Cutting carbs

rjams
rjams Posts: 48
edited December 21 in Food and Nutrition
I read some where that cutting carbs only causes you to lose water weight and not fat. Does anyone know if this is true?
I've already lost 13 lbs lowering my carb intake and this info frightens me.
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Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    no, that is not true. There is an initial water loss as carbs lead to water retention and there is always some water loss associated with fat / weight loss but you will lose fat.
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
    bump
  • gregpack
    gregpack Posts: 426 Member
    I think it is a bogus claim. Any caloric deficit forces your body to burn through it's glycogen stores,and there is an associated water loss with that process. But it will level off.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
    You have to find what works for you. If cutting carbs results in weight loss for you, then there's your answer. Cutting carbs worked for me.
  • KBGirts
    KBGirts Posts: 882 Member
    I seriously doubt you've lost 13lbs of water weight. Enjoy your fat loss.
  • Katzm2
    Katzm2 Posts: 7 Member
    I seriously doubt you've lost 13lbs of water weight. Enjoy your fat loss.


    This
  • richardsangel
    richardsangel Posts: 8 Member
    I am currently following something similar to the Atkins Diet, which is cutting carbs. I have lost almost 8 pounds in one week. I did quite a bit of research and no, you are not just losing water. A low carb diet forces your body to start burning off fat. I decided to throw in some stationary bike exercising too. Check out their website and you should find tons of answers on low carb dieting.
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    No, it's not true. If you cut carbs you'll lose a little faster in the beginning (the water) then you'll keep losing as long as you have a deficit. I'm a "slow carb" eater myself.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!

    lol! You should have said yeah, and all this time I was just holding it.
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!

    lol! You should have said yeah, and all this time I was just holding it.

    Haha! =D

    After laughing at him, I asked him if he seriously thought I lost 75 pounds of WATER?!? He didn't have anything else to say after that =)
  • crimsontech
    crimsontech Posts: 234 Member
    Your body has a storage of glycogen, and 3 times as much in water. That storage weighs about 3-4 pounds. When you go on a low-carb diet, that storage is depleted and (obviously) the weight goes with it. If (and when) you go back on a diet that includes carbs, you will gain back those 3-4 pounds when the glycogen storage is rebuilt. The rest of your weight loss actually IS fat, and so long as you don't overeat again, that fat will stay gone.

    I personally did a low-carb diet for a few weeks and lost 20-25 pounds in a short time. When I decided to go back on carbs, I gained a little of it back, but only for a few days. Because I kept my calorie deficit going and was exercising, I kept that weight off.

    I'm probably going to go back on low carb because I'm stuck in a 2 month plateau and it worked so well last time. I'm just going to modify the way I did it before because I had a lot of problems with hypoglycemia.

    Great job on losing all that weight, and don't worry - it is SOME water weight, but mostly it's fat, which is exactly what you want!
  • soulynyc
    soulynyc Posts: 302 Member
    i wonder how far you have to cut down on the carbs to see the fat loss? a friend of mine insist i must cut it down to 20% and not to eat fruits except very few. im at 75 grams of carbs daily (give or take) on 1500 calorie intake
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    i wonder how far you have to cut down on the carbs to see the fat loss? a friend of mine insist i must cut it down to 20% and not to eat fruits except very few. im at 75 grams of carbs daily (give or take) on 1500 calorie intake
    You look to have 50% of calories from protein, which is very high. The excess will lead to production of some glucose from the protein, see for example http://lowcarb4u.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/how-can-eating-excess-protein-raise.html , and hence you aren't as low carb as you think :-)

