Is a High Carb, Low Fat Diet Better Than High Fat, Low Carb?
teaflowermfp
Posts: 5 Member
I think there is way too much debate for someone like me to know which way is up or down anymore.
High fat, low carb diets like the famous Paleo diet claim to undo the metabolic damage you may have accumulated, fix fatigue, better your moods, all while burning your fat storages because you're eating as much as you want, as long as you stay below a net carb total of 15.
I tried it. I looked less bloated. Mom asked me to stop because she worried I wasn't getting enough nutrition, being a vegetarian on top of it all.
High carb, low fat diets say basically the exact same thing. There's a woman on Youtube who has over 300,000 subscribers, so maybe she's the real deal. She's a raw vegan. Most of her diet consists of fruit, specifically bananas. That makes sense, since her handle is freeleethebananagirl. She's fit. She says her diet will reset your metabolism, jumpstart your mood, and keep you lean. She says most day to day problems can be credited to the western diet and not getting enough carbs.
I'm trying it. I can't afford to eat 30 bananas a day so I eat more veggies than is recommended.
What's a girl supposed to do? I'm 19 years old. I have a goiter and I'm on the borderline for hypothyroidism. I have to take a steroid inhaler for my tracheal disease before doing any exercise harder than a walk. My birth control causes me to retain a lot of water. Both diets claim I can do away with these problems for good but I can't tell which one works and I'm terrified of trying it only to further damage my body.
Does anyone have any experience, success stories, or advice?
High fat, low carb diets like the famous Paleo diet claim to undo the metabolic damage you may have accumulated, fix fatigue, better your moods, all while burning your fat storages because you're eating as much as you want, as long as you stay below a net carb total of 15.
I tried it. I looked less bloated. Mom asked me to stop because she worried I wasn't getting enough nutrition, being a vegetarian on top of it all.
High carb, low fat diets say basically the exact same thing. There's a woman on Youtube who has over 300,000 subscribers, so maybe she's the real deal. She's a raw vegan. Most of her diet consists of fruit, specifically bananas. That makes sense, since her handle is freeleethebananagirl. She's fit. She says her diet will reset your metabolism, jumpstart your mood, and keep you lean. She says most day to day problems can be credited to the western diet and not getting enough carbs.
I'm trying it. I can't afford to eat 30 bananas a day so I eat more veggies than is recommended.
What's a girl supposed to do? I'm 19 years old. I have a goiter and I'm on the borderline for hypothyroidism. I have to take a steroid inhaler for my tracheal disease before doing any exercise harder than a walk. My birth control causes me to retain a lot of water. Both diets claim I can do away with these problems for good but I can't tell which one works and I'm terrified of trying it only to further damage my body.
Does anyone have any experience, success stories, or advice?
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teaflowermfp wrote: »I think there is way too much debate for someone like me to know which way is up or down anymore.
High fat, low carb diets like the famous Paleo diet claim to undo the metabolic damage you may have accumulated, fix fatigue, better your moods, all while burning your fat storages because you're eating as much as you want, as long as you stay below a net carb total of 15.
I tried it. I looked less bloated. Mom asked me to stop because she worried I wasn't getting enough nutrition, being a vegetarian on top of it all.
High carb, low fat diets say basically the exact same thing. There's a woman on Youtube who has over 300,000 subscribers, so maybe she's the real deal. She's a raw vegan. Most of her diet consists of fruit, specifically bananas. That makes sense, since her handle is freeleethebananagirl. She's fit. She says her diet will reset your metabolism, jumpstart your mood, and keep you lean. She says most day to day problems can be credited to the western diet and not getting enough carbs.
I'm trying it. I can't afford to eat 30 bananas a day so I eat more veggies than is recommended.
What's a girl supposed to do? I'm 19 years old. I have a goiter and I'm on the borderline for hypothyroidism. I have to take a steroid inhaler for my tracheal disease before doing any exercise harder than a walk. My birth control causes me to retain a lot of water. Both diets claim I can do away with these problems for good but I can't tell which one works and I'm terrified of trying it only to further damage my body.
Does anyone have any experience, success stories, or advice?
Maybe talk to your doctor and not take advice from youtube videos that make outrageous claims0 -
Paleo vs raw vegan. Hmmm. They both sound totally inappropriate for you. Have you tried mainstream, balanced nutrition? With your medical issues you really might want to talk to your primary care doctor about getting a referral to a dietitian. In the mean time, maybe ask your mom for some advice on planning balanced meals. Assuming she's got a good head on her shoulders.0
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Freelee is not a registered dietitician, doctor, or nutritionist. She is a Youtube personality promoting a diet that is unsustainable for many. And could be detrimental to the health of people who need to track sugar or carbohydrates for medical reasons. Additionally, her diet promotes eating thousands of calories per day, which can make weight loss difficult unless you are doing the exercise to create a calorie deficit. Basically, you need to be a long distance biker like her, and work out hours per day.
