Does a low carb diet make a big difference?

no carbs...sure. I bet your friend is eating carbs she just doesn't know it.

As for no carb/low carb yes it works but only because you have reduced your calories...so no it's not more effective.

As well with low carb (and I know from personal exp) you do get fuzzy in the head, very low energy making it hard to do anything but very light exercise...

It's not what you eat it's how much you eat.

I have steadily lost weight eating everything I did before I joined here...just smaller portions of it.

This weight loss thing should not include giving up whole food groups unless you plan on doing that for the rest of your life...make this just like life..eat the foods you love/crave just in smaller portions. Log it all and stay in goal.

Quicker is not always better...esp with weight loss...with 20lbs to lose you should be aiming for 1/2lb a week...yah you are probably thinking but it will take me a year to lose it that way...well it took about a year to put it on...

I put 25lbs on after I got married...I was already overweight when I got married...it has taken me 1 year here...plus another 9 months outside of here to lose all that weight...and now I that I am in maitenance I know I will keep it off...because I did it slowly, developed good habits and wont fall back into the bad ones I had...

I did Atkins many years ago and lost 45 lbs in 3 months. Basically, you start off with 20 grams of carbs for 2 weeks until you reach ketosis - the stage where your body uses fat for energy. I liked this diet, because I did lose weight. I did gain the weight back, but that was more due to emotional eating. I say don't go completely off carbs because it is almost impossible to do since nearly everything contains carbs. I say track the carbs you are eating per day and use that has a guide to what you can eliminate. O....r see what eating 20 grams for two weeks puts you. If you find yourself struggling, then you want to make adjustments.

I did Atkins many years ago and lost 45 lbs in 3 months. Basically, you start off with 20 grams of carbs for 2 weeks until you reach ketosis - the stage where your body uses fat for energy. I liked this diet, because I did lose weight. I did gain the weight back, but that was more due to emotional eating. I say don't go completely off carbs because it is almost impossible to do since nearly everything contains carbs. I say track the carbs you are eating per day and use that has a guide to what you can eliminate. O....r see what eating 20 grams for two weeks puts you. If you find yourself struggling, then you want to make adjustments.

Key here is the past tense, as in "not sustainable"

not to confuse you anymore but try reading the book Wheatbelly, it's all about how wheat puts on the weight.

edited for duh

I'm a type 2 diabetic (off of meds, watching with diet) and I stick to about 45% of my day from carbs

the thing you do have to remember is that literally everything has carbs except for maybe meats and pure fats.

Vegetables, fruits, even milk have carbs and these all count in my 45% carb intake

So really a "no carb" diet is near impossible - that being said, I did do a low carb diet under a doctors guidance to lose the weight, but only for that reason - in the long run, you need the carbs

I personally think people are much better off learning how to eat a more balanced diet and focus on getting proper nutrition...which means not only getting your vitamins and minerals, but hitting dietary fat requisites and higher protein requisites than the RDA (which is basically bare minimum intake for a sedentary person...don't be sedentary and get more protein).

When people focus on having a more balanced and nutritious diet, they generally find that their protein intake increases, their fat intake increases or remains static, and their carbohydrate intake is often substantially reduced from the SAD. To boot, when people are trying to hit micro vitamins and mineral goals, they find that their carbohydrates sources tend to be less "junky" with some starches and whole grains and a lot of wholesome vegetables and fruits making up the better part of that carbohydrate intake.

Key here is the past tense, as in "not sustainable"

Three years ago I lost 150 pounds in 13 months doing low carb.

Still eating the same way so yes it is sustainable if you commit yourself to it.

I find a low carb regime is perfect for me, and it's completely sustainable, and not more expensive than buying 'normal' food. The carbs i do eat come from veg mostly and some fruit (not a fan of fruit myself i only eat apples, bananas and occasionally berries). I stay away from (as much as possible but i do indulge once in a while) rice, pasta (i only eat non-wheat), tatties, anything bread-like, anything processed (including processed meats) (not including cheese here of course).

Instead of rice i have cauliflower blizted to rice like consistency before frying it in a little coconut oil.

instead of tatties i have cauliflower mash, or celeriac/squash (chips, mash, or cubed).

I eat loads of leafy greens (usually wilted, i'm not a huge fan of salads).

and lots of pulses, seeds and protein. I don't feel hungry, i eat little and often as it suits me. i train at least 5 days a week, for at least an hour, 4 of those days are high intensity. I have no energy problems, no flagging at 3pm, no flagging at the end of 1.5 hr karate session where i still have to jog a mile and half home as my warm down.

The atkins diet (or similar) is a good way to figure out what your body needs in the way of carbs, and it also helps you figure out better sources of carbs than bloody boring tatties/rice/pasta all the time.

There are plenty of protein sources you can have that aren't meat that don't cost a fortune, you just need to do a little reading of vegetarian sites and google recipes etc it's not hard and means you know what you are eating and why. I've broadened my cooking ability exponentially after decided to eat like this. You find out what snacks you can have and how to make them yourself and eventually you crave these instead of rubbish mass manufactured sweets.

it's always worth a go, if you find it doesn't work for you, then it's the wrong diet for your body type, you can try something else, it shouldn't do any harm. just make sure you don't overeat, as even eating too much veg will make you put on weight, otherwise all vegans would be stick-like.

I've been eating and working out like this since 2009. I still have diet pepsi etc (prefer the taste) and have an full-fat irn bru every so often (cos diet tastes minging). I also have cakey things every so often, cos life's boring without a bit of indulgence.

I also find rewarding myself with something other than food is helpful. So i tend to reward myself with a new item of clothing, a hair cut, a magazine or a new tune for running to. My most recent purchase was an expensive pair of rollerskates for my new sport hee hee!