Low Carb Diet

[CyberNerd952]

Hi all, have been lurking for a while, but this is my first post.

I tried a low carb diet at the beginning of the year, and while I achieved pretty good results after sticking to it for about two months, the weight and more came back as soon as I started to introduce more carbs back into my diet.

I have now opted to go down the route of cutting out heavily processed foods from my diet, and have taken up running to help get my body into shape for next season. I have around two stone to lose and although the results of running and eating a bit more healthily are slower than those achieved on a low carb diet, I feel much better than when I did whilst low carbing.

I would say forget low carb. Run!

[saevel25]

Quote:

The low carb diet will get you know where. Honestly it seems to make sense at first glance..I've seen the studies the reported results etc., however truth be told you will last about 2-3 weeks, maybe even a month or 2.  I will tell you this, you will get VERY hungry, irritable and eventually binge on carbs,

that is totally false, given you might have an issue with energy in the first three weeks. But if your not willing to give even that effort then you will never make a change. Studies have shown, that it takes at least 21 days to form a habit. IT will take at least 3 weeks for your body to start changing away from being insulin resistant, to being able to process fats and proteins like it was meant to be. But you can take it slowly, i was already half off my normal carb intake when i picked up were i am now. So it was easier. I would say if you want tos tart off slow, cut out Sugars first. There the hardest, because there everywere. Start to micromanage what you eat. Fitday.com is a good website and myfitnesspal is a great app for smartphones. Track your carb intake, you be shocked how fast it will increase. Try to make goals, for the first week i will try to limit to 200 carbs a day, then next week try 175, then 150 the week after that. The goal is to be 75-100 grams of carbs a day.

Since i weight 214 lbs, i eat about 140-160 grams of protein a day. Most people don't come close to this.

I am already in week two of low carb, i had no energy drop, i am not itterable, and i feel great. I lost 4 lbs.  Actually, if your eating enough protein and fat, you will stave off hunger, because fats and proteins don't spike insulin, which cause cravings. Ever eat a huge steak and wonder why your not hungry for half a day, but you eat a big bowl of pasta and your hungry 4 hours later.

Meats, Fish, Veggies (occassional potato), moderation of nuts/seeds, moderation of fruits, some dairy. No sugars, nothing made from grains period.

[mkrolewski]

I am on the Atkins diet. Lost 45 pounds (20% of my starting weight) in 6 months. I have added back most foods except for starches eg bread, potatoes, rice, noodles. I still want to lose 45 more pounds but I have stopped losing weight at the moment.

To be quite honest, it is a pretty easy diet to follow. I call it the "man diet" due to all the meat.  I eat a reasonable amount of calories (2000-2500), mostly unprocessed foods and lots of cheese/nuts/fruit/vegetables and of course egs, meat, and fat. Very healthy.

As to some of the other comments, ketosis is not necessarily bad. It just is indicating that you are burning fat. For most of us, that is a good thing. And you can do just about anything on a high fat/low carb diet. After the initial induction period, your energy reserves are relatively limitless.

Atkins is a Way Of Eating (WOE) that you can do for the rest of your life. If you are interested you should read the latest book.

Yes, it looks like I have drunk the cool-aid. But then again, a lot of it makes sense.

[FB71]

I am in partial agreement with mkrolewski.   It's true that you won't lose energy for a few weeks or even months, but your body will eventually deplete it's glycogen stores completely and that's when your body will start screaming for carbs. If you watch the biggest loser,  they are the real deal,  you have to eat lower carbs, but not low carbs as in 'barely any'.  If you're eating way too much then of course you need to cut the carbs.  What I am saying is that you need to eat enough for your ideal body weight.  So for example if your 300 pound but want to be 200,  then you should eat enough carbs to support a 200 pound person.  Carbs, protein and vitamins all work together,  not in isolation. And when I say carbs , I'm talking about healthy natural carbs, not soda pop and donuts.

I lost a total of 120 pounds by eating a balanced diet and exercise,  not eliminating or drastic carb restriction.

Respectfully,  If other enjoy losing weight through atkins and other low carb diets, the power to you.

