Atkins/Paleo/low carb - did it work for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It works temporarily, but it's very difficult to return to normal eating without gaining it back. This happens over and over to many of my friends.

but that's not the problem of the low carb etc diet, rather the "normal eating" diet? it's like saying running 3 miles a day worked but gained it all back when return to "normal exercise level" which is obviously not enough?

Not at all. It's too extreme for the averag person to maintain. It's like going from no exercise to marathon training.

Portion control of whatever you want is what works long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Y'all are fine living indefinitely without bread and pasta?

Well, small amounts of bread can fit in low carb. But generally, Yeah, just like I'm fine living without it. Just like I'm fine living without smoking (enjoyable in the moment), wine every night, soda, etc.

Uh, smoking and wine aren't food groups.

[Anonymous]

Yes, pro-carb poster, we get your point! A diet with carbs at their rightful place as the foundation of the pyramid is the gold standard of a sustainable American diet, so long as you exercise appropriate portion control. We all get it.

What we're saying is the bulky starch on your plate can be swapped out for vegetables and that the processed sugar in your indulgences can be swapped out more natural sources of sweetness, like maple syrup and honey. But to do that, you likely will be cooking from scratch and not eating processed foods.

Is it sustainable, you ask? Well, it's not as easy as microwaving a TV dinner, but neither is turning down a second helping of mashed potatoes. The diet you're proposing relies on self-control in the moment to turn down what is tempting. The diet we're proposing relies on a life style restructuring that takes more time but reduces the temptation in the long term - when your blood sugar is stabilized, that second helping doesn't look so desperately tasty. But it's work, for sure. For that matter, so is portion control. If this were easy, we wouldn't have the weight problems we do in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Y'all are fine living indefinitely without bread and pasta?

Perfectly fine. Most of the bread in this country sucks, as does the pasta. And I don't love it enough to make it on my own.

If I were living in France or Italy, I might not eat as low carb as I do as the stuff they have is delicious.

Every once in awhile, I will eat sushi rolls, also desserts. But it's very rare. I only eat really good stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, pro-carb poster, we get your point! A diet with carbs at their rightful place as the foundation of the pyramid is the gold standard of a sustainable American diet, so long as you exercise appropriate portion control. We all get it.

What we're saying is the bulky starch on your plate can be swapped out for vegetables and that the processed sugar in your indulgences can be swapped out more natural sources of sweetness, like maple syrup and honey. But to do that, you likely will be cooking from scratch and not eating processed foods.

Is it sustainable, you ask? Well, it's not as easy as microwaving a TV dinner, but neither is turning down a second helping of mashed potatoes. The diet you're proposing relies on self-control in the moment to turn down what is tempting. The diet we're proposing relies on a life style restructuring that takes more time but reduces the temptation in the long term - when your blood sugar is stabilized, that second helping doesn't look so desperately tasty. But it's work, for sure. For that matter, so is portion control. If this were easy, we wouldn't have the weight problems we do in this country.

There is definitely more than one poster on the other side of your argument here. I posted one comment. That said, replacing all carbohydrates with vegetables is not necessarily a good idea, especially if you're a serious exerciser. Look at the posters doing it saying they feel awful and exhausted. I agree it makes sense if you're very small and/or very sedentary. But for the majority of people, it is a quick fix that is not sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i'm also down to my last 10 lbs (8 to be exact) but i feel my low carb diet (<50g) has done all it could as the weight loss has stalled. no suggestions but interested in this topic too.

What is your body fat %?

Do you lift weights? If you don't already lift weights, that's an easy way to keep losing weight. But try not to eat MUCH more food than you already are, which is easy to do on low carb.

[Anonymous]

As a working parent of young kids, I have to say that the low-carb style of cooking has proven to be much more challenging than it was before kids. Partly, because my kids need carbs, so I have to cook them anyway. And partly because a lot of the better low-carb meals require more work/time/prep than I have these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, pro-carb poster, we get your point! A diet with carbs at their rightful place as the foundation of the pyramid is the gold standard of a sustainable American diet, so long as you exercise appropriate portion control. We all get it.

