giving up carbs and sugar..

It's impossible to go completely no carb, unless you only eat meat. As to if a very low carb diet is healthy that depends on an individual and their health. I personally can't do it, as it would kill me. I have extreme hypoglycemia (my last hemoglobin A1C was 3.1 (a level below 4.5 is considered hypoglycemic). I have cut out almost all simple carbs and almost all refined sugars, complex carbs break down slower and keep my blood sugars from spiking and dropping. When the very low carb diets first came out my dad and stepmom did it, while they both lost severel pounds quickly, in just under a year my stepmom was told to stop doing low carb because it was causing her to have Ketosis.

From the Mayo Clinic:
It's also possible that restricting carbohydrates to less than 20 grams a day — the level recommended for phase 1 of the diet — can result in ketosis. Ketosis occurs when you don't have enough sugar (glucose) for energy, so your body breaks down stored fat, causing ketones to build up in your body. Side effects from ketosis can include nausea, headache, mental fatigue and bad breath.

In addition, the Atkins Diet isn't appropriate for everyone. For example, the Atkins Diet recommends that you consult your doctor before starting the diet if you take diuretics, insulin or oral diabetes medications. In addition, people with severe kidney disease should not follow the diet, and the weight-loss phases of the diet aren't suitable for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

So the short answer is yes it's healthy and good for some people, and not healthy for others. Here's the link for the mayo clinic information above: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/in-depth/atkins-diet/art-20048485?pg=2

Go low carb or don't go low carb. Ultimately, it won't make much (if any) difference toward weight loss. I've been going low carb for a couple of months now, but only as part of a specific workout program I've been doing (I was also curious as to how it would work, since it was a temporary thing anyway). I lost ALL of my weight while eating ample carbs. Low carb left me irritable and lethargic at first, but I mostly got over it. I'm not sure it's actually doing anything (especially since I'm maintaining and doing a completely different workout program), but I'll stick with it for another month (end of program).

Going low carb is neither healthy nor unhealthy. It's simply one of many approaches to eating.

Hell no, never!

As others have said, you can't utterly give up carbs because that would rule out vegetables, legumes, fruit, etc. However, it is extremely effective and healthy to cut down on your processed carbs. Go a few weeks without eating bread, pasta, anything with added sugar, alcohol, etc, and you'll definitely lose weight. Stock up on veggies and lean protein, and some amount of fruit and whole grains and legumes instead. It's a healthier way to eat and you'll drop weight, so it's a win-win.

What if I enjoy eating bread and pasta and the occasional beer? Why should I give up things I enjoy if there isn't any real need to? I can eat all the things you mentioned and be perfectly healthy, and lose weight if my calories are set correctly. If you really love pasta would it not be easier to find a way to work it into your diet rather then restrict it and have to crave it?

ummm, don't give them up? See how simple that is?

Giving up carbs and sugar? Is it necessary, effective? You should ask this to so many of the people here with success stories. Listen to what they have to say. Ask people who have lost weight and kept it off for some time, that will give you a better perspective.

So far, most success stories have come from people who chose a sustainable dieting plan, a lifestyle change. If you see yourself going the low carb way for life, then go for it.

Edit to say that I've lost weight through calorie counting, watching my macros, learning to cook and learning about nutrition, moving more, all thanks to the amazing people here who take the time to answer to so many questions. And because I would never give up any food group, I learned to enjoy everything I eat even more now that I understand their nutritional value better. I love beer, potato chips and fell in love with produce because I learned to cook better throughout my journey here on MFP.

Giving up carbs and sugar? Is it necessary, effective? You should ask this to so many of the people here with success stories. Listen to what they have to say. Ask people who have lost weight and kept it off for some time, that will give you a better perspective.

So far, most success stories have come from people who chose a sustainable dieting plan, a lifestyle change. If you see yourself going the low carb way for life, then go for it.

