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Why the special (Paelo, Low Carb, Primal) diets?
Replies
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These diets work for some people. Ultimately, people want to sell books and make money. They also want to help people. But mostly make money.3
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I have been tracking calories for nearly 40 days now, and have lost approximately 13 pounds at around a 1000 calorie deficit with 3 - 4 days a week of cardio and weights (hard workouts). I have not done anything special except carefully count calories and somewhat macros (but not as close as I probably should be doing).
I have been listening to the primal potential podcast, and don't agree with the ideas of things like "fat loss breakfast." I also don't understand why people go to the extreme with special foods, diets, etc, none which seem long term viable. When I hear what people eat all I can think is... why would I want to eat that way? Doing research many of these diets have been straight refuted (such as this link about low carb, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html). In fact based on my training I feel like crap when working out without sufficient carbs.
I understand that people can loose weight on these diets, but it seems like watching calories, points, macros, whatever you choose will provide longer lasting results. Why do people do it then? To try and get minor edges on weight loss? To try to avoid the hard work of weight loss? Why?
Glad you're off to a good start. But it is just that, I assume, a start? Unless 13 pounds was all you wanted to lose. Perhaps that's the case.
A few thoughts:
If you have quite a bit to lose (I have no idea), you may find that you'll have some hurdles along the way. Sometimes folks make changes when that happens.
Sometimes as they see how they feel eating certain foods, they make changes.
Some folks, for example, feel TONS BETTER without heavily refined carbs and the like.
A thousand calorie deficit sounds pretty brutal. Please be kind to yourself and if that gets too hard with cardio and weights, ease back a bit. Again, without knowing your age, height, weight etc. I'm just guessing.
As for the rest: some folks want to learn things. Formal diets can be educational. Some folks don't want to count calories meticulously, weigh and measure their food, count points etc. consider workout calories burned etc. For those folks, a formal diet may seem easier.
I think calorie counting is a pain. I can't imagine FOR MYSELF weighing and measuring everything. Given how much we eat out, I can't fathom trying to guess about all that stuff. I did what made sense for me, losing weight, and now in maintenance. For me it was: learning as much as possible about nutrition, re-thinking what I ate, and more generally, how much I ate. But that was more like: hey, this is probably a calorie dense meal, I've probably had enough to nourish me, and I feel satisfied, I'll box up the rest and take it home. In that case I'd carefully chosen a restaurant meal that made sense to me.
That's the key: do what works for you. Throughout your journey.
signed: I've read a lot of different diet books, nutrition books etc. and have incorporated what made sense to me.3 -
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I have been tracking calories for nearly 40 days now, and have lost approximately 13 pounds at around a 1000 calorie deficit with 3 - 4 days a week of cardio and weights (hard workouts). I have not done anything special except carefully count calories and somewhat macros (but not as close as I probably should be doing).
I have been listening to the primal potential podcast, and don't agree with the ideas of things like "fat loss breakfast." I also don't understand why people go to the extreme with special foods, diets, etc, none which seem long term viable. When I hear what people eat all I can think is... why would I want to eat that way? Doing research many of these diets have been straight refuted (such as this link about low carb, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html). In fact based on my training I feel like crap when working out without sufficient carbs.
I understand that people can loose weight on these diets, but it seems like watching calories, points, macros, whatever you choose will provide longer lasting results. Why do people do it then? To try and get minor edges on weight loss? To try to avoid the hard work of weight loss? Why?
Glad you're off to a good start. But it is just that, I assume, a start? Unless 13 pounds was all you wanted to lose. Perhaps that's the case.
A few thoughts:
If you have quite a bit to lose (I have no idea), you may find that you'll have some hurdles along the way. Sometimes folks make changes when that happens.
Sometimes as they see how they feel eating certain foods, they make changes.
Some folks, for example, feel TONS BETTER without heavily refined carbs and the like.
A thousand calorie deficit sounds pretty brutal. Please be kind to yourself and if that gets too hard with cardio and weights, ease back a bit. Again, without knowing your age, height, weight etc. I'm just guessing.
