Low carb diet

Hello
My name is Gayle. I am on the low carb diet and I just started. I'm having a tough time getting started. I don't know if I'm doing right or not ? Anyone else having a rough time?
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Replies

  • Janehds0284
    Janehds0284 Posts: 87 Member
    edited January 2016
    I did have a tough time in the first 4 days. But now I'm ok, used to it I guess.

    I used to eat big bowl of rice everyday (I'm Asian) I reduce bread and rice from my intake but I found that some fruits and veggies have carbs anyway so at least I have small amount of carbs each day.

    When you said you don't know if you do the right thing what do you do? I have my diary shared and happy for you to look at it (I hope I do right thing either)

    Good luck feel free to add me
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    As long as you are aware that low carb is not a necessity but a personal choice in weight management and works well for those who find it a good way of reaching their calorie goal then fine

    But there are so many who come here seemingly under the impression that carbs are bad and one must go low carb to lose weight when that is simply misinformation

    Low carb indicates under 150g per day by the way

    Good luck
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Also when you start a new diet and choose to lower your carbs your body strips itself of stored glycogen which binds with water ..it is very common for low carbs to profess massive weight loss in the early weeks which is mainly, but not totally, water...if you decide to come off your low carb plan this will come whooshing back because the body's natural state is to stop glycogen for easy access to energy and fuel for the brain ...there are ways to minimise the scale fluctuations through intense care taken with reintroducing carbs by the way

    Very much simplified ..there's a lot of science behind that
  • Janehds0284
    Janehds0284 Posts: 87 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Also when you start a new diet and choose to lower your carbs your body strips itself of stored glycogen which binds with water ..it is very common for low carbs to profess massive weight loss in the early weeks which is mainly, but not totally, water...if you decide to come off your low carb plan this will come whooshing back because the body's natural state is to stop glycogen for easy access to energy and fuel for the brain ...there are ways to minimise the scale fluctuations through intense care taken with reintroducing carbs by the way

    Very much simplified ..there's a lot of science behind that

    Great info!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    yeah, a whole 5 lbs of loss might be down to glycogen, sodium and water depletion. The sodium thing can reduce blood pressure and make you feel a bit faint - if that's what you mean by a tough time, Google "keto flu".

    An open diary would help, but low carb eating isn't hard - meat/fish/cheese/eggs/nuts/seeds with green or non-starchy vegetables.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    yarwell wrote: »
    yeah, a whole 5 lbs of loss might be down to glycogen, sodium and water depletion. The sodium thing can reduce blood pressure and make you feel a bit faint - if that's what you mean by a tough time, Google "keto flu".

    An open diary would help, but low carb eating isn't hard - meat/fish/cheese/eggs/nuts/seeds with green or non-starchy vegetables.

    And I believe that is based on stats for a typically lean, young 150lb man and that overweight and older can store significantly more

    But this is a merry-go-round I have encountered before so I'm sure neither of us can be bothered again :)

    Suffice to say track your weight loss over a couple of months, see what the first couple of weeks versus the next 6 weeks average out to and you'll probably get a truer personal picture of the amount of additional loss due to starting off a diet (any diet) rather than ongoing loss and that difference will be down to changes in food in digestive system and water weight generally

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    yeah, a whole 5 lbs of loss might be down to glycogen, sodium and water depletion. The sodium thing can reduce blood pressure and make you feel a bit faint - if that's what you mean by a tough time, Google "keto flu".

    An open diary would help, but low carb eating isn't hard - meat/fish/cheese/eggs/nuts/seeds with green or non-starchy vegetables.

    And I believe that is based on stats for a typically lean, young 150lb man and that overweight and older can store significantly more

    But this is a merry-go-round I have encountered before so I'm sure neither of us can be bothered again :)

    Suffice to say track your weight loss over a couple of months, see what the first couple of weeks versus the next 6 weeks average out to and you'll probably get a truer personal picture of the amount of additional loss due to starting off a diet (any diet) rather than ongoing loss and that difference will be down to changes in food in digestive system and water weight generally

    muscular athletic young men probably have more glycogen than we old fatties. Waiting to see evidence of anything other.

