Advice on going low carb?
Options
Replies
-
I'm still restricting calories too, not just focusing on the carbs alone..but any other weight loss strategy I have tried in the past like just calorie counting and eating healthier, it didn't work for me. I noticed about a year ago when I got put on metformin and started paying more attention to my sugar and carb intake, I felt a lot better and had more energy, as well as I was noticing my clothes fitting better..but shortly after I found out I was pregnant and all that went out the window lol. I gain weight so easily, and it's SO hard for me to lose it..I feel like this is going to be the best way to go. That applies to maintaining a low carb lifestyle as well. I'm not looking at this as a diet, but changing the way I eat overall so I can be healthy for my kids.
Just start replacing carbs with fats and when you eat carbs make sure you get fibrous ones..
The only diets that really require more attention is keto and plant based.
If you notice cramping or headaches, than increase sodium intake.1 -
nicci288693 wrote: »I'm still restricting calories too, not just focusing on the carbs alone..but any other weight loss strategy I have tried in the past like just calorie counting and eating healthier, it didn't work for me. I noticed about a year ago when I got put on metformin and started paying more attention to my sugar and carb intake, I felt a lot better and had more energy, as well as I was noticing my clothes fitting better..but shortly after I found out I was pregnant and all that went out the window lol. I gain weight so easily, and it's SO hard for me to lose it..I feel like this is going to be the best way to go. That applies to maintaining a low carb lifestyle as well. I'm not looking at this as a diet, but changing the way I eat overall so I can be healthy for my kids.
Cutting carbs will automatically cut calories. They go hand in hand. The difference between this diet and others is that with keto you burn fat for energy while producing ketones. Other diets burn carbs for energy. It's not a diet for everyone, but it's worked for me. It's a lifestyle.
Its true that fat oxidation vs carb oxidation is higher while following keto, but that is because you store more fat and less carbs. Substrate utilization doesnt mean much for the average person... it means something for endurance athletes and at the point carbs > all.
And i cut fats when i diet because i ca eat endless amounts of fats and not fill full. How do i know? Because i literally have eaten a block of cheese.4 -
If you are diabetic, then eating a lower carbohydrate diet is a good idea. How low depends on what you are able to maintain over the long term. I've done Atkins successfully, but couldn't maintain the weight loss because I love carbs and don't especially care about fat and a lot of meat. When trying to lose weight, I'd end up with at least one cheat meal each week, just to get some of my favorite carbs. However, losing weight with low carb and maintaining with lower calories did work for me.0
-
Instead of thinking low carb, I would suggest thinking whole food and food as fuel instead. What I mean by this is eat food as close to its natural form as possible and get rid of the processed stuff that isn't going to make you feel full. I don't have any problems eating a sweet potato for example which is technically higher carb but great for you, or pretty much any fruit, egetables, even white potatoes, meats, nuts, healthy fats, etc. I would do that but not bread, I personally avoid grains, not processed low cal desserts, not empty calorie WW meals that will make you feel hungry again in an hour. That's what has worked for me. I follow a paleo type diet (there is a lot of room in there for individuality).3
-
I would start off with 150g a day and see how you go. That way you can still get in fruit, veg and small portions of rice, potato etc. I aim for between 100g-150g. On a general day I can have full fat yogurt and fruit (oats if I feel like it) for breakfast, some sort of salad for lunch, and normal dinner. Anything from sausage and mash, to a roast, to tacos. If you start low-carb in the mornings, you know where you stand for dinner.
When you feel like it you could lower to 100g, then 70g, then keto (under 50g) if you feel its for you.
Really its just another way of re-distributing your calories. As long as you are still in a calorie deficit you're golden.4 -
To me, that thinking is called food fright. Trans fat is the only bad fat, and there's almost no trans fat in food anymore. Bad carbs and good carbs used to be called fast carbs and slow carbs, which was better, but we are adults, so we can handle concepts like starch and sugar, simple and complex carbohydrates, as well as complexity, and moderation, and time.TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »But there are bad fats and good fats. So I thought.... Anyone else care explain? I really do well when I separate bad carbs and good carbs. Keeps me away from cookies and cake and lets me eat beans. Can this thinking be called something else?
