so far so good for me. Been following DANDR since August 27, 2013 and next Wednesday will will mark one year since starting this WOE (started at 432lbs and currently 241lbs). Love it.

^^^^^^^^
What Dragonwolf said.

I would also add you might need to eat more then 1800 calories, especially working out most days. One of the great things about a LC/HF diet is you shouldn't feel hungry all the time on it like a low calorie diet.

Hello all! I have been thinking about going low carb for quite some time. I am 4 ft 10, 36, female and weigh 261. My goal weight is between 90 and 100 pounds. So yeah, I have a ton of weight to lose.

I have a friend that is doing low carb (she's not really doing keto but just low carb in general I guess. I'm kind of clueless lol) and she recommended that I eat about 1800 cals a day (I do exercise 6 times a week for 30 minutes... walking and elliptical mostly) and she said for my fat to be 70%, my protein 20% and my carbs 10%.

Is this healthy or ok for someone so heavy? I'm seriously scared of having a heart attack. My mother and grandmother had heart problems (bypasses) although I do not, the last time I was checked out I was ok... it was a few years ago though.

I don't fear fat, I'm just worried. I know it sounds stupid, but I figured you all could help me. Thank you so much!

By your calorie ticker, are you trying to get down to 80lbs because Im 4'2 and a child of my height should be about 75lbs.
We are not kids and me, I am bigger chested, so I carry some of the "extra" weight on top.
A "healthy" weight at 4'2, I should be about 90lbs...100 being on the higher end of the scale...youre taller than me!

I've lost 130lb through LC and am trying to lose the last 10-20 with just a calorie deficit and exercise. It hasn't budged the scale at all yet and it's been 7 weeks.!!! I am going to lower my carbs again and see how that'll go with my workouts.

To answer your question. YES! LC is a good way to lose a lot of weight. Higher protein and maybe a bit lower fat would be my suggestion-especially as weight training while you're losing is excellent-but you need that protein to maintain that muscle!

Good luck!

Hi, this is great, I'm just starting too, and needing to lose a similar amount. We could keep each other company?
I've set MFP to 25% carbohydrates and I'm letting everything else look after itself. I exercise 30mins a day, and aim for 1400 calories. So far its been easy, never hungry, lots of choice, just the odd moment where scrambled egg looks a bit lonely on the plate. I've seen a bread substitute made with cream cheese and eggs that I want to try.
Good luck!

I was listening to Good Morning America the other day. A new study showed that low carb/high fat dieters lost more weight and were healthier than low fat dieters.

Has anyone else heard or seen the report?

I don't watch GMA, but I assume it's the recent one that's surfaced. In which case, it's been picked apart in half a dozen threads on MFP alone. The biggest flaw in this study in particular (from what I gather) is that the "low fat" ...isn't. The "low-fat" intervention took fat intake from 35% to 30%, while the "low-carb" intervention went from 50-60% carbs to something like 5-10% (modified Atkins, I think).

It's a mediocre study at best, and there are far better ones out there. Such as the A to Z trial -- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17341711 and the others Dr. Attia talks about throughout (and particularly at the end of) his video on the history of the politics around fat -- https://player.vimeo.com/video/45485034

Absolutely. I see a bariatric physician, who puts all of her patients on a low carb diet. Her variation is that you count all carbs, not net carbs, but don't count any that are in the allowed vegetables (pretty much everything except butternut squash). I'm allowed to eat 20-30 carbs a day, and I bring in MFP diary with every appointment. I'm 5'2" and started at 258. It's been almost a year and I am down 50 pounds. This is with no exercise. I've lost enough that I can start exercising and building muscle. It definitely works for those with a lot to lose.

In May I had to change the way I monitor my diabetes. I used to take my insulin based on what my blood sugar was at the time of my meal. I was testing my blood surgar 3 times a day. Then, in May, my doctor told me to try and count carbs and base my insulin intake on what I eat. Also, I was prescribed a continuous glucose monitor. Since changing, I no longer want to take large amounts of insulin so I don't eat a lot of carbs. I am down 24lbs and feeling happier with myself. I used to take a minimum of 18u of insulin and then add units based on what my blood sugar was. Now, I take an average of 5 units per meal. Sometimes more or sometimes less.

If your interested in reading all the benefits and scientific data about low carb dieting here's a link I found that summarizes 23 studies *with links to the actual data so if your like me and want to know what is said is true you can see it in the scientific journals too*.

http://authoritynutrition.com/23-studies-on-low-carb-and-low-fat-diets/

These studies show that low carb dieters lose weight more quickly, often stick with the diet longer (slightly less people on the low carb diets went "off the wagon" during the studies), can lose weight while eating more calories and have fantastic improvements in their cholestorol, triglicerides, HDL, LDL etc.

Now, let me give advice from my own personal experience. Low carb works well for me. I lost 40lbs in about 6 months the first time. I was able to maintain my loss for about a year while still eating somewhat low carb. I feel fuller when I go low carb and don't binge eat as much. However. Low carb diets (especially ones that are SUPER low carb like Atkins) can get really boring really fast. Also, be sure you don't have hypoglycemia. Going too low in carbs when you have low sugar issues anyway will make you turn into a zombie...and make you feel like crying in a corner all day like I did.

