All I know is that since April I have taken off almost 25 pounds off using South Beach.  I am not hungry, have tons of energy, LOVE the way I eat and it works for me!   Sorry but this statement "eating pasta, bread, potato chips, and pizza will make you thin" is horrible.  If this is really a direct quote from the book is scary.  Anyone who knows anything about eating knows that this kind of mentality is what gets people in trouble!  Now if you say eating whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, occasionally have a few chips and 'healthy' pizza can make you thin then OK.  Frankly people have to retrain how they eat and what they 'crave' to realistically change their body.  Can I have pasta, pizza, chips bread now on occasion if I want them, sure!!!  But thanks to South Beach I now know how to choose wisely and I don't crave the bad stuff anymore!!!

Humans have survived throughout history on carbs not meats. Whole civilizations thrived and and lived long healthy lives eating grains, vegetables and fruits. However today's society has warped some of the most wholesome foods into a pile of processed stuff lacking in nutrition. You can have a healthy pizza with out guilt by using whole wheat crust and skipping the cheese and meat.   Instead of hamburger have a yummy bean burrito with chunks of salsa and avacado.  High fiber and low fat foods are the best. Over 60% of humans are lactose intolerant. Low Fat Dairy is not a health foods. If more people gave it up they would be astounded by how much better they feel.

I think this idea has a lot of potential. Personally I don't function without carbs, and previously when I've tried low carb diets I find it impossible to think and focus.

However, the idea of eating carbs to lose weight is highly open to opinion. Huge portion sizes of empty carbs will surely not lead to weight loss. I do hope the book has specifics on portion size, and servings per day.

The great thing about a high carb diet is that you can eat "more" to achieve the same amount of calories. It also allows a wider range of fruits and vegetables. A particularly worrying feature of Atkins, for example, is the complete lack of fruit in the first phase, and restriction of vegetables. This can lead to people missing out on crucial vitamins such as VitA and VitC.

Another good thing about diets that include carbs is that the lifestyle changer is not misled by sudden drops on the scale due to water weight. The pesky tummy will flatten out when the fat disappates, not when the glycogen/water stores are lowered.

The thought of eating wholegrain, nutritious carbs as part of a weight LOSS plan sounds like an excellent idea. It will be interesting to see if the concept takes off at last.

In order to market books it is necessary to get someone to want to pick it up and read it.  There is no doubt in my mind that if you follow the guidelines of this diet, or many of the other diets out there, you will lose weight.  The problem is when people that have trouble with certain foods see a diet that allows them to "eat what you love", they think they've found the solution.  Let's face it, you can be thin and eat anything.  It's a matter of how much you eat and how much you exercise.  The challenge for almost everyone is battling your internal desire to eat more than you really need.  I don't think that a diet based solely on carbs, vegetables, fish, chicken, etc makes much of a difference if you can't control the intake.  I do agree that some diets will make you feel better overall and by having a solid intake of carbs you should see an endurance/energy improvement.  However, 1200 calories a day - doesn't really matter what they're from, you will still feel different from when you ate 3000.

I would go as far as saying meats are a staple for most people.  People have always been hunters and scavengers; therefore, it is true that grains, berries, etc are important, but that does not imply all meat is bad.  I'm not certain if anyone has checked out the New Atkins.  It has many similarities to the old one created by Doctor High Colosterol but it's a little healthier.  The diet doesn't suggest you throw grease and bacon on everything like it used to.  Dieters with the New Atkins have a calorie count which is also a new aspect.  I have been on it for a month now and lost around 25 pounds!  You do limit your carbs to 20 net carbs a day during the first phase of the diet, but as this diet suggests you are eating high fiber foods.  I even eat low carb ice cream that taste great.  You can have rootbeer floats and several other awesome meal choices.  I was very skeptical when I first started thinking low carb, but after the first two days I was accustomed to the carb change.  I am never hungry and have no problems focusing.  Honestly I went from eating out almost every day to having meals that consist of items such as broccoli, steak, and green beans.  The diet also has a system to move away from aspartame and caffeine.  I have one more month to go where I will be going through phase 2, 3, and 4.  This diet sounds interesting and due to my love for pizza I wish I would have read this article first, BUT I am happy with Atkins and I have always said, don't knock it 'till you try it!

I lost 25 lbs on Atkins 9 years ago. I continued to lose a couple of lbs a year after that, but started gaining 2 years ago. I tried Atkins again and didn't lose an ounce. I know others who this has happened to also. I did lose some weight on South Beach earlier this year, but I lost muscle as well as fat. That is not good. My pesonal trainer has me eating more carbs and I am gaining muscle and losing fat. This isn't happening as quickly as I would like, but I have decided that any downward trend in fat loss is good enough. Although I could probably stand to lose 30 lbs, my goal is to lose 20 lbs. At 57, I have learned that change that comes slowly is not only easier, but also lasts longer. My goal is to be fit not thin.