It is true that whole foods - overall - are more nutrient dense and less calorie dense than cookies and cake, and it is for this reason, and no other reason, we should limit intake of cookies and cake and increase intake of beans. Cookies and cake is not more or less unhealthy than beans, and neither can be eaten in unlimited amounts. Food fright and ignorance are effective tools to market diets, books, pills and surgery, so the more scared and less educated people are, the more will they buy, in the hope of better health and lower weight. But it doesn't work that way; health deteriorates, weight piles on.
Do you do well over time by separating food into good and bad? If so, it's a good strategy for you. For me, and for most people, it only lasts for a while, until the restrictons become too much, and then massively overeat everything that had been denied.5 -
@komm That is a great explanation. Deprivation and restriction will cause cravings. Makes sense. On the flip side, seeing a donut as a bad carb really and truly helps me stay away. If, and only if, I think of it as bad for my health. If I see it simply as a treat that I can't have, I will crave it.
So I now understand. Classifying carbs as good/bad is not a good idea for most. I'm at a point that I'm looking into good foods vs bad foods and learning.1 -
To OP,
You're received a lot of feedback already, but I thought I'd throw in some thoughts based on my own experience.
1) Be sure to research very well and learn about what you're doing before you implement a special kind of diet (especially keto or low-carb). These diets can go really well, but there are a bunch of pitfalls you can avoid with some learning.
2) While you're learning, I recommend that you try to bring in as many whole foods into your diet as possible. Going low-carb is not necessarily going to remove produce from your life, so finding what you like most in the beginning is a great way to start, even if you're on the "high end" (near 150g/day) for carbs.
3) You may consider avoiding dairy or at least minimizing its use while adjusting to a lower-carb diet. Whey protein has caused issues for several people, and I recall seeing some sort of research at one point that indicated it is metabolized differently, and thus creates various issues including hunger/cravings. (I can confirm this from my own experience that I had a problem with this with cottage cheese, which I had initially thought was safe to enjoy before/after working out. Apparently it's something I can look to try again later after taking a few more months to adapt my body to this way of eating.)
4) Doing anything for a "diet" is not something I recommend. Ideally, you should find something that works as a lifestyle. Low-carb can definitely fit this for someone who is willing to put in the work and figure out what works for them. I am a "50 net carb" kind of person, and I find enjoyment in a variety of produce in addition to my other foods. This includes even high-sugar fruits such as pineapple (in small portions, it sweetens a "fruit pudding" I make with avocado and a berry fruit). Variety and planning is good!
5) One of the things you'll read about as you learn/research, but that I wanted to help point out early on, is that high protein is actually not the way to go for low carb. This is one of the things that surprised me the most as I went into this way of eating. I learned that the body goes through a process to convert excess protein to glucose (sugar). A friend sent me a link to a neat calculator to help me figure out my macros. I'll pass it on in case you might find it useful. Note that the carb section recommends up to 50g net carbs, but you can enter a higher value without any issues.
https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
Remember, if you try this and find that after at least a month of good trying, including troubleshooting any issues, you aren't feeling as though this is something you can work with for the rest of your life, gradually alter things to go back to a more "standard" way of eating. There is no point in maintaining something that does not meet all of your needs, especially if you've put all the necessary work/research into it and given it a true try. I wish you the best on your journey!
(Edit: typo/writing issues)6 -
3) I have never found whey to cause hunger/cravings for food. If cutting out all dairy, make sure to keep an eye on calcium.1
-
Learning is exhausting and exciting, often in jumps, often by unlearning, never in straight lines, even if we like to think of it as such. I started out this time well armed with ideas of sugar addiction and good food/bad food, and it helped me gain traction. But I was also exposed to new ideas that challenged my beliefs. Investigating and implementing them was scary and liberating at once.TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@komm That is a great explanation. Deprivation and restriction will cause cravings. Makes sense. On the flip side, seeing a donut as a bad carb really and truly helps me stay away. If, and only if, I think of it as bad for my health. If I see it simply as a treat that I can't have, I will crave it.
