What is your opinion on the low carb diet?

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Misscherokee3
Misscherokee3 Posts: 9
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I'm sure many individuals have an opinion on this topic. I was thinking in the range of 50-100 carbs a day. It's not impossible, but the weight loss is incredible. What do you think?

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  • samsamsam420
    samsamsam420 Posts: 41 Member
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    Keep your protein high, you don't want to end up going into a catabolic state.
  • KNarrainen
    KNarrainen Posts: 135 Member
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    Done it twice, it really works, but personally I don't find it sustainable over a long period.

    Carbs are not evil, and to be honest, when you look at studies that have taken place over time.

    People on low carbs always lose more than other groups to start with, but over the long haul, everyone loses roughly the same.

    By that rational, I think it's better to give your body a balance of healthy foods from all food groups, concentrate on eating healthily rather than just focusing on carbs

    Just my thoughts
  • dbritt07
    dbritt07 Posts: 17 Member
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    I'm sure many individuals have an opinion on this topic. I was thinking in the range of 50-100 carbs a day. It's not impossible, but the weight loss is incredible. What do you think?

    I've been on low carb and fad diets off and on forever it seems. Everyone is different but I have a really hard time on very low carb. Ketosis is no friend of mine. It impacts my sleep and even my heart rhythm so much, it's kinda scary. I don't think major Ketosis is tolerated well by everyone so I basically eat between 85-125 healthy carbs a day - no sugars and no grains other than an occasional slice of sprouted wheat bread. I added sweet and even white potatoes to my diet as well as some rice in small servings- upped the exercise and the weight is coming off flawlessly.
  • ronrstaats
    ronrstaats Posts: 294 Member
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    Done it. Lost 150 pounds. At my goal weight. Been doing it for almost three years. Just gotten so use to eating this way that it has become a part of my life.
  • tanyaelise
    tanyaelise Posts: 28
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    I also did the Adkins after having my son. Lost about 75lbs. Since doing the diet in 2005, I have changed my way of eating to something resembling Adkins but I agree, to sustain that diet is very difficult. Since starting the diet almost 10 years ago I have gained 15 lbs back. But that could be age versus metabolism versus exercise (which I don't do anymore).

    Somethings to note...I felt GREAT when I cut out the starchy carbs. The higher amount of protein helps to curb your appetite. The first 5 days were the hardest for me...(that's when you de-puff if you stick to it strictly) then you lose your cravings for sugar and starches, and finally you find yourself working through lunch without even getting hungry (eat anyway). Don't believe people who say it's only meat and cheese (and bacon). If you do it right, you should be having a meat and a vegetable meal... the cheese is nice but once you get started, you'll find that you really need the fiber of veggies to help things out (if you catch my drift)

    After doing the phases as it indicates, I found that If I go over 40g of carbs, I start to gain weight. I am 43, 5'8, and 154 lbs.
  • Misscherokee3
    Misscherokee3 Posts: 9
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    Wow that's incredible! I will definitely keep the low carb veggies in mind too! I need to shed 100 pounds.
  • frangrann
    frangrann Posts: 219 Member
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    I have Lost 30 lbs since Sept. I started at under 50 g carbs a day and now I am trying to be under 100. Nothing else has worked lately. Guess I liked carbs too much. I have gotten used to cutting way back and eating fruits/veggies. protein.

    I go by: If it looks good (muffins, bagels, cake, chips, crackers) it isn't good for you! UGH!
  • ChilliRed
    ChilliRed Posts: 25 Member
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    I did Atkins a few years ago and lost 10lbs doing it and felt great and full of energy....never felt better to be honest but I found it hard because I like to eat a lot of fruit which is not really allowed on the Atkins so gave it up. that is the only thing that stops me doing it again because I certainly felt so much healthier. I do try to cut back on bread, rice and potatoes as much as I can and If I eat rice it is usually brown rice. At the moment most of my carbs seem to be coming from fruit although I do like to have my porridge oats for breakfast
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I'm sure many individuals have an opinion on this topic. I was thinking in the range of 50-100 carbs a day. It's not impossible, but the weight loss is incredible. What do you think?
    If the weight loss is "incredible" then it's likely to be an initial loss of water rather than fat.

