The Great Carb War

29 lbs in less than 2 months seems a bit high to me... if my math is correct that is half a pound a day.... How sustainable is what you are wanting to do? Having a goal is great, just make sure it is safely attainable. JMHO

CARBS DONT MAKE YOU FAT

EXCESS CALORIES DO

When will this stupidity end...I wish keto and Atkins never existed. Depriving yourself of energy and nutrition, all for a 'lose (water) weight quick' fad. You can't eat low carb for the rest of your life, it's awful for you.

Eat less calories. Don't follow trends.

It was advice from a friend who told me it would work fast.

Permanent>fast. Unfortunately the two tend to be mutually exclusive.

I've been slowly but surely making progress in my weight loss and have never once counted carbs OR sugars. I keep a general idea of how many calories I intake so I know there is a deficit, but I don't count exactly. I do, however, eat clean and exercise everyday. My motto: Slow & Steady wins the race :-)

I just finished a week of eating lower carbs (my average was 56 net carbs) and I loved it. I ate so much food for an average of about 1700 calories per day, and it think that's the biggest benefit--zero hunger. My only rule was to allow starchy stuff when it counted--at a cookout, I ate a cheeseburger on a bun and several chocolate-dipped strawberries. This is absolutely sustainable for me forever.

Edited because of bad IPad.

Doesn't matter how many carbs you do and don't eat as long as you are in a deficit, you will lose weight.

I don't know why people complicate things more than they have to.

This.

here's the deal....pick a nutrition plan that is sustainable long term FOR YOU. I tried the low carb thing in 2005 and it worked well for as long as I was focused on doing it. But I had no back-up plan for when I grew tired of it...and I grew tired of it. So I ended up gaining all of my weight back plus some.

reality is that when I picked up the weight loss journey again WITHOUT restricting carbs, I lost weight at the SAME pace as I did in 2005. The difference with the low carb diet is that I lost more in the first month than I did this time around....but as time moved along, I was losing at a better pace with eating healthy than I was on the low carb diet. And eating healthy is a much more sustainable lifestyle because I'm not restricting too many foods (I mean, I'm restricting fried food).

also, carbs get an unjustified bad rap by some. What's bad are processed foods and sugars. If you eat natural foods with natural sugars, you will be fine as long as you are at a calorie deficit overall. I focus on eating carbs with a low glycemic index value because they take longer to digest and help keep you fuller longer...plus they are generally more calorie dense than processed foods (so you can eat more natural food than processed food for the same number of calories). Carbs with a low GI index include: pretty much all veggies (noting that corn is not a veggie...its a grain....and carrots are iffy), all berries, apples, some citrus, sweet potatoes, whole grains (not whole wheat). and sometimes I eat other carbs like pizza in moderation and pasta. oh and I eat some 72% cacao chocolate everyday. the higher the % cacao, the less processed it is and healthier it is for you. I had to do some experimenting to find higher % cacao that was not as bitter, but I found an amazing 72% product at Whole Foods (pretty much the only thing I buy at Whole Foods...lol).

Depends on individual, there is no one size fit approach to fitness. There are people who benefit a lot by reducing carbs and add weight training. Your body composition will change like no ones business. I lost 10-11 inches of my waist in few weeks. Your results might vary, but you need to figure out what works for you. Calroie deficit is all good and dandy but make sure you account for second law of thermodynamics which is more important for fitness. I do awesome on low carb diets and can do stuff my carb loaded athlete friends are jealous now. When I started low carb, all I heard was how dangerous it was and yada yada. Its not dangerous if it is right for you.

Low carb will appear to work faster because of water store drop but will be the same as just calorie deficit in the long run. There's no need to restrict anything to lose weight. As long as you're getting a good amount of proteins and fats, I wouldn't worry about the amount of carbs. I ate 250g plus while in weight loss and it didn't effect my rate at all. In fact, I fully feel without my carbs, I wouldn't perform as well in training.

This. If I don't have carbs before my workout I definitely notice lower performance, and I figure that my workouts do more for me long term than a lack of carbs will, so I carb it up

If you have an event or something in particular you want to look extra slim for (wedding, reunion, bikini competition, what have you) it is worthwhile to cut back on carbs to help loose up water. Past that though, it's not a permanent effect. If you want to lose fat, it's all about the deficit.

I carb cycle to lean out. 50 or 60 is way too low. 100grams ish is good for your low day. My carb cycle is a low, med, high day. The high days are my most strenous workout days. I eat alot of protein. I'm pretty sure I"m never in a defecit and I still lose fat. The defecit thing is too much for me. I don't mind restricting carbs but I hate restricting calories all together. but again I think 50-60 is way too low.

Increase your carbohydrates but make sure you are eating healthy ones: beans, fruit, vegetables, whole grains.

I can understand someone wanting to restrict their carbohydrate and sugar intake if they were making bad food choices before (large quantities of quick burning fuel that leaves them hungry 60 minutes later). But there is a big difference between cutting out raiding the Chocolate Kisses at work when hungry and saying "I can't have fresh pineapple slices! Look at the Carbs!"