Low carbing for short term weightloss

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miainwonderland
miainwonderland Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, everybody says low carbing is a bad idea short term, because once you start eating "normally" again, ie start eating carbs again, you will gain all the weight lost very quickly.
But, my question is- what if you stay under 20 grams of carbs or so for, let's say, 2 weeks, and after that just begin a healthy diet (with lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains etc.) ? And of course, you'll be eating 1 200 calories on this healthy diet.
Would you still gain the weight you lost while keeping a low carb diet? Or is doing low carb for a short term a good way to start your healthy lifestyle?
Thank you

Replies

  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    that would be okay. the people that gain their weight back are ones that didn't learn proper eating habits and went back to eating junk food all day - not a proper lower-cal balanced diet.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    So, everybody says low carbing is a bad idea short term, because once you start eating "normally" again, ie start eating carbs again, you will gain all the weight lost very quickly.
    Same can be said of any diet. Go back to overeating and the weight comes back.

    You're on the right track with looking for a transition plan, if you look at the atkins.com web site under "Program" you'll see it has 4 phases for precisely this reason. Even the induction phase at 20g of net carbs requires you to eat a pound a day of vegetables.

    I reject your hypothesis that a "healthy" diet has lots of fruit and grains.
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
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    Hey!

    I have a an issue with carbs and sugars, this only came out once I went to see a Nutritionist!

    Having 20g per day is going to cause you to feel extremely tired! You have to remember that fruit and veg contain carbs, as do dairy so you'll really have to think about what you eat and drink if you were to go ahead with this way of eating. My advice to you would be to adjust your macro splits on MFP to ideally 40%C, 30%P and 30%F.

    To give you an insight, mine are set to this....I eat 1900 cals a day and I try to have carbs with two meals a day as I work out 4-6 classes a week. I also have Sat as a treat day and I try not to have stimulants, soft drinks or refined sugars other than on my treat day! The daily coffee is a work in progress lol

    Good luck on your journey flower, I hope it goes well for you whatever you decide to do moving forward!
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
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    that would be okay. the people that gain their weight back are ones that didn't learn proper eating habits and went back to eating junk food all day - not a proper lower-cal balanced diet.

    ACTUALLY. When you go from low carb to regular/high carb diets (doens't matter what the carbs are) you will RETAIN excess water and gain a few pounds back that you lost when reducing them in the first place. It doesn't matter if they are clean or anything, more carbs means more water held. I went from low carb-ish/sodium diet to a maintenance diet with the same protein/fat amounts and saw a 5-7lb weight gain. Some of it from extra sodium, the rest was a carb increase. It happens overnight... its not fat. It takes a while to adjust back again....
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    Having 20g per day is going to cause you to feel extremely tired!


    false. once you are in ketosis, you have amazing amounts of energy.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    that would be okay. the people that gain their weight back are ones that didn't learn proper eating habits and went back to eating junk food all day - not a proper lower-cal balanced diet.

    ACTUALLY. When you go from low carb to regular/high carb diets (doens't matter what the carbs are) you will RETAIN excess water and gain a few pounds back that you lost when reducing them in the first place. It doesn't matter if they are clean or anything, more carbs means more water held. I went from low carb-ish/sodium diet to a maintenance diet with the same protein/fat amounts and saw a 5-7lb weight gain. Some of it from extra sodium, the rest was a carb increase. It happens overnight... its not fat. It takes a while to adjust back again....

    no. it is perfectly easy to slowly reintroduce carbs to your diet (as a part of maintenance) once you lose the weight. i did it successfully for years.
  • AmIhealthyyet
    AmIhealthyyet Posts: 361 Member
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    Lots of great points on here! As a low carb eater and one who maintained a great weight for years, I find this the only way to eat! When i started eating carbs i packed on ten pounds per year. Of course i ate too many bad ones but eating more then 50-60 per day caused major craving for more! Lots of misinformation on it! Basically our bodies use the sugar we eat (carbs) as fuel. When we stop giving it carbs/sugar we use our fat for energy. The sluggish feeling usually occurs about two days after cutting way back (under 20) but you soon will have MORE energy as your body starts using fat for energy. May not be for everyone but I am a total believer in a low carb/Paleo lifestyle!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    you will RETAIN excess water and gain a few pounds back that you lost when reducing them in the first place.
    True, carbohydrates cause water retention and you will gain a few pounds, but clearly not all the weight as some screwballs would have it. I you lose 50 lbs you might gain 10% back in water retention if you started eating lots of carbs.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I do that for the week before vacation, for example, because I like to go into a vacation weighing a little less than I normally do. However, don't be misled, it is ALL water weight. It is pretty impossible to lose any real fat in 2 weeks. But hey, if it makes you feel better and will help you get on track, I'm all for it.
  • kotcherr
    kotcherr Posts: 34
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    I am now 21 years old/5'8''/137lb and trying to lose about 10. I have eaten low-carb for much of the past four years under misled advice that this was a good way to live healthily and lose weight. My experience with the low-carb mentality was extremely destructive. Not only did my weight stay the same, but I also gained some really unhealthy nutrition beliefs that I am now struggling to break. Thankfully I came to the realization about a week ago that something needed to change. I'm now watching calories but including all food groups in my diet and feeling 100% better mentally/physically/etc.

    I don't mean to discourage short-term low-carbing because I do think that it helps to rid certain people of their addictions to sugars and starches, which can be big contributors to weight gain if left unmonitored. Even so, as someone who has struggled with a fear of carbs, I strongly caution against long-term low-carbing. It can be very destructive - especially to your mental state - and if you don't watch calories your weight will soon plateau.

    Anyway, best of luck reaching your goals!
  • leebaser
    leebaser Posts: 38
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    Anything can be destructive to your mental state. Sorry you fixated on carbs, but there is nothing about a low carb diet that leads to fixation -- no more so than on any diet that says "eat this, not that" -- which is pretty much all diets.

    The trouble with ANY diet is the notion when you go back to weight gaining ways of eating...you gain weight. No diet causes the weight gain, it's the eating of too much food that causes the gain.

    You should be thinking...how did I eat that led to me weighing 10 lbs more than I should. How can I change my eating.

    Any sort of "I need a quick fix to lose weight" is going to lead one right back to being over weight as one's NORMAL diet is a weight gaining diet. So, change your eating habits, whether it's low carb, or low fat, or whatever. Eat better, healthier foods.

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