Super low carb diets like Atkins can also be very unforgiving. Once in Ketosis your body will lose steadily. If you take a day off though and cheat once, your body will throw itself out of ketosis and it'll take another week of hard work to start losing again. I burned out very badly after 2 years trying to keep it up. The thought of eating another piece of meat turned my stomach. This turned into a yo yo dieting nightmare for me.... ack!

So with that said. I'm having really good results this time keeping my carbs in the 50-90 a day range and trying to pack as much protein and healthy fats as I can into my day while still maintaining a lower calorie count. I've found I can eat more calories, with reduced carbs and still lose more effectively without going crazy. Its a great way to leverage both things that fuel weight loss (lower cals and lower carbs). The more whole foods (lean meat, fish, veggies) you can make yourself eat the more success you'll see. This method allows me to cheat once in a while without breaking my weight loss momentum too.

Another plus. The foods in the lower carb AND lower calorie range almost force you to eat the whole clean foods that are most healthy and most filling for you. Processed/junk foods are usually either high carb or high calorie. I've learned to love these clean foods (even the ones I didn't before) because I now feel soo much better.

Here's something I highly recommend. Go get a full blood panel done before you start. Then get one done 6 months to a year later after eating lower carb as solidly as you can. I can guarantee there will be positive changes that will impress both you and your doctor! Remember to take it one step at a time and find a lower carb lifestyle that you can maintain for life and stick with it. I'm excited to see your results. Good Luck!

YES!!!

My ultimate goal is to lose a minimum of 226 and I'm about 99 lbs down! Having so much to lose can be overwhelming. Take each day at a time, log your food if you stop losing, and try to be active in some way to help. Good luck!! When you get in a groove, you'll do great!

deansdad101 wrote: »

Different strokes and you're the ONLY one that can make the decision for YOU.

Many ask "how will I know...?"

Best I can offer is that it's like they say about porn - "can't tell you what it is but I know it when I see it" <g>

Hahahaha deansdad101 you crack me up. Thank you for the advice

Bit late to the party, but would just like to echo/ espouse that low-carb is a great way to drop lbs in my opinion My only caveat would be to make sure your weight loss is not too rapid, as I think it's a good idea to let things like skin have time to adjust, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose

At 63 and years of yo yo dieting in my own case I think Low Carb High Fat is the only diet option I now have. We do run out of years at some point. In the last several weeks three guys that was in school when I was have died at the ages of 58, 62 and 69 and all had sugar related health issues leading up to death.

I was back up to 250 again after losing down to 220 in 2011 in a crash diet so in the first part to the year I did start an ad hoc calorie reduction that was mainly cutting sugar drinks and desert and was at 230 the first of Aug when I knew I was going to have to make a major eating change due to the arthritis and associated pain and health issues.

That evolved learning about low carb life style which I toyed with for Aug/Sept with limited success and no weight loss. The first of Oct I was ticked with myself and cold turkey'ed sugar, grains and even fruit.

Pain level started dropping and I lost 10 pounds (estimate 5 was from water after no carbs) and I have been on it every since. No weight loss in Nov and about four pounds so far this month (Dec). So that is 14 pounds down over the last 10 weeks but my life if SO much better quality wise and I have lost more inches.

It would be nice to see a straight line drop in weigh but this time around I do not want to do it that way. If I can drop 5 and keep it off for a few weeks or a month and repeat I can still lose 50 pounds a year. Another 20 will put me near the 196 mark which may be as low as I go. 172 is the least I would want to maintain. This time around I do not have a final goal. It currently is to just get below 200 and never hit 200 for the rest of my life.

Because I have NO chest expansion due to the arthritis and my sternum being solid bone now and drawn over I will forever have a pot belly because that is what moves in and out when I breath. I want enough muscle to carry on with an active life and be relatively pain free with good mental skills and function.

Low carb eating lifestyle I am convinced gives me the best shot at my long term health goals.

Where one wants to lose 20 or 200 pounds I would suggest one take a real hard look at trying the Low Carb High Fat approach and if interested give it a 90 day shot. Anything less than 90 days will not be long enough in my experience.

The mind shift took this old man some time.

GaleHawkins wrote: »

eatlowcarbhighfat.com/?p=524

This older article has some good charts and graphs about a guy who lost 200+ pounds over two years and has maintained for the third year. Not sure how he measured ketones but they are charted which I found interesting since I have started checking mine for about a week.

My range has been 0.9 to 3.6 (only readings <1 or >3) with an average of about 2 per blood ketone Abbott meter (Precision Xtra).

GH;

My understanding of the bell curve B-OHB results is that anything between 1.0 and 2.5 (or so) is "in the zone" and being at the "peak" of the curve isn't necessarily "better" than being on one side or the other.

If that's correct, "averaging about 2.0" is about as good as it gets and you are firmly established in the FA zone.

Remember that your blood levels are a "moving target" and can change almost minute to minute throughout the day so don't obsess over the variation.

Much like we say about the weather in New England....not happy with what it is now - just wait a few minutes <g>.

Congrats on your progress and actually "knowing" where you stand.