Low Carb???
mkosturko
Posts: 4 Member
Has anyone done a low carb diet? (NOT keto, I don't want to cut them out completely!!)
Most things I've read about low carb is that it is for short term weight loss. I am not interested in short term weight loss, I want to lose a good chunk of pounds and keep them off! I'm just starting to figure out how to maximize my eating habits to help. I don't have much time for the gym as I am a teacher and I am just burnt out by the end of the day!
MFP gave me 50% carbs (205g). Should I stick to their recommendation? Should I lower my carbs and raise my protein? Any help would be great!
Also I'm looking for some active posters to follow on here for daily motivation to stay on track! Please add me!
Thank you!
- What are your thoughts on low carb?
- Is it livable? Do-able?
- Have you been able to keep your low carb diet for long term?
Most things I've read about low carb is that it is for short term weight loss. I am not interested in short term weight loss, I want to lose a good chunk of pounds and keep them off! I'm just starting to figure out how to maximize my eating habits to help. I don't have much time for the gym as I am a teacher and I am just burnt out by the end of the day!
MFP gave me 50% carbs (205g). Should I stick to their recommendation? Should I lower my carbs and raise my protein? Any help would be great!
Also I'm looking for some active posters to follow on here for daily motivation to stay on track! Please add me!
Thank you!
0
Replies
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Macros are personal preference. Some people find it easier to stick to their calorie goal with lower carbs, others not so much.
A clue might be what types of foods make you feel full and which leave you hungry. If fatty foods fill you up, and carbs like oatmeal pasta potatoes rice etc leave you hungry or you easily overeat them, low carb is worth a try.
I find it really easy to overeat fats like nuts, cheese, and fatty meats and I find starchy carbs quite filling, so I stuck with mfp default macros for the most part.
Calories determine weight. The great thing is if you start out eating your calories with a specific macro distribution but hate it or find yourself struggling with hunger, you can just try a different distribution. As long as your calories are in line, weight loss will follow.
Keep in mind, playing around with carb levels can cause water weight swings, which will affect your scale weight for a week or too whenever you make a big change to your carb level one way or the other.
:drinker:3 -
I don't low carb, but try for moderate carbs instead.
Example, I used to think nothing about having a grilled burger (on a bun) with a side of potato salad. That's 2 servings of starchy carbs in the same meal. Totally unnecessary. The permanent change for me is to focus on overall calories in a meal. A grilled chicken breast with potato salad or a burger with a green salad (light on the dressing) are typically better choices.
If I focus on meeting protein goals, that too results in a change. Breakfast used to be cereal and milk; now it's Greek yogurt and berries with a sprinkle of Fiber One (for crunch and fiber).1 -
There is an active and very helpful "low Carb" mfp group on here. Come join the group.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum
I am personally Keto there is a keto group too.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1143-keto
You will find that there are a lot of low carb and keto people who float between the two levels of low carb and a great source of information on either group.
There are a LOT of low carb members who are long term and continue on the^^ boards as they help us and answer all kinds of questions. I have Mfp friends who are one over 1000 days, another is at 4 years and quite a few over one year.
I have personally committed to a year and currently I'm on day 100 and I don't work out either.
On the "Low Carb" group they will be able to advise you on what your carb levels etc. should be and answer any questions you will have.
Welcome to low carb, you will love it!
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Weight loss comes down to creating the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals. Weight maintenance is continuing to hit the correct calorie intake for your weight management goals.
Macros ratios come in a distant second to this, and is mostly a preference thing (barring a medical condition where you need certain macros ratios).
Every person is different so no harm in trying a lower carb way of eating, if it appeals to you. For me personally, I do much better on a higher carb way of eating (200+ carbs). I've hit all my weight/health goals eating this way and I love all the foods that I eat.
I'm 6 years into maintenance at this point, so I'm pretty settled into my food routine-how I eat is a sustainable method for me, the key is for you to figure that out for you, OP
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Also, I commend you OP for thinking of the long term, instead of just the weight loss phase. So many people focus on losing weight, but that's for a pretty short period of time-a few months to a couple years, usually. What they fail to realize is that maintenance is for the rest of your life-20, 30, 40+ years. That's where most people fail and and most regain their weight (plus some usually), within 2 years, and the weight loss adherence rate after 5 years is absolutely dismal.
Thinking about how you're going to approach maintenance, while still in the weight loss phase, is a really good idea!4 -
If you want something that lasts, eat in a way not too different from the way you are used to eating, then make small tweaks to make dieting easier. You are more likely to stick with it if you don't drastically change too much too soon. Some people stumble into their best fit (be it low carb or otherwise) by trying to change their diet abruptly, but it's not a guaranteed process. Discovering your own best fit strategically gets you into the diet flow easier as you slowly discard things that don't work and keep things that work.
