To Low Carb or Not to Low Carb

Well ketosis isn't that important as you should know reading that book. I think 150-200g is considered low-carb.

Then everyone I'm friends with on MFP is low carb haha. 200g of carbs is pretty high, in my opinion. This debate could go on forever - I just know what works for me, I'm happy with the body composition changes I've made in the last 6 months; what everyone else does and whatever dietary ideology they choose to subscribe to is ultimately up them.

To each their own

I read alot of comments but only a couple people threw out some numbers...how many grams of carbs is a low carb diet and how many is high carb diet? Are we all actually taking about the same thing? As you can tell I'm new to this, but I would also like to know what carbs everyone is giving up if your on a low to no carb diet? No veggies? I guess I'm getting very confused.

Everyone is going to be different, but you can purchase urine test strips (fun I know) to see if you are in ketosis. Most people find this is induced at under 30 net carbs per day, but some have to go lower than that. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber.

DO NOT GIVE UP VEGETABLES THOUGH!

Well ketosis isn't that important as you should know reading that book. I think 150-200g is considered low-carb.

How can you say that Ketosis is not important??? Ketosis can very well cause death!!

I guess I Should be dead then.

So, my question is, are you/wopuld you follow the low-carb diet and why or why not?

Me? No. Never. As a normal healthy individual, there is no reason to introduce such a handicap and discomfort into my life.

I have used MFP's calorie tracking a few times for informational purposes and find that to be quite a handicap and discomfort in my life. The thought of even eating out in a restaurant is daunting to me when trying to account for calorie intake.

Ok. This again?

I find Harley Davidsons to be crappy quality, too loud, and dislike that they emphasize looks over performance. So do I go on Harley websites and talk about how I dislike them? No. That would be just as weird as going to a calorie counting website to talk about just how much I dislike calorie counting.

So why go on a low-carb thread to talk about how you dislike them. Hypocritical much? This is NOT a "calorie counting" website it is a fitness/health/nutrition website. Seriously, get over yourself.

OP asked "So, my question is, are you/wopuld you follow the low-carb diet and why or why not?". I answered the question.

If you distill MFP down to the bare essence, it is a calorie counting website. Everything here is predicated on that.

I carb cycle, but then again, I'm not training for a triathalon.

On the days I am not carbing, carbs make up about 10% of my calories, which is about 35g active carbs a day. The days I do a carb load, carbs make up about 40% of my calories. Whether I'm having a low carb or higher carb day, I DO NOT eat sugar, white flour or starches. All my carbs sources I keep low GI as much as possible.

I would recommend in the least stick with lower GI carb sources, staying away from white four and starches and avoiding sugar unless its naturally occurring. You can do this whether or not you do low carb, and since you're training for a triathalon, this might be a good option for you since it minimizes blood sugar spikes and will keep your energy levels for steady, plus greatly aiding in weight loss. Your exact ratio of carbs to protein and fat though, that's up to you and what works best for you.

i would like to find out info on carb cycling... does anyone know where i can look into it - diet plans to follow// read any info on it?

How can you say that Ketosis is not important??? Ketosis can very well cause death!!

God, this thread keeps pulling me back in!

You are confusing Ketosis with Ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is when your body produces TOO MUCH ketogenic acid and there are too many ketone bodies present in your blood.

This is a concern with folks who are diabetic or alcoholics (liver compromised).

I do recommend taking Milk Thistle if considering a Ketogenic diet.

I read alot of comments but only a couple people threw out some numbers...how many grams of carbs is a low carb diet and how many is high carb diet? Are we all actually taking about the same thing? As you can tell I'm new to this, but I would also like to know what carbs everyone is giving up if your on a low to no carb diet? No veggies? I guess I'm getting very confused.

Everyone is going to be different, but you can purchase urine test strips (fun I know) to see if you are in ketosis. Most people find this is induced at under 30 net carbs per day, but some have to go lower than that. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber.

DO NOT GIVE UP VEGETABLES THOUGH!

Well ketosis isn't that important as you should know reading that book. I think 150-200g is considered low-carb.

How can you say that Ketosis is not important??? Ketosis can very well cause death!!

I guess I Should be dead then.

Give it time..... Ketosis is a back up system, it's not a primary system.... go do your research. Like I've told you before... We NEED carbs. People seem to think we need more than what is actually needed to provide our bodies with energy.