What we're saying is the bulky starch on your plate can be swapped out for vegetables and that the processed sugar in your indulgences can be swapped out more natural sources of sweetness, like maple syrup and honey. But to do that, you likely will be cooking from scratch and not eating processed foods.

Is it sustainable, you ask? Well, it's not as easy as microwaving a TV dinner, but neither is turning down a second helping of mashed potatoes. The diet you're proposing relies on self-control in the moment to turn down what is tempting. The diet we're proposing relies on a life style restructuring that takes more time but reduces the temptation in the long term - when your blood sugar is stabilized, that second helping doesn't look so desperately tasty. But it's work, for sure. For that matter, so is portion control. If this were easy, we wouldn't have the weight problems we do in this country.

There is definitely more than one poster on the other side of your argument here. I posted one comment. That said, replacing all carbohydrates with vegetables is not necessarily a good idea, especially if you're a serious exerciser. Look at the posters doing it saying they feel awful and exhausted. I agree it makes sense if you're very small and/or very sedentary. But for the majority of people, it is a quick fix that is not sustainable.

Unless you're a power athlete, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with replacing all carbohydrates with vegetables.

All the posters claimin to feel awful or exhausted are simply in a state of transition, where their body is trying to figure out how to efficiently burn fat vs burning glucose. There's an adjustment period as your body literally recalibrates itself. Once you're past this point, you don't feel awful anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a working parent of young kids, I have to say that the low-carb style of cooking has proven to be much more challenging than it was before kids. Partly, because my kids need carbs, so I have to cook them anyway. And partly because a lot of the better low-carb meals require more work/time/prep than I have these days.

I don't think it is.

Consider a meal I make all the time: slow cooked pork (kahlua pig on a slow cooker), collard greens, and rice. If you're making food for a family of 4 and you're the only one eating low carb, then you simply eat the pork and collards. Your family can eat all 3. No big deal.

Or if you want to make pasta and meat sauce. Instead of making normal pasta, you use spiralized zucchini. http://www.greenplaterule.com/recipes/spiralized-zucchini-noodles-with-pesto/
Personally it tastes better than pasta.

Or if you have a hankering for mashed potatoes, you can make instead mashed cauliflower. I also think it tastes just as good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm also down to my last 10 lbs (8 to be exact) but i feel my low carb diet (<50g) has done all it could as the weight loss has stalled. no suggestions but interested in this topic too.

What is your body fat %?

Do you lift weights? If you don't already lift weights, that's an easy way to keep losing weight. But try not to eat MUCH more food than you already are, which is easy to do on low carb.

i don't know my body fat but my BMI is 24+ so i'm now in "normal weight" range, but i'm not muscular, never have been.

i know i should lift weights regularly not just for weight loss but for stronger bones and muscles but i just don't enjoy weight lifting and have no motivation for it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm also down to my last 10 lbs (8 to be exact) but i feel my low carb diet (<50g) has done all it could as the weight loss has stalled. no suggestions but interested in this topic too.

What is your body fat %?

Do you lift weights? If you don't already lift weights, that's an easy way to keep losing weight. But try not to eat MUCH more food than you already are, which is easy to do on low carb.

i don't know my body fat but my BMI is 24+ so i'm now in "normal weight" range, but i'm not muscular, never have been.

i know i should lift weights regularly not just for weight loss but for stronger bones and muscles but i just don't enjoy weight lifting and have no motivation for it...

How about any other form of exercise? I don't recommend jogging, but you should consider power yoga or classes like Orange Theory.