You may also find that some things don't even need to change! When I first started, I thought I needed to stop eating pizza because it's high in calories, then I discovered that my usual pizza portion is well within my calorie budget. I didn't eat it often anyway, so the way I eat my pizza (and ice cream, for that matter) didn't need to change at all. Just because some people overeat certain foods, doesn't mean I do (I overate other foods, and that's where I needed to make my tweaks).
As for macros, no macro split is better than another for weight loss outside of personal preference. Once you make sure you have your minimum protein and fat, you're free to fill the rest of your calories with whatever your heart desires. The more you personalize your diet the more likely you are to stick to it instead of going for a canned macro split or diet food types. You can start with MFP's recommendations if you want, but really, it's mostly protein people tend to need to put some effort into.4 -
Has anyone done a low carb diet? (NOT keto, I don't want to cut them out completely!!)
- What are your thoughts on low carb?
- Is it livable? Do-able?
- Have you been able to keep your low carb diet for long term?
Most things I've read about low carb is that it is for short term weight loss. I am not interested in short term weight loss, I want to lose a good chunk of pounds and keep them off! I'm just starting to figure out how to maximize my eating habits to help. I don't have much time for the gym as I am a teacher and I am just burnt out by the end of the day!
MFP gave me 50% carbs (205g). Should I stick to their recommendation? Should I lower my carbs and raise my protein? Any help would be great!
Also I'm looking for some active posters to follow on here for daily motivation to stay on track! Please add me!
Thank you!
I've always found that the easiest way for me to lose weight and keep calories at a maintenance level when not losing was to eat mostly just at main meals (sometimes a small dessert after dinner) and to cut down on foods that I don't feel the loss of. What this means is that I base meals around protein and vegetables, eat some fruit too, and use smaller amounts of added fat and smaller portions of starchy sides. Typically I don't add starches to breakfast (I ate eggs and veg when losing, with dairy or fruit on the side), if I add them to lunch it's typically for protein (beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.), and for dinner I will have a starchy side, but typically a serving size of pasta or rice or less or else around 100 g of potato or sweet potato. Again, more if I am using some kind of starch as my protein source. I eat other foods with carbs like fruit, veg, dairy, nuts pretty freely. And like I said, occasional small desserts, typically good dark chocolate or ice cream, but I will have pie on special occasional and homemade cookies if someone bakes them, etc.
This all comes in somewhat low carb on average, varying in how low carb based on how much fruit I eat (I eat more in the summer) and how vegetarian or plant-based I am eating (since I tend to rely a lot on beans and lentils and the like for protein when not eating meat or other animal-sourced foods), and with a variety of days mixed in that are higher carb.
On average I ate around 100-150 g carbs when losing (fewer net carbs since most of my carb sources have fiber). At maintenance it varies -- higher now since I'm eating plant-based, but at other times often around 150 g.
The reason this works for me is that it fits with how I naturally eat. When I thought about cutting calories, the first thing that came to mind was cutting out mindless eating (snacks that just happen to be at my office or the like, for social reasons when not hungry). The second was that I could save lots of calories by being more careful about how much oil I used for cooking or in a vinaigrette, etc. And the third was that I just mostly don't care about many starches -- I eat rice because it's there, but am happy with none or small portions, I enjoy pasta with a smaller amount of pasta and an excellent healthy sauce with lots of veg that I fill up on, and especially I don't really care about bread and was always the person after Thanksgiving who could not understand why people would ruin the leftover turkey by making it into a boring sandwich. (I also always hated cold cereal and while I like oats okay I never want to eat huge amounts.) So I mostly don't eat bread as for me it's wasted calories -- rather than a sandwich I'll have a salad with protein on it or soup/stew or meat and veg or whatever.
Since this all fits with my preferences it works for me and makes things easier and makes me happy. For others it would probably be a terrible choice.3 -
My approach was kind of similar to lemurcat's, except in my case I found that I don't do well without starches and that I really like bread, rice, pasta, grains, beans...etc. I ended up slightly higher carb than the average dieter because of that, about 200-250 while losing, and 250-300+ while maintaining. I worked on stopping the habit of eating things just because they're there, even if I don't care for them. They're not worth the calories. I made most of my calorie cuts from added fat (mostly oil, and I used to really overdo it on olive oil) because, to me, there is this sweet spot where less is not good and more is only marginally better, so why waste calories on more? I also found myself eating certain foods less often because they're not always worth the calories. I also did some portion work. For example, I gradually went from 3 cups of rice to only 150-200 grams (around one cup?).