    75g on 1500 cals is 20% and is around or above the point where you become ketogenic so with the protein effect as well I would say you're well outside the zone. You should see a fat loss at a deficit but won't be getting the full ketogenic benefit.
  • thriftycupl
    thriftycupl Posts: 310 Member
    I started on a low carb diet, The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. I lost most of my weight very quickly and then hit a 2 month plateau. The problem for me is I love carbs and I know that this is a lifestyle I can't live for the rest of my life. I'm now trying to find some balance.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    Ive done cutting carbs,no carbs after breakfast and basically no carbs (excluding veg, etc), just eating protein, veg, salads, etc. I found it was ok for a while, but now I cant get by without them. I eat oats for breakfast, a pitta, ricecakes or cous cous or something with lunch, and a small amount of brown rice sometimes in the evenings. I havent gained. Im finding doing it balanced is better for me. I try not to eat a lot of breads, etc, as it flares my IBS.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
    macro-nutrient ratio has zero effect on fat loss, minus maybe a 90 calorie advantage of eating high protein. However cutting carbs will often make it easier to eat less calories, which is what makes the fat loss take place. But cutting carbs is associated with a very large loss of water weight initially.
  • rjams
    rjams Posts: 48
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    That's a lot of water. ;)

    When I was down 75 pounds a guy at my old work tried to tell me it was all water weight. I laughed so hard! Too funny!!!!

    Lol that is funny!
  • summaryzn
    summaryzn Posts: 113 Member
    OMG u nailed it. since re-joining MFP i have been in carb overload. I love them but they dont love me vack. ive been at it for almost 90 days and my weight is barely moving. Also doing Eating more to lose weight but think I need to eat more of my calories from protein.. the fat part is what worrie sme. Ive done low carb in the past and lost weight without ANY exercise. It was atkins to be exact so there was a TON of fat but no refined carbs.. Scared to go back that route bc fat is HIGH in calories, but know Im definitely consuming WAAAY too many carbs now.
  • waj_b
    waj_b Posts: 45 Member
    hi,

    going on a low carb diet will not produce long term results... yes you will loose weight quicker but it will also come back quicker.
    the most simple and advised way to loose weight would be to determine the amount of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. minus 15-20% max of your maintenance calories and you should loose anywhere between 1-2lbs a week. All you need to do is be in a calorie deficit. and remember if you decide to eat a burger or kebab.. you have to minus the calories of your daily amount. so eat cleaner so you can eat more :)
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,903 Member
    I haven't been convinced by any research that suggests that while in a caloric deficit, low carb is better at burning fat in the long term.

    I tried low carb for a few months. I personally didn't like it, but I recognize that other people do. I was, however, a little amused by the atkins book I was reading where it sort of casually mentioned several chapters in that "Oh, yeah. You still need to eat in a caloric deficit, though." I'm paraphrasing, but I literally lol'd.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    There is no advantage as compared to simply cutting calories.
  • zela
    zela Posts: 92 Member
    There is no advantage as compared to simply cutting calories.

    Are we talking the same amount of calories?

    For me eating 2000 calories with low carbs is alot more satisfying than 2000 calories with high carbs. Try eating 20 ounces of pure chicken breast and few cups of brocolli for a total of ~500 calories. I struggle to stuff a meal like that down in an hour. Eating a 2000 cal high carb high fat pizza on the other hand I can consume in a matter of 15 minutes and feel like I have room for a tub or two of ice cream.

    The moral of my story, I believe that when cutting weight (or calories) it is alot more satisfying to keep yourself feeling full by filling your calories with less carbs and more protein or even fats. It is important though to know that you will lose a few lbs of water weight if you stay on low carb for a few days. So the statement of "you are bound to gain back more weight when you get off low carb" is true, but it isn't true that you will gain body weight, rather just that water that you didn't hold on to.
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
    I'm on a low carb lifestyle and my ticker says it all.

    98 pounds gone in 10 months! =)

    This - and that's awesome! Great job!

    Carbs suck. It's a fact. Higher protein and lower carbs works, without a doubt. Basically, if you completely get rid of bread, pasta, and rice, and get your carbs from veggies and fruits, you'll be fine, and you'll drop fat.
  • pattyproulx
    pattyproulx Posts: 603 Member
    Thought this study from a couple weeks back was relevant:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20120626/all-calories-not-created-equal-study-suggests

    "The testing confirms that they burned about 300 calories more a day when following the very-low-carb eating plan compared to the low-fat plan, and about 150 calories more on the low-glycemic index diet compared to the low-fat plan"

    That's an extra 2.5lbs per month of extra calories burned from eating low-carb over low-fat.
    There is no advantage as compared to simply cutting calories.