As for the rest: some folks want to learn things. Formal diets can be educational. Some folks don't want to count calories meticulously, weigh and measure their food, count points etc. consider workout calories burned etc. For those folks, a formal diet may seem easier.
I think calorie counting is a pain. I can't imagine FOR MYSELF weighing and measuring everything. Given how much we eat out, I can't fathom trying to guess about all that stuff. I did what made sense for me, losing weight, and now in maintenance. For me it was: learning as much as possible about nutrition, re-thinking what I ate, and more generally, how much I ate. But that was more like: hey, this is probably a calorie dense meal, I've probably had enough to nourish me, and I feel satisfied, I'll box up the rest and take it home. In that case I'd carefully chosen a restaurant meal that made sense to me.
That's the key: do what works for you. Throughout your journey.
signed: I've read a lot of different diet books, nutrition books etc. and have incorporated what made sense to me.
Calorie counting IS a pain! I won't pretend to keep some stellar record of what I eat. Not to mention my husband is always got me counting HIS calories and what not too. It feels like a chore!1 -
Pretty much all these Diets have been developed and defined for one purpose only: making money by selling stuff (incl. books). But that doesn't mean they don't work, because they all do. If any of them makes it easier for you to stay on a path that works for you, by all means, go for it! Have you tried the Twinkies diet yet?3
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eminentclapper wrote: »Pretty much all these Diets have been developed and defined for one purpose only: making money by selling stuff (incl. books). But that doesn't mean they don't work, because they all do. If any of them makes it easier for you to stay on a path that works for you, by all means, go for it! Have you tried the Twinkies diet yet?
Twinkles diet!!! Yes!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the reasonable responses (and no thank you to the people who have to Inflame crap).
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I have been tracking calories for nearly 40 days now, and have lost approximately 13 pounds at around a 1000 calorie deficit with 3 - 4 days a week of cardio and weights (hard workouts). I have not done anything special except carefully count calories and somewhat macros (but not as close as I probably should be doing).
I have been listening to the primal potential podcast, and don't agree with the ideas of things like "fat loss breakfast." I also don't understand why people go to the extreme with special foods, diets, etc, none which seem long term viable. When I hear what people eat all I can think is... why would I want to eat that way? Doing research many of these diets have been straight refuted (such as this link about low carb, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html). In fact based on my training I feel like crap when working out without sufficient carbs.
I understand that people can loose weight on these diets, but it seems like watching calories, points, macros, whatever you choose will provide longer lasting results. Why do people do it then? To try and get minor edges on weight loss? To try to avoid the hard work of weight loss? Why?
In 2011 I logged my foods at a modest cut (500-750 calorie deficit, 1-1.5 lbs/week loss) for about 8 months. I lost 46 lbs eating whatever I wanted and being mindful of portion sizes, weighing or measuring most foods.
Then got pregnant, had babies, and regained. I'm done having babies and the youngest isn't relying on me for breastmilk anymore so I started cutting again last fall, at about a 1 lb/week deficit. I had an absolutely horrible time staying within my calories! Just atrocious adherence to the plan. Raging hunger. I would lose for a month or two, then binge and regain half. Clearly, not sustainable. My doctor suggested trying low carb/high fat. I do this in addition to calorie counting, but my adherence is considerably better. Much less hunger. I notice that if I do go over for a day or two, I'm naturally less hungry on the following days, maintaining my weekly deficit. I'm actually losing slightly faster than my deficit would predict because I think I'm overestimating a few things.
Anyway, low carb works for me right now. I'm not sure why I had diet adherence issues when I cut calories alone, but I'd be willing to bet that my age (over 35 now vs 30 when I started), the fact that pregnancy left me wing thyroid issues, and probably some latent insulin resistance all are factors. I'm not really concerned with analyzing why.6 -
eminentclapper wrote: »Pretty much all these Diets have been developed and defined for one purpose only: making money by selling stuff (incl. books). But that doesn't mean they don't work, because they all do. If any of them makes it easier for you to stay on a path that works for you, by all means, go for it! Have you tried the Twinkies diet yet?