So I now understand. Classifying carbs as good/bad is not a good idea for most. I'm at a point that I'm looking into good foods vs bad foods and learning.
People (me too) will tend to be impatient or others' behalf, but you have to do this at your own pace. Bits and pieces fall into place when we are ready. (I tend to google terms, and one thing leads to another.) What can help you, could be to look for ways to embrace a mindset of abundance instead of scarcity - think of foods to help you improve your health instead of foods to avoid to not destroy it. (BTW, a donut is not bad for your health. A diet made up of nothing but donuts is bad for your health, but that's not something you'd really attempt, is it? Oh, and donuts are more fat than carbs, too.)1 -
I know, I know, it's like tilting at a windmill, but I still don't get why a doughnut is a "carb," bad or good. It HAS carbs, but it also has fat.
For example: Krispy Kreme glazed, 190 cal -- 44% carbs, 50% fat, 6% protein.4 -
TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »3) I have never found whey to cause hunger/cravings for food. If cutting out all dairy, make sure to keep an eye on calcium.
I'm not sure that cutting out dairy is wise. Considering you are replacing carbs with fat and dairy is one of the main sources of fat that limits you down to, nuts/seeds, olive/coconut oil, oily fish aaaannnnnd.... avocados...... olives.....
I can't think of any more healthy fats... 2 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I know, I know, it's like tilting at a windmill, but I still don't get why a doughnut is a "carb," bad or good. It HAS carbs, but it also has fat.
For example: Krispy Kreme glazed, 190 cal -- 44% carbs, 50% fat, 6% protein.
FINALLY a reason to buy krispy kreme! 3 -
I love carbs! Junky or not. My carb consumption is like 50-60% on daily basis. Used to eat 20g or less, and was totally miserable! Couldn't sustain, and ended up binging on sweets. Then I'd feel awful that I sabotaged my diet! RIDICULOUS! Now I completely understand how weight loss works. It's cutting Calories, not cutting carbs. So don't think that Carbs are the enemy.. it's total Calories. You could eat a box of cereal a day and still lose, if you are in deficit.
5 -
....maybe not an entire box of cereal. MFP shows a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch at 5,850 calories.3
-
TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »....maybe not an entire box of cereal. MFP shows a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch at 5,850 calories.
I think that's with milk. The smaller box should be no more than 2000.0 -
Looked it up, sorry. 130 cal per serving and there's like 11 servings in a box. That's only 1430 calories for the entire box. Without milk that is. With skin it's 170 total times 11. So yes, I could have an entire box and be under.
0 -
With "skim", not "skin"0
-
You could boil the milk.0
-
TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@komm That is a great explanation. Deprivation and restriction will cause cravings. Makes sense. On the flip side, seeing a donut as a bad carb really and truly helps me stay away. If, and only if, I think of it as bad for my health. If I see it simply as a treat that I can't have, I will crave it.
So I now understand. Classifying carbs as good/bad is not a good idea for most. I'm at a point that I'm looking into good foods vs bad foods and learning.
I guess I do a little bit of a different twist to this. My nutrition goals to complement my fitness goals while reducing body fat are very specific. I look at it as a budget. So, if I spend that amount of calories on a donut, will I have enough left in my budget to hit my other goals. Like protein, fiber, fats etc. If yes, eat. If no, don't eat. I also try to stay focused on foods with high nutritional value but not always 100% of the time. Kinda 80/20.
OP, if you are using Metaformin then you have blood sugar issues? If so, low carb/ keto can help with insulin sensitivity and that may benefit you. Also, Intermittent Fasting can help with insulin sensitivity.
PS: On the issue of Whey causing issues mentioned in the 5 bullet point post above, I have never experienced that in years of using it to supplement protein intake when weight training. Nor have I ever see a study that indicated that. If there is any objective study information that indicates that, I'd say post it. In the absence of that, I would consider that anecdotal woo.3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 395 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 960 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions