Why do people say if you go low carb to lose weight, you must eat that way forever?
ummijaaz560
Posts: 228 Member
I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
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Replies
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Well, if you can maintain once you add the carbs back in, I guess you don't HAVE to eat low carb forever. The issue is that most people add the carbs back in, don't stay in maintenance and gain all the weight back.10
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The false assumption that not being in the keto phase of a LC diet means you must be eating cookies, cake, pizza, etc. Basically, anyone who doesn't like the diet is looking for an excuse to knock it.10
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Never heard anyone say that but if I did I'd just smile and move on as I do with most stupid remarks.
Unless you overeat you will not gain fat back no matter what method you use for weight loss.7 -
As with any diet, if you return to your original way of eating once you've lost the weight, you'll fail, because that's what got you in trouble in the first place. Low carb, low calorie; doesn't matter. You need to develop a new way of eating, and that's for the rest of your life.11
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ummijaaz560 wrote: »I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
It doesn't...but most people regardless of what method they used to lose weight regain that weight because they go back to "normal" and old eating habits, etc. In general it is recommended to adopt a diet (noun) that you can take into perpetuity.
I've been maintaining going on 3.5 years and I eat the same now as I did when I was losing...which is to say I eat a well balanced diet that is heavily reliant on whole foods.11 -
enterdanger wrote: »Well, if you can maintain once you add the carbs back in, I guess you don't HAVE to eat low carb forever. The issue is that most people add the carbs back in, don't stay in maintenance and gain all the weight back.
Ok thats clear, I'm just always confused when I hear people say low carb has to be a long term way of eating,to be sustainable with weight loss.0 -
I think the real problem is that people lose weight on low carb. Then they get to a set goal weight and think they'll just stay there. Then, they add carbs back and put back on some water weight. Then they think it doesn't work.
Other times, as soon as people lose the weight, they reintroduce carbs and remember how good certain things tasted and end up just eating too much.
Other times, people don't pay any attention to Calories - just carbs. As such, they don't really learn anything about how much they need to eat to maintain weight. As such, they fall back into their old habits and put weight back on.
Regarding your last question: no, not necessarily. It can be, if you want it to be, but it doesn't have to be. As long as you're able to figure out how to maintain a weight range once you get there, you should be fine, regardless of dietary plan.11 -
Fat won't come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining, but some low-carbers:
-Have trouble with extreme cravings eating carbs, and will overeat these things
-Feel satiated on fat/protein and don't track calories, then don't track calories when they add carbs back in
-Do it as a temporary diet, then revert back to how they were eating before
The reason people recommend eating as you would for the rest of your life is so you can form good habits while you're losing weight that will carry over into maintenance. If you lose your weight on low-carb but then try to maintain on balanced macros, you might struggle because you're basically learning a new way of eating that involve new portion sizes and satiety levels.5 -
People say that because they believe that in order to be successful, people should eat during weight loss the same way they plan on eating for the rest of their lives. The idea is that you'll have developed eating habits during weight loss that you'll use in maintenance.
I personally think it's bunk, like the "what happens on day 31?"-style responses to programs like Whole30. I completely agree with developing habits and skills which you can apply later on, but there's no reason why skills learned while eating one way can't be applied to another way of eating. The skills you learn for long-term success are about adapting your intake to your situation, and that is not specific to any one way of eating. There's nothing wrong with trying different approaches and figuring out what works for you, and what doesn't, in ultimately creating your individual approach.12 -
I've never understood it either. But yes, virtually every day when someone asks about a low carb approach to weight loss they are told that they MUST eat low carb forever or will gain it back. Usually these same folks go onto say you don't need to do low carb, just do CI<CO. Which of course says that their earlier statement is false. I dunno.7
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I say reduced carb. I know if go out to eat and they bring bread to the table or eat bread at home it is more carbs than I need but I can eat a sandwich for lunch. Same goes for potatoes & fries. If I have them a couple of meals a day Boom! I avoid potatoes and fries but may splurge and have some chips on the weekend. I do miss my loaded baked potato with a steak but baked veggies have kind of grown on me.3
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As with any diet, if you return to your original way of eating once you've lost the weight, you'll fail, because that's what got you in trouble in the first place. Low carb, low calorie; doesn't matter. You need to develop a new way of eating, and that's for the rest of your life.