[saevel25]

There is no carbs based on weight. I am not talking about getting rid of carbs, i am talking about getting rid of Grains

No Rice, No Pasta, Nothing made from flours. The only starches you should be eating are toubers (potatos), even those in moderation. Yes your body needs carbs. But your body will produce its own Glycogen on its own, from the liver, taking it from fat, up to 100 grams per day. So you really can never deplete your glycogen storage unless your doing excessive training in addition to. If you are, they even say you can have a post work out carb intake, but keep away from grains and sugars.

General rule of thumb, anything under 50 grams of carbs per day will lead into ketosis. From 50 to 100 grams will be weight loss, 100 to 150 will maintain weight. 150 to 300 will lead to weight gain.

But the old adatage that you need to eat 50-60% carbs, is just wrong. The body is made more for burning fat and protein than it is on carbs. No other intake of food has such a drastic response as a spike in insulin as grains do on your body. This your bodies response to what it percieves as something bad. Then your body gets insulin resistant, and this causes a downward spiral to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

Good Carbs: Veggies

In Moderation: Fruits (since they are high in fructose)

Bad Carbs: Rice, Grains, Flours, Pasta's

[HAVOC]

read the book fat to skinny or go to their web site fattoskinny.com

[Roblar]

My wife got gestational diabetes and had to go on a fairly strict low-carb diet. I went on it too in order to support her, and to make sure I wasn't keeping too many carb-temptations around the house.  Long story short:

100 grams of carbs per day max (I would cheat and have a few more -- my wife couldn't)

I walked to work (one mile each way)

My wife and I took after-dinner walks for 40-50 minutes almost every day

And I always walk when I play (add another 5-7 miles per round --- I was usually over 30 miles per week)

...and no alcohol (= carbs, and she couldn't have that either)

My wife and I joked that every pound I lost showed up on her.  I lost a bit over 30 pounds by the time my daughter was born (three months later).  Back up about 15-20 since then.

By the way, my wife had to check for ketones every day -- be sure not to go to hardcore into a 'no'-carb diet.  That's a ticket to health problems you don't want or need.

[JoelCochran]

I have been on an ultra-low carb diet since January of 2011.  This was inspired by reading Dr. Gary Taubes' book "Why we get fat" http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307272702 .  I really enjoyed it because it explained the inner workings of blood and fat, with a focus on how carbs adversely affect your insulin levels.  My wife was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes, so I became very interested in this topic.

DIET: I lost over 30 lbs in the first 6 months, I then made the mistake of allowing "Net carbs" into my diet.  (Net carbs are calculated by subtracting dietary fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carb count.)  I have gained about 7 lbs. back since last summer, but in the last month or so I have cut out net carbs again.  My diet is currently a high-fat, high-protein, ultra-low carb diet.  I eat primarily meat, eggs, cheese, and green vegetables.  No fruit, no potatoes, no grains, no pasta, no milk, no sugary snacks.  I avoid prepackaged food and anything with an "-ose" at the end like sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, etc.  I have recently cut out all artificial sweeteners as well, so no diet sodas either, I only drink water, unsweetened tea and black coffee.  Atkins bars are still a weakness, which I indulge in once or twice a week.  When i need a "sweet" fix, I eat peanut butter on celery or an occasional small piece of dark chocolate (70%+).

EXERCISE: I am a computer programmer so I tend to sit a lot during the day: read that as saying I get very little exercise, which was compounded by the fact that I didn't play golf from August 2011 to April 2012.  I've started playing again and walking some.  I also bought a pull-up bar and will be incorporating that and a push-up regimen  into my daily routine (I start a new job working from home on Monday).  Thanks to the Army I absolutely hate running, but I'm tempted to start again.

SUPPLEMENTS: I also started taking an assortment of supplements: Krill Oil, Fiber, Vitamins C & E, l-Arginine, Saw Palmetto, Zinc, and Potassium.  I recently started taking "Protandim", a proprietary supplement aimed at rebooting your natural defenses against free radicals.

