Low carb vs counting calories

Blondiebear23 · January 2020

I’ve been counting calories but wondering if I should start doing low carb to see more results.

Nony_Mouse · January 2020

Calories are what matter for weight loss, the only difference in terms of weight loss is a larger initial water (not fat) loss with low carb. Some people find it easier to stick to their deficit with low carb (because they find fat or protein more satiating), or that carbs are the easiest thing to reduce. If that's you, go for it, but it won't speed up your weight loss assuming the same calorie intake overall.

MikePTY · January 2020

The two are not mutually exclusive. You can do low carb AND calorie count if you want.

But there is no inherit weight loss benefit to low carb. Weight loss only happens in a calorie deficit, so it is only effective if going low carb helps you control your calorie intake. Over the long term, low carb and non low carb diets tend to yield the same results. Plenty of us have lost a lot of weight here eating diets with normal or high carb intake.

kmfeig87 · January 2020

No matter which method you choose to lose...you'll only be losing at .5 - 2 pounds per week. Faster than that isn't healthy or sustainable. Some methods may be easier for you to stick to, or make you feel fuller, or have fewer cravings. The method that's easier to stick to is the one that makes sense for you to follow. Good luck on your journey

Blondiebear23 · January 2020

Thanks for y’all’s help. I’m really focused on keeping my calories under control right now. I did cut out sweets too so I’m hoping my cravings stop soon.

nanachic · January 2020

I’ve just started low carb and so far it’s working. I just watched a video of a bariatric surgeon In London saying he advises his overweight patient’s to not count calories and do low carb instead.
Cut out sugar and eat healthy veg and berries.

gilko93 · January 2020

That's what I Exactly do, counting calories and eating less carb, works for me

lwilliams6486 · January 2020

Try a couple of weeks of calorie counting and then a couple of weeks low carb see what work best for you.
For me I do low carb and no calorie counting. 2 weeks in and 9lbs down.

bmeadows380 · January 2020

nanachic wrote: »

I’ve just started low carb and so far it’s working. I just watched a video of a bariatric surgeon In London saying he advises his overweight patient’s to not count calories and do low carb instead.
Cut out sugar and eat healthy veg and berries.

The thing is, you can easily over eat doing low carb, and if you look around, you'll find folks here who will tell you they have overeaten even while doing low carb. As has been said here time and time again, losing weight requires being in a calorie deficit. If fats and proteins don't satiate you well, you will still be in danger of over-eating, even if you stay within your carb limits. It is true that many things that are low carb are also low calorie, but if you eat too much of those things, you can still stall out weight loss or even gain weight even if you stay within your carb limits.

I personally will never do well with low carb because fats do not satiate me at all. For instance: 1 serving of raw almonds is 170 calories and 3 net carbs. That one serving is 30g, which doesn't even fill the palm of my hand. When I'm hungry or looking for a snack, that single serving isn't even going to make a dent in my hunger and I'll easily scarf down 4 servings without even batting an eye. 4 servings of those almonds would only be 12 carbs but it would be a whopping 680 calories, or the equivalent of an entire meal!

On the other hand, I can stop at Arby's and grab a single turkey slider with no cheese which is 160 calories and 21 carbs, and it will hold me by itself for hours.

If lowering carbs helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means, count your carbs. Just understand that if your goal is to lose weight, you still need to be in a calorie deficit. For me personally (and this is just me, not a general statement for anyone else but me), I need the freedom to eat as wide a variety of food stuffs as I can in my efforts to win the battle with my mental drive to eat; narrowing down the selection by a whole food group or "only fruits and veggies" or "no bread" only makes me crave those items more, which then starts a guilt cycle when I eventually give in. No amount of time away causes the cravings to lessen for me; in fact, they just grow worse.

counting carbs, counting calories - either way, you're still counting something!

cheryldumais · January 2020

I've done a lot of low carb diets over the years. I had the most success losing weight initially on them but always ended up gaining it back because I got sick of not having potatoes, rice and bread. I finally lost weight and kept most of it off a few years ago when I counted calories to get to goal. The reason low carb helps you lose weight initially is water loss. I also found personally that I got really bored with protein and fat so I quit eating most of the time. Nowadays I do watch my macros only because I find if my carbs get too high I find it very hard to stop eating even when I'm over my calories. So I said all that to get to the point that sometimes a lower carb diet can be helpful but if you are thinking of doing Keto just to lose quickly then go back to normal eating you will likely gain the weight back. Most of the folks on here who have been successful with Keto or lower carb eating have made a PERMANENT change. If you can't do that then I suggest staying on low cal and being patient. Good luck.