    I would expect the digestive system weighs the same regardless of throughput too, but not looked hard at that.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Found a crossover of obese men and overweight/borderline obese women. Both on 500 cal deficit, men for 50 days women for 28 (one cycle). Starting with keto then switching to low fat so going from baseline to ~30 to ~200 g/day of carbs :-

    97hbzqmk15qk.png
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited January 2016
    Consider joining the MFP subgroup, the Low Carber Daily. Everyone there is low carb from almost no carbs to 150 g or so of carbs per day. Most are very happy to share their diaries and their months or years of advice. A nice group. :)
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    My main pieces of advice when going low carb would be:
    • Increase your fats. Many have a hard time accepting that fats don't make you fat. Replacing carbs with fats is healthy and tasty for most people, and a good way to make sure your caloric deficit is not too low.
    • Eat carbs but restrict the type. Most of us find it easiest, and healthiest to reduce carbs in this order: sugar and food with added sugars (candy, baked goods, soda, syrups, honey, and even salad dressings with sugar in it- go full fat), grains and flours (rice, corn, quinoa, wheat flours, baked goods except for some made with coconut or almond flours), starchy root vegetables (potatoes, yams, turnips, onion and carrots are reduced), and finally fruit (grapes, tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are high in sugar and usually avoided, apples, oranges and pears are moderated, and berries are eaten the most often... Usually).
    • Eat green leafy veggies freely.
    • Increase your sodium, and possibly potassium and magnesium. Reducing carbs causes water loss which lowers your electrolytes. This can makes you feel headachy, tired, sore, sick and nauseated. If you drink salty bullion/broth once or twice a day, salt your food, or even add a teaspoon of salt to your water you will be able to avoid the keto flu - usually just a low electrolyte flu. Often 3000-5000mg is often recommended.

    Good luck.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    yarwell wrote: »
    Found a crossover of obese men and overweight/borderline obese women. Both on 500 cal deficit, men for 50 days women for 28 (one cycle). Starting with keto then switching to low fat so going from baseline to ~30 to ~200 g/day of carbs :-

    97hbzqmk15qk.png

    ok ?..no source so no idea of the parameters of these diets or dieters? Provided or self-reported? Or any other factor that could be taken into consideration

    Also unclear if 28 days in total or 28 days each dietary approach nor numbers men/ women...ages ...unusual timeframe when bringing into play the obvious hormonal fluctuations

    On the surface, although there's really no point in looking at that kind of chart without all the relevant information provided, that possibly demonstrates that removing carbs then reintroducing them causes swings in water weight as there appear to be only 3 weight points and Linear mapping between
  • umayster
    umayster Posts: 651 Member
    Hello
    My name is Gayle. I am on the low carb diet and I just started. I'm having a tough time getting started. I don't know if I'm doing right or not ? Anyone else having a rough time?

    What kind of rough time? There is a bunch to learn and that takes time. Log and learn. You don't have to be perfect, just make progress!
  • 2016TheNewMe
    2016TheNewMe Posts: 4 Member
    Gayle, between the first 2 weeks when starting the KETO lifestyle - are the hardest. You need to stay within 20g of carbs in order to get into the KETO stage. Your body will go through withdrawals (shakes, headaches, enormous cravings, etc). You need to stay strong and withhold from eating over 20g carbs. My withdrawal symptoms only last 5 days (thank goodness). It was hard. But it is mind over matter. Do you have your macros correct? That will have a huge impact on your weight loss journey. I used this site to get my numbers http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com. Stay strong, positive, and do not give up!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    Found a crossover of obese men and overweight/borderline obese women. Both on 500 cal deficit, men for 50 days women for 28 (one cycle). Starting with keto then switching to low fat so going from baseline to ~30 to ~200 g/day of carbs :-

    97hbzqmk15qk.png

    ok ?..no source so no idea of the parameters of these diets or dieters? Provided or self-reported? Or any other factor that could be taken into consideration

    Also unclear if 28 days in total or 28 days each dietary approach nor numbers men/ women...ages ...unusual timeframe when bringing into play the obvious hormonal fluctuations

    On the surface, although there's really no point in looking at that kind of chart without all the relevant information provided, that possibly demonstrates that removing carbs then reintroducing them causes swings in water weight as there appear to be only 3 weight points and Linear mapping between