I wouldn't take anything she says seriously as far as I could throw her.
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teaflowermfp wrote: »I think there is way too much debate for someone like me to know which way is up or down anymore.
High fat, low carb diets like the famous Paleo diet claim to undo the metabolic damage you may have accumulated, fix fatigue, better your moods, all while burning your fat storages because you're eating as much as you want, as long as you stay below a net carb total of 15.
Sounds kind of unbelievable, doesn't it?
Also, I know lots of people who sort of do paleo and am interested in it so have read lots of paleo stuff, and there's nothing about carbs under 15. You can do paleo and eat lots of carbs. Not saying you should, just suggesting that this is another sign that you should be skeptical.I tried it. I looked less bloated. Mom asked me to stop because she worried I wasn't getting enough nutrition, being a vegetarian on top of it all.
Yeah, not the best fit with the whole anti dairy and beans and grains thing.High carb, low fat diets say basically the exact same thing. There's a woman on Youtube who has over 300,000 subscribers, so maybe she's the real deal. She's a raw vegan. Most of her diet consists of fruit, specifically bananas. That makes sense, since her handle is freeleethebananagirl. She's fit. She says her diet will reset your metabolism, jumpstart your mood, and keep you lean. She says most day to day problems can be credited to the western diet and not getting enough carbs.
And what's her expertise? That she looks good? (I've never seen her, although because of MFP I've heard of her.) Seems sketchy to me.
Maybe get nutrition information from more reputable sources? http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/ is an okay place to start. Or read one of Marion Nestle's books or something by Michael Pollan, maybe.What's a girl supposed to do? I'm 19 years old. I have a goiter and I'm on the borderline for hypothyroidism. I have to take a steroid inhaler for my tracheal disease before doing any exercise harder than a walk. My birth control causes me to retain a lot of water. Both diets claim I can do away with these problems for good but I can't tell which one works and I'm terrified of trying it only to further damage my body.
Does anyone have any experience, success stories, or advice?
I'd ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietician. And not believe extreme claims that sound too good to be true.0 -
Why don't you eat at a calorie deficit? You don't need a fad plan to lose weight.0
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You're still young, and you're gonna hear loads of crap from people trying, excuse me, MAKING money by preying on people that want to lose weight and they take advantage of them. Dr. Oz comes to mind. Anyways, I'm 42 and the only thing that has worked for me is to eat at a calorie deficit, exercise, and try to eat mostly healthy, but save some room for a couple hundred calories of whatever you crave, if you do. For me, it's a snickers bar, or a pack of chips. This has always worked for me. Calories in, calories out. Good luck on your thyroid issue.0
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Paleo is not LCHF. Most of what you said applies to neither. Can't speak to banana girl, aside from knowing she's clueless. If you want real info on LCHF, go here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10103966/start-here-the-lcd-launch-pad
I'm sure someone else can direct you to a reputable collection of sources for the opposite. All that really matters is that you get enough protein, and then it's entirely up to you if you'd rather have more carbs or fat. The point is you can't take them both low at the same time, because you need fat to survive, and you need one or the other to fill your calorie minimum for the day.0 -
rocknlotsofrolls wrote: »You're still young, and you're gonna hear loads of crap from people trying, excuse me, MAKING money by preying on people that want to lose weight and they take advantage of them. Dr. Oz comes to mind. Anyways, I'm 42 and the only thing that has worked for me is to eat at a calorie deficit, exercise, and try to eat mostly healthy, but save some room for a couple hundred calories of whatever you crave, if you do. For me, it's a snickers bar, or a pack of chips. This has always worked for me. Calories in, calories out. Good luck on your thyroid issue.
I agree. I used to drive myself crazy with questions like the title of this thread. I didn't know what to do and I felt bad about everything I ate. Carbs might be bad. Fat might be bad. Meat might be bad. Let go of all of that and try the deficit, it works.
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rocknlotsofrolls wrote: »You're still young, and you're gonna hear loads of crap from people trying, excuse me, MAKING money by preying on people that want to lose weight and they take advantage of them. Dr. Oz comes to mind. Anyways, I'm 42 and the only thing that has worked for me is to eat at a calorie deficit, exercise, and try to eat mostly healthy, but save some room for a couple hundred calories of whatever you crave, if you do. For me, it's a snickers bar, or a pack of chips. This has always worked for me. Calories in, calories out. Good luck on your thyroid issue.
