Thinking about drastically cutting my carb intake

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  • mizz1229
    mizz1229 Posts: 2 Member
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    xsix wrote: »
    I have been doing some research, seems that cutting my carb intake even lower and entering a state of Ketosis may be the answer for me, Brown Rice is one of my staple foods, so this is going to be interesting. My fitness pal budgets about 240 Grams of Carbohydrates a day, this will mean cutting down to around 30 Grams a day super low-carb diet.

    Here is one of the articles that I read about it.
    http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/carb-back-loading-training-without-carbs

    What do you think?

    I've been low(er) carb for around 2 years now. On non training days I'm around 100g training days 120-150 and if I'm on two-a-days I do 175-200. It's worked very well for me. A lot of the others are right 30 or less is too much and you won't have enough in reserve for training. I do however increase my [healthy] fat intake and add a little more protein to make up for the defecit
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    xsix wrote: »
    I have been doing some research, seems that cutting my carb intake even lower and entering a state of Ketosis may be the answer for me, Brown Rice is one of my staple foods, so this is going to be interesting. My fitness pal budgets about 240 Grams of Carbohydrates a day, this will mean cutting down to around 30 Grams a day super low-carb diet.

    Here is one of the articles that I read about it.
    http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/carb-back-loading-training-without-carbs

    What do you think?

    Keep in mind Kiefer has been in the gym since age 18 and does power lifting. I expect the article reflects his years of experience.

    Since I do not lift and Carbs are an 'optional' food source unlike Fat and Protein I went to <50 grams of carbs daily. As Jim noted above there is a couple weeks typically for the body to shift from burning glucose from Carbs to burning ketones from the break down of Fats.

    I moved accidently into nutritional ketosis when I was just trying to manage my arthritis pain. Since my pain dropped from 7-8 to 2-3 most days now on a 1-10 scale I have decided to stay a Fat burner vs a carb burner. The part that liked to kill me (in a mental sense) was breaking my 40 year carb/sugar addiction. I could only do it by going cold turkey and it was a hellish two weeks but now the sugar/carb cravings are gone and I know long get starving hungry on just Fat and Protein.

    I do get hungry but I can delay eating by 4-8 hours without physical weakness or mental fog that was so common when I was mainly a glucose burner.

    Keep in mind I only walk daily and my summer hobby is operating heavy equipment so there is no heavy lifting workouts. If I need to do any heavy lifting I use the backhoe. :)

    At 64 I can once again get in and out of cars with min pain and effort. The lifting of the mental fog that was full time when I was abusing carbs has been a game change.

    For the person not addicted to fast carbs or does not have Type 2 Diabetes or other health conditions made worse by sugar loads I do not think most will be seriously interest in ketosis lifestyle as Jim noted.

    I would ask young people to consider not abusing carbs like I did to the point it wrecks one's long term health. Work MFP daily and manage your weight after high school so your BMI is under 25 or at least under 28 so you can sidestep many weight related health issues 50 years later.
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    Your body can get away with low or no carbs and be OK (you'll regulate glucose levels with gluconeogenesis, and eventually transition to using ketones), but... what are the unique advantages in doing this?

    If you are training at all, I think you would be seeing a disadvantage in performance.

    The law of the land as far as weight management is concerned is still calories in vs. calories out. You could probably do the low carb thing and see results, just be aware that those results are from a calorie deficit and some water loss as well.
  • xsix
    xsix Posts: 62 Member
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    Just putting it out there i'm an Ovo-Lacto vegetarian. Im usually under my carb count for the day at this time.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    I lose really well on 30G/carbs/day. However, it doesn't feel like a diet that is great for overall, long-term health. I find that I can't keep it up over time, probably in part because I am very active. I'm sure there are people out there who can sustain that, but I'm not one of them!

    What about trying 100G/day? You can still have some fruit, a lot of vegetables and one or two servings of grain a day at a level like that. Going from 240 to 100 could make a big difference.
  • cclepew
    cclepew Posts: 40 Member
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    I'm diabetic and have cut carbs drastically out of necessity. I eat plenty of vegetables, and get all the nutrients I need. As long as my blood sugar is in a normal range, I know my brain and cells have enough fuel to work with. If it's low, which is almost never, I eat a small amount of sugar (glucose tablets, actually) to raise it to where it needs to be. When my blood sugar is higher than it should be, there is no reason to add more carbs, because my body can't process the sugar that's already there.

