Thinking of starting low carb, any tips?
alavocat92
Posts: 14 Member
Thinking of going low carb. I did atkins a little before and was able to lose weight pretty easily. Only thing was a little restricting so was thinking of trying more of a relaxed version of atkins. I know that calories in calories out method, but low carb seems to work better for me. But, I have no idea how many carbs are considered low carb and was wondering what worked for other people as far as low carb. I did buy ketone strips to be able to monitor and hopefully be able to figure out what about of carbs will put me in ketosis. Any tips would be great, especially snack and meal ideas. Also if it worked for you, how much weight have u lost on it and how quickly? Thanks in advanced
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Replies
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keto is below 50g carbs...you can do low carb without doing keto...keto is super low carb...I don't think there will be anything "relaxed" about it.2
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Try going for 50g net carbs per day and make sure you get enough protein and fiber. Those were key for me. (I am not low carb right now although heading back in that direction.)1
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Join the group "Low Carbers Daily Forum" and check out the launch pad. The group and that section are great resources for anyone trying out low carb! (Low carb is anywhere below 150 gm/day of carbs, some would say 100gm/day, so there's a wide range within that.)0
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Okay so you lose more weight "easily" when you low carb. Then gain it back more easily when you introduce more carbs back into your life. I mean, isn't that how you regained weight again?
BTW, loss from water (carbs need water to store glycogen in your cells) is your initial weight. The rest comes off because you're EATING LESS THAN YOU BURN. And you don't need to low carb to do that.
Just saying that IF this isn't a lifestyle that you intend to stick to, then why bother starting it? Why not just learn how to eat LESS of the stuff you actually like to eat?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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What works for you is more important than works for me. But some things work for everybody. Everybody loses weight according to calorie deficit. 3500 calories equals 1 pound; a 3500 calorie deficit means 1 pound lost. CICO is not a method, but the principle behind weight loss, gain and maintenance.
You can eat anything you like. The less restrictive food rules, the more variety you'll be able to have.
Low carb can be anything below 150 grams per day.3 -
I currently do 5%carb, 35%protein and 60%fat. I'm finding it hard to get the fat in tho, just bought myself a giant tub of coconut oil lol. I usually eat some meat along with veggies or salad for most meals with added cheese or olive oil. Snack wise cheese, peparami, fatbombs (recipes for these everywhere). I've been on it since Jan 1st and lost 22lbs so far. You do still have to watch calories, don't listen to people who tell you you don't. I'm no expert and I know a lot of people don't agree with keto/low carb bit up to now it's the only thing that has helped me lose weight and I've never eaten so many veg and salad. .. good luck if you choose this diet/way of life (it will be my way of eating for a long while)0
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tips:
add salt to your diet
drink alot of water
eat ALOT of fat0 -
Okay so you lose more weight "easily" when you low carb. Then gain it back more easily when you introduce more carbs back into your life. I mean, isn't that how you regained weight again?
BTW, loss from water (carbs need water to store glycogen in your cells) is your initial weight. The rest comes off because you're EATING LESS THAN YOU BURN. And you don't need to low carb to do that.
Just saying that IF this isn't a lifestyle that you intend to stick to, then why bother starting it? Why not just learn how to eat LESS of the stuff you actually like to eat?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
my dr has me on a low carb diet for health benefits. fat doesn't cause high cholesterol, carbs do.
so for weight loss, you're right, no difference, but from a health stand-point, low-carb is good for high cholesterol patients.
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I did both low carb and keto. I found the same benefits keeping my carbs at 100g than i did keeping them at 50g or below.0
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Low carb is considered to be below 100 to 150 g of carbs per day. That could be as high as 40% of your macros.
Ketosis is usually under 50g of carbs per day (5-10% of macros) depending on your health and activity level. Atletes will often stay in ketosis even at 100=G of carbs whereas someone with insulin resistance may need to keep carbs under 20-30g per day.
I did under 20g of carbs per day, 20% protein and 75% fat. I ate 1500 kcal per day, was not active, and lost 40lbs in under 6 months. I stopped losing at a size 8 and a mid-BMI.
