can you eat carbs and lose weight?

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Replies

  • cgray
    cgray Posts: 129 Member
    I have a friend who swears by the "no carb" rule of dieting. I eat anything and everything but count calories. If I want a snickers bar, I eat it but I count those calories. Thats what works for me, you might have to play around with things a bit.
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.

    No...I'm pretty sure I understood her. She said that IF I didn't get my insulin levels under control, my pancreas could stop functioning and I would become insulin dependent. I KNOW this can happen--something similar happened to my friend's son--he was fine one day, got pancreatitis, and was released from the hospital on Insulin. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I also VERY clearly remember her telling me that my insulin was *bad* and my body was making more and more in an effort to do the same job.

    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.
  • plumpncurvy
    plumpncurvy Posts: 68 Member
    The main job of a carbohydrate is to provide protein sparing energy, if you don't eat enough carbs your body will use the protein your muscles need for repair and growth for energy leading to muscle wasting. You want to get your carbs from nutrient dense sources like whole grains and fruits, and stay away from carbs from white flours as these really don't have anything your body needs. Even though you need carbs you don't want to overdo them, like anything else eating more than your body needs will not help you.

    Sigh. So much incorrect and misinformation in one paragraph.

    I guess I will have to go tell the registered dietician that teaches my nutrition classes she is wrong, maybe clinical nutrition and sports nutrition vary more than I know....sigh, either way I'm still eating my carbs :tongue:
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.
    You are witnessing natural selection in action!
  • kimad
    kimad Posts: 3,010 Member
    I eat carbs all the time... I usually stick to wraps over bread, and rice over pasta (I never eat pasta much anymore), but I will eat a granola bar, and rice cakes, etc. and not think twice. This is a lifestyle change and if you can't live with the changes you make you won't stick to it. Just my thoughts.
  • happythermia
    happythermia Posts: 374
    I do :-)
  • danahake
    danahake Posts: 64 Member
    Yes you can eat carbs and lose. but the white carbs weigh ya down. just try wheat or whole grains.. and low sugar intake..
  • MissTomGettingThin
    MissTomGettingThin Posts: 776 Member
    For a while - when I first lost the two stone - All I ate was pasta, rice and potatoes!!
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.

    No...I'm pretty sure I understood her. She said that IF I didn't get my insulin levels under control, my pancreas could stop functioning and I would become insulin dependent. I KNOW this can happen--something similar happened to my friend's son--he was fine one day, got pancreatitis, and was released from the hospital on Insulin. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I also VERY clearly remember her telling me that my insulin was *bad* and my body was making more and more in an effort to do the same job.

    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.

    Again...my friend's son was NOT diabetic, got pancreatitis, left the hospital as an insulin dependent diabetic. He STILL is an insulin dependent diabetic 3 years later.

    why don't YOU explain insulin Resistance to me since you think you know more than my DOCTOR. It sounds to me like we just aren't understanding each other...
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    Of course you can!
    Just eat to MFP goals daily and balance your meals according to what is recommended on this site.:smile:
  • marie_2454
    marie_2454 Posts: 881 Member
    I don't even pay attention to the amount of carbs I eat, I just try to eat mainly whole grains and not so much refined white carbs. I pretty much just aim for my protein and fiber goals and stay under my calorie goals. I've lost 45 pounds and I've never done low carb for more that a couple days (I tried it once, but absolutely hated it). Just find something that works for you that you can maintain, then focus on being as consistent as you can. Good luck!
  • LoFoSho100
    LoFoSho100 Posts: 66 Member
    MODERATION! And making sure the carbs you choose are good ones. I don't want to waste my carbs eating a sandwich on white bread. White bread tastes like NOTHING. And it is a simple carb (higher sugar, lower fiber)... no real benefits! I know I'm going to be hungry again an hour after I eat that sandwich, which is frustrating. You just have to do your homework and understand what carbs are fuel and which are not. I totally agree with the people saying if you want to stop eating carbs completely; you will lose weight (or most people will)... but you better be prepared to continue that way of eating or the second you add carbs back in, the weight will creep back on! I know from experience. I ate very low carbs for 4 months and lost 70 pounds. I love carbs and added back in some carbs (complex ones!) and immediately saw weight gain... even though I was working out regularly and eating within my calorie goals. :( Only you know what is best for you... which is why I recommend doing some research. :)
  • plumpncurvy
    plumpncurvy Posts: 68 Member

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.