I think that is it right there. Most diets that are successful in the long term seems to be a continuation of what that person was doing to lose. If one starts to move away from that, they sometimes move away from success.
Another factor may be that for many low carbers, carb heavy foods are trigger foods, especially refined carbs like sugar and sweeteners, and flours. Some people assume adding back carbs is adding in baked goods, noodles or cereal, whereas many will increase their veggie and fruit consumption if they want to increase carbs.
A good question to ask is, why would you want to leave low carb if it was successful for you? Especially if no other eating plan has been successful in the long term in the past for you. Most people are not suddenly going to be able to modeate a SAD diet for maintenance because they lost weight on LCHF. KWIM?
I'm LCHF for life. It works for me. Higher carb does not. Plus I have insulin resistance which demands a low carb diet if I want to stay healthy. It means avoiding some foods but it seems like a fair trade off in my situation.2 -
You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.3
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
Ooh I love that exit strategy idea! Brilliant.1 -
ummijaaz560 wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
Ooh I love that exit strategy idea! Brilliant.
Thanks! I'd suggest straight calorie counting, but I'm biased.
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ummijaaz560 wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
Ooh I love that exit strategy idea! Brilliant.
Regardless of how you go about losing weight you need an exit/maintenance strategy...most people don't have one which is why only about 5% of people who lose weight actually keep it off long term.7 -
PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.6 -
For me personally, I know what foods trigger me to wanting more....potatoes, breads, pasta, desserts. I still allow them on occasion but they are not a "typical" item eaten daily. We each have to do what WE KNOW is right for ourself. What one person does isn't going to be right for me but maybe I take a combination of ideas and they do work.
In the past I did The Zone.... 10 months 90lbs... Ate it to the dot... Let myself enjoy some ice cream and bam!! It's sent me into a sugar frenzy because I hadn't allowed myself any of those things. Lesson I learned: limited intake of those things, so I can still enjoy life but don't make it a regular thing.
And I love the exit strategy idea! Knowing the way I eat right now is my lifetime pattern is my reality because sadly nothing magical happens when I reach my goal like "HEY HEY...I'm at my ideal weight now let's eat a whole pizza!" 3 -
I think it's more about learning new eating habits while you lose weight. So if you use a way of eating that you're not planning on using forever... you're really not learning how to eat properly in a sustainable manner.
Some people who go low carb do it because they don't know how to moderate carbs - so it's not a crazy guess that they will still have the issue when they reintroduce them... and gain weight back.
Also keep in mind that when going low carb and reintroducing carbs, you're pretty much guaranteed to gain water weight back, so that has a lot to do with the 'OMG I'M GAINING WEIGHT BACK' factor.0 -
ummijaaz560 wrote: »I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
because of raised and peaking insulin.0 -
It's inaccurate, of course. I think it's because off MFP the usual low carb plan involves not counting calories, so the idea is that someone who stops will just go back to their old way of eating, not having a check or have learned to eat in a different way they want to maintain.
That's obviously not an issue limited to low carb ways of losing weight.
I tend to find a lot more people who do low carb or some other diet like that (paleo, etc.) are more likely to be planning to do it for good anyway, at least in some fashion, even though it often turns out that they don't.
Anyway, no, obviously if you eat at maintenance for your new weight you won't regain.1 -
PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
Well, the exit strategy for someone who just eats less calories is "Eat 500 more calories." The exit strategy for someone doing Low Carb or anything special is either keep doing that with more calories, or hope to hell you'll be able to eat the things you cut out to facilitate your weight loss without overeating now.
I can maintain without logging my food now because I didn't change the way I eat, just the amount, and thus learned normal portion sizes of the things I normally eat.2 -
ummijaaz560 wrote: »I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
because of raised and peaking insulin.