If you don't want to exercise and you're already eating a low carb diet, there's one more thing you can do to lose weight without lowering the number of calories and that is to reduce your protein consumption. You really shouldn't be eating more than 1g per 1kg of lean body mass per day, considering you're not lifting weights. On a low carb diet, protein you consume that is not required to rebuild muscles is turned into glucose via gluconeogenesis. Look it up.

[Anonymous]

Just cut way back on your dinner portion size most nights of the week, especially if you eat a good sized lunch that day. Also make sure you are active, you don't have to do a killer workout, but get in several walks, a spin class, etc. each day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It works temporarily, but it's very difficult to return to normal eating without gaining it back. This happens over and over to many of my friends.

but that's not the problem of the low carb etc diet, rather the "normal eating" diet? it's like saying running 3 miles a day worked but gained it all back when return to "normal exercise level" which is obviously not enough?

IMO it's not as sustainable as other weight-loss programs - if you do portion control then it's easy to continue that because you've been doing that all along. If you've been losing with ketosis, you need to switch to something new to maintain.

but why is it necessary to switch to something else to maintain? what's wrong with continuing these diets to maintain (and staying in ketosis if that's the case)?

Yup seriously. If you eat a crappy diet high in processed foods and shit, diet to lose weight and then go back to said crappy diet - why would you be surprised if you gain the weight back??

As for ketosis - you're dead wrong. Staying in ketosis is the easiest way to maintain your weight, as nautral fat consumption (vs trans fats) is self regulating.

I thought ketosis is bad for the kidneys so it shouldn't be a super long term approach?

And no need to go back to crappy diet, just switching to whatever else you are doing next is yet another adjustment. I think people get caught up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, pro-carb poster, we get your point! A diet with carbs at their rightful place as the foundation of the pyramid is the gold standard of a sustainable American diet, so long as you exercise appropriate portion control. We all get it.

What we're saying is the bulky starch on your plate can be swapped out for vegetables and that the processed sugar in your indulgences can be swapped out more natural sources of sweetness, like maple syrup and honey. But to do that, you likely will be cooking from scratch and not eating processed foods.

Is it sustainable, you ask? Well, it's not as easy as microwaving a TV dinner, but neither is turning down a second helping of mashed potatoes. The diet you're proposing relies on self-control in the moment to turn down what is tempting. The diet we're proposing relies on a life style restructuring that takes more time but reduces the temptation in the long term - when your blood sugar is stabilized, that second helping doesn't look so desperately tasty. But it's work, for sure. For that matter, so is portion control. If this were easy, we wouldn't have the weight problems we do in this country.

There is definitely more than one poster on the other side of your argument here. I posted one comment. That said, replacing all carbohydrates with vegetables is not necessarily a good idea, especially if you're a serious exerciser. Look at the posters doing it saying they feel awful and exhausted. I agree it makes sense if you're very small and/or very sedentary. But for the majority of people, it is a quick fix that is not sustainable.

Unless you're a power athlete, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with replacing all carbohydrates with vegetables.

All the posters claimin to feel awful or exhausted are simply in a state of transition, where their body is trying to figure out how to efficiently burn fat vs burning glucose. There's an adjustment period as your body literally recalibrates itself. Once you're past this point, you don't feel awful anymore.

First PP in the thread here and I think the one replying to me missed my distinction. The low-carb diet is not a no-carb diet. I said you swap out the bulk starch, not eliminate all carbs. Vegetables have carbohydrates, they just aren't enough to carb load on, which isn't a problem for those of us who aren't professional athletes - for that matter, don't forget that fruit is still on the menu as well. Look at the meals suggested above - carrot soup, strawberry spinach salad, salad dressing sweetened with maple syrup. These are definitely not zero carb meals - I'm not suggesting you make a meal of deviled eggs & steak.

Starch is by definition high calorie, nutrition sparse - the only thing you loose by swapping it out is calories, which gets us back to OP's original topic.

[Anonymous]

I think we can also eat low glycemic index carbs, to make it manageable for the long term. Key is to avoid sugar, refined carbs and simple starches.