High protein/low carbs - anyone do this?

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Replies

  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    It's not that the carbs are bad, it's just that when you start eating better foods, they tend to be of the protein variety and without realizing, you're doing low carb. with this being said

    EGGS
    NUTS
    MILK
    YOGURT
    CHEESE
    NUT BUTTERS
    SOY PRODUCTS
    BEANS
    VEGGIES (BIT CARBY TOO)
    LEAN MEATS

    - nothing extreme about including those things in your diet, I eat these things and bread as well, drink plenty water.
  • jodee_donavan
    jodee_donavan Posts: 51 Member
    Yep- works like a charm- and to be honest- once you "detox" yourself from them they will lose their control over you and wont taste as enticing! CRAZY- how this has changed my "Need" for them. and when I say detox- the first 3or so days you may feel like you are going through it- getting it out of your body- but then you will feel so much better!!!!

    on your MFP daily info- just make sure you get no more than 30 net carbs- which is your total carbs minus fiber. also try to keep your sugar carbs to around 10- too much sugar will spike your insuline and make you hungry.
  • susanofscottsdale
    susanofscottsdale Posts: 114
    Yes, absolutely, I have tried this, and have found that it's the only way I can lose weight.

    I don't adhere to any extremes either, but when I do choose to eat this way, I drastically cut back on all bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and avoid all junk foods (chocolate, chips, cakes, cookies, etc). I focus on the "good" carbs, and I eat lots of veggies, some fruit, as well as 1 or 2 servings of plain yogurt per day. Then I consciously make decisions on what other carbs I choose to eat, and try to limit to no more than 1 serving per day. For example, if I have oatmeal for breakfast, then I won't have any rice with dinner (just meat and veggies), or if I am planning to have a small baked potato with my dinner, then I won't eat other carbs at breadfast or lunch - I'll have eggs and fruit at breakfast, and a salad with chicken or tuna at lunch, and yogurt for snack. I have gotten ideas from all sorts of diet books (Zone, Atkins, Dukan, 17-Day, South Beach, etc), but do not follow any one particular plan. I guess I just live my life.

    Good luck, and let me know what you decide to do, and how it works out for you...

    Ditto - I can lose if I keep my carbs=protein and calories low. I do not lose any other way ... and I have tried and tried. Lean meat & veggies. Very limited, carefully selected grains and fruits.
  • Dietexpert
    Dietexpert Posts: 34
    I'm low carbing at the moment and it is recommended for bariatric surgery patients like myself. Protein will fill you up more and take longer to digest but as someone else said you have to be careful not to put strain on your kidneys. I get quite bad withdrawals when I first start but after a few days you do feel a renewed energy. It's the carbs in refined products such as white bread, pasta, rice, etc. that you need to take in moderation. We are told to eat the protein off our plate first and then the vegetables and starchy stuff last. Sugars and saturated fats speak for themselves.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    It works for some but doesn't work for others. You have to find what works for you because who knows how your specific body will react. I personally can NOT do too low carb and lose weight. I currently have MFP set to 40%C, 30%P, and 30%F and this has been working quite well. But... that is what works for ME due to my medical history.

    I would, personally, not suggest dropping your carbs very low to start. Drop it a bit and see how it goes. It can take an adjustment.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    It depends why you're doing it. If you have a metabolic problem, like diabetes, then cutting carbs and raising protein can be helpful. Otherwise, you might drop a bit of water weight from reducing carbs, but you won't lose fat any faster, and as soon as you add the carbs back in, the water weight will come back.

    So, again, it depends on your reasoning to do it. It won't help you lose fat any faster than any other form of calorie deficit, barring a medical problem.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Ok, well I'm going to get shouted over by all the omg you need less than 100g of carbs. Lol, just read several studies, around 200g of healthy carbs ( almost entirely veggie and some fruit) is shown to be very effective for weight loss.
    Problem is, 200 grams for whom? 200 grams of carbs x 4 calories per gram = 800 calories. For someone on a 1400 calorie diet, that only leaves 600 calories for protein and fat. It's even more out of whack for someone eating 1200 calories. General statements like that always irritate me because people spread them around like they are gospel when the simple fact is everyone is different. Even just reading this thread, you can see that different things work well for different people.

    And while I'm getting peeves off my chest, there's no such thing as a NO carb diet unless you're eating only meat and fat which is dangerous and impossible to follow for any length of time. All vegetables and fruits have carbs. Therefore diet plans, like Atkins, are not no carb diets since you eat lots of veggies while following it. Even the major carb restrictions of Atkins that people always point at are only for two weeks and only to get you weaned off of the white, processed carbs and jump start weight loss.

    I'm another who really needs to limit carbs to lose weight. Eating 1250 calories, plus my exercise calories, I need to limit carbs to around 100 grams per day to lose weight. Since I've lost the weight I needed to, and am now in maintenance, I still eat like that one or two days per week to counterbalance the days I eat more carbs. 100 grams still allows me plenty of veggies, some fruit, and even a small serving of bread or a treat. It's simply a matter of making small changes to what and how you eat.
  • Cindym82
    Cindym82 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Increasing protein is extremely hard on your kidneys and liver. If you want to lose weight, increase your fiber. By fiber, I'm not talking about eating more cereal, I'm talking about eating TONS of veggies and fruit. Eat huge volumes of veggies. If you saw how huge my salad is at night, you'd think it was a freaking miracle that I could eat so much! But veggies have hardly any calories at all. Your body wants to feel full, so stuff it full of veggies. It takes more calories to burn them and the weight will come off of you much quicker. You still have to eat protein, but I actually eat a fairly low protein diet, with a huge fiber content. Good luck. I've lost 66 pounds doing this, I feel qualified to give this advice... ;-) The reason my ticker says 4 pounds lost, is because now I"m trying to get down to a racing weight. I'm a triathlete.

    If you are working out you should be consuming around 1g of protein per pound of weight you would like to be, so if you would like to weigh 120lbs you should consume about 120g of protein. Your liver and kidneys will not have a problem with this. Before stating medical stuff please have a reference. Or unless you're a doctor
  • Wrigleymom
    Wrigleymom Posts: 28
    I am working on this now (I have actually lost 47 lbs, but only started MFP during the last 3). I have lowered my carbs and upped my fiber and sticking with lean meats.

    Wishing you the best

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  • TriedEverything
    TriedEverything Posts: 188 Member
    Wow, thanks for all the replies! It's a lot to take in, and I will need to read through all the posts again in more detail. But it seems that eating this way has worked for a lot of you.

    I also take on board what has been said about the importance of fruit & veg, and about "good" carbs (I wasn't planning to cut out carbs completely).

    I think I'll try to make some adjustments to my diet on the basis of what you have all said (I may not start this till after the weekend - well, we are going to be socialising with friends tomorrow, so that wouldn't be a good day to start! :ohwell:)

    Anyway, thanks again for taking the trouble to answer me - you are a helpful bunch of people, & I really appreciate it :flowerforyou:
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