Is cutting carbs an effective weight loss strategy?

Mr_Knight wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that vast majority of people who want to create a caloric deficit are going to have to cut carbs.

True that. All the yummy carby stuff I like is high calorie and just leaves me wanting more and therefore go over my tdee.

Extremely effective for some people.

It was for me. If it wasn't for my massive sweet tooth, low carbing would be my natural way of eating at this point; doing it off and on for years literally killed my cravings for almost all high carb foods. I have never gained weight while low carbing, and that's without counting calories. I have maintained and stalled though. It's extreme satiating.

And for the person who stated you can't build muscle while low carbing? Yeah, my body disagrees.

I control my carbs as too many set my appetite zooming, but am by no means low-carb. I try to eat around 100g/day, spaced throughout the day (100g in one meal or even 60 or 70g in one meal would have me face-down in a tub of Doritos in no time).

However, this doesn't make me lose weight faster or anything. I do feel I retain less water this way (when I have a very high-carb day, my face and fingers puff up pretty drastically). But without controlling my calories as well, I don't lose weight just from controlling my carbs. Nor do I gain from a few more carbs on any given day.

I did low-carb off and on for years, always thinking it would be my Holy Grail of being able to eat tons of food yet get my weight down, but after the initial "woosh" in the beginning (water), my weight stopped, unless I was controlling my calories too.

Since it came down to CICO, I made the decision to just eat what, for me, would be a reasonably controlled amount of carbs to keep my appetite in check, but not to low-carb anymore. It is just not sustainable for me. I miss my more carb-y foods terribly and always fall off the wagon doing low-carb.

I do know there are people who do beautifully low-carbing. There is a low carb board that's quite famous and does have "lifetime" low-carbers. Google Low Carb Forum and it will probably be your first result. The description next to the name will say "Active Low-Carber Forums," I think.

Like you, I was very, very high-carb for most of my life, but because I was constantly on a diet (been on diets since 1978), and did control my calories for the majority of that time, my total carbs for the day probably weren't much different from the Standard American Diet carbs allotment. However, I'd eat, say, a Pop Tart for breakfast, one Cup O'Noodles for lunch, and for dinner, some rice, and maybe a piece of protein, but maybe a piece of bread instead. If I had room calories-wise, I'd have a dessert...a little piece of cake...something wheat-y. I was seriously all about carbs, carbs, carbs. I was starving that entire time...for years and years and years. About 11 years ago I snapped and could no longer seem to control my calories, and got fat.

So I came upon low-carbing in a desperate search for how to control my appetite, but after a few years of doing that, then falling off the wagon, then doing it again...later, rinse, repeat...and winding up VERY overweight, I have now found my happy medium for macros and am controlling my calories. Hope the same happens for you, with your own happy medium.

It's basic math - of course it will help you decrease your calorie consumption, as fat and protein make you feel fuller.

Is that sustainable long term? That's the issue really, because it's not the case for everyone. Bottom line is that if your plan is to go low carb to lose weight, but not long term, it's not going to work. If you don't mind going low carb all your life, then go for it.

I eat about 175 g of carbs a day, which is not exactly low carb but lower than the default MFP setting for my weight. I found that if I reduce carbs per sitting/meal, my appetite is easier to manage. If I have a high carb meal (more than 40g) it sends my blood glucose skyrocketing, followed by an insulin spike that leaves my blood glucose too low a few hours later. Low blood glucose makes me crave carbs and feel ravenous. If at this point I eat a high carb snack, my blood sugar yoyo's all day, with hungry points during the lows.

If I crave something very high carb, I try to have it late in the day, to prevent the blood glucose yoyo from affecting my appetite all day.

I lowered my carbs to 35% of my calorie target so technically I am eating reduced carb, not low carb. I have lost 86 lb so far. The lowered carbs has helped my weight loss only in that the higher protein and fat keeps me satisfied longer and I feel good and my skin and hair still looks great (I have had problems with shedding and excessively dry skin when on diets where I ate a higher percentage of carbs). Can I eat like this the rest of my life? You bet. Could I go low carb? No way.

Obviously, you want to limit your calories if you're looking to lose weight. However, the real focus should be not just on carbohydrates, but on calorie density. A carbohydrate tends to be simple sugar for most people which is quickly digestible and converts to stored energy if you don't use it immediately. By contrast, protein takes longer to digest and you feel full longer. Fruits and vegetables are carbs, but they're also fibrous (fiber is basically a carb that your body can't fully digest) and thus keep you full longer.

Another thing to keep in mind is that your brain tends to use carbs for central nervous system function, so if you've ever felt foggy or slow in brain area the first few weeks of a low carb diet, that's part of it. A good rule of thumb is to stay as close to your calorie goal each day as possible with a mix of foods low in calorie density and save a few hundred for that splurge on simple carbs.

FitnessTim wrote: »

I used to think that cutting carbs was not a good strategy for losing weight and keeping it off.

community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/141788/is-there-anyone-who-still-believes-in-low-carb-dieting#latest

There were experts on both sides of the low-carb diet argument so I was stuck with just trying things out for myself and seeing what worked.

Since then, I've experimented with varying percentage of carb intakes and I'm come to the conclusion that, for me, cutting carbs is effective.

For most of my life, I've had a very carb-rich diet. As an adult, I now know that I can't maintain my weight and continue to have a high carb diet. I also know that extremely low carb diets is next to impossible for me - I may get there someday but right now I find it very difficult to stay away from certain carb-rich foods.

I know I'm going to slip up and eat carb-rich foods so to counter that tendency I try to eliminate carbs whenever I can. In this way I don't totally ruin my diet when I have a sandwich with bread or a bag of chips.

In the past, I was really negative about low-carb dieting. I still fight the urge to roll my eyes when someone talks about cutting carbs. I was wrong.

One positive to take away from this is that we need to remember to keep our minds open to different approaches. Maybe we'll find out that it really has been gluten all along that caused the rise in obesity. (I don't believe that ... yet).

Tim clearly worldwide more and more people are figuring this out and I do think more even in the medical profession are doing so as well. Even the CEO of MFP was talking about this movement in an interview with reporters and is interested in learning the long term results.