Magical fat gain at maintenance calories because insulin? Or what do you mean.3 -
stevencloser wrote: »ummijaaz560 wrote: »I know about the water weight loss coming back, but how does the fat come back if you're in a deficit or maintaining?
I keep hearing you need to maintain that way of eating or gain it all back.
Is low carb forever or not?
because of raised and peaking insulin.
Magical fat gain at maintenance calories because insulin? Or what do you mean.
whatever you want it to mean, mate.3 -
For me, it will be a life-changing eating style. For others, some use it for a little while to help with bloating and get themselves more under control in regards to impulse eating and whatnot. It's easier to listen to my body on keto. The weight SHOULD be stable if you just gradually increase your carbs to a level that suits you.1
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
The connotation is appropriate and true IMO, the way you change your diet approach is a learning curve, the success you experience doing so helps reinforce your new habits, being solely goal oriented (I'll stick to this until I'm at goal then revert) is psychologically and physiologically (in terms of appetite and likes) harder when you reach maintenance. Those who take a restrictive approach need to consider far more carefully their exit strategy. Forming new habits is important. Not saying a low carber, paleo or clean eater isn't forming new habits but it's harder to stick to restriction in our society and dealing with cravings. Good on those who can succeed at doing so. Someone who reduces overall calories merely gets to eat more of what they've been eating when hitting maintenance.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating.
Because that's many people's personal experience and that's how their life experience colours their point of view. It is extremely common for those who cut carbs to stop cutting carbs and it is harder when that was your approach to reducing calorie intake, and that measure is removed to still eat appropriate calories.
There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
This is true there are. It takes all sorts. But the prevailing societal wisdom is "cut carbs" so it is actually refreshing to have people say "actually cutting carbs is one way to cut your calories, but however you get to an appropriate calorie intake to meet your goals is fine". The difference is the lack of evangelicism, and the lack of presumed health benefits
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stevencloser wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »You really don't have to forever. People who say you have to do it forever are making an assumption that you see a "diet" or weight loss as a short-term process, which may not be correct. They might do better by suggesting that if you don't want to go low carb forever, you have an exit strategy for maintenance instead of going back to old habits.
But shouldn't everyone have an exit strategy for maintenance? When the question "are you going to eat that way forever" is posed to someone eating low carb, paleo, clean, etc, it carries the connotation that what you eat or how you eat is the determining factor in success, and not how much you eat.
I'm not sure why people think that when someone stops eating low carb, they are just going to go back to their old habits and not pay attention to the amount of food they are eating. There are plenty of low carb people who count calories, just like there are plenty of "eat everything in moderation" people who lose or maintain without counting calories or even weighing their food.
Well, the exit strategy for someone who just eats less calories is "Eat 500 more calories." The exit strategy for someone doing Low Carb or anything special is either keep doing that with more calories, or hope to hell you'll be able to eat the things you cut out to facilitate your weight loss without overeating now.
I can maintain without logging my food now because I didn't change the way I eat, just the amount, and thus learned normal portion sizes of the things I normally eat.
There are many people who use various techniques throughout their journey; this is especially true the fitness community. I know several people who use low carb to lose weight, and when they are ready for maintenance, they will slowly add carbs back. The same can be done with any dietary strategy. The bigger question is, did the person educate themselves enough to properly transition. I view this as being on different than body builders or fitness models using various strategies depending where they are with their training and how close to competitions.3 -
You don't have to eat low carb to keep it off but it certainly helps. My mom lost 80 low carbing in the 90s and never put it back on. I did it as well, lost 60, but I wouldn't do it again. Just wasn't for me.... it can be hard going back to eating starchy foods though. It took me years before I could eat potatoes without getting the runs after that.2
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You don't have to eat low carb to keep it off but it certainly helps. My mom lost 80 low carbing in the 90s and never put it back on. I did it as well, lost 60, but I wouldn't do it again. Just wasn't for me.... it can be hard going back to eating starchy foods though. It took me years before I could eat potatoes without getting the runs after that.
Hmm. I did not know that was an issue.0 -
Is it perhaps just another way of saying "maintenance is hard"?3
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