Low Carb Diets

allnewskinnyme
allnewskinnyme Posts: 64 Member
edited November 9 in Food and Nutrition
Do low carb diets work? I hear stories of how people lose weight really quickly by limiting their carb intake or totally cutting them out which is making me really tempted to try a low/ no carb plan!

Has anyone done a low carb plan before? Does it work? And most importantly... does the weight stay off?

I've lost 25lbs so far, 21 to go and I guess I'm getting frustrated with the slower 1-2lb loss per week loss!

Replies

  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    I did Atkins briefly. I GAINED a ton. My BF lost about the same amount I gained!

    Currently, I'm doing a low carb, low fat, high protein diet. I can't eat anything with yeast in it or I bloat up like a balloon. I gave up all simple sugars and processed sugars. I use stevia to sweeten my coffee. The weight will only stay off if I keep away from the carbs. I haven't gotten to goal doing this, but I was able to drop quite a bit before I fell off the diet wagon, and gained all that hard work back. You have to be REALLY picky about what you eat. I need a minimum of 90g of protein. Not easy to get and maintain less than 25% fat.

    Most people who do a low carb diet gain all the weight back if they go back to eating like they were before. It has to be a life-long change if you want to keep the weight off.
  • idauria
    idauria Posts: 1,037 Member
    I do low carb but am not on an Atkins diet. I am currently not eating any grains or potatoes, except for an occasional sweet potato. I am aiming to keep my carbs under 100 grams, preferably under 50 and my protein over 100 grams. I do this with the aid of protein powder, which I use to make a shake every day for breakfast. Otherwise I stick to meats and veggies, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, peanut butter, nuts, roasted chicken or turkey breast from the deli counter. I find I do better with weight management/loss when I watch my carb intake. It's definitely a lifestyle and not just a fad for me.
  • Yogie14
    Yogie14 Posts: 14 Member
    So how did it work for you???
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    As lizard03 said... Low-carb works a lot better as a lifestyle than a diet, and it requires a lot of fine-tuning your nutrition. I'm personally very sensitive to gluten and so when I eat grains, I feel really bloated and awful.

    I would suggest thinking more long-term, because people who do a short term low-carb diet usually gain their weight back and then some. It's not something that's beneficial to you unless you really commit.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
    Listen carefully. It is nonsense that you burn like 5-10 lbs of fat in the first week of a low carb diet. It is mostly water weight.

    However low carb diets are effective for fat loss because they lead to a caloric deficit like any other diet. The big advantage to them is that they generally do not require the dieter to count or manually restrict calories, as the food choices will naturally lead to healthier eating behavior.

    Like any diet, if you go off the diet and your caloric intake dramatically increases, you will regain the weight. That doesn't include the 5-10 lbs you will probably regain just refilling your glycogen stores with water.
  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
    i done Atkins years ago, and i did get good results and was wearing a bikini, but I wasn't that big to start with, and when i stopped I gained back more than i'd ever been before. So i must have started out at about 67kg? and went down to 62kg, and then went up to probably 70kg... i wouldn't go on it again. it's so limiting. and when you break to the diet, and eat some carbs (even a sandwich) then you have to go right back to the beginning and do 2 weeks of induction mode again to reset. where as with calorie control, if you have a big weekend, you just jump straight back on the wagon on monday morning and it' all good.

    with atkins, there is no "oh it's my birthday i can have a piece of cake and a couple of drinks". that just doesn't work.

    where as with calorie contolling, you can eat normal food, you don't have to put everyone out by saying, "no i don't eat bread, potato, pasta, rice, sugar, etc. etc" it makes life difficult for others to feed you, you are pretty much stuck on meat and salad or meat and green vegies at someone elses house. oh, and it's quite expensive, because you have to eat a fair bit of meat really to get the energy, meat is a lot more expensive than fresh fruit & veg, and pasta and rice and potatoes, they are the cheapest food out there, and they are all out!
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Listen carefully. It is nonsense that you burn like 5-10 lbs of fat in the first week of a low carb diet. It is mostly water weight.

    However low carb diets are effective for fat loss because they lead to a caloric deficit like any other diet. The big advantage to them is that they generally do not require the dieter to count or manually restrict calories, as the food choices will naturally lead to healthier eating behavior.

