Low Carb High Protein Diets

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vhira1985
vhira1985 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
The thing is I want to lose weight by shedding body fat and preserving lean muscle tissue and my personal trainer at the gym told me to go on a low carb high protein diet. But the thing is I've been on this diet then when I came of it I gained the weight back on. But are these diets meant to be short term or was it because my carb intake was so low or was my essential fatty acid intake was low that it resulted in rapid weight gain or maybe I should have carbs cycled and have some high carb days?

Oh yeah on the diet I was eating 100g of carbs and approximately 180-200g of proteins

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    How did your total food intake vary through this ?
  • meulf6f
    meulf6f Posts: 32 Member
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    You may need to get a good book on low carb lifestyle. Educate yourself on your eating choice. Failing to plan is planning to fail. You can do it!
  • BloomingAshley
    BloomingAshley Posts: 1 Member
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    I am doing low carb...keeping my calories the same as normal but my carbs are 30below...I have a lot of weight to lose and also am sensitive to carbs...100g of carb is not low...it's what going to gradually work up towards...also with low carb a lot depends on your food choice. I eat meats/very very limited dairy/eggs/lots of greens...I would look at your food choices. As for gaining the weight back I understand but that's when the maintaining things comes in :/
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    When you came off of that diet, I bet you simply increased your total calories too quickly. Doing higher protein has a lot of benefits, especially if you're working out. The best thing to do when you are done losing weight is a reverse diet. Check out this video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3gTGLulLnI
  • tashigolean34
    tashigolean34 Posts: 12 Member
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    100 grams of carbs is still low when compared to the average American Diet. It's just not ketogenic. Low carb or high carb or mid carb still comes down to calories in/calories out. Did you calorie count when you were low carb and do you calorie count now? Most people go low or lower carb and do not count calories. Then when they go back to their previous diet the calorie consumption jumps back to an excessive number which causes weight gain.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
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    To become a personal trainer you have about 1 chapter on nutrition-FYI. If low carb is not sustainable for you then do not do it. 200g of protein sounds excessive and expensive anyway.

    Have you tried simply eating at a deficit? Eating higher protein can be helpful for satiety, but large amounts are certainly not necessary for weight loss or muscle retention. Adequate amount of protein (I believe 0.8g/lb is often recommended here, I may be off on the number) and lifting weights will help with muscle preservation.

    Find what works for you-do not keep doing the same thing an yo-yo-ing your weight
  • biodigit
    biodigit Posts: 145 Member
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    You're going to need the carbs especially if you're lifting - whether you're on a bulk or deficit that does not matter. Carbs are not the enemies :)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    meulf6f wrote: »
    You may need to get a good book on low carb lifestyle. Educate yourself on your eating choice. Failing to plan is planning to fail. You can do it!

    Here's the thing.......is low carb going to be a lifestyle?

    I don't do low carb to lose weight.....because I won't be low carb when I am maintaining. Lifestyle changes are not for the next few months....lifestyle changes are for life.

    OP - pick something sustainable for YOU. It's not your trainer that has to figure out how to maintain the weight you lost
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    vhira1985 wrote: »
    The thing is I want to lose weight by shedding body fat and preserving lean muscle tissue and my personal trainer at the gym told me to go on a low carb high protein diet. But the thing is I've been on this diet then when I came of it I gained the weight back on. But are these diets meant to be short term or was it because my carb intake was so low or was my essential fatty acid intake was low that it resulted in rapid weight gain or maybe I should have carbs cycled and have some high carb days?

    Oh yeah on the diet I was eating 100g of carbs and approximately 180-200g of proteins

    100 isn't "so low" for what that's worth.
    And yes, what happened after you "went off" the diet? Did you increase your calories?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Sometimes you just regain water weight if you increase carbs a lot, and if you started overeating again you will gain no matter what the macros are.

    You don't need to do 100 grams of carbs or so much protein to meet your goals, though. To maintain/build muscle there's no evidence of a benefit beyond about .6-.8 grams per pound of bodyweight (or maybe .8-1 gram per pound of lean mass). I tend to eat a bit more than that because I enjoy it, but there's no need.

    I kept my carbs at about 100 when I first started out, but now I find I feel better with more when I'm as active as I like to be (and I find it beneficial for fueling strength training sessions, not just cardio), but that's personal preference. I agree with those saying that if you don't enjoy eating that way or plan to maintain doing so, there's probably no need to do it now.

    The argument on the other side, I guess, is that you need a minimum amount of protein and fat, so it makes sense to just increase or decrease carbs depending on whether you are trying to lose, maintain, or gain, but for me there's quite a bit of room beyond the minimum required fat and protein that it's easier to cut calories by cutting across the macros more and leaving my carbs at about 40% or more.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    if you want to lose body fat and preserve muscle I would suggest the following:

    enter stats into MFP and set goal for one pound or half pound loss.
    make sure your logging is accurate via use of food scale and using correct MFP database entries.
    make sure that you hit micros/macros.
    set protein to .85 grams per pound of body weight, fats at .45 grams per body weight, and fill in rest with carbs.
    get on a structured lifting program like strong lifts, all pro beginner, starting strength, etc.

    LC/HF or HC/LF has nothing do with it. You need a consistent training schedule, consistent calorie deficit, and consistently hit micros/macros.
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
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    I disagree with most here. Uh oh! Everyone is different. I know for me, I have to keep my carbs low. Carbs meaning breads mostly, and white stuff, potatoes...My body does great on a low carb plan/lifestyle. I have done my MFP on a regular low calorie plan, ie: eating carbs regularly and staying under my calories...lost very few lbs. Once I switched to low carb...the weight fell of/is falling off. I can maintain this lifestyle. I don't miss the carbs, they make me tired. Every once in a while I will eat them, a good burger, burrito, etc...Maybe you are like me. I don't starve either. I was starving on a regular diet with carbs because they don't fill you up. Protein, fruits and veggies fill you up. Add healthy fats and you are golden.
    OK, here come the critics!!!
    Maybe your body just does better on low carbs. Try and adjust your lifestyle. After a while, it becomes just that, a lifestyle.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    flippy1234 wrote: »
    I was starving on a regular diet with carbs because they don't fill you up.

    They fill me up, or at least some of them (including potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans, among others) do.
    Protein, fruits and veggies fill you up.

    People vary. Also, fruits and veggies are carbs. People focus too much on macro percentages, IMO, when that's really just a personal preference question beyond getting enough protein and fat.

    OP might benefit from cutting her carbs to a lower percentage of her overall diet if she wants to do that, but so far there's no real evidence that she does want to or is someone who would benefit from it.

    What I hate is people generalizing about how satiating foods are when it's obvious people have different reactions to them. Even those carbs that don't tend to add much to my overall satiety (bread, for example) don't make me hungrier or cause me to be more hungry as some commonly claim. What does that, for me, might be eating an overall diet that is unbalanced and includes lots of carbs that are not combined with (much) fat or protein. Others here have said that they don't find fruit satiating (I do) and others have said that they NEED carbs for satiety.

    Similarly, people who prefer lower carb tend to say that fat fills them up. I find that low fat is not satisfying for me, but adding more fat beyond that doesn't tend to be satiating for me. Again, people are just different.

    I personally think that if you don't lose unless you go low carb that typically means that you aren't sticking to the deficit as well with more carbs (or eating foods that you measure less well).

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