Low carb or low calorie?

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mrhonda0628
mrhonda0628 Posts: 6 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi all! I am torn between going low carb or low calorie. I am a 55 year old woman and need to lose at least 40 lbs. I have been doing the low carb diet for a month now and have lost 6 lbs but I am wondering if I had been doing low calorie if I would have lost more by now. I am getting really bored with this low carb diet and need some reassuring that I need to stay the course with the low carb diet or switch to the low calorie diet? Any advice?

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Low carb is just one of many ways of cutting calories...cutting calories is what is necessary to lose weight. Low carb is simply a means to that end. Other than water weight lost, your rate of loss is going to be dependent on the energy (calorie) deficit you have whether you're low carbing or simply counting calories or other.

    All diets work on the same premise...all diets are designed to reduce calorie (energy) intake...by reducing energy intake to a level that is lower than necessary to maintain the status quo, the body burns fat to make up the difference...fat is just your energy reserves...it is burned when you don't take in ample energy (calories) to maintain the status quo.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Choose whichever works best with your way of eating. For weight loss, it doesn't matter which eating plan your follow. You need a calorie deficit no matter how you get there.

    6 pounds in a month is great! Weight loss a marathon, not a sprint.

    If you do start eating more carbs, you'll likely get some water weight gain because low carb causes more initial water weight loss. Don't be surprised if that happens. It's just water weight.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    As a runner I love my carbs but many people find it easier to adhere to a lower carb diet and the reason is simple.

    If you're just watching calories you're also probably cutting back on your protein (4 cal/g) and fat (9 cal/g) which frequently leads to not feeling satiated. Typically if you ate the same number of calories with more fat and protein you're less likely to feel like you're starving all the time.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    As a runner I love my carbs but many people find it easier to adhere to a lower carb diet and the reason is simple.

    If you're just watching calories you're also probably cutting back on your protein (4 cal/g) and fat (9 cal/g) which frequently leads to not feeling satiated. Typically if you ate the same number of calories with more fat and protein you're less likely to feel like you're starving all the time.
    That's why macros are awesome. You can shift around your macros until you find a balance that works for you.
  • mrhonda0628
    mrhonda0628 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for the info and motivation. I guess I am just frustrated because I am currently in a workplace weight loss competition with a group of men and they all have lost at least 15 lbs each. I know women lose slower than men but it has made me question my strategy.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    mrhonda0628 wrote: »
    Thanks for the info and motivation. I guess I am just frustrated because I am currently in a workplace weight loss competition with a group of men and they all have lost at least 15 lbs each. I know women lose slower than men but it has made me question my strategy.
    If you want my opinion, don't ever compare your weight loss to other people's weight loss. Especially women to men. That just leads to frustration.
  • mrhonda0628
    mrhonda0628 Posts: 6 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    As a runner I love my carbs but many people find it easier to adhere to a lower carb diet and the reason is simple.

    If you're just watching calories you're also probably cutting back on your protein (4 cal/g) and fat (9 cal/g) which frequently leads to not feeling satiated. Typically if you ate the same number of calories with more fat and protein you're less likely to feel like you're starving all the time.
    That's why macros are awesome. You can shift around your macros until you find a balance that works for you.

    Yes well I am not sure how to shift around my macros but you are right, I don't feel hungry when I do this low carb high protein diet.
  • mrhonda0628
    mrhonda0628 Posts: 6 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    mrhonda0628 wrote: »
    Thanks for the info and motivation. I guess I am just frustrated because I am currently in a workplace weight loss competition with a group of men and they all have lost at least 15 lbs each. I know women lose slower than men but it has made me question my strategy.
    If you want my opinion, don't ever compare your weight loss to other people's weight loss. Especially women to men. That just leads to frustration.

    I agree with you. Thank you!
  • CleanUpWhatIMessedUp
    CleanUpWhatIMessedUp Posts: 206 Member
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    Probably if you go low carb, you will also cut calories naturally.
  • mrhonda0628
    mrhonda0628 Posts: 6 Member
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    CleanUpWhatIMessedUp wrote: »
    Probably if you go low carb, you will also cut calories naturally.

