Calories Counting or Low Carb?

cwolfman13 · May 2019

Joie_de_vivre17 wrote: »

It’s all about input vs output. You simply have to eat a surplus of calories to gain weight and a deficit to lose weight.

From my experience though, the most success I have is when I also prioritize my calories within that intentional deficit to be low carb. I find that a high carb diet leaves me hungry all the time, craving High calorie foods with sugar and I end up sabotagging my own success by succumbing to the hunger pains and high calorie sugar cravings. If you eat restricted calories and simultaneously keep your carbs low, you won’t feel AS hungry and your cravings will be reduced.

Carbs aren't just sugary stuff. Things like oats, lentils, beans, potatoes, etc are what keep me from feeling hungry...all carbohydrates and none of them are sugary but rather high fiber starches and not particularly high in calories.

jmachiejr wrote: »

I don't know why people think a low carb diet isn't sustainable. I've been in ketosis for 3 months and it's actually quite easy. I've lost around 60 lbs so far eating this way and I'm never hungry. In fact, many times my wife will remind me to eat something to make sure I get enough calories for the day. I don't count calories or log my food because I don't have to. I just watch the scale to make sure I'm still losing and not gaining.

What I will warn you about though is if you are a sugarholic like I am, you shouldn't just jump in to a low carb or keto type diet. I failed many times in the past for that reason. Just start cutting things out over a few months time. It will give your body the time it needs to adjust to eating less sugar. Once I did that it was easy to move to a low carb way of eating. I no longer crave those delicious starburst jelly beans I love so much

Sustainable would be highly subjective. There's no way I could sustain a low carb diet, especially not a keto diet. Most people I know in real life have failed miserably with keto because they're essentially giving up an entire macro and for a lot of people, that's way too restrictive.

I could never do it as things like oats, lentils, beans, potatoes, and other starchy fiber rich carbohydrates are what keep me from feeling hungry...and while I do eat meat, my diet consists of a *kitten* ton of plants. I personally couldn't imagine just eating a bunch of fat everyday and a little protein.

TrishSeren · May 2019

jmachiejr wrote: »

I don't know why people think a low carb diet isn't sustainable. I've been in ketosis for 3 months and it's actually quite easy. I've lost around 60 lbs so far eating this way and I'm never hungry. In fact, many times my wife will remind me to eat something to make sure I get enough calories for the day. I don't count calories or log my food because I don't have to. I just watch the scale to make sure I'm still losing and not gaining.

What I will warn you about though is if you are a sugarholic like I am, you shouldn't just jump in to a low carb or keto type diet. I failed many times in the past for that reason. Just start cutting things out over a few months time. It will give your body the time it needs to adjust to eating less sugar. Once I did that it was easy to move to a low carb way of eating. I no longer crave those delicious starburst jelly beans I love so much

Low carb for me would be like a living hell. Great that works for you, but not everyone wants to eat that way.

Also, sad that you feel you can't ever have starburst jelly beans ever again.

liz0269 · May 2019

jmachiejr wrote: »

I don't know why people think a low carb diet isn't sustainable. I've been in ketosis for 3 months and it's actually quite easy.

For me, it isn't about thinking it's sustainable. I tried it and I have tried eating high carb low fat. When I switched to high carb low fat, my depression went into remission after almost 40 years of struggle including one hospitalization. My insomnia went away. My menopause issues went away. My cholesterol dropped from 210-220 down to 132. My fasting glucose and A1C went from prediabetic to well within the healthy range. My CRP (which is regularly monitored due to an autoimmune disease) dropped significantly. My blood pressure dropped from 110/70 (already health) to 90/60.

Somebody else may have the same results eating low carb. I'm not hear to preach HCLF for everyone. I simply found the macros that my body clearly prefers. In the current diet culture, keto is in and carbs are considered poison. It's just not true.

missysippy930 · May 2019

Calorie deficit is how you lose weight no matter which diet you follow.

zeejane4 · May 2019

TrishSeren wrote: »

jmachiejr wrote: »

I don't know why people think a low carb diet isn't sustainable. I've been in ketosis for 3 months and it's actually quite easy. I've lost around 60 lbs so far eating this way and I'm never hungry. In fact, many times my wife will remind me to eat something to make sure I get enough calories for the day. I don't count calories or log my food because I don't have to. I just watch the scale to make sure I'm still losing and not gaining.

What I will warn you about though is if you are a sugarholic like I am, you shouldn't just jump in to a low carb or keto type diet. I failed many times in the past for that reason. Just start cutting things out over a few months time. It will give your body the time it needs to adjust to eating less sugar. Once I did that it was easy to move to a low carb way of eating. I no longer crave those delicious starburst jelly beans I love so much

Low carb for me would be like a living hell. Great that works for you, but not everyone wants to eat that way.

Also, sad that you feel you can't ever have starburst jelly beans ever again.

This is how I thought too and I was always quick to jump into threads and be pretty critical about low carbing. I was definitely a HCLF kind of gal

That all changed though, after I decided to try a lower carb way of eating recently. I was frustrated with where my weight was at, (I'm in maintenance but was dealing with some creep that I couldn't shake), and decided to try something completely new for me.

Come to find out eating lower carb has been a really good fit for me. I've lost the creep plus some, have had significant appetite reduction, I no longer think about food all the time and I no longer have that vague hunger feeling all day. It also took care of the bloating/gassiness I was experiencing with a higher carb woe. I'm actually losing too much weight now so I'm working on tweaking things a bit to get my weight stabilized. The whole thing has been a humbling exeprience and I've had to really adjust my views on some things.

Maybe you've actually tried low carb in the past and know from experience that it's not a good fit for you. But if you haven't, then you may be surprised at your experience with it if you ever gave it a go.

kshama2001 · May 2019

jmachiejr wrote: »

I don't know why people think a low carb diet isn't sustainable. I've been in ketosis for 3 months and it's actually quite easy. [snip]

I know vegans who feel the same way about their WOE

Would vegan be easy for you?

lalalacroix · May 2019

jmachiejr wrote: »

I don't know why people think a low carb diet isn't sustainable. I've been in ketosis for 3 months and it's actually quite easy. I've lost around 60 lbs so far eating this way and I'm never hungry. In fact, many times my wife will remind me to eat something to make sure I get enough calories for the day. I don't count calories or log my food because I don't have to. I just watch the scale to make sure I'm still losing and not gaining.

I stated that eating a keto diet isn't always sustainable meaning that it isn't sustainable for everyone, not that it isn't sustainable for anyone.

I did lose weight on a keto diet. I lost a good bit the first 2 weeks, which was water weight then I lost weight due to the caloric restriction of being on a diet. During this time I could not stop thinking of the carby foods. I'm not talking about brownies but about potatoes and bread. The restriction was awful for me. Finally I gave in and ate the carbs.

I then regained the water weight I had lost and then regained the weight I had lost. The keto diet was not sustainable for me and I've heard many others say it wasn't sustainable for them either. So, it isn't always sustainable.

And again, weight loss happens when a person ingests less calories than they burn. A person can get there thru calorie counting or thru many other diets. The one that works best is the one you can stick to long-term.

clayelliott847 · May 2019

I do low carb. But I am also diabetic. So, foods look pasta, rice, bread, and soda do not digest as easily. I would also note that bodybuilders before a competition limit their carbs. But that's hard to maintain on a long term basis. So honestly if you are looking for the abs, I would cut out the pasta, rice and of course soda.

Calories Counting or Low Carb?

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