HEALTH: While I would love to continue losing weight (another 30 lbs would be nice) my real goal is sound health.  My blood pressure has dropped from 160/105 to 132/92 (this morning) and has been as low as 123/85.  My blood sugar used to hover around 100, now it stays around 80.  I haven't had blood work done in forever, so I need to get that done to check my cholesterol.  Overall, I have felt much much healthier the last year, and I barely got a cold this winter which is very unusual for me.

[saevel25]

There are a few things that have been starting to creep there way back in, some study is being done, and has shown that Sweet Potatoes do not spike insulin, and is very high in nutrition, and is a viable option in a low carb if ate in moderation.

I love low carb diet, i lost 25 lbs in 3 months, i've been stagnant because i kinda dropped off it a bit and had a few bad weekends.

[anthony]

Low carb diets own. I did a pretty strict one for about a year and a half. I would eat low carb all week and "carb up" on friday night and half of Saturday. I eventually got away from being that low carb, but still maintain a pretty low amount of overall carbs. Most of it comes from beer. I missed it too much. I usually eat 2 hard boiled eggs and some natural peanut butter for breakfast, mostly green vegetables and corn ( I love corn) plus a meat of some sort for lunch and fish or beef or chicken for dinner. I'll either eat more veggies or maybe a little pasta or black beans with dinner also. Sometimes I just cook a burger and eat it plain with some ketchup.

Mostly, I try and stay away from anything processed. Vegetables, all natural peanut butter, pecans, cashews, organic beef and chicken, etc is what most of my diet is. I do get a loaf of bread on occassion and order a pizza on Friday, but it's definitely not a large part of my diet. Some of the shit I see people I work with eat blows my mind. Hot pockets, snack cakes, peaches in essentially maple syrup and potato chips. Those pre-made 3 minute in the microwave lunches. Look at the list of ingredients in those things. The worst is what people drink. All the pop (or soda as some folks call it) is insane. If some people would cut out the pop, they would probably loose 50 pounds in no time. Diet pop can't be any better. Plus, all the shit people put in their coffee or tea. I drink 5 things: Water, black coffee, green tea, beer and wine. I'll have a diet coke once in a blue moon, but that's rare. Most people who drink all this pop don't realize just how dehydrated they are.

Grains and breads are fine, but you should really treat them the same way you would a candy bar or bag of chips. Plus, a high fat/low carb meal will keep you feeling fuller longer. Try this: Eat a bowl of pasta one day for lunch and then eat a piece of salmon and some broccoli or a small leafy salad. Then review how you feel an hour later. Hell, even melt some cheese on the broccoli. guaranteed you will feel better and more alert with the salmon meal.

[Th3R00st3r]

My wife is going to a dietician and has her on a low carb diet. The macro ratio is 45/35/20 protien/fat/carb. She lost 8lbs the first week and has tapered off to losing about 1-2 lbs a week currently. The key is not to cut out carbs completely, but sugar carbs for sure. If you look at the carbs on the nutrition label she can take the total carbs - fiber - sugar alcohol and that will give her the total carbs she is ingesting for that meal. They want her to get as much good carbs and limit the bad (sugar) carbs to 45g. Labels have been indicating “net carbs” as well as “total carbs”. Net Carbs are determined by taking the total carb count, then subtracting carbs from fiber and carbs from sugar alcohols.

I am doing this with her for support, and I could lose 10-15 lbs as well.  Basically we cut out the starchy foods (potatoes, rice, breads etc..) or limit the net carbs to 45g for her and 120g for me. We are preparing more of our meals and staung away from packaged processed foods. We have protien shakes and bars for snacks as well as almonds etc..My buddy had me watch this video. It's an explanation in a very simplistic form.

[Th3R00st3r]

Here's part two which is a little more towards our discussion.

[Th3R00st3r]

The point of those two videos is to show that a carb is not a carb and a calorie is not a calorie. I think this needs to be clear when generalizing the limiting or removal of carbs from ones diet.

In sugar(carbs), there is glucose and fructose.

