hoping to lose about 10-15 pounds but I also want to switch to the healthier diet and maintain that lifestyle (before I was eating WAY too many carbs and sugars and not enough protein and fat). Once I lose the weight, I'm hoping I can incorporate at least whole grains into my diet as I can't see myself going the rest of my life without ever eating carbs.

    I'm still figuring out how this low-carb thing works - so you won't lose weight as fast as if you were in ketosis, but you will eventually lose weight because once your body runs out of carbs to burn, it'll start burning fat? It just won't get there as quickly since you have more carbs to burn than someone doing a ketogenic diet? Is that how it works?

    - Still New to this Whole Diet Thing
  • naariel
    naariel Posts: 37
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    My goal is also around that amount (70 to 100g for me, but I'm under to very under every other day) and it works for me.

    Keto, non-keto low carb, "whatever the carbs" or high carbs: they all work if you are at a deficit. An adapted calorie breakdown is more for preserving LBM, habits of diet and whatever works for you, but the weight loss depends heavily on net calories. Personally I used to have reactional hypoglycemia when I did a traditional "calorie deficit low fat (meaning high carbs)" and was quickly hungry again. Low carb, proteins calculated for my needs and everything else in fat works better for me. I also struggled to meet my proteins when I restricted fat, as my primary source is eggs and meat. So my diet naturally shifted to low carb and no more problems.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    The thing with low carb diets is if you go back to eating more carbs -- even "good" carbs -- you will probably gain back a lot of the water weight even if you stay at the same calorie intake.

    So any change you make to your average carb intake, make sure it's something you're comfortable with for the rest of your life.

    I'm always a fan of cutting out REFINED carbs, but keeping unrefined carbs at a reasonable level (making sure you're getting enough protein and fat).
  • gabbygirl78
    gabbygirl78 Posts: 936 Member
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    The thing with low carb diets is if you go back to eating more carbs -- even "good" carbs -- you will probably gain back a lot of the water weight even if you stay at the same calorie intake.

    So any change you make to your average carb intake, make sure it's something you're comfortable with for the rest of your life.

    I'm always a fan of cutting out REFINED carbs, but keeping unrefined carbs at a reasonable level (making sure you're getting enough protein and fat).

    Not true. I lost 85 lbs on low carb and when i was in maintenance I was eating whole grain breads and pastas some fruit and even starchy vegetable and kept it off for 2 years. Only gaining it back after my grandfather passed and I turned to emotionally eating .... and a lot of chips, cake and ice cream.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    Not true.

    You'll note the use of the word "probably." I did not in fact say "in each and every case. ESPECIALLY in the case of gabbygirl78."
  • Cakewalk25
    Cakewalk25 Posts: 71 Member
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    Thanks for the information everyone.

    For those of you who do low-carb but not ketosis, what do you set your carb/protein/fat ratio at? I have mine at 25/25/50 but I'm finding it REALLY hard to get enough fat in. I think I'm still from the old-school mentality that "fat is bad" so I have a hard time making myself eat that much fat, plus I find it hard to stay within my calorie limit and reach the fat quotient. I know in ketosis you should have at least 50% fat, but is that the same when it's low-carb?
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    The thing with low carb diets is if you go back to eating more carbs -- even "good" carbs -- you will probably gain back a lot of the water weight even if you stay at the same calorie intake.

    So any change you make to your average carb intake, make sure it's something you're comfortable with for the rest of your life.

    I'm always a fan of cutting out REFINED carbs, but keeping unrefined carbs at a reasonable level (making sure you're getting enough protein and fat).

    That's some poor logic. Water weight is largely inconsequential to overall health and it's body fat percentage you should be focused on. If you use a low carb diet to cut to a lower body fat percentage, it doesn't matter if your scale weight goes up by 5-10 pounds when you reintroduce a substantial amount of carbs into your diet. The notion that you can only do a low carb diet if "it's something you're comfortable with for the rest of your life" because you gain water weight when you stop is complete nonsense. Unless you're simply obsessed with the number on the scale or if you have a legitimate concern like needing to stay in a particular weight class, gaining back a few pounds of water weight is inconsequential.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    That's some poor logic.

    The OP said she was going to go back to eating carbs once she "lost the weight." I was responding to her. I'm sorry if you don't approve of my logic. I personally don't care if she puts on water weight. But she might.
  • hellokittyhorror
    hellokittyhorror Posts: 70 Member
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    Hi,
    Am trying for around 75, definitely less than 100 total carbs per day. Been doing this since Feb 1st. Seems like I'm about 1 lb less (but my scale is kind of wacky). I do this b/c ketosis seems sort of extreme, but it seems like it might be good for folks who are obese w/ diseases and their weight is really threatening their life. Also for me, < 50 carbs made me feel crazy and irritable. I think in whatever food choice path people choose to take, it's important for one to listen to their body, try to inform oneself as much as possible, eat unpackaged, unprocessed, real food , and don't eat vegetable, corn, soy, or other bad oils ( e.g. not eating what's in most restaurants out there, unfortunately! :( )...
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Low carb works as long as you're in a calorie deficit. But so does normal carbs. Or high carbs.
  • hellokittyhorror
    hellokittyhorror Posts: 70 Member
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    BTW I count total carbs, not "net carbs". Net carbs is a complex concept and there's a lot more to it than subtracting the fiber. It's often a marketing gimmick . Again, eating unprocessed, unpackaged real food is a good guide!

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