I agree. I used to drive myself crazy with questions like the title of this thread. I didn't know what to do and I felt bad about everything I ate. Carbs might be bad. Fat might be bad. Meat might be bad. Let go of all of that and try the deficit, it works.
I know. I almost had a nervous breakdown because of it. Felt like I wanted to strangle somebody. I finally realized it, and OP, if you're reading this, we've been down that road before and we want to help you and others. Good luck!0 -
^^^ all of this. A normal standard balanced diet while eating at a deficit is ALL you need for weight loss. Seriously, nothing else. My success story is losing 48 lbs while eating a bunch of different foods (and all the foods) at a caloric deficit.
Also, eating 30 bananas a day comes to 3,150 calories, 810g carbs, 420g sugar (yes, almost a pound), 39g protein, and 93g fibre. This yells sugar-high and constipation to me. It is also outrageously ridiculous and I cannot believe someone is actually advocating this
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^^^ all of this. A normal standard balanced diet while eating at a deficit is ALL you need for weight loss. Seriously, nothing else. My success story is losing 48 lbs while eating a bunch of different foods (and all the foods) at a caloric deficit.
Also, eating 30 bananas a day comes to 3,150 calories, 810g carbs, 420g sugar (yes, almost a pound), 39g protein, and 93g fibre. This yells sugar-high and constipation to me. It is also outrageously ridiculous and I cannot believe someone is actually advocating this .
She must think we are monkees!0 -
rocknlotsofrolls wrote: »^^^ all of this. A normal standard balanced diet while eating at a deficit is ALL you need for weight loss. Seriously, nothing else. My success story is losing 48 lbs while eating a bunch of different foods (and all the foods) at a caloric deficit.
Also, eating 30 bananas a day comes to 3,150 calories, 810g carbs, 420g sugar (yes, almost a pound), 39g protein, and 93g fibre. This yells sugar-high and constipation to me. It is also outrageously ridiculous and I cannot believe someone is actually advocating this .
She must think we are monkees!
Right?! I’m pretty sure even monkeys have more sense than that. Plus they get a lot of exercise, what with jumping from tree to tree and all
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Don't listen to Freelee.
I wish people would stop pitting such macro extremes against each other like keto vs. Freelee's version of raw vegan (it's not the only raw vegan approach).
What's wrong with moderate carb, moderate fat, moderate protein? A nice balanced diet of nourishing foods that you like?0 -
So first off....teaflowermfp wrote: »High fat, low carb diets like the famous Paleo diet claim to undo the metabolic damage you may have accumulated, fix fatigue, better your moods, all while burning your fat storages because you're eating as much as you want, as long as you stay below a net carb total of 15.
Paleo is not low carb. It can be, but there is no requirement....freeleethebananagirl.
Oh dear.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear. There's actually a petition out there to shut her down (up?) forever....
https://www.change.org/p/youtube-terminate-freelee-the-banana-girl-and-durianrider-s-multiple-youtube-accounts-and-internet-sites-and-ban-them-for-life
My advice is to first figure out your goals. What specifically are you trying to accomplish, in terms of weight, fitness, body composition, health.
Everything else will key off of that.
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Stuff like this is why I could never get motivated to lose weight until this year. What diet should I be on? They all sound pretty unpleasant, and for every goofy news article touting a diet, there is one striking it down. How many tens of hours per day need to be spent at the gym? But I'll gain muscle, and therefore weight, according to everyone who thinks they know what they're talking about. So, scratch that idea, too.
It turned out that the best diet for me was the "put down the fork" diet led by MyFitnessPal (which is not without its detractors, but hey, it works).
Edit: Also, the stuff about talking to your doctor to address your health problems and how they relate to dieting.0 -
why don't you just
while maintaining a calorie deficit 
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SORRY GUYS! I meant to say "Keto" instead of "Paleo". And thank you to those of you who are giving me support. The one thing the keto advocaters and freelee both really, really stress is that eating at a calorie deficit is terrible and by following their diets you can eat as much as you want, and you should. It's a bit like fear mongering, they terrify you into thinking a typical western diet is the cause of all your problems. I guess I've been overthinking dieting0
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There is nothing legit about Banana Girl. There is a lot of legit behind HFLC, particularly if you have certain medical/metabolic issues. That said, you can't just eat whatever you want...an energy deficit is still required to lose weight. Also, low carbing isn't necessary to lose weight...it's simply a means to an end.0
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freelea is an idiot, do not listen to anything she says0
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Neither is preferable, you would likely be served better by making sure you eat at a moderate calorie deficit by carefully measuring and logging your food.0
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mamapeach910 wrote: »Don't listen to Freelee.
