Have you had Low-Carb success?

I have PCOS and insulin resistance, so am on a low carb diet per my Endo. I am losing weight, slower than I'd like, but I'm also not perfect on my carb levels, although I'm trying! I tried calorie restricting and lost NO weight, actually gained, until I started Metformin (for PCOS). On Metformin, I lost some, but metformin plus low carb has been better and left me feeling more satisfied.

I have SO MUCH ENERGY. The first week was awful, yes, but the thing to me that tells me I'm eating the correct way for me is how energized I feel after meals now. I would go out to eat a carb-rich meal, and feel bloated, lethargic and irritated afterwards. Now, when I eat my steak, grilled asparagus and salad, I come home and am ENERGIZED. One date night when we came home I asked my husband if I could take a quick run around the neighbourhood before we watched the movie, because that's how good I felt!

For me, it's a way of life, and I do believe it's sustainable, and probably one of the easiest lifestyles if you eat out a lot. The only time I can't eat if I'm out somewhere is if it's someone's house and they have lasagna or a pasta heavy dish, but usually there's salad and I have string cheese and almonds at all times if I'm still hungry.

Ive done low carb dieting and done really well on the weight loss end of it. Weight loss came fairly quickly for me on it. However, the minute you add carbs back, it seems like your body just wants to hold on to them and you can gain weight back pretty quick. If you choose low carb temporarily just to lose weight, you need to make sure you SLOWLY add carbs back into your diet.

Yes, you can see how much I've lost in my ticker below, that's since June 2011. The main benefit however has been emotional; I feel better in myself than I have in years and years. Can't say for certain what the cause of that is- low sugar, low processed foods, more fat, a combination of those things- I just don't know. All I know is that the weight fell off me and I feel great (I'm still obese, by the way, I certainly don't put my happiness down to being a "normal" "healthy" BMI, I'm nowhere near that yet). I'm not diagnosed diabetic, PCOS, hypothyroid or insulin resistant, by the way.

Of course you'll gain the weight back if you stop managing your food intake. It's the same for low calorie diets and I can point to plenty of low-cal dieters who've done just that. I realise I will have to moderate my carb intake for life, and I'm quite happy to do so as I feel so much better without them- for me that IS "eating sensibly". How is it any worse/different than people who continue to weigh food and measure calorie intake for every meal for the rest of their lives? Does anyone really think that after dieting you just go back to how you ate before and the fat will magically stay gone?

i certainly don't ascribe to lowcarb dieting, however i think many of us eat too many carbs and i try to reduce my carb intake but not avoid.So i try to have only one of my main meals per day with carbs in it. So if i know i'm having pasta for dinner, then lunch will be salad based (brekkie is normally a banana for me) and vice versa

I've had good success using a Low-Carb / Carb-Cycling method, lost about 27lbs all in. Overall I've had more success (body comp improvement and weight lifting progress) eating a more balanced diet with clean carbs.

Thanks! Do you mind giving me an idea of what clean carbs you eat? I definitely want to know what carbs would be smartest to integrate into my diet if I have a craving or need an energy boost.

Here's what my guy has me eating:
- Oats
- Brown rice
- Red potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Berries (prefer Straw and Blue)
- Broccoli
- "Big *kitten* Salads" - Lettuce, lots of veggies with a Balsamic Vinegar
- Ezekiel bread (not frequently though)

Hi. I love the low carb diet I am on. (Atkin's) I have been on it for a week, and after the first four days, I lost seven pounds. Then I started eating those atkins bars and snacks and although they are supposed to be ok on the atkin's diet, they have sugar alcohols in them which others have said will stall weight loss. Sugar alcohol is present in artificial sweeteners like Truvia, stevia etc. So I went to the atkins site and read an article called "How to do the atkin's diet the right way" and it told me that the carbs I need (20 g per day) should come mostly from vegetables. 12 to 15 carbs per day should come from veggies. So, I cut out anything with aritificial sweeteners in it and started to eat more veggies and I am starting to lose again, rapidly. You just have to study the foods you can eat on the atkin's site and really stick with it. It works. Good luck!

Hi. I love the low carb diet I am on. (Atkin's) I have been on it for a week, and after the first four days, I lost seven pounds. Then I started eating those atkins bars and snacks and although they are supposed to be ok on the atkin's diet, they have sugar alcohols in them which others have said will stall weight loss. Sugar alcohol is present in artificial sweeteners like Truvia, stevia etc. So I went to the atkins site and read an article called "How to do the atkin's diet the right way" and it told me that the carbs I need (20 g per day) should come mostly from vegetables. 12 to 15 carbs per day should come from veggies. So, I cut out anything with aritificial sweeteners in it and started to eat more veggies and I am starting to lose again, rapidly. You just have to study the foods you can eat on the atkin's site and really stick with it. It works. Good luck!

Yeah be careful with those low-carb bars. A carb is a carb and you should count it. My progress really seemed to stall when I tried those things.

yes, I am a pasta/bread lover and that was always my downfall. Once the cravings stopped, I no longer want it.