    Are we talking the same amount of calories?

    For me eating 2000 calories with low carbs is alot more satisfying than 2000 calories with high carbs. Try eating 20 ounces of pure chicken breast and few cups of brocolli for a total of ~500 calories. I struggle to stuff a meal like that down in an hour. Eating a 2000 cal high carb high fat pizza on the other hand I can consume in a matter of 15 minutes and feel like I have room for a tub or two of ice cream.

    The moral of my story, I believe that when cutting weight (or calories) it is alot more satisfying to keep yourself feeling full by filling your calories with less carbs and more protein or even fats. It is important though to know that you will lose a few lbs of water weight if you stay on low carb for a few days. So the statement of "you are bound to gain back more weight when you get off low carb" is true, but it isn't true that you will gain body weight, rather just that water that you didn't hold on to.
    +20
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    There is no advantage as compared to simply cutting calories.

    Are we talking the same amount of calories?

    For me eating 2000 calories with low carbs is alot more satisfying than 2000 calories with high carbs. Try eating 20 ounces of pure chicken breast and few cups of brocolli for a total of ~500 calories. I struggle to stuff a meal like that down in an hour. Eating a 2000 cal high carb high fat pizza on the other hand I can consume in a matter of 15 minutes and feel like I have room for a tub or two of ice cream.

    The moral of my story, I believe that when cutting weight (or calories) it is alot more satisfying to keep yourself feeling full by filling your calories with less carbs and more protein or even fats. It is important though to know that you will lose a few lbs of water weight if you stay on low carb for a few days. So the statement of "you are bound to gain back more weight when you get off low carb" is true, but it isn't true that you will gain body weight, rather just that water that you didn't hold on to.

    So you prefer lower carbs and this keeps you better satiated. That is great, and it's important for everyone to devise a system that keeps them satisfied. Personally, I eat plenty of carbs and overall I'm still satiated, and this is sustainable for me. I wouldn't lose weight faster or better by lowering carbs.
  • waj_b
    waj_b Posts: 45 Member
    im
  • waj_b
    waj_b Posts: 45 Member
    hi,

    going on a low carb diet will not produce long term results... yes you will loose weight quicker but it will also come back quicker.
    the most simple and advised way to loose weight would be to determine the amount of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. minus 15-20% max of your maintenance calories and you should loose anywhere between 1-2lbs a week. All you need to do is be in a calorie deficit. and remember if you decide to eat a burger or kebab.. you have to minus the calories of your daily amount. so eat cleaner so you can eat more :)

    So you're on a reduce calorie diet? What would happen if you went off your reduced calorie diet?


    im just maintaining at the moment as i have a catwalk on friday. but the simple logic that is for 90-95% of people (other 5-10% of people being with amazing genetics i think i may be one of them :P) is that you need to be in a calorie deficit to loose weight and in a calorie surplus to gain muscle/weight.
    you wont have the same bad affects as your only decreasing you calories by 10-20% (should be no more than 20%) .. theres no huge difference.. you aint suffering or feeling overly hungry or depleted. if you came off the diet.. depending on your calories.. you would either maintain or put on weight at the normal rate.
    remember fat loss isnt a quick fix.. if you have really quick results as with very low to 0 carbs they wont last long. just reduce your calories to up2 20%.. your choice.. and you will shed weight over time no matter what. do not eat even fewer calories that fitness pal has calculated for you, and if you want to eat more.. exercise or be active.. every calorie you burn you can eat more in that day and it wont matter.
    also you dont have to eat 100% healthy.. just know that if you eat a big fat juicy burger.. thats alot of calories to waste for the day.. you next few meals are going to be smaller.
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