Low Carb Diet

G

goshorty

Member
I sorry if this message post twice but when I tried the first time it didn't go through so I was just wondering has anyone tried a low carb diet I am considering doing the Atkins plan but wanted to know if any real people have lost weight this way if you have lost weight or even have an opinion on this subject I would greatly appreciate hearing from you thanks. Shorty:)
 
Hi Shorty,
Well, I don't know much on the topic but I have always seen it as an unhealthy way of eating.I don't think cutting out a food group is gonna make life more enjoyable,regardless of how much weight you lose.I did recently buy the south beach diet book,forgetting that it was a low carb diet.This book was a little bit different then the Aktins though b/c you eat lean meat instead of fried ck and stuff like that.
With that said,different strokes for differnt folks:) What I may not like to hear,may be heaven for others.I know that if I told my husband that he would never have to eat a potatoe or a piece of bread ever again....he would love it.He is not a carb eater and maybe that is why he is so slim.He can go days without anything sweet to eat.But I love bread and cookies, or anything with sugar for that matter.So,if your one not to eat much of this stuff anyway,or if you love meat, then maybe you could do it and live like it.I just see it as a not so natural way to live.
My sister in law is doing wonderful on the diet.She has lost 25 lbs and she says that she has loads of energy.But when you really think about it,is she really losing weight b/c she cut out carbs, or is it b/c she doesn't eat sweets anymore and potatoe chips late at night?Either one of those could contribute to weight loss.No doubt her portion sizes have become smaller to.
My advice to you is read the book.Decide if you can spend the rest of your life eating protein.Or another good book is the Body For Life book.Alot of people have had success with this diet.You have to eat a serving of carbs,protein and veggies at every meal,6 meals a day and then 1 day a week is your cheat day when you can eat WHATEVER you want.
Good luck on whatever you decide to do:7
Lori
 
Personally, I think low-carb diets are unhealthy in the long run, and many are excessive in protein. You can lose weight on them, but it is often because of the low calorie count, and/or because you are losing water weight.

What I DO agree with them on, and what I think works, is eliminating (or reducing greatly) refined carbs (white bread, cereals made from white flour, sugars, white pasta, etc.). As a general guideline, I try to make sure that any naturally-high-carb food (crackers, baked goods, etc.) contains at least 2 grams of naturally-occuring fiber per serving. This really cuts out a lot of the less healthy white carbs.
 
If you would like to lose weight on a low carb plan AND keep muscle which you tend to lose on strictly low carb, check out the CKD (Cyclical Ketogenic Diet) - "Google" it - there's lots of info on line. I've been doing it for about six months now and have lost fat, gained muscle and can happily say that at age 48 I now can see, if not a six pac, at least a four pac in my abdominal area - with a little help from our friend Ms. Cathe ;^)
Plus, I feel better than I have in years energy and health wise - too many carbs were wrecking my digestive system and giving me blood sugar swings...no more bloating and energy highs followed by energy(way)lows!

Good luck!

Robin
 
Hi Shorty,
I stopped eating white flour, white sugar and simple carbs and I lost 90 lbs. It worked for me:) Plus, Ms. Cathe kicking my butt every day didn't hurt;)
Dawn
 
HI goshorty,
My brother and sis-n-law, have both lost weight on the atkins diet. They seem to like it. ..... Rhonda :7
 
Hello, I started this at the beginning of the year, and I have not lost any weight. I will say that I have lost inches and toned considerably, but I attribute that to Cathe. It is difficult for me to say if the eating has been any part of my changes. I have never been tremendously overweight, just didn't like how I looked, and have steadily gained a pound or two each year. I would say I am about 15 pounds over what I would like to weigh. I believe I have gained muscle weight which accounts for any fat loss on the scale...hence the scale not moving down in numbers:)

I do like how I feel eating less carbs. I have more energy, and am not hungry all the time. Someone said something about bloating, and I would second that. I have backed off a bit on the strict way of eating Atkins calls for initially. My doctor said I was fine, but needed to keep grains in there. I love really good wheat bread, or that sort of thing, so it is nice to incorporate this. Like others have posted, I really try to stay away from white flour and rice. Not that I won't occasionally have a treat here and there, but waffles for breakfast-quesa dillas for lunch and pasta for dinner are out.
 
