Low Carb/Keto vs. Calories

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kelsberry92
kelsberry92 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys. So what the heck. I keep seeing people losing tons of weight on keto, yet if they slip up for like a weekend they gain 10 pounds. Then, everything else I read is stated calorie counting is the way to go. Here's the thing, I KNOW I am going to have slip ups so I feel threatened by keto. But does calorie counting actually work...well? It just seems like keto or low carb is so quick! Input please. I wanna lose around 75 pounds.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Calorie counting is just keeping track of calorie intake. It's the sustained calorie deficit that "works" in fat loss. Keto/low carbs provides additional, temporary water weight loss.
  • sarahthes
    sarahthes Posts: 3,252 Member
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    Eh, low carb works as well as any other eating plan as long as you are in a calorie deficit. I myself did it with great success for about 9 months, then stopped for a bit and basically maintained for about 5 months while eating carbs again (had about 4 lbs of real gain and 8 lbs water weight gain over the 5 months).

    Now that my break is over I'm not eating low carb any longer because I'm trying to be more athletic and I hit a wall every time I tried to do any sort of exercise while LCHF. Still losing weight. In fact, losing it slightly faster because my deficit is steeper.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    edited July 2017
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    kelsberry92 wrote: »
    Hey guys. So what the heck. I keep seeing people losing tons of weight on keto, yet if they slip up for like a weekend they gain 10 pounds. Then, everything else I read is stated calorie counting is the way to go. Here's the thing, I KNOW I am going to have slip ups so I feel threatened by keto. But does calorie counting actually work...well? It just seems like keto or low carb is so quick! Input please. I wanna lose around 75 pounds.

    The ONLY thing that matters for weight loss is that you're hitting the correct calorie deficit for your weigh loss goals. Every plan out there revolves around this premise, regardless of its claims. Keto is just a way of manipulating macros, to create that calorie deficit. For some people following a low carb/keto plan is a good fit for their eating preferences/lifestyle, but it's nothing magical-it's just one way to go about reducing calories.

    Calorie counting, (MFP) is also another way to go about this-by being intentional about tracking your calorie intake and then reducing your calories to fit into your weight loss goals.

    It all comes down to calories, calories and yes-calories :)
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    The quick weight loss in the beginning of eating keto is because of water weight loss. As you deplete glycogen stores, you lose water along with it. Glycogen requires water for storage - about 3 times as much water as glycogen. When keto dieters eat high carb for a weekend, they replenish glycogen and hold water along with it.

    Some of us have found that eating low carb is the only way to reliably lose fat as basic calorie restriction doesn't work consistently. Still, most of the initial loss is water. The difficult part of that is that with less water weight, I have to lose a little bit more fat to get to the right body fat %.
  • deepak2050
    deepak2050 Posts: 6 Member
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    Hi my goal was also to lose 77 lbs I have lost 33 lbs in 6 months i followed macro split of 50%30%20 and did intermittent fasting i was also on a calorie deficit of 500 I did cardio and weight training i also had some cheat days in between. So i will say its possible to lose weight while being on low fat diet. Ketogenic is a shortcut you cant use it for long period of time so in cases where we need to lose big numbers it doesn't work well.keto is also unhealthy as high saturated fats causes heart disease. By eating you would feel more efficient and energetic which will allow you to workout harder and better.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    Just eat the way you see yourself eating for the rest of your life. If you see yourself eating low carb/keto for years to come then follow this for weight loss. If not then don't. Reason being that while restricting calories you learn how much you can eat from your favourite food to both lose weight and later to stay on your weight. If you just want to do keto for weightloss and go back to your normal diet you've learned nothing and are more likely to regain the weight. Thus try to make a smart choice.*

    *sure, you can try different things. In the end all that counts in calorie deficit. It one type of diet in a deficit doesn't work for you then try something else. Or just stick with what you like and reduce calories. I mean, weight loss isn't fast. You certainly have time to try things, unless you just want to lose some 5lbs.
  • deepak2050
    deepak2050 Posts: 6 Member
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    Keto sucks
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    Keto is a way of eating like being a vegeterian for example. But whatever you eat you need to eat less calories than you burn in order to lose weight. It is not a versus case.
    "Keto vs calories" is like saying "diesel vs fuel" car.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,315 Member
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    I agree with yirara, Eat the way you would the rest of your life so you won't gain it back but just eat less to stay within your calorie deficit. After you lose you add more calories to eat to maintain. I have 10-15 lbs more to go.
    Experiment & find out what foods you can eat more of with lesser calories so you won't be hungry while losing. I eat more veggies than I did before & make smoothies with fruit/yogurt/almond milk for breakfast because I didn't like breakfast before & would be starving for lunch & ate way too much, so I'm ok drinking smoothies so now I'm not starving at lunch & can stay withing my calories as an example
  • Sloth2016
    Sloth2016 Posts: 846 Member
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    What's the rush? Watching your intake, like brushing your teeth, is part of taking care of your body. The need to do these things does not go away until you die...

    As for which dietary pattern will work best for you, try them and pick one you like.
  • deepak2050
    deepak2050 Posts: 6 Member
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    I do eat lots of veggies and fruits but i am used to eating high volume food thats why i do intermittent fasting

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