    That is probably true, I just haven't been counting the calories of what I eat just the carbs. I think I will start doing that this week to see exactly what each totals.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    mrhonda0628 wrote: »
    Thanks for the info and motivation. I guess I am just frustrated because I am currently in a workplace weight loss competition with a group of men and they all have lost at least 15 lbs each. I know women lose slower than men but it has made me question my strategy.

    You shouldn't compare yourself to others, and particularly not to men. We have greater calorie requirements...often far greater than women so it can often be easier for men to create a greater deficit while still eating quite a bit. For example, I can easily lose about 1 Lb per week eating between 2300-2500 calories...I can lose 1.5 - 2 Lbs per week eating around 2,000. To boot, we do not have the same hormonal fluctuations as women and thus less water retention, etc that comes with those.

    Never compare yourself to the opposite sex...we have completely different things going on.
  • βιβή
    βιβή Posts: 63 Member
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    Hi. How many carbs you eat ?
  • mrhonda0628
    mrhonda0628 Posts: 6 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    mrhonda0628 wrote: »
    Thanks for the info and motivation. I guess I am just frustrated because I am currently in a workplace weight loss competition with a group of men and they all have lost at least 15 lbs each. I know women lose slower than men but it has made me question my strategy.

    You shouldn't compare yourself to others, and particularly not to men. We have greater calorie requirements...often far greater than women so it can often be easier for men to create a greater deficit while still eating quite a bit. For example, I can easily lose about 1 Lb per week eating between 2300-2500 calories...I can lose 1.5 - 2 Lbs per week eating around 2,000. To boot, we do not have the same hormonal fluctuations as women and thus less water retention, etc that comes with those.

    Never compare yourself to the opposite sex...we have completely different things going on.

    Yes, I knew when I went into this competition that it was going to be like this.
  • Matthewpaver
    Matthewpaver Posts: 9 Member
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    The way I've approached it is to try and limit the bad carbs like pasta and rice, and up the protein. Basically just means swapping pasta or potatoes for roast vegetables, or if i can't avoid rice i go for brown rice and limit the portion. I also aim for <1500 cal a day, and even though the weight loss plateaus every now and then it does keep coming off. Just have to keep consistent and persistent.

    Don't limit your menu. Me and my wife stick to rules like the ones above but we have lots of variety. Try different meats, different sauces, different veg combos etc... Haven't been bored once.
  • PearBlossom9
    PearBlossom9 Posts: 136 Member
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    CleanUpWhatIMessedUp wrote: »
    Probably if you go low carb, you will also cut calories naturally.

    This is actually very true. I eat low carb/keto. These are my ratio's:

    1357 kcal Daily Calorie Intake
    20 g Carbs (6%, 80 kcal)
    93 g Protein (27%, 372 kcal)
    101 g Fat (67%, 905 kcal)

    The aim is to hit the protein goal, stay under the carb goal and eat as much fat that fills you up. But no more than 101g of fat. Fat makes you feel full. Many times you don't hit that fat cap. Which means, less calories overall.

    Works for me. It does take some effort to look for low carb recipes but there are tons of places to find them :)

    This is the website I use to figure out my macros : http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
  • skrage99
    skrage99 Posts: 2 Member
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    Matthewpaver wrote: »
    The way I've approached it is to try and limit the bad carbs like pasta and rice, and up the protein. Basically just means swapping pasta or potatoes for roast vegetables, or if i can't avoid rice i go for brown rice and limit the portion. I also aim for <1500 cal a day, and even though the weight loss plateaus every now and then it does keep coming off. Just have to keep consistent and persistent.

    Don't limit your menu. Me and my wife stick to rules like the ones above but we have lots of variety. Try different meats, different sauces, different veg combos etc... Haven't been bored once.

    Great advice! That's what I'm trying to do.
  • TTopless
    TTopless Posts: 16 Member
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    I'm in a competition at my job too. The men at my job all originally lost 15 lbs. right away too. But then, they gained a little, stalled out, or lost interest. Stay the course! Another thing is I have read that when a person loses 5 lbs., for instance, many times water will hang on as the body "holds the space" for the fat to come back in. When the body finally sheds the water---whoooosh. You never know, you may be about to whooosh.

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