I personally am from the KISS school of eating. As in "keep it simple". I never really understood all of the fad diets that are out there because in the end I believe it's all the same. Eat less than you are burning off and you will lose weight. I do try to keep the ratios something like 60-20-20 or maybe 50-30-20 or something like that but I don't obsess about it.
The Atkins plan sounds like eating alot of greasy junk to me and I think you lose weight because the TOTAL calories are reduced, but all that fat is not good for you. I believe it's popular because hell, everyone wants someone to tell them that they can eat as much grease as they want. I mean, it tastes good! lol! And it just plays to what people want to hear. Anyone who exercises I would think would require carbs for energy and I cannot picture being able to do my workouts on this type of diet. I can picture plaque building in my arteries on this diet though.
More often than not I think eating in moderation and busting butt in the gym should work for most people.
Just my opinion.
 
Hi Shorty,

I know people who have lost weight with the low-carb diet, so I don't doubt it's effectiveness in terms of weight loss. However, I do think it's difficult for a lot of people to maintain. You really are cutting out a lot of foods to keep a diet so low in carbs, and if you are going to maintain weight loss, this needs to be a permanent life change, not temporary until you lose your desired amount of weight. I've seen my friend lose weight and gain it right back just as soon as she decided to "ease up" on the "diet."

I believe that if you want to lose weight permanently you need to find a healthy diet that you can maintain on a permanent basis without feeling like you are depraving yourself. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do the low-carb thing but I don't think it's for everyone.

Personally, (no rotten tomatoes please, just my observations) I think this diet is for people who want to lose weight fast. And that's what it does from what I've seen. I'm one who believes in the calorie-in calorie-out theory. I agree with Trevor's statement above about reducing calories. Take in fewer calories than you burn and you WILL lose weight. Don't obsess. I've had great result in changing a lot of those simple carbs into complex ones. I switched to whole wheat bread and pasta and eat high fiber cereals (Kashi has a great selection).

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Liz
 
you know what I think you just helped me makeup my mind I think Iam gonna give a try thanks so much I needed to read that sooner!
 
I've never been much for any fad diets, and have pretty much maintained my weight all my life through eating what I want in moderation, backing off and being more careful when I put on a few extra pounds, and staying with the exercise routine. That said, the past few years, I noticed a change in my metabolism, which has made me realize that I need to tweak the diet a bit more. I tried several different approaches, and the one that seemed to have the best effect was the Zone (I read and tried "A Week in the Zone.") It's different from Atkins, which I would never do because I don't think eating all those fats sound healthy for the long term. This is the first eating plan that makes sense to me because it talks about the fact that many people are sensitive to insulin, which causes the body to store fat, and that if you eat carbs in the form of fruits and vegetables (he lists the recommended types of carbs and the less favorable ones), plus combine a palm-size low-fat protein and a small amount of monounsaturated fat at each meal, your body will not have insulin spikes, and you will burn fat rather than store it. He gives a more scientific explanation. I tried this and did lose some bodyfat. The only problem was that he recommends eating very little bread and other grains, and after a while, I felt hungry most of the time, grouchy and not as energetic for my intense cardio. So, I went back to eating the bread and pasta, and lo and behold, the few pounds came back, although I feel less hungry, less grouchy and more energetic. So, I think my conclusion is that I will eat sensibly, keep the sugars and fats down, and keep doing my exercise routine (Cathe being my favorite).
 
Hi Dawn,
Would you mind going into further detail about what you "did" eat?
Could you give an example of what you ate in a day back then? Thanks.
Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,
How flattering that you ask:)

I was such a mess! I had two kids in 18 months, ate McDonalds every day for lunch, drank about 10 regular cokes per day, and ate pasta at most other meals.

Every woman in my family has died at the age of 52 from complications of diabetes, and at my 6 week baby check my doctor told me my moderate diabetes wasn't getting any better. I was sick of poking my fingers and feeling lousy all the time. I went to Target and bought a Denise Austin tape, and cut out white sugar, white flour, white rice, and potatoes from my diet. My body does not handle simple carbs well, and I get insulin spikes when I eat them. I started eating protein, which I hardly ever ate before, and complex carbs.

With the exercise and balanced eating, the weight just came off. I do eat sweet potatoes, Kashi(thanks to Nancy!), ezekial bread, and a lot of vegetables. I think for me, balance has been the key. I try to get enough protein, avoid trans fats like the plague, and keep the carbs complex. I am very careful with my eating, but I need to be because of my family history and blood sugar disorder. I've been doing Cathe for about 3 years now, and I am in the best shape of my life at 38.

I worry about a high fat diet, or a fad diet. I wouldn't eat 5 lbs. of bacon a day! I think balance, knowing what is best for your body and exercise is the way to go.