    I don't know if I'd recommend low-carb to anyone who ISN'T diabetic, only because carbs are delicious and wonderful and I wish I could eat them myself. I have to eat this way for the rest of my life. It's really difficult to sustain if you don't have your health riding on it. :)
  • GettingConfident
    GettingConfident Posts: 158 Member
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    yes hun go for it! Don't listen to people putting you down. Read up about the Dukan diet and the Stillmans diet...im following those at the moment and just like any other diet this is sustainable. Plus easy to follow as u can eat as much as you like. Just have mainly skinless proteins but have fruits and vegetables.

    That's the way I do it and ive lost a stone in 3 weeks in the past with that I am going to do it again. Feel free to add me if you need advice! A low carb diet is one of the quickest weightloss diets out there...just remember to give up on the 4 carbs which make you fat; including bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. :) good luck!
  • xsix
    xsix Posts: 62 Member
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    Your body can get away with low or no carbs and be OK (you'll regulate glucose levels with gluconeogenesis, and eventually transition to using ketones), but... what are the unique advantages in doing this?

    If you are training at all, I think you would be seeing a disadvantage in performance.

    The law of the land as far as weight management is concerned is still calories in vs. calories out. You could probably do the low carb thing and see results, just be aware that those results are from a calorie deficit and some water loss as well.

    I agree, I am currently training, and probably could use the carbs in that respect. However the author of the article that I posted, works out quite often and seemed to have very few problems after the carb flu.

  • mgalsf12
    mgalsf12 Posts: 350 Member
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    I can always tell when someone is on some type of ketogenic diet, they're body odor and breath smell so nasty!
  • xsix
    xsix Posts: 62 Member
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    I also I have to consider the fat part, I regularly consume bullet proof tea(-minus the butter) in the morning and before training, this should not be much of problem since i'm Vegetarian, and consume very little fats at this point and time.

    https://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/ I use Yerba Mate instead of the Coffee and no butter, the MCT from the Coconut oil is awesome.


    I guess my main point of this poist is would consuming healthy fat, be detrimental to burning fat?
  • markja
    markja Posts: 270 Member
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    From my own experience, cutting carbs is a good way to manage calories. Starches have lots of carbs and not much else. Nonetheless, I do enjoy them, especially oatmeal, grits and good bread. I don't care much for white bread and I've learned that hot cereal made as a savory rather than a sweet is more satisfying. I don't each much rice at all.

    If it were me, I'd cut back on brown rice and add in some other whole grains.

    Best to you!
  • xsix
    xsix Posts: 62 Member
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    markja wrote: »
    From my own experience, cutting carbs is a good way to manage calories. Starches have lots of carbs and not much else. Nonetheless, I do enjoy them, especially oatmeal, grits and good bread. I don't care much for white bread and I've learned that hot cereal made as a savory rather than a sweet is more satisfying. I don't each much rice at all.

    If it were me, I'd cut back on brown rice and add in some other whole grains.

    Best to you!

    Thanks !
  • xsix
    xsix Posts: 62 Member
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    yes hun go for it! Don't listen to people putting you down. Read up about the Dukan diet and the Stillmans diet...im following those at the moment and just like any other diet this is sustainable. Plus easy to follow as u can eat as much as you like. Just have mainly skinless proteins but have fruits and vegetables.

    That's the way I do it and ive lost a stone in 3 weeks in the past with that I am going to do it again. Feel free to add me if you need advice! A low carb diet is one of the quickest weightloss diets out there...just remember to give up on the 4 carbs which make you fat; including bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. :) good luck!

    Thank You :)
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    edited January 2015
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    yes hun go for it! Don't listen to people putting you down. Read up about the Dukan diet and the Stillmans diet...im following those at the moment and just like any other diet this is sustainable. Plus easy to follow as u can eat as much as you like. Just have mainly skinless proteins but have fruits and vegetables.

    That's the way I do it and ive lost a stone in 3 weeks in the past with that I am going to do it again. Feel free to add me if you need advice! A low carb diet is one of the quickest weightloss diets out there...just remember to give up on the 4 carbs which make you fat; including bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. :) good luck!

    You're eliminating an entire macronutrient and thus creating a caloric deficit, nothing more. It's quick because in addition to the deficit you've created your're also losing initial water weight.