    I preferred to eat the same foods during weight loss that I planned to eat when maintaining, just in smaller quantities. Low carb wouldn't suit me at all but each to their own and if you think it's a sustainable way of eating for you long term then it's worth giving it a try. There isn't one single way of eating that suits everyone.
  • larajensen1
    larajensen1 Posts: 2
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    I tried to maintain a low carb diet for many years. In honesty, although the weight loss is initially very good, it tends to tail off and it becomes harder and harder to maintain. It's an expensive way of eating also, with such a high amount of protein. Research is currently available about how such low carb diets and high protein diets, can lead to stomach problems and cancers in later life, so that is another thing to be aware of. For me, it just worked out as never quite the right answer to a bigger problem. Life is about balance and a no carb/extremely low carb diet begins to restrict your social behaviour and other life decisions because you become worried about what you can and cant eat. Calorie control is always the best way. It means that if you slip up, it doesnt matter so much. With a low carb diet, slip up, and it makes your body crave even more carbs and its easy to fall off the path and gain weight again very rapidly. Psychologically a balanced diet is the best thing for mind and body. Life should be easy and not hard and restrictive.
  • rhopar33
    rhopar33 Posts: 29 Member
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    I'm new to the low carb diet, and have only been doing it for three days. All the info I get is from the internet so I don't have a "true" diet guideline to follow. I have 60 pounds to lose and I would love to lose it as quickly as and as safely as possible. When you did your low carb diet did you eat fruit? I logged an apple yesterday and it was 21 g of carbs! Wow. makes me not want to consume fruit. One protocol I read yesterday said the best result is to keep carbs at 25-50 g per day.

    How many carbs per day did yu eat and what was your weekly weight loss average?
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
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    I'm sure many individuals have an opinion on this topic. I was thinking in the range of 50-100 carbs a day. It's not impossible, but the weight loss is incredible. What do you think?

    Whatever floats your boat, but IMO, only do what you can sustain for the rest of your life.
  • snorred75
    snorred75 Posts: 6 Member
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    I started low carb in January of this year. You can view my diary if you like. I am not very active, so I eat around ~1200 cal a day, but I don't weigh my foods, so it's quite possible that I am eating more than that. I eat until I am satisfied and stop. I try to keep carbs under 30/day, but I do go over. To date, I have lost 30.7 lbs. I weigh every day and log it here. I do not find that eating low carb is hard/not sustainable. I eat lunch out most days and pretty much have anything I want. If I want a burger, I order it and throw away the bun. If I don't like the salads on a menu, I order a sandwich and a side salad and make my own. I used to be a HUGE sugar/starch eater. It has been fun finding new ways to enjoy food and substitutions for my favorites (zucchini fries are AWESOME). But if I have a craving, I feed it, but never to the extremes that I once did. I use this site for recipes and have found some that are really good - http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html.

    I am married and have two kids. They eat as they always did, and I find ways to eat per my diet based upon what I cook them for supper. If they have something like say chicken and dumplings, I will reserve chicken for myself and do a stirfry with veggies/or lettuce wraps. I figure if I'm already cooking, what's one more pot on the stove?

    I track my weight through another site - www.trendweight.com. It is linked with my log here. It tells you your average loss per week, how many calories you are burning and your anticipated date to reach your goal. It makes the day-to-day weight fluctuations tolerable.

    I also wear a fitbit flex. That has kept me motivated to walk more.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Initial weight loss on low-carb WILL be good because you'll lose a chunk of water and so on.

    As for the rest, the most important factor by far always seem to come down to calories in vs calories out. If you happen to be on low calorie and want to keep muscle, this often comes out as 'low carb' because you need to eat a good bit of protein to keep the muscle.

    On my 'rest' days if I don't exercise and was eating for my previous protein target of 175, that wouldn't leave a massive amount of carbs.
    While, a week ago I had 826g of carbs in one day - which was ideal for my needs (an endurance event which took me 7.5 hours to complete the next day.)
  • Go_Mizzou99
    Go_Mizzou99 Posts: 2,628 Member
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    Done it twice, it really works, but personally I don't find it sustainable over a long period.

    I actually do it on occasion to mix things up a bit. But i always go back to a balanced diet after a couple of weeks.

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