    Yep, probably one of the most useless charts I've seen him post so far.
  • KittyHeaven74
    KittyHeaven74 Posts: 68 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Also when you start a new diet and choose to lower your carbs your body strips itself of stored glycogen which binds with water ..it is very common for low carbs to profess massive weight loss in the early weeks which is mainly, but not totally, water...if you decide to come off your low carb plan this will come whooshing back because the body's natural state is to stop glycogen for easy access to energy and fuel for the brain ...there are ways to minimise the scale fluctuations through intense care taken with reintroducing carbs by the way

    Very much simplified ..there's a lot of science behind that

    I agree with this. If you go low carb and then eventually want to up your carb intake, you have to do it very carefully and slowly, monitoring how your body responds. I did the Ideal Protein diet over a year ago (it's a keto diet). There is a period of transition (at least one month, but usually longer) when you go from extremely low carbs to eating normally again. The expectation is that you may put on around 5 lbs once you've refilled that sugar tank. But if you monitor what and how you're eating, and introduce the carbs slowly, you should not put on a ton of weight beyond those five pounds.

    I gained back about half of what I'd lost because I did not structure my days properly and I stopped paying attention to what I was eating. So I'm a good example of what NOT to do when you reintroduce the carbs.

    Some people find that their bodies perform better on lower carbs. Mine does. But it may be only certain types of carbs that are problematic for you. Remember that, as other posters have mentioned, every body is different and going low carb isn't required for weight loss. However, if you eat a ton of carbs now and want to cut back, there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe start by cutting back on some of your triggers. For example, bread is a huge trigger for me. I cannot keep it in my house because I WILL binge on it. Pasta isn't a trigger, but it does make my body feel icky. So I eat it rarely. However, my body does just fine with brown and wild rices, barley, quinoa ... all of which are carbs/grains. So it may be a matter of just limiting certain carbs. Remember that all foods contain some carbs, so you'll want to consider this when you're thinking about what you want to give up (or cut back on).
  • KittyHeaven74
    KittyHeaven74 Posts: 68 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Consider joining the MFP subgroup, the Low Carber Daily. Everyone there is low carb from almost no carbs to 150 g or so of carbs per day. Most are very happy to share their diaries and their months or years of advice. A nice group. :)
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    My main pieces of advice when going low carb would be:
    • Increase your fats. Many have a hard time accepting that fats don't make you fat. Replacing carbs with fats is healthy and tasty for most people, and a good way to make sure your caloric deficit is not too low.
    • Eat carbs but restrict the type. Most of us find it easiest, and healthiest to reduce carbs in this order: sugar and food with added sugars (candy, baked goods, soda, syrups, honey, and even salad dressings with sugar in it- go full fat), grains and flours (rice, corn, quinoa, wheat flours, baked goods except for some made with coconut or almond flours), starchy root vegetables (potatoes, yams, turnips, onion and carrots are reduced), and finally fruit (grapes, tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are high in sugar and usually avoided, apples, oranges and pears are moderated, and berries are eaten the most often... Usually).
    • Eat green leafy veggies freely.
    • Increase your sodium, and possibly potassium and magnesium. Reducing carbs causes water loss which lowers your electrolytes. This can makes you feel headachy, tired, sore, sick and nauseated. If you drink salty bullion/broth once or twice a day, salt your food, or even add a teaspoon of salt to your water you will be able to avoid the keto flu - usually just a low electrolyte flu. Often 3000-5000mg is often recommended.

    Good luck.

    Excellent advice!
  • WhatLouAte
    WhatLouAte Posts: 155 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Consider joining the MFP subgroup, the Low Carber Daily. Everyone there is low carb from almost no carbs to 150 g or so of carbs per day. Most are very happy to share their diaries and their months or years of advice. A nice group. :)
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    My main pieces of advice when going low carb would be:
    • Increase your fats. Many have a hard time accepting that fats don't make you fat. Replacing carbs with fats is healthy and tasty for most people, and a good way to make sure your caloric deficit is not too low.
    • Eat carbs but restrict the type. Most of us find it easiest, and healthiest to reduce carbs in this order: sugar and food with added sugars (candy, baked goods, soda, syrups, honey, and even salad dressings with sugar in it- go full fat), grains and flours (rice, corn, quinoa, wheat flours, baked goods except for some made with coconut or almond flours), starchy root vegetables (potatoes, yams, turnips, onion and carrots are reduced), and finally fruit (grapes, tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are high in sugar and usually avoided, apples, oranges and pears are moderated, and berries are eaten the most often... Usually).
    • Eat green leafy veggies freely.
    • Increase your sodium, and possibly potassium and magnesium. Reducing carbs causes water loss which lowers your electrolytes. This can makes you feel headachy, tired, sore, sick and nauseated. If you drink salty bullion/broth once or twice a day, salt your food, or even add a teaspoon of salt to your water you will be able to avoid the keto flu - usually just a low electrolyte flu. Often 3000-5000mg is often recommended.