Please read the book "Wheat Belly" --- it's eye opening!!!

Depends on what you mean by "Low-Carb" diet. My spouse lost roughly 40 lbs on the Atkins diet, and promptly gained it all back when he went off the diet.

Another friend, a hero of mine, was always a large teddy bear and he lost a lot of weight on Atkins. So much so, that he was in an advertisement for the Atkins diet. He gained it all back when he gave up the low-carb lifestyle. He has lost it again, and KEPT IT OFF, by eating sensibly and hitting the gym regularly. He looks great!

I am not a fan of any kind of "diet" but I think eating wisely can make a huge difference. I had another friend who was very, very skinny and she said she avoided anything "white"--- white bread, white flour, white sugar. I've been avoiding the white stuff too, but I won't cut it out of my diet entirely. To everything there is a season...

see thats the problem with atkins people see it as an easy way to loose weight quickly when its really a whole life plan, what did they think would happen if they stopped following the final step ? well ive lost x pounds on atkins so i can go back to the diet that caused the problem in the first place. kinda crazy logic haha

Not everyone one the Atkin's diet thinks this way. Yes, there are those who want a quick fix and when they get it, they gain the weight back by going off the diet. But on the atkin's site, you can see a bunch of success stories from people who have made atkin's a lifestyle change and kept the weight off. You really can never go back to eating as many carbs as before. You can slowly have a few here and there once you reach your goal, but you can't go back to eating everything in site, whether it's the Atkin's diet or any diet for that matter.

I have PCOS as well. Several years ago, my doctor suggested I follow the South Beach Diet plan, so I did. I followed it by the book and lost 30lbs in 30 months. Of course, I can't say if the weight loss was 100% due to the diet. I was also taking Metformin which probably aided in the loss.

Almost immediately following my weight loss, I became pregnant. I ended up moving to another state and my new doctor told me I shouldn't restrict my carbs. I didn't go crazy with them but I did have regular cravings for egg, ham and cheese sandwiches. Any way, I ended up gaining 90lbs. I lost 30 almost immediately (partly because I had a lot of extra amniotic fluid).

As much as I know the SBD would help me lose weight the fastest, I know it's not something I could maintain indefinitely. I've cut back my carbs a lot since joining MFP. I've only lost 10lbs so far, but it's 10lbs more then I've been able to lose in the past 3 years.

I do not go over my carb allowance, but I try not to be too far under either. Sometimes I only use half as I am more concerned about having enough fiber & protein. I don't do anything that I can't continue doing long term. Diets usually help only as long as you continue them. Lifestyle changes are longterm and more achievable.

I always used to think a calorie was a calorie and as I'd successfully lost weight without low-carbing that it was all nonsense.

However 6 months ago I was persuaded to try low-carb for 30 days staring pretty low (20gs or so a day, then increasing after each set of 10 days). Day 1 was fine, on day 2 I felt awful, tired and lethagic and by day 3 I was having the strongest sugar cravings ever!!! However I was determined to give it a go and after 7/8 days I suddenly had more energy and my appetite was under control.

Now I've noticed that carbs that don't satiate my appetite in the same way a protein heavy meal would. If I go out for friends for lunch and have pizza then I feel letharic in the afternoon and hungry in an hour. Lots of carbs just seem to fuel my appetite which probably explains why before I started my weight loss plan I found it easy to go out for pizza for lunch and by mid afternoon I'd be craving a muffin or biscuits because I was hungry again. So now I try to avoid carbs at lunch if I don't want to have the munchies all afternoon!

I lost 8 lbs in two weeks following south beach. But I love my carbs. So I've decided to still watch out not to eat too many, but quit the rigidness of it. I can't say whiter I've gained anything back yet - I only decided this yesterday...
My hubby didn't follow it 100%, put on weight and developed a real bad temper. Added carbs back in, like normal, and went back to his usual self.
The brain apparently needs glucose for self control...

I went low carb/wheat free end of last august and lost 18lb in the next 2 months after it only losing 3 lbs a month since June when I started seriously trying to lose weight and calorie count.

I have hypothyroidism and read that often people with this have problems with processing wheat (also nuts and I already had a nut allergy) so I cut bread, pasta, also rice and potatoes for first month (yes I know they don't contain wheat!) and all breakfast cereals/grains. I had one treat meal a week where I allowed a mini yorkshire pudding with sunday dinner and a couple of roasties.

By xmas I was allowing two treat meals a week and still losing and allowing gluten free bread 1-2 times a week. I have still occasionally have treat meal like spag bol or shepherds pie with lot of potato or allow white rice instead of cauliflower whizzed up in place of rice.

I also do have other breakfast cereals now but non-wheat based, for me I think too much wheat was the issue rather than all processed carbs. so I'll stay mainly wheat free now, but potatoes and rice will be coming back into my diet a couple of times a week.

I think exercise is important too, I've managed to build up the amount and types of exercise I can do so a few treat meals a week can be easily worked off