I still eat LCHF. Eating a lot of carbs hurts my health (I have IR) and leads to overeating. LCHF works for me so I keep doing it.cwolfman13 wrote: »keto is below 50g carbs...you can do low carb without doing keto...keto is super low carb...I don't think there will be anything "relaxed" about it.
I recommend quasi-mediumish low carb. All other versions cause weight gain.
But CICO. LCHF does not cause weight gain.... You might regain a few pounds of water weight when you stop, but that's all.0 -
I've done low carb before, and definitely agree that you lose more weight- which is usually just water- and gain it back quickly- can you keep eating that low of carbs for the rest of your life? If not then you will gain it back!!
Since low carb can be low or extremely low, I suggest you do what works for you, something you can maintain otherwise the moment you add carbs back you're completely screwed! I try to eat less than 150 a day, I usuaally do, which is technically low carb, I used to eat 90-100 a day and as I introduced carbs back my weight stalled for a couple weeks then I started losing again- because below 150g a day is what works for me!! I think below 50 a day is crazy, I mean unless it's an easy and sustainable way for you to eat then okay, but just do what's realistic for YOU to keep going long term!0 -
People need to STOP saying that you'll regain aaallll the weight you lost when/if you reintroduce carbs! I gained a whopping 2lbs when I went back to moderate carbs, which dropped back off after a couple of weeks.
The key here is that i remained in a deficit, which means no regain.
Carbs don't automatically turn you into Shamoo the whale unless you go back to eating in a calorie surplus with ALL the foods, not just carbs.7 -
markswife1992 wrote: »
my dr has me on a low carb diet for health benefits. fat doesn't cause high cholesterol, carbs do.
so for weight loss, you're right, no difference, but from a health stand-point, low-carb is good for high cholesterol patients.
If your doctor told you carbs cause high cholesterol, you need to report them to the medical board immediately. They're either grossly misinformed, have no idea what cholesterol is or is lying to you to keep you from eating carbs. None of which makes a good doctor.3 -
markswife1992 wrote: »
my dr has me on a low carb diet for health benefits. fat doesn't cause high cholesterol, carbs do.
so for weight loss, you're right, no difference, but from a health stand-point, low-carb is good for high cholesterol patients.
If your doctor told you carbs cause high cholesterol, you need to report them to the medical board immediately. They're either grossly misinformed, have no idea what cholesterol is or is lying to you to keep you from eating carbs. None of which makes a good doctor.
It's actually a pretty common belief, even among medical professionals. Particularly for heavily refined carbohydrates. I know an endocrinologist who would say this, firmly.
There are studies that support this notion.
I leave you to do what you believe, but, it's not an "out there" sue worthy idea.
OP: whatever you decide, choose something you can live happily with, and do your research. Best of luck.1 -
I lost almost 20 pounds on low carb (5'6", from 146 down to 127). It took about 3 months to lose. I originally stuck to 20g or less net carbs, but once I hit goal, I now tend to find myself around 40-50 most days. I love it...it's easy to maintain and I don't feel deprived. I eat a ton of leafy green veggies and drink a lot of water. I do have a tough time getting a lot of fat in, but I don't worry much about it bc like I said, I'm satisfied.
Tip - if you decide to try it, be strict and give it a few weeks to see if it's for you. If after 3 weeks, you feel like it's too much work or feeling like a sacrifice, you may want to try another way of eating.2 -
Not sure what your specific daily carb goal is going to be, but Dave's Killer Bread has literally saved me in the carb department. I get the 21 Grains Thin Sliced (Green Bag) and the Powerseed (Red Bag). They're a little on the expensive side for a loaf of bread, but it is organic, all natural bread with no artificial crap in it. There are also way less carbs in a serving than almost any other bread.
In regards to people saying that you will gain it all back after stopping the low carb diet, unless you're going from 30g carbs a day to 400g carbs, I don't think you'll find you'll gain more than a pound or two back--if anything.
Word of caution: (from personal experience) depending on your current carb intake, lack of carbs may leave you feeling really hungry/deprived. I would ease into where you want to be and not take a huge cut from them if you normally eat a good amount.