    Like any diet, if you go off the diet and your caloric intake dramatically increases, you will regain the weight. That doesn't include the 5-10 lbs you will probably regain just refilling your glycogen stores with water.

    Thanks, this is EXACTLY it
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
    i wouldn't go on it again. it's so limiting. and when you break to the diet, and eat some carbs (even a sandwich) then you have to go right back to the beginning and do 2 weeks of induction mode again to reset. where as with calorie control, if you have a big weekend, you just jump straight back on the wagon on monday morning and it' all good.

    with atkins, there is no "oh it's my birthday i can have a piece of cake and a couple of drinks". that just doesn't work.

    where as with calorie contolling, you can eat normal food, you don't have to put everyone out by saying, "no i don't eat bread, potato, pasta, rice, sugar, etc. etc" it makes life difficult for others to feed you, you are pretty much stuck on meat and salad or meat and green vegies at someone elses house.

    I agree its inconvenient and not everyone is prepared to make the necessary sacrifices, but its bull crap that you have to go back to induction if you cheat. The whole point of induction is to adapt your body to burning more fat and less glucose. Once the adaptation takes place, you should be able to have both low-carb and high-carb days without issues. Your water weight will fluctuate enormously which is the only negative side effect.
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member

    where as with calorie contolling, you can eat normal food, you don't have to put everyone out by saying, "no i don't eat bread, potato, pasta, rice, sugar, etc. etc" it makes life difficult for others to feed you, you are pretty much stuck on meat and salad or meat and green vegies at someone elses house. oh, and it's quite expensive, because you have to eat a fair bit of meat really to get the energy, meat is a lot more expensive than fresh fruit & veg, and pasta and rice and potatoes, they are the cheapest food out there, and they are all out!

    Yeah, it can be a pain in the butt. However, for some people (not ALL people), low carb is the best diet. If you are one of those people, it's worth the hassle.

    As for expense, it's really not more expensive, in my experience. I don't eat more meat than before, and I eat a lot LESS of packaged foods that are made with flour, starch, and sugar. That's what killed my wallet before.
  • bj6886
    bj6886 Posts: 60 Member
    I followed the Atkins diet years ago and lost about 40 lbs. 20 in one month, BUT I could not maintain and gained it (plus more) slowly back over the next year or two.
  • Zarebeth
    Zarebeth Posts: 136 Member
    I have lost weight many times with low carb diets. Each time, as soon as I tried to reintroduce carbs the weight came back, plus some. Better to do a South Beach style where you limit for a short period of time to reset your cravings, then introduce good, complex carbs back into your diet, including fruit and whole grains. I lost 60 pounds doing that, and maintained it for quite some time until I quit smoking for the last time.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    Do low carb diets work? I hear stories of how people lose weight really quickly by limiting their carb intake or totally cutting them out which is making me really tempted to try a low/ no carb plan!

    Has anyone done a low carb plan before? Does it work? And most importantly... does the weight stay off?

    I've lost 25lbs so far, 21 to go and I guess I'm getting frustrated with the slower 1-2lb loss per week loss!

    My progress says yes they do work. See for yourself.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/515982-1-year-of-paleo-still-a-work-inprogress
  • allnewskinnyme
    allnewskinnyme Posts: 64 Member
    So how did it work for you???

    I think it's working. Dropped my carbs to 50-100 a day and dropped 1lb the first couple of days. My first official weigh in since is Sunday so I'll know for definite then!

    I didn't actually realise how many carbs a day I was eating until I looked back at my diary.... 150g+ a day!
  • allnewskinnyme
    allnewskinnyme Posts: 64 Member
    Do low carb diets work? I hear stories of how people lose weight really quickly by limiting their carb intake or totally cutting them out which is making me really tempted to try a low/ no carb plan!

    Has anyone done a low carb plan before? Does it work? And most importantly... does the weight stay off?

    I've lost 25lbs so far, 21 to go and I guess I'm getting frustrated with the slower 1-2lb loss per week loss!

    My progress says yes they do work. See for yourself.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/515982-1-year-of-paleo-still-a-work-inprogress

    Wow! The difference is amazing! And definitely motivating to stay low carb. I''m not thinking of extreme measures though. Just reigning in my intake and making the necessary restrictions :) Well done again on your transformation!
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