    No...I'm pretty sure I understood her. She said that IF I didn't get my insulin levels under control, my pancreas could stop functioning and I would become insulin dependent. I KNOW this can happen--something similar happened to my friend's son--he was fine one day, got pancreatitis, and was released from the hospital on Insulin. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I also VERY clearly remember her telling me that my insulin was *bad* and my body was making more and more in an effort to do the same job.

    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.

    Again...my friend's son was NOT diabetic, got pancreatitis, left the hospital as an insulin dependent diabetic. He STILL is an insulin dependent diabetic 3 years later.

    why don't YOU explain insulin Resistance to me since you think you know more than my DOCTOR. It sounds to me like we just aren't understanding each other...
    Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) always occurs after an illness, there is no way to test for it and it comes on suddenly usually in children, thus the name. Type 1 and Type 2 are completely different diseases,type 1 is not curable or reversible unlike type 2, hope this helps a little :) I am curious to what type of metabolic disease you were diagnosed with, hopefully you are able to keep it under control and remember second opinions never hurt.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.

    No...I'm pretty sure I understood her. She said that IF I didn't get my insulin levels under control, my pancreas could stop functioning and I would become insulin dependent. I KNOW this can happen--something similar happened to my friend's son--he was fine one day, got pancreatitis, and was released from the hospital on Insulin. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I also VERY clearly remember her telling me that my insulin was *bad* and my body was making more and more in an effort to do the same job.

    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.

    Again...my friend's son was NOT diabetic, got pancreatitis, left the hospital as an insulin dependent diabetic. He STILL is an insulin dependent diabetic 3 years later.

    why don't YOU explain insulin Resistance to me since you think you know more than my DOCTOR. It sounds to me like we just aren't understanding each other...
    Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) always occurs after an illness, there is no way to test for it and it comes on suddenly usually in children, thus the name. Type 1 and Type 2 are completely different diseases,type 1 is not curable or reversible unlike type 2, hope this helps a little :) I am curious to what type of metabolic disease you were diagnosed with, hopefully you are able to keep it under control and remember second opinions never hurt.

    I was diagnosed with insulin resistance. I lost 20 pounds and got pregnant...my OB told me that a low carb diet was bad for the pregnancy, so I needed to abandon my 50g net carbs diet until the baby was born and weaned. After the baby was weaned, I was re-tested and my insulin levels were OK...the baby is now almost 7 and I have gained 70 pounds and have a super hard time losing it. I am assuming that I am insulin resistant again, so went back to that plan, and the scale is proving me right--I have lost 7 pounds in 3 months on a *normal* amount of carbs, and when I went lower carb I lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks.

    I will admit that MAYBE I mis-spoke by saying that she told me that I would end up with type 1 diabetes ( it was 7-8 years ago, so I don't remember verbatim what was said), but I was NOT wrong that she told me that my pancreas could wear out and stop making insulin--thus making me insulin dependent.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I've lost 20 pounds now and have not eliminated carbs at all. I don't eat regular pasta nearly as much as I used to, but mainly because of the calories. I just buy the High Fiber pasta, which is better for you anyway.
    I eat white rice at least twice a week, plus bread with lunch and other carbs here and there. All you need to to is create a calorie deficit (in a healthy way) and you will lose weight.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.

    No...I'm pretty sure I understood her. She said that IF I didn't get my insulin levels under control, my pancreas could stop functioning and I would become insulin dependent. I KNOW this can happen--something similar happened to my friend's son--he was fine one day, got pancreatitis, and was released from the hospital on Insulin. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I also VERY clearly remember her telling me that my insulin was *bad* and my body was making more and more in an effort to do the same job.

    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.

    Again...my friend's son was NOT diabetic, got pancreatitis, left the hospital as an insulin dependent diabetic. He STILL is an insulin dependent diabetic 3 years later.

    why don't YOU explain insulin Resistance to me since you think you know more than my DOCTOR. It sounds to me like we just aren't understanding each other...
    Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) always occurs after an illness, there is no way to test for it and it comes on suddenly usually in children, thus the name. Type 1 and Type 2 are completely different diseases,type 1 is not curable or reversible unlike type 2, hope this helps a little :) I am curious to what type of metabolic disease you were diagnosed with, hopefully you are able to keep it under control and remember second opinions never hurt.

    I was diagnosed with insulin resistance. I lost 20 pounds and got pregnant...my OB told me that a low carb diet was bad for the pregnancy, so I needed to abandon my 50g net carbs diet until the baby was born and weaned. After the baby was weaned, I was re-tested and my insulin levels were OK...the baby is now almost 7 and I have gained 70 pounds and have a super hard time losing it. I am assuming that I am insulin resistant again, so went back to that plan, and the scale is proving me right--I have lost 7 pounds in 3 months on a *normal* amount of carbs, and when I went lower carb I lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks.