I wish people would stop pitting such macro extremes against each other like keto vs. Freelee's version of raw vegan (it's not the only raw vegan approach).
What's wrong with moderate carb, moderate fat, moderate protein? A nice balanced diet of nourishing foods that you like?
this to me is the answer... balance0 -
There is a lot of scientific support out there for a high-carb, low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet. (Say that 10 times fast!) People on this board seem to love protein and fat, and I can understand why they rail against Freelee, but please check out these Doctors for more support of the HCLF way: Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Campbell, Dr. McDougall, Dr. Klaper, Dr. Barnard and Dr. Greger.
These are all medical doctors who have either PROVEN to reverse heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, or in the case of Dr. Greger, review peer-reviewed scientific studies and create short videos about them to inform the public.
Sorry, but I haven't seen any Paleo Doctor who's reversed heart disease and diabetes. I haven't even seen one who's been willing to put up their bloodwork for us to see.
Also, plants are good for us. Period.
With that said, it's also a good idea to count your calories.
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Freelee is a crackhead nutball. Whatever she says to do, do NOT under any circumstances do it.
My personal sense is that low carb is a good way to lose weight if you're not exercising and are generally sedentary (Atkins used to be called The Couch Potato Diet).
High carb - I dunno, maybe if you're running a marathon tomorrow? Otherwise, why?
The truth is what everyone else has said. Count your calories correctly, end of story. If you feel like getting your 1500 a day from bananas, go for it, but fair warning you WILL feel like crap after a short time. And if you eat more than you burn off, no matter what kind of food it is, you will keep it in your body and gain weight.0 -
teaflowermfp wrote: »High fat, low carb diets like the famous Paleo diet...
There is nothing in Paleo that requires - or even suggests - low carb.
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Also, eating 30 bananas a day comes to 3,150 calories, 810g carbs, 420g sugar (yes, almost a pound), 39g protein, and 93g fibre. This yells sugar-high and constipation to me. It is also outrageously ridiculous and I cannot believe someone is actually advocating this .
93g of fiber = constipation? Hmm...
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30 bananas a day? She must have stock in bananas!0
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teaflowermfp wrote: »SORRY GUYS! I meant to say "Keto" instead of "Paleo". And thank you to those of you who are giving me support. The one thing the keto advocaters and freelee both really, really stress is that eating at a calorie deficit is terrible and by following their diets you can eat as much as you want, and you should. It's a bit like fear mongering, they terrify you into thinking a typical western diet is the cause of all your problems. I guess I've been overthinking dieting
Keto advocates do not stress that eating at a deficit is terrible, they simply acknowledge that you can have a deficit without counting, just like you can breathe without counting how much oxygen you inhale. Where exactly are you getting this "keto" information that sounds nothing at all like keto?0 -
Who would put a diabetic on a high carb diet?There is a lot of scientific support out there for a high-carb, low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet. (Say that 10 times fast!) People on this board seem to love protein and fat, and I can understand why they rail against Freelee, but please check out these Doctors for more support of the HCLF way: Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Campbell, Dr. McDougall, Dr. Klaper, Dr. Barnard and Dr. Greger.
These are all medical doctors who have either PROVEN to reverse heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, or in the case of Dr. Greger, review peer-reviewed scientific studies and create short videos about them to inform the public.
Sorry, but I haven't seen any Paleo Doctor who's reversed heart disease and diabetes. I haven't even seen one who's been willing to put up their bloodwork for us to see.
Also, plants are good for us. Period.
With that said, it's also a good idea to count your calories.
Also PROVEN in all caps is very strong words with no links to back them up.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »
Who would put a diabetic on a high carb diet?There is a lot of scientific support out there for a high-carb, low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet. (Say that 10 times fast!) People on this board seem to love protein and fat, and I can understand why they rail against Freelee, but please check out these Doctors for more support of the HCLF way: Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Campbell, Dr. McDougall, Dr. Klaper, Dr. Barnard and Dr. Greger.
These are all medical doctors who have either PROVEN to reverse heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, or in the case of Dr. Greger, review peer-reviewed scientific studies and create short videos about them to inform the public.
Sorry, but I haven't seen any Paleo Doctor who's reversed heart disease and diabetes. I haven't even seen one who's been willing to put up their bloodwork for us to see.
Also, plants are good for us. Period.
With that said, it's also a good idea to count your calories.
Also PROVEN in all caps is very strong words with no links to back them up.
I'll take doctors trained in the late 90's for 500, Alex.0
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