Dawn
 
the best deal is to avoid simple carbs. eat plenty of lean meat, low fat dairy,tons fruits and veggies, and COMPLEX carbs..legumes, whole grains etc. many vitamins/ minerals missed out on super low carb diets; also missing alot of fiber. i agree to avoid "white" . ask your MD or a RD...i doubt they would endorse strict low carb diets. carbs are your bodies energy source. people feel terrible when they eat simple carbs because of the wide swings in blood sugars. there are many ways to achieve safe/healthy weightloss!
 
Hi Shorty,

IMHO ... go for it. I struggled for months without the scale moving ... eating clean doing 30/40/40 and averaging about 1200 - 1400 calories a day. I was exercising regularly with cardio and weights and was getting very frustrated.x(

About 3 weeks ago I went to the book store and bought the Atkins book. While I was there I spoke to a lady who had lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks on the plan and had nothing but good to say about it.

Needless to say ... I read the book and was convinced by all the facts posed. I am happy to say in those three weeks I have dropped 8 lbs and am eating on average 1500 calories / day. Some days I have even consumed as much as 1700. I am totally convinced Atkins works!:) It is unbelievable how much better I feel. More energy, no bloating, even my skin is in better condition and I'm never hungry.

If you look at the diets of a lot of the fitness competitors their diets are quite similar.

You really need to read the book to understand completely. So many people mention eating bacon ... when in fact Atkins advises to actually limit your intake of bacon and ham due to the nitrates.

Anyway ... I had to speak up in defense and I wish you much success!
 
Just wanted to put my two cents in...I lost 25 pounds since starting on a new eating plan. I started out following the Suzanne Somers' diet, which is pretty much a low carb diet. What I like about her plan is that you don't really give up any food groups; you still eat carbs, but they are complex carbs. But after following her plan religiously for over a year, I have adapted it to suit my needs (a liitle more leniant eating plan) now that I have lost most of the weight I wanted to lose. I eat a lot of fruit and veggies, meat, fish, nuts. I stay away from white flour, white rice, sugar (which is the worst thing you can eat) and starchy veggies such as potatoes. I eat whole wheat pasta when I want a lot of carbs, but for the most part, my emphasis is a high protein diet with loads of veggies. Also I work out 5 times a week doing Cathe's cardio/weight training workouts and I've noticed my muscles are more defined. Years ago when I was doing other workouts and eating lots of simple carbs, I never looked toned at all, so it's working for me. Good Luck!

Nadia:7
 
This seems like it's going to be really hard to stick to how do you do it. Could you possible give me a sample of what you eat in one day because I can't really think of alot foods that are low in carbs to eat all day I'm still a little undecided if I'm going to go through with this I want to but I really need to map out a eating plan before I do if you know what I mean thanks again.shorty:)
 
Let's start with breakfast. Most mornings I'll have a bowl (cereal bowl size) of mixed fruit; whatever is available...pineapple, grapes, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, etc. Don't put any sugar on it. Some mornings I scramble 2 eggs and have couple slices of cheese with it. At lunch I usually eat leftovers from the night before; mostly protein and veggies (ex. grilled chicken breast or fish or pork chop, brussel sprouts, green beans, peas or whatever leftovers you have). I don't eat any bread or starch with any meal. When I don't have leftovers for lunch, I'll make a onion/mushroom frittata (omelet) if I had fruit for breakfast, or I'll make sort of a "nicoise salad" using good quality canned tuna packed in oil, boiled egg, some salad greens, chopped tomatoes; mix it all up, season with salt and pepper, and you're good to go. Then for dinner I usually make the following: stir fry using chicken breast, lots of cut vegetables (carrots, snow peas, broccoli, onions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc. which I quickly stir fry in some olive oil and soy sauce only, and I don't eat rice with it. Or I'll make grilled or sauteed chicken breast with veggies (sauteed mushrooms, beets, cauliflower, etc.). Some nights I'll make pasta but whole wheat only and check the labels; most pastas say they are whole wheat but are not. It should say 100% whole durum wheat in the ingredients. And again, I load up on veggies in the pasta or eat them on the side. I usually find that I don't even need a snack in between meals, but I do cheat...hey I'm only human. I like to eat dark chocolate because that has the least amount of sugar. I hope this gives you an idea of what you can eat without loading up on simple carbs and sugar. If you want more info about the diet plan I started out with (the Suzanne Somers plan) go to suzannesomers.com; it's too complex to explain it all here because it's all about combining the right foods together and avoiding some combinations, etc. but if you follow the plan, which took a little getting used to at the beginning, you'll lose weight. But if you don't want to go that far, if you stick to protein rich foods, veggies and fruit, you'll see results too. And of course, work out because the calories in/calories out theory unfortunately is the best way to lose the pounds.:-(
 
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