giving up carbs and sugar..

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

[When I read up on things...mine is basally Mediterranean meets south beach.

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

isn't part of the point of what we're all doing here to lose the stored fat we've all got? isn't that how we lose weight?

and let's be clear... ketosis is not a bad thing, because it's a byproduct of burning the energy your body is meant to burn in the first place: FAT. the ketones don't build up, they are excreted in urine and sweat.

what's bad is when you enter ketoacidosis, which is the process of your body cannibalizing its own muscle and organs for energy. different process, different circumstances.

Ketoacidosis is caused by a build up of ketones in the blood. When your body burns fat for good, it doesn't just burn fat cells it also burns muscle for fuel. The bi product is ketones, you can end up with more ketones than your body can expel via ruination, high levels of ketones in your blood is bad. Yes many people can go low carb and not have an issue, but not everyone can. There is no one answer fits all to the original posters question.

...Unfortunately, there are people from both sides of this conversation that have rather extreme views and try to push that onto others and if anyone suggest to evaluate a different approach outside of their own, things tend to go sour.

Yes, when people call other people's WOE a 'fad" when it isn't, that's counter-productive to conversation.
But this is OT.
I emailed the OP directly because I anticipated this type of crazy bias, as per the usual. She indicated she would be sticking with carbs and sugar - so I left it at that because I respect her decision and wished her well on her weight loss journey.
Too bad people are unable to be respectful of the decisions of others and instead have to tar them as a "fad" just because they disagree.

It is my perception, the OP would be using this as a fad because her friends have had success and may not be fully aware or have the knowledge of what will be required to make it successful long term. If the OP is ok with removing foods from her diet or in some cases, entire food groups, then it would be a good tool. Personally, there are advantages to both a moderate approach and a low carb approach. Low carb can provide higher levels of satiety, which will make it easier to sustain a deficit. Moderation will allow you to eat all foods you enjoy. Personally, I cannot do low carb because my workouts struggle when carbs dip by 200g. I also find that I tend to binge when I eliminate foods I enjoy from my diet.

With either diet, you have to educate yourself (which will take time) to be able to sustain long term. Is one better than the other.. nope.. What it comes down to, is which diet/lifestyle can you sustain long term.

I never called low carb a fad. I suggested the OP would be doing this as a fad. There is a difference.. the context is different. I could easily say the same thing about any approach. In fact, I even noted there are advantages to both lifestyles

I am just amazed at how fast people get upset when you suggest educating yourself prior to taking on a specific diet approach (as demonstrated by many low carb'ers). I understand it, you feel very strongly about your lifestyle, which is good because passion will help you succeed long term.

I think it's a mix between people are overly passionate about their own preferred diet (sometimes to the point of zealotry) and people being on the defensive about their preferred diet because other people who are overly passionate about a different diet love to bash their diet. And then you have the clueless newbies, whose bro told them X diet was the way to go and they just repeat that to other people because bro science. It's just not a mix that admits of good, rational discussion a lot of the time, although the occasional thread has a happy ending.