You got this!
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Not sure what your specific daily carb goal is going to be, but Dave's Killer Bread has literally saved me in the carb department. I get the 21 Grains Thin Sliced (Green Bag) and the Powerseed (Red Bag). They're a little on the expensive side for a loaf of bread, but it is organic, all natural bread with no artificial crap in it. There are also way less carbs in a serving than almost any other bread.
In regards to people saying that you will gain it all back after stopping the low carb diet, unless you're going from 30g carbs a day to 400g carbs, I don't think you'll find you'll gain more than a pound or two back--if anything.
Word of caution: (from personal experience) depending on your current carb intake, lack of carbs may leave you feeling really hungry/deprived. I would ease into where you want to be and not take a huge cut from them if you normally eat a good amount.
You got this!
It's great bread. It really is.
And, OP if you eat plenty of vegetables, you shouldn't feel really hungry. "Deprived" is another matter.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »It's great bread. It really is.
And, OP if you eat plenty of vegetables, you shouldn't feel really hungry. "Deprived" is another matter.
Isn't it??? I'm obsessed.
Not sure if you meant me when you said OP or the actual OP, but I no longer feel really hungry with a lack of carbs. However, I'm Irish, Canadian, and Sicilian, so I've been raised on carbs. Before I started my journey, I was eating baked ziti, lasagna, lots of potatoes, bread and sauce, etc. on a largely regular basis. I can't even estimate how many carbs I was probably consuming. I slowed way down on the frequency of those meals (one or two a month) and that in itself has made a huge difference. It definitely sucked at first though, to go from a million carbs a day to 150-200g. If I could go back, I would have slowly taken carbs out but I karate chopped them out and stuck to it. Definitely sucked, but I'm fine now.
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markswife1992 wrote: »
my dr has me on a low carb diet for health benefits. fat doesn't cause high cholesterol, carbs do.
so for weight loss, you're right, no difference, but from a health stand-point, low-carb is good for high cholesterol patients.
If your doctor told you carbs cause high cholesterol, you need to report them to the medical board immediately. They're either grossly misinformed, have no idea what cholesterol is or is lying to you to keep you from eating carbs. None of which makes a good doctor.
This is actually the new thinking. That doctor is more up to date than many. HDL appears to drop, and triglycerides usually goes up, on a diet that is high in refined carbs. A high carb diet will do this to an extent even if the carbs are not refined carbs, but not to the same extent.
Look into Cholesterol Con, Great Cholesterol Myth or Cholesterol Clarity. Peter Attia has some in depth blogs on it too.4 -
Let me put it in perspective.. 3 things I ate today:
Apple
Butternut Squash Soup
Sweet Potato
That equalled 74 carbs. Perfectly healthy foods that are low in calories and rich in nutrients. Do you really want a diet that cuts that out? These kind of foods are everything you want in eating.1 -
TheRambler wrote: »Let me put it in perspective.. 3 things I ate today:
Apple
Butternut Squash Soup
Sweet Potato
That equalled 74 carbs. Perfectly healthy foods that are low in calories and rich in nutrients. Do you really want a diet that cuts that out? These kind of foods are everything you want in eating.
74 grams of carbs is considered low carb by almost all accounts.
Is that all the carbs you ate?
And yes, all three are considered nutrient dense, high fiber, delicious foods.
Granted a low(er) carb diet doesn't have to cut out any of these foods. yum1 -
I already try to do low carb diets many of people labeled it as a fad diets, i use to do that thing im very active exercising 4 hours a day in school sports i loss so much and im happy then i try to go back what i use to be eating then sad i gained it mostly of it until now i suffer from it effects, im starting a new diet which is the calorie deficit hopes i will succeed to this. If i were you do not follow low carb diets it will just make you sick after all0
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I already try to do low carb diets many of people labeled it as a fad diets, i use to do that thing im very active exercising 4 hours a day in school sports i loss so much and im happy then i try to go back what i use to be eating then sad i gained it mostly of it until now i suffer from it effects, im starting a new diet which is the calorie deficit hopes i will succeed to this. If i were you do not follow low carb diets it will just make you sick after all
How would it do that? There is nothing innately unhealthy about meats, eggs, dairy, nuts, vegetables and some fruit.3 -
Carbs don't cause high cholesterol. High cholesterol is usually an issue with genetics and being overweight.markswife1992 wrote: »Okay so you lose more weight "easily" when you low carb. Then gain it back more easily when you introduce more carbs back into your life. I mean, isn't that how you regained weight again?