    Good luck.

    This ^

    Most people that follow low carb/keto see it as a lifestyle change and not just a diet. Especially those that follow it for brain function benefits.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,302 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Consider joining the MFP subgroup, the Low Carber Daily. Everyone there is low carb from almost no carbs to 150 g or so of carbs per day. Most are very happy to share their diaries and their months or years of advice. A nice group. :)
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    My main pieces of advice when going low carb would be:
    • Increase your fats. Many have a hard time accepting that fats don't make you fat. Replacing carbs with fats is healthy and tasty for most people, and a good way to make sure your caloric deficit is not too low.
    • Eat carbs but restrict the type. Most of us find it easiest, and healthiest to reduce carbs in this order: sugar and food with added sugars (candy, baked goods, soda, syrups, honey, and even salad dressings with sugar in it- go full fat), grains and flours (rice, corn, quinoa, wheat flours, baked goods except for some made with coconut or almond flours), starchy root vegetables (potatoes, yams, turnips, onion and carrots are reduced), and finally fruit (grapes, tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are high in sugar and usually avoided, apples, oranges and pears are moderated, and berries are eaten the most often... Usually).
    • Eat green leafy veggies freely.
    • Increase your sodium, and possibly potassium and magnesium. Reducing carbs causes water loss which lowers your electrolytes. This can makes you feel headachy, tired, sore, sick and nauseated. If you drink salty bullion/broth once or twice a day, salt your food, or even add a teaspoon of salt to your water you will be able to avoid the keto flu - usually just a low electrolyte flu. Often 3000-5000mg is often recommended.

    Good luck.

    A lot of good information here OP. With 20,000 + users in LC group maybe a list of just 20 who follow this advice would be helpful for the OP for ideas and how to improve their diet. I have a hard time finding folks in the group who adhere to even half of these recommendations so it would probably benefit other folks in the LC group too.

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Consider joining the MFP subgroup, the Low Carber Daily. Everyone there is low carb from almost no carbs to 150 g or so of carbs per day. Most are very happy to share their diaries and their months or years of advice. A nice group. :)
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    My main pieces of advice when going low carb would be:
    • Increase your fats. Many have a hard time accepting that fats don't make you fat. Replacing carbs with fats is healthy and tasty for most people, and a good way to make sure your caloric deficit is not too low.
    • Eat carbs but restrict the type. Most of us find it easiest, and healthiest to reduce carbs in this order: sugar and food with added sugars (candy, baked goods, soda, syrups, honey, and even salad dressings with sugar in it- go full fat), grains and flours (rice, corn, quinoa, wheat flours, baked goods except for some made with coconut or almond flours), starchy root vegetables (potatoes, yams, turnips, onion and carrots are reduced), and finally fruit (grapes, tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are high in sugar and usually avoided, apples, oranges and pears are moderated, and berries are eaten the most often... Usually).
    • Eat green leafy veggies freely.
    • Increase your sodium, and possibly potassium and magnesium. Reducing carbs causes water loss which lowers your electrolytes. This can makes you feel headachy, tired, sore, sick and nauseated. If you drink salty bullion/broth once or twice a day, salt your food, or even add a teaspoon of salt to your water you will be able to avoid the keto flu - usually just a low electrolyte flu. Often 3000-5000mg is often recommended.

    Good luck.

    This ^

    Most people that follow low carb/keto see it as a lifestyle change and not just a diet. Especially those that follow it for brain function benefits.

    Brain function benefits!

    What the what now?

    Please ...give us at least one credible source for "brain function benefits" ...that would be excellent to read
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,789 Member
    This is an interesting read from Spencer Nadolsky

    Carbohydrate confessions:
    Stories (and data) from a low carb convert.

    http://www.precisionnutrition.com/low-carb-convert