    Carbs do not make you fat. Stop spreading false information... you're misinformed.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    yes hun go for it! Don't listen to people putting you down. Read up about the Dukan diet and the Stillmans diet...im following those at the moment and just like any other diet this is sustainable. Plus easy to follow as u can eat as much as you like. Just have mainly skinless proteins but have fruits and vegetables.

    That's the way I do it and ive lost a stone in 3 weeks in the past with that I am going to do it again. Feel free to add me if you need advice! A low carb diet is one of the quickest weightloss diets out there...just remember to give up on the 4 carbs which make you fat; including bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. :) good luck!

    OMG :s

    Du you know what sustainable means? If the diet(s) were sustainable, you wouldn't have to do it again :p

    What's wrong with eh, protein skin?

    Carbs don't make you fat, overeating make you fat.

    Please, OP (and others), don't listen to this.
  • FDMToronto
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    Everyone seems to have had their $0.02, so here's mine: try anything and everything to find what works for you, including low carb.

    I need to lose 40-50 lbs and started the Dukan diet a month ago. Prior to that I was vegetarian for 4 years and have never met a carb that I don't love. I picked Dukan because it's lower fat than Atkins. I keep my carbs below 50 grams a day. I haven't had any side effects: almost no cravings (though I miss peanut butter on toast!), no loss of energy - quite the opposite in fact. I've lost 20 lbs.

    Whatever you decide, good luck. I've met loads of people that have sustained weight loss by limiting carbs. I hope to join that group.
  • FDMToronto
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    Brolympus wrote: »
    Eating some lower carb foods, like veggies, might help you feel fuller, because you need to eat more to get the some amount of calories, and you will lose weight as a byproduct of eating less because you don't feel hungry as often. But you are not losing weight directly from cutting the carbs. You are losing the weight from being in a calorie defecit. Don't confuse correlation with causation.

    I agree with this and everything else in this post - it's true that you end up eating fewer calories while on a low carb diet - and that's why I'm low carb! I'm never hungry, but my caloric intake is consistently below 1200/day. Cutting carbs (I aim to be below 50mg/day) means cutting calories that weren't filling me up.

  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
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    redheaddee wrote: »
    You body uses carbs for energy and all sorts of other things. Cutting them out is not sustainable for the long term.
    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/carbs.html

    I'm always amused when someone says something I've been doing for 15 years can't possibly be done long term. Bonus points when they call it a "fad." OP, go here:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
    or here
    http://www.reddit.com/r/keto

    And you'll find FAQ questions and answers with the sources to back them up.
  • Amanelot
    Amanelot Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm losing 1lb a week while eating 500g of carbs a day. If you're having trouble losing weight then maybe you are underestimating how much you're eating, or over estimating how active you are.
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
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    FDMToronto wrote: »
    Everyone seems to have had their $0.02, so here's mine: try anything and everything to find what works for you, including low carb.

    I need to lose 40-50 lbs and started the Dukan diet a month ago. Prior to that I was vegetarian for 4 years and have never met a carb that I don't love. I picked Dukan because it's lower fat than Atkins. I keep my carbs below 50 grams a day. I haven't had any side effects: almost no cravings (though I miss peanut butter on toast!), no loss of energy - quite the opposite in fact. I've lost 20 lbs.

    Whatever you decide, good luck. I've met loads of people that have sustained weight loss by limiting carbs. I hope to join that group.

    So you really think you're going to live the rest of your life eating no more than 50 grams of carbs per day? I did Atkins for about a year and a half and yes it worked: I lost weight, didn't have any cravings, etc. But, damn, it got to be a grind. The rest of my family wasn't doing it and neither were my co-workers and friends. So while my family was eating Belgian waffles, pancakes or bagels for breakfast I was eating Yet. Another. G*damn. Egg. Want some birthday cake? Uh, no thanks. Hey look profiteroles! I'll pass. Ooh, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies! Not today I guess. Hey, let's go to that new Italian restaurant! Well, maybe some other time. - So yeah, eventually I succumbed and gained it all back.

    Low carb means saying no to about 85% of everything at the grocery store, 95% of everything on a restaurant menu and 99% of baked goods and desserts. IMHO, it's easier to learn portion control and how to balance your calorie intake over the course of a week rather than live every single day in strict adherence to a low limit on carbs.