ETA: notice how a similar approach did not result in a similar diet, so pushing a certain macro split on everyone is not a good idea, personalizing your diet is a better idea.3 -
I have cut way down on carbs. To maintain 1200 calories and fill me up (I am a volume eater) I eat a lot of veggies. I stick to large servings of non starchy like cauliflower rice, spagetti squash, beets, green beans, mushrooms, and salad greens. Several large servings of veggies with lean protein for dinner, sometimes just veggies for lunch and eggs for breakfast with one serving of fruit for desert and I hit 1200 calories. I find my carbs in MFP average around 30-40 percent of my diet. So far this works well for me. I like the veggies, planning is easy, cooking is easy and if I want something else I plan a meal out (and pre plan my calorie intake)1
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Low carb is usually thought to be below 100-150g of carbs a day. Keto is a subset of low carb where carbs are kept below 20-50g. A carnivorous diet is one that cuts out carbs completely.
What are your thoughts on low carb?
I've been keto for about 4 years. My health has only improved since cutting back on carbs, and my appetitie is greatly reduced so my weight management became quite easy.
Is it livable? Do-able?
For many, it is very doable. I now find it preferable because I feel better eating that way. TBH, I keep cutting back on carbs because I feel better and better the more I do. I've been basically carnivore for almost a year now.
The beginning required a bit of a learning curve, but it became fairly simple within about 3 months for me. I stopped calorie counting by 4 months because I did not need to do it anymore.
Have you been able to keep your low carb diet for long term?
4 years in. I'll probably stay low carb for the rest of my life. 4 -
Exactly what I strive for, thank you.0
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I've been eating a fairly strict low carb diet for the last seven years (keto level low more often than not although I don't aim for ketosis) and I'm successfully maintaining my weight loss. I do not feel well when I increase my carbs overtime so I'm sure that's part of the reason why it's so effortlessly sustainable for me - feeling good is a powerful motivator.
Like nvmomketo I imagine I'll be eating a low carb diet for the rest of my life.0 -
Ive done low carb before with great success. I find I always fall off the wagon in the fall/winter when my Seasonal Depression kicks in and I binge on comfort foods. This past fall/winter were really hard on me because I moved across country away from my support system and basically lost control. Cutting calories is the sure fire way to lose weight, but due to my large gain recently I'm now pre diabetic so for my health I need to get my sugars and carbs back under major control before i can return to simply counting calories. I always trip up in the evening or when I'm home alone and I can graze on snacks. I always get snack attacks so I'm trying to fill myself with lots of sugar and carb free filling options.0
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I started with keto, and always felt hungry and couldnt stick to just 20 carbs. I switched to low carb, starting off saying i was doing between 50&100net carbs. And was usually always on the higher end. Now i try and stay closer to 50. On the weekends i might have a snack/up my carbs by a bit, but I find im not depriving myself as much, or stressing over food and i feel great! I feel so crappy now when i have heavy carbs or a ton of sweets. I dont miss pasta or breads. I make "keto" pancakes or muffins. And eat burgers just minus the bun. Lots of sugar free chocolates out there if thats what your craving. I plan on eating this way forever, and no cheat meals or snacks on a weekend just isnt realistic for me. So if i know were going out to eat at supper, ill try and fast for morning or just go off coffee to save my cals and carbs for supper and dessert or a few drinks whatever it may be.0
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porkchopsandapple wrote: »Ive done low carb before with great success. I find I always fall off the wagon in the fall/winter when my Seasonal Depression kicks in and I binge on comfort foods. This past fall/winter were really hard on me because I moved across country away from my support system and basically lost control. Cutting calories is the sure fire way to lose weight, but due to my large gain recently I'm now pre diabetic so for my health I need to get my sugars and carbs back under major control before i can return to simply counting calories. I always trip up in the evening or when I'm home alone and I can graze on snacks. I always get snack attacks so I'm trying to fill myself with lots of sugar and carb free filling options.
I'm a former prediabetic and I was able to normalize my glucose numbers with my weight loss (no changes to my diet/macros ratios were needed). I also struggled with nighttime snacking, so I decided to cut it out completely, over the course of a few months-started out by not eating after 10pm, then a couple weeks later I moved this back to 9:30pm, then a couple weeks later I moved it back to 9pm etc etc. I got to the point where I stopped eating at 7pm and have done this now for over 5 years. Realized that I was eating out of boredom/habit and not actual hunger. Maybe trying something similar would be helpful for you as well?0
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