They haven't all be developed for the purpose of making money. But, their dissemination is often monetarily based.0 -
who set fire to feces?eminentclapper wrote: »Pretty much all these Diets have been developed and defined for one purpose only: making money by selling stuff (incl. books). But that doesn't mean they don't work, because they all do. If any of them makes it easier for you to stay on a path that works for you, by all means, go for it! Have you tried the Twinkies diet yet?
Twinkles diet!!! Yes!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the reasonable responses (and no thank you to the people who have to Inflame crap).
4 -
I have been tracking calories for nearly 40 days now, and have lost approximately 13 pounds at around a 1000 calorie deficit with 3 - 4 days a week of cardio and weights (hard workouts). I have not done anything special except carefully count calories and somewhat macros (but not as close as I probably should be doing).
I have been listening to the primal potential podcast, and don't agree with the ideas of things like "fat loss breakfast." I also don't understand why people go to the extreme with special foods, diets, etc, none which seem long term viable. When I hear what people eat all I can think is... why would I want to eat that way? Doing research many of these diets have been straight refuted (such as this link about low carb, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html). In fact based on my training I feel like crap when working out without sufficient carbs.
I understand that people can loose weight on these diets, but it seems like watching calories, points, macros, whatever you choose will provide longer lasting results. Why do people do it then? To try and get minor edges on weight loss? To try to avoid the hard work of weight loss? Why?
In 2011 I logged my foods at a modest cut (500-750 calorie deficit, 1-1.5 lbs/week loss) for about 8 months. I lost 46 lbs eating whatever I wanted and being mindful of portion sizes, weighing or measuring most foods.
Then got pregnant, had babies, and regained. I'm done having babies and the youngest isn't relying on me for breastmilk anymore so I started cutting again last fall, at about a 1 lb/week deficit. I had an absolutely horrible time staying within my calories! Just atrocious adherence to the plan. Raging hunger. I would lose for a month or two, then binge and regain half. Clearly, not sustainable. My doctor suggested trying low carb/high fat. I do this in addition to calorie counting, but my adherence is considerably better. Much less hunger. I notice that if I do go over for a day or two, I'm naturally less hungry on the following days, maintaining my weekly deficit. I'm actually losing slightly faster than my deficit would predict because I think I'm overestimating a few things.
Anyway, low carb works for me right now. I'm not sure why I had diet adherence issues when I cut calories alone, but I'd be willing to bet that my age (over 35 now vs 30 when I started), the fact that pregnancy left me wing thyroid issues, and probably some latent insulin resistance all are factors. I'm not really concerned with analyzing why.
I was found to have hyperthyroidism when I was pregnant with my second child. I never had issues with losing weight at ANY point in my life until "that" happened. Since then the struggle is astounding. People throw around the "special snowflake" term a tad loosely for my taste when things like this are mentioned. But the thyroid can and will eff up every thing you have going on from hair and nails to weight gain and loss. I found that the high fat and low carb plan seriously helped with my ravenous hunger that you describe. Of course I went into greater detail with what I actually improvise several comments up, but yeah. I think you and I could be two peas in a thyroid pod.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
who set fire to feces?eminentclapper wrote: »Pretty much all these Diets have been developed and defined for one purpose only: making money by selling stuff (incl. books). But that doesn't mean they don't work, because they all do. If any of them makes it easier for you to stay on a path that works for you, by all means, go for it! Have you tried the Twinkies diet yet?
Twinkles diet!!! Yes!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the reasonable responses (and no thank you to the people who have to Inflame crap).
I wasn't going to say anything originally, but the original post was a little on the inflammatory side what with all the judgement and such.2 -
ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
who set fire to feces?eminentclapper wrote: »Pretty much all these Diets have been developed and defined for one purpose only: making money by selling stuff (incl. books). But that doesn't mean they don't work, because they all do. If any of them makes it easier for you to stay on a path that works for you, by all means, go for it! Have you tried the Twinkies diet yet?
Twinkles diet!!! Yes!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the reasonable responses (and no thank you to the people who have to Inflame crap).
I wasn't going to say anything originally, but the original post was a little on the inflammatory side what with all the judgement and such.