Go_Deskercise · January 2020

jeagogo · January 2020

Rather than focusing on cutting out carbs to help your weight loss I recommend focusing on what calories you DO eat. Either way a consistent calorie deficit is what makes you lose the weight, so think about how you use those calories to find which foods are going to make you feel full and energized. For example, if you focus on getting lots of protein in your diet for energy and satiety you might find that in turn you have fewer calories to spend on carbs, but don't necessarily need to intentionally remove carbs from your diet.

CSARdiver · January 2020

The short term success of low carb may seem attractive, but think of this more as water weight. It's a quick physiological reaction that becomes irrelevant as time goes on.

The human body is largely a big bag of water - certain molecules tend to hold onto water longer than others - sodium and carbohydrates being the biggest culprits, so if you go low carb for a period of time you'll hold onto less water and see a "rush" in rate of weight loss. The issue is that once you go back this water weight will return, so there isn't much point. People get the same effect from using diuretics.

Everyone wants to reach the destination as fast as possible at first, but personally I'd rather get there eating the foods I love, just in moderation and within my calorie budget.

magnusthenerd · January 2020

nanachic wrote: »

I’ve just started low carb and so far it’s working. I just watched a video of a bariatric surgeon In London saying he advises his overweight patient’s to not count calories and do low carb instead.
Cut out sugar and eat healthy veg and berries.

To be fair, a bariatric surgeon isn't really concerned about the sustainability of the weight loss they recommend for a patient pre-surgery. They also are looking in general to get a liver reducing diet, which getting rid of the spare glycogen in the liver is a pretty effective method.
Post surgery, a bariatric patient generally isn't going deal with fiber as well as someone who hasn't undergone WLS.
So, YMMV on how well bariatric recommendations apply.

bfanny · January 2020

Every time I try the very low carb approach I end up Binge eating...On carbs obviously 🙄
Not necessary IMHO

Danp · January 2020

lwilliams6486 wrote: »

Try a couple of weeks of calorie counting and then a couple of weeks low carb see what work best for you.
For me I do low carb and no calorie counting. 2 weeks in and 9lbs down.

Unfortunately, 2 weeks is too short a time frame to make any sort of judgement call on the effectiveness of an approach. Weight loss effectiveness is gauged over months rather than weeks.

It's particularly too short a time period when changing to a low carb diet as this can cause a significant drop in water weight during the first 2 or 3 weeks. It's entirely possible to put on or maintain fat weight during this period but still show a reduction on the scales due to the reduction of water weight.

The long shot is people getting very discouraged and frustrated when all of a sudden their water weight levels stabilise in week 4 and the scales stop, or start moving in the wrong direction seemingly 'for no reason'.

maureenkhilde · January 2020

nanachic wrote: »

I’ve just started low carb and so far it’s working. I just watched a video of a bariatric surgeon In London saying he advises his overweight patient’s to not count calories and do low carb instead.
Cut out sugar and eat healthy veg and berries.

This may surprise you or not. But Dr's who have patients go on low carb diets. Do not say go forth on a low carb diet and eat X amount of low carb and go wild on protein and fat grams. They normally say this is how many grams of carbs you should have per day, how many for fat, and how many for protein. And by giving patients these specific instructions, they are literally instructing them how many calories per day they should be consuming. And most Bariactric clinics make it a requiremment that patients who are intending to have bariactric surgery done. Have to follow some specific restricted eating method for so many weeks and or months prior to having the surgery. Also many, not all but many patients who are at the point of having bartiactric surgery have medical conditions. And that is why they are being pointed at specific eating methods, diets, lifestyles if you will.

I think what many people miss when they state hey I will try low carb, or keto or so many other ways of eating is they think for some reason calories play no part. Well that is so not true. If you add up the calories for the carbs, the fats and the proteins those are the calories you are alloted per day. Unless of course you decide to way over eat which of course is possible, or way under eat also possible.

I am a diabetic, I eat low carb. Yes I do, but here is the key. All the carbs, fats, and proteins must stay within my allotted calories for the day. Because to lose the weight. I need to burn more calories than I am eating. Granted I find it easier by following my low carb way of eating. But I get it, it is all about the total calories per day. And of course the excersise I do daily, and getting to eat some of those calories back.

Low carb vs counting calories

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