Basing your diet or exercise routine off of someone else's anecdotal observations is a fundamental principle of broscience. You're going to get more meaningful information if you look at studies that examine groups of people, preferably in controlled environments, rather than just asking your bro how he prefers to do it. The same goes for the gym - odds are you're going to get better results using a proven system that thousands of athletes have used successfully, rather than just asking your bro what split he followed to get to benching 3 plates.

And that's not to say giving up carbs and sugar is somehow superior - only that basing your routine off MFP success stories is likely not the optimal way to go about it.

Giving up carbs and sugar? Is it necessary, effective? You should ask this to so many of the people here with success stories. Listen to what they have to say. Ask people who have lost weight and kept it off for some time, that will give you a better perspective.

So far, most success stories have come from people who chose a sustainable dieting plan, a lifestyle change. If you see yourself going the low carb way for life, then go for it.

Edit to say that I've lost weight through calorie counting, watching my macros, learning to cook and learning about nutrition, moving more, all thanks to the amazing people here who take the time to answer to so many questions. And because I would never give up any food group, I learned to enjoy everything I eat even more now that I understand their nutritional value better. I love beer, potato chips and fell in love with produce because I learned to cook better throughout my journey here on MFP.

Successful at losing or maintaining? VERY different thing unfortunately.

And that's not to say giving up carbs and sugar is somehow superior - only that basing your routine off MFP success stories is likely not the optimal way to go about it.

True dat. Just offering my 2 cents cos she came here to ask the MFP peeps. I'm sure if she had read studies she wouldn't have come here to ask what we think about it, I really just offered some insight on what I've seen around here.

Giving up carbs and sugar? Is it necessary, effective? You should ask this to so many of the people here with success stories. Listen to what they have to say. Ask people who have lost weight and kept it off for some time, that will give you a better perspective.

So far, most success stories have come from people who chose a sustainable dieting plan, a lifestyle change. If you see yourself going the low carb way for life, then go for it.

Edit to say that I've lost weight through calorie counting, watching my macros, learning to cook and learning about nutrition, moving more, all thanks to the amazing people here who take the time to answer to so many questions. And because I would never give up any food group, I learned to enjoy everything I eat even more now that I understand their nutritional value better. I love beer, potato chips and fell in love with produce because I learned to cook better throughout my journey here on MFP.

Granted...this is primarily a calorie counting site, so, yes the "successes" will be made up of mostly "calorie counters" (who all claim to not be on diets for whatever reason).
A potential bias.:flowerforyou:

LOTS of folks are successful here (at losing, many seem to disappear for maintenance), and LOTS of folks are successful other places. And, in fact, LOTS of folks are successful who never post on the main boards because they aren't following the IIFYM dogma, including some VERY successful low, lower, and slow carb eaters.
cheers.

Giving up carbs and sugar? Is it necessary, effective? You should ask this to so many of the people here with success stories. Listen to what they have to say. Ask people who have lost weight and kept it off for some time, that will give you a better perspective.

So far, most success stories have come from people who chose a sustainable dieting plan, a lifestyle change. If you see yourself going the low carb way for life, then go for it.

Basing your diet or exercise routine off of someone else's anecdotal observations is a fundamental principle of broscience. You're going to get more meaningful information if you look at studies that examine groups of people, preferably in controlled environments, rather than just asking your bro how he prefers to do it. The same goes for the gym - odds are you're going to get better results using a proven system that thousands of athletes have used successfully, rather than just asking your bro what split he followed to get to benching 3 plates.

And that's not to say giving up carbs and sugar is somehow superior - only that basing your routine off MFP success stories is likely not the optimal way to go about it.

Completely agree. And because the OP said:

I know a lot of people that have given up on carbs and sugar and it seems to work for them, but is this a healthy route to go?

It would probably be suggested that she looks at multiple lifestyles and determines which one will be most conducive to her journey and which one will allow the greatest chance of long term success.