Out of 120 kcals of glucose (about 2 pieces of white bread) , 80% is metabolized by the brain, muscles, and cells. 20% is metabolized by the liver which replenishes your glycogen stores and about .5 (1/2) of a kcal is converted to fat.

Out of 120 kcals of fructose (or high fructose corn syrup) , which is about one 16oz gatorade, 0% is metabolized by the brain, muscles and cells. 100% is metabolized by the liver, but it's metabolized the same way as ethonal(alcohol). In the end it overloads the liver storing most of it as fat, as well as creating/having other toxic effect similar to alcohol since they are metabolized the exact same way. It increases your LDL, raises your insulin by creating muscle and liver insulin resistance, shrinks your blood vessels(resulting in high blood pressure) by using the nitric oxide and  produces a lot of uric acid( which causes gout.). This would result in most of those calories being turned into fat as the raised insulin levels store fat which there is plenty of since fructose is metabolized by the liver alone.

Sure fructose is a naturally occurring sweetener in fruit, but you only need about 15g. per day. After HFCS(high fructose corn syrup) was introduced and put into everything, we(and our kids) are getting up to 75g a day if not more. This is a toxic level as your liver get put into overload.

The problem is that fructose is a hell of a lot cheaper than sugar, so they put it in everything. They also remove the fiber to give food longer shelf life for exporting. This is why it's acceptable even though it's as toxic as alcohol. Alcohol is regulated and taxed by the ATF, but fructose is not regulated by the FDA even though they have the same effect on the liver. In a sense fructose is exactly like alcohol without the buzz when compared.

So, if you are going to cut carbs out of your diet, you would be better off removing the bad carbs (sugar, anything with HFCS) and keeping the good carbs (fiber, and possibly sugar alcohol..i'm still looking into that one, but you are supposed to be able to subtract it to get net carbs according to our dietitian).

TL:DR Remove the sugar carbs, or high fructose corn syrup, from your diet as it's in most everything processed and is toxic leaving the good carbs in.

[saevel25]

Anything that spikes your insulin levels is a bad carb. Meaning,

Keep fruits to a minimum, they are all fructose sugars

if your going to go for carbs, hit up tubors (potatoes and the better sweet potato)

No oats, no grains, no pasta's, no bread, nothing refined. My rule of thumb, eat things that came from the ground. Rice has to be  processed, oats have to be processed, flour has to be processed.. Potatoes, is the only starch i will eat in moderation because it comes straight from the ground and ready to eat as is.

Yea keep mostly all sugars out of the system, except for Red Wine..

[Th3R00st3r]

Originally Posted by saevel25

Anything that spikes your insulin levels is a bad carb. Meaning,

Keep fruits to a minimum, they are all fructose sugars

if your going to go for carbs, hit up tubors (potatoes and the better sweet potato)

No oats, no grains, no pasta's, no bread, nothing refined. My rule of thumb, eat things that came from the ground. Rice has to be  processed, oats have to be processed, flour has to be processed.. Potatoes, is the only starch i will eat in moderation because it comes straight from the ground and ready to eat as is.

Yea keep mostly all sugars out of the system, except for Red Wine..

I agree completely. I was just giving a background as to why. Some people need a reason. I like that you mentioned you eat potatoes in moderation, and the red wine part.

It sucks because I love bread and pasta and pretty much everything processed. After I found out what it was doing to my body, and liver, I was done.

[saevel25]

i know, this friend of mine had an aunt who died from liver failure because she drank so much pop the High Fructose Corn Syrup caused her liver damage like she was an alcoholic.

i know you can't go 100%, i still get my occassion dessert when i go out to eat, or have some bread, but its very occassionally.

[JoelCochran]

@Th3R00st3r: loving the video series, thanks for sharing!

[Aging Boomer]

Mortadella, capicola, prosciutto, provolone, sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, sliced green peppers, sliced red onions, sliced black olives, and spiced oil--all piled onto a whole baguette. This has been my traditional pre round breakfast for over 50 years. Now I'm 65, 265 lbs, take enough meds to choke a horse, and play to an 11. How this practice hasn't become universal is beyond me.