I read alot of comments but only a couple people threw out some numbers...how many grams of carbs is a low carb diet and how many is high carb diet? Are we all actually taking about the same thing? As you can tell I'm new to this, but I would also like to know what carbs everyone is giving up if your on a low to no carb diet? No veggies? I guess I'm getting very confused.

Everyone is going to be different, but you can purchase urine test strips (fun I know) to see if you are in ketosis. Most people find this is induced at under 30 net carbs per day, but some have to go lower than that. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber.

DO NOT GIVE UP VEGETABLES THOUGH!

Well ketosis isn't that important as you should know reading that book. I think 150-200g is considered low-carb.

How can you say that Ketosis is not important??? Ketosis can very well cause death!!

I guess I Should be dead then.

Give it time..... Ketosis is a back up system, it's not a primary system.... go do your research. Like I've told you before... We NEED carbs. People seem to think we need more than what is actually needed to provide our bodies with energy.

That's some bold claims you are making. I challenge you to provide me some evidence that:

1) ketosis can lead to death
2) We NEED carbs

I found it helped me to halve my usual carb intake at the start - a small spoonful of rice, one potato instead of 2, one slice of bread instead of a sandwich etc.

I've experimented a bit, and found I do well on 100g carbs per day. I don't stress out if it's not bang on,but my stomach complains when I have a lot of processed white carbs (a fruit scone at a work meeting, say)

I know I would find it very very difficult to do something like 30g carbs a day, and I'm not tempted by the ketosis/ Atkins approach.

And I wouldn't go round demanding that everyone else does the same as me - it IS one that depends on the individual body.

If it works for you...do it...If it doesn`t..Then don`t...Simple.

So, my question is, are you/wopuld you follow the low-carb diet and why or why not?

Me? No. Never. As a normal healthy individual, there is no reason to introduce such a handicap and discomfort into my life.

I have used MFP's calorie tracking a few times for informational purposes and find that to be quite a handicap and discomfort in my life. The thought of even eating out in a restaurant is daunting to me when trying to account for calorie intake.

Ok. This again?

I find Harley Davidsons to be crappy quality, too loud, and dislike that they emphasize looks over performance. So do I go on Harley websites and talk about how I dislike them? No. That would be just as weird as going to a calorie counting website to talk about just how much I dislike calorie counting.

So why go on a low-carb thread to talk about how you dislike them. Hypocritical much? This is NOT a "calorie counting" website it is a fitness/health/nutrition website. Seriously, get over yourself.

OP asked "So, my question is, are you/wopuld you follow the low-carb diet and why or why not?". I answered the question.

If you distill MFP down to the bare essence, it is a calorie counting website. Everything here is predicated on that.

I guess I can expect not to see you giving your opinion on any other low-carb threads that are not asking such a question.

And I don't know what business it is of yours why I use this site anyways. 90% of my posts here have nothing to do with my opinion about calorie counting. I participate in other discussions as well that are unrelated to dieting at all.

I give my opinion in any low carb thread that I see in which the OP is misguided, (typically by people like you), into thinking that "low carb" is a general strategy for the general population to follow.

Similarly for the "which cardio is best for weight loss" threads.

Similarly for the "which protein powder will help me lose weight" threads

etc, etc, etc,

People have really mixed up ideas about weight loss and fitness, and you're really not helping matters. That's why I engage you in the forums. I should probably put you on ignore, but I just like arguing.

Just my .02. I did Atkins years back before there were all the new low carb foods available. I did lose a lot. It was nice. But it left me completely cranky and moody. I did not like restricting my diet so much because quite frankly, I like carbs. I gained all the weight back as well, and then some.
Realistically I couldn't stick to a low carb diet. Not with three kids, and our family likes some of the carbs. Pasta being one of them, and bread another biggie.
I have never looked back into low carb since then, and like I said, they have so many new foods available now, that maybe it would be a whole lot easier now. Who knows....but I just know it isn't for me.