    I will admit that MAYBE I mis-spoke by saying that she told me that I would end up with type 1 diabetes ( it was 7-8 years ago, so I don't remember verbatim what was said), but I was NOT wrong that she told me that my pancreas could wear out and stop making insulin--thus making me insulin dependent.

    Just so you know, your pancreas doesn't have to stop making insulin all together, in order to become insulin dependent.
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    I eat carbs. I find if I lower them too much, I get very irritable and cannot put much energy into any workouts or exercise I do. Having said that, I do not have rice, potato, pasta or bread on a daily basis with meals. I have a small bag of rice cakes every evening, but often have fish and vegetables as a meal without rice or potato. I have not had pasta in a long, long time. The last time I had it, it was spelt spaghetti. I rarely have bread too, although I do miss having the occasional sandwich. I just try and eat things in moderation, and ensure I get enough protein, vegetables and fruit each day really. I will say that I actually lost weight when I used to have baked potato every evening as my main meal, so I don't think carbs generally prevent weight loss, unless you are inhaling excessive quantities combined with a lot of sugar.

    I, personally, find things like baked potatoes and brown/wild rice, very filling when combined with vegetables and protein, whereas if I eat 2 fillets of salmon and a pile of veggies, that fullness does not seem to last as long. So a balanced approach works best for me.

  • some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.

    No...I'm pretty sure I understood her. She said that IF I didn't get my insulin levels under control, my pancreas could stop functioning and I would become insulin dependent. I KNOW this can happen--something similar happened to my friend's son--he was fine one day, got pancreatitis, and was released from the hospital on Insulin. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I also VERY clearly remember her telling me that my insulin was *bad* and my body was making more and more in an effort to do the same job.

    Again. WOW. I would strongly suggest you research type I & type 2 diabetes. Also would suggest you research causes of pancreatitis before spouting off.

    Again...my friend's son was NOT diabetic, got pancreatitis, left the hospital as an insulin dependent diabetic. He STILL is an insulin dependent diabetic 3 years later.

    why don't YOU explain insulin Resistance to me since you think you know more than my DOCTOR. It sounds to me like we just aren't understanding each other...
    Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) always occurs after an illness, there is no way to test for it and it comes on suddenly usually in children, thus the name. Type 1 and Type 2 are completely different diseases,type 1 is not curable or reversible unlike type 2, hope this helps a little :) I am curious to what type of metabolic disease you were diagnosed with, hopefully you are able to keep it under control and remember second opinions never hurt.

    I was diagnosed with insulin resistance. I lost 20 pounds and got pregnant...my OB told me that a low carb diet was bad for the pregnancy, so I needed to abandon my 50g net carbs diet until the baby was born and weaned. After the baby was weaned, I was re-tested and my insulin levels were OK...the baby is now almost 7 and I have gained 70 pounds and have a super hard time losing it. I am assuming that I am insulin resistant again, so went back to that plan, and the scale is proving me right--I have lost 7 pounds in 3 months on a *normal* amount of carbs, and when I went lower carb I lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks.

    I will admit that MAYBE I mis-spoke by saying that she told me that I would end up with type 1 diabetes ( it was 7-8 years ago, so I don't remember verbatim what was said), but I was NOT wrong that she told me that my pancreas could wear out and stop making insulin--thus making me insulin dependent.

    Just so you know, your pancreas doesn't have to stop making insulin all together, in order to become insulin dependent.

    Type I diabetes is the body not producing insulin which is why these people need insulin injections on a regular basis
    Type II diabetes is insulin resistance with a possible consequence of burning out your pancreas as well leading to being insulin dependent.

    The difference between type I and II is that type1 is generally not insulin resistant meaning that as long as patients get their regular doses of insulin through injection then they will have their diabetes under control.

    Type II diabetes IS due to insulin resistance meaning that the person does secrete insulin; however, the body does not respond well to the circulating insulin in the blood. This leads to more insulin being secreted by the pancreas which eventually leads to the pancreas "burning" out. This type of diabetes is usually preventable and the common cause is usually obesity. Many of these patients also take medications such as metformin which makes the body more sensitive to insulin.

    TL;DR: Type 1 diabetes is insulin dependent without insulin resistance; Type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance that could lead to pancreas burning out making them insulin dependent as well
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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