BTW, loss from water (carbs need water to store glycogen in your cells) is your initial weight. The rest comes off because you're EATING LESS THAN YOU BURN. And you don't need to low carb to do that.
Just saying that IF this isn't a lifestyle that you intend to stick to, then why bother starting it? Why not just learn how to eat LESS of the stuff you actually like to eat?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
my dr has me on a low carb diet for health benefits. fat doesn't cause high cholesterol, carbs do.
so for weight loss, you're right, no difference, but from a health stand-point, low-carb is good for high cholesterol patients.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Depends Christine. When I used to compete and do low carb to get cut up and then reintroduced carbs back into my diet, a 20lbs gain in a week or less was NOT unusual. Realize that it wasn't that much of a surplus at all compared to when bulking in off season since eating small meals kept me satisfied. There were just devoid of carbs for 12-16 weeks.Christine_72 wrote: »People need to STOP saying that you'll regain aaallll the weight you lost when/if you reintroduce carbs! I gained a whopping 2lbs when I went back to moderate carbs, which dropped back off after a couple of weeks.
The key here is that i remained in a deficit, which means no regain.
Carbs don't automatically turn you into Shamoo the whale unless you go back to eating in a calorie surplus with ALL the foods, not just carbs.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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It MAY raise triglycerides, but that's if you're not burning them off.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »markswife1992 wrote: »
my dr has me on a low carb diet for health benefits. fat doesn't cause high cholesterol, carbs do.
so for weight loss, you're right, no difference, but from a health stand-point, low-carb is good for high cholesterol patients.
If your doctor told you carbs cause high cholesterol, you need to report them to the medical board immediately. They're either grossly misinformed, have no idea what cholesterol is or is lying to you to keep you from eating carbs. None of which makes a good doctor.
It's actually a pretty common belief, even among medical professionals. Particularly for heavily refined carbohydrates. I know an endocrinologist who would say this, firmly.
There are studies that support this notion.
I leave you to do what you believe, but, it's not an "out there" sue worthy idea.
OP: whatever you decide, choose something you can live happily with, and do your research. Best of luck.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
0 -
I found this article interesting in regards to cholesterol and how to avoid high cholesterol.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-cholesterol
In summary
Get and stay lean
Eat at least 10 servings of vegetables and fruits each day
Eat at least 1 cup of whole grains each day
Eat at least 1 cup of legumes each day
Eat at least 1/3 cup of nuts/seeds each day
Eat/supplement with omega-3’s (algae or fish oils)
Exercise at least 5 hours per week
Eat plenty of herbs and spices
Limit meat, processed foods, trans fats and dairy
Drink at least 4 cups of tea each day
Will now look even futher to see what else I can find. Yet to find any research backing the claim that carbs cause high cholesterol though.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »TheRambler wrote: »Let me put it in perspective.. 3 things I ate today:
Apple
Butternut Squash Soup
Sweet Potato
That equalled 74 carbs. Perfectly healthy foods that are low in calories and rich in nutrients. Do you really want a diet that cuts that out? These kind of foods are everything you want in eating.
74 grams of carbs is considered low carb by almost all accounts.
Is that all the carbs you ate?
And yes, all three are considered nutrient dense, high fiber, delicious foods.
Granted a low(er) carb diet doesn't have to cut out any of these foods. yum
nononono.. I was just pointing out how easy it is to amass carbs!! Those were just 3 foods I ate throughout the day, and if eating 3 HEALTHY foods give you over 75 carbs, it's easy to go much higher WHILE eating healthy!!
my point was, just concentrate on eating healthy foods and giving yourself nutrients/fiber/protein instead of worrying about carbs.
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