I think low carb diet covers quite a wide horizon.
The lowest extreme probably atkins introduction phase, where carb intake almost zero with only some veggies in limited quantities are allowed and nothing much else.
However LC goes upto to a maintenance primal lifestyle level , where all veggies, all fruits and dairy also allowed and restricting carb into 150g / day for maintance and 100g for weight loss.
I follow this lifestyle in the last 2months and I have never felt better. Practically the only thing I cut out are the grains, legumes , potato and all added sugar.
I started here almost 10months ago and the first 8 months I just followed a restricted calorie diet, with increased protein intake. I lost around 25lb , but it was frustrating and I kept having plateaus . Also my lower belly poach was not really shrinking.
Since I cut out the grains , I have more energy,finally do not have insomnia, and feel great. My weight loss slightly faster , while I eat slightly more calories as before. The real positive is no plateau since and the weight seems to come off from my most problematic area: my lower belly poach and my thigh.
Not to mention I find it much easier to stick to it. I simply do not have sweet cravings any more. I do not have binges, and I do not drool of I see other people eat icecream and what not.

I cut wheat and went low carb in general and lost 7lbs in first week and 18lb that month, it slowed down as my body got used to it. I was convinced wheat was my problem rather than all carbs so I started re-introducing carbs by allowing a potato once a week or small portion of rice or rice noodles with veg stir fry.. then allowed gluten free bread for toast once a week or corn torilla but rest of time sticking to fruit, veg meat & fish.

I wasn't regaining all my weight so was convinced it was the wheat element so re-introduced non-wheat based breakfast cereals and still I've lost each month since last June.

I think I will stick to this I've found substitutes for my favourites (finding a gluten free choc brownie was essential!). I'm mostly housebound and town is some distance from me so really expensive for me to get there by special taxi with powered chair, so I rarely go out unless family are coming to pick me up for family birthday meals etc. I will probably just treat those as spike days and stay really low carb around those days, it doesn't take long for water from the occasional high carb meal to come back off.

I pay attention to my carbs but I don't count them. I try to keep myself to one type of simple starch per day. By simple starch I mean bread, pasta and rice; I don't count oatmeal because it's filling and kick starts my metabolism in the morning.

I find that when I measure these items and keep them at one per day (or less) I typically will lose weight. I call them my no-no foods because when I eat them unrestricted I gain weight like crazy. I find that I don't really miss or crave these items enough to make it worth the extra weight gain. Honestly, on my cheat days I am usually more concerned with eating massive quantities of meat like steaks and fried chicken.

I think trying to restrict yourself form eating a food you plan to continue eating at some point in the future is a bad idea. It's better to learn to eat it in moderation.

So, my question is, are you/wopuld you follow the low-carb diet and why or why not?

Me? No. Never. As a normal healthy individual, there is no reason to introduce such a handicap and discomfort into my life.

I have used MFP's calorie tracking a few times for informational purposes and find that to be quite a handicap and discomfort in my life. The thought of even eating out in a restaurant is daunting to me when trying to account for calorie intake.

Ok. This again?

I find Harley Davidsons to be crappy quality, too loud, and dislike that they emphasize looks over performance. So do I go on Harley websites and talk about how I dislike them? No. That would be just as weird as going to a calorie counting website to talk about just how much I dislike calorie counting.

So why go on a low-carb thread to talk about how you dislike them. Hypocritical much? This is NOT a "calorie counting" website it is a fitness/health/nutrition website. Seriously, get over yourself.

OP asked "So, my question is, are you/wopuld you follow the low-carb diet and why or why not?". I answered the question.

If you distill MFP down to the bare essence, it is a calorie counting website. Everything here is predicated on that.

I guess I can expect not to see you giving your opinion on any other low-carb threads that are not asking such a question.

And I don't know what business it is of yours why I use this site anyways. 90% of my posts here have nothing to do with my opinion about calorie counting. I participate in other discussions as well that are unrelated to dieting at all.

I give my opinion in any low carb thread that I see in which the OP is misguided, (typically by people like you), into thinking that "low carb" is a general strategy for the general population to follow.

Similarly for the "which cardio is best for weight loss" threads.

Similarly for the "which protein powder will help me lose weight" threads

etc, etc, etc,

People have really mixed up ideas about weight loss and fitness, and you're really not helping matters. That's why I engage you in the forums. I should probably put you on ignore, but I just like arguing.

Maybe I think your approach to health is misguided. And you've engaged me like 3 times in the past 3 months. I usually ignore what you have to say because I think most of your posts to others are condescending.

I agree that I'm often sarcastic and condescending. But misguided? What have I said or done that's misguided?

Hint: I've been here for a long time and there are several examples if you dig back far enough. But I'd like to see you go ahead call me out on something misguided.