The original original post? Yes. And the replies were inline with that I thought. Good replies, on the whole.1 -
I know I can lose weight when I just track calories. I have been slowly edging my weight down for years using just calorie counting. But...when I limit carbs to below 100gm and even better below 50gm my cravings disappear, I am 75% less likely to binge, and I feel so great! I had already cut wheat because it is a migraine trigger for me but lowering carbs further made my body seem to function with more energy and alertness. People do what works for them. I happen to like getting my calories from higher fat foods and I raise all my own meat, I have a close friend who is a high carb extremely low fat vegan. Pick what works for you and go with it. Nothing wrong with "just" calorie counting.4
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Because it fixes my digestive issues. I haven't had to take medication for it since I started keto. Also, no more cravings and better diet adherence. Plus lots of yummy food. And lots of new, low carb, recipes to try.3
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I have been doing a Whole30 for 18 days. It sucks. Rides suck, running sucks. The diet is just stupid, and I don't find any validity to their claims. (you can eat white potatoes but you can't eat beans) But, I've lost 7 pounds in those 18 days, which is a nice loss for me on about 1700 calories a day. I was eating closer to 1500 and not losing anything. (though you aren't supposed to weigh yourself or track your calories on a whole30, another stupid thing) I'm going to keep it up till the end of the 30 days because my kids are looking at me regarding the commitment. If they weren't around, I'd stop. Though I do tell them it's stupid. Anyway, it's not clear why I'm losing weight (some of it is water weight). Depending on how I do for the rest of the time, I may up my carbs at the end, but keep up restrictions on refined sugars and flours.
By the way, this was in something the OP posted: Carbohydrate consumption per se is not behind the obesity epidemic. However, once overweight or obesity is established, carbohydrate restriction can aid fat loss in some people. The mechanism by which this occurs is not totally clear, but there is no evidence that insulin plays a causal role in this process.0 -
Alluminati wrote: »Because it works for them and seems easy to them to track that way. Because they feel good when they eat like that, which in turn helps them adhere to their goals. And adhering to your goals whether it's loss/maintain/gain is what counts most, not what you are eating (in a general sense).
BOOM! Nail on the head.
OP, you always have to do what's best for you.0 -
I do it because it works for me and it keeps me on track. I often do Whole30s (a modified version of Paleo). I noticed that eating cleanly, I will lose more weight eating more calories (with exercise held constant) than I do with just a straight restriction.I've lost 7 pounds in those 18 days, which is a nice loss for me on about 1700 calories a day. I was eating closer to 1500 and not losing anything. (though you aren't supposed to weigh yourself or track your calories on a whole30, another stupid thing)
I'm not really clear on these statements. A deficit is 100% required to lose weight, so either you are eating less calories than you realize while losing at the same rate, or you are eating more calories while still in a deficit and losing at a slower rate.
Diet type is preference only and you can't cheat a calorie deficit.1 -
Quite simply, I'm addicted to carbs. I find it much harder to control my intake when my diet includes carbs, whereas it's nearly impossible for me to binge on fat and protein heavy foods.3
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I originally didn't start low carb or keto to lose weight. I used to just count calories (ate high carb low fat). But I couldn't stop "mini-binging" up to maintenance, after 40lb lost with my previous way of eating. And then someone suggested to up fats. They didn't say do low carb or anything, just up fats.
And so I upped them, and wasn't satisfied. And then I upped them some more. And then I noticed my digestion was getting better. So I upped them more. Of course, something has to go down now, and it wasn't going to be my protein levels. So the only option was carbs. Then I just "naturally" settled on keto, which was the perfect ratio to keep me satisfied, and....well... lubricate the digestive track well enough for me to stop medication.5 -
Because not everyone's body is perfect. I have PCOS and low carb seems to work better for those of us with PCOS. Would I prefer to not deal with the hormone issues and just eat at a deficit without worrying about anything else? Absolutely!! That just doesn't work for me though.
I think it is great that it is super simple for you and you've had success over your 40 days. You have to do what works for you and I'll do what works for me. Low carb is sustainable for me because I'm not real crazy about breads, pastas, etc. I am on day 69 and at 31.3 lbs lost so I know my "super special" low carb eating is working for me
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