They key is in "self-management."  You're in control of what you put into your body.  It's no surprise that the author included facts like, "... your odds of getting and staying slim are best when carbs comprise up to 64 percent of your total calorie intake or 361 grams a day", and encourages devotees to consume any food (carb or not) "in moderation."  It's commonsense weight management - we all need to balance our diets. 

Oftentimes, I think some dieters are looking for that magical diet that miraculously allows us to consume anything we want to, and the resulting combination of foods, maybe through awe-inspiring chemical reactions or some mystical outside force, just allows the pounds to fall off our bodies.  I think reasonable people know that this is fantasy.  Eat a well-balanced diet, sticking to carbs at around 64% of your daily intake, drink lots of water and move your body - THAT is how the pounds are going to come off ... and stay off.

Check out my blog:  http://donteatlikeanidiot.wordpress.com and/or follow me on Twitter at LoseWeight1200.  We have a lot of fun! 

Sounds rather similar to The Flat Belly Diet.....which I am doing now.  A basic part of the FB diet is that you eat a MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acid) at each of the 4 meals a day.  MUFA's are the things I already love:  nuts, nuts, nuts, avocados, olive oil, olives, peanut butter, etc.  You eat four 400 calories meals a day....and because of the MUFA's you stay full.  By using some of the suggested recipes in the book, I am automatically eating more fruit.  I use fruit on oatmeal, cottage cheese, and peanut butter.  Plus I put olive oil on my veggies at dinner time.  Anyway, it's working and it's something I can live with.

I believe it is all about self-control, and knowing what you are putting into your body.  I never thought I could lose weight eating regular food.  I am not a very large female, but I could eat almost as much as my boyfriend who is 6'2", and 240+ pounds.

I have lost 10 pounds in 2 months - without increasing my activity level, and I have not given up anything that I love.  (I usually walk 30 mins 5 times per week, but I was doing that way before I started watching my caloric intake)

I eat the same type of food. I just eat less of it.  I used to eat 4 or 5 slices of pizza in one sitting, and now I will eat one with a healthy salad on the side, and a large glass of water.    I still eat pasta, I just don't eat the 4 cups of pasta and meat sauce I used to eat.   I eat whole grain breads, and corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.  

So, like I wrote before, self-control and knowledge will help you lose weight. Our bodies need all sorts of nutrients and a diet that totally eliminates one or focuses solely on another, could create nutritional deficiencies that could lead to health issues in the future.   My 2 cents

Carbs are necessary and I do not believe in eliminating carbs from the diet. Whole-grain high-fiber unprocessed carbohydrates are the best source. Portion control is key.

People rave about low carb diets like Atkins. The reason people loose weight it because without eating carbs, their caloric intake decreases substantially. This is not a healthy way to go about it.

I feel like the best "diet" is to have balance, and eat whole unprocessed foods as much as possible. If you need to loose weight, watch your calories, but don't eliminate the all important carbohydrate.

What are "resistant starches"?  Let me guess... whole grain, fiber-rich, etc.  Same as what others might call "good carbs." If the key point is to choose "good carbs" (aka "resistant starches") and to eat smaller quantities, then it really doesn't sound like anything beyond what many, many permanent weight loss/lifestyle changing diets have been suggesting for years.  The Carb Lovers Diet seems to me a repackaged version of many another of calorie restriction diets, hoping to gain from a low-carb backlash. 

If there were such a thing as a one-size-fits-all diet book, everyone would be closer to one size. As long as a plan incorporates whole grains, vegetables and fruits, protein, and good fats, it isn't all bad in my book. People need new ideas to get them motivated, and to keep them from never giving up on themselves when it comes to reaching for/being at/staying at a healthy weight. This plan is not right for someone like me...insulin resistant and history of diabetes in the family. It may work well for someone else who has not had the same success I have had in other plans. Its all a mind game. To eat whatever you want, the trick is to want the right things that will not sabotauge your weight loss effort. That requires new ideas to keep us coming around to a fresh start.

It all comes down to calories in and calories out. You can toss out everything else the author said and it boils down to the fact that ANYONE would lose weight only consuming 1200 calories one week and 1600 the rest of the time. I'm 5'0'' and 125 lbs and I'd lose on that amount! It's just another ho-hum calorie-based diet disguised as one based on macronutrient ratios. In other words, CRAP!

I guess this could be true. Asians eat so much white rice and most of them are skinny...

Thisis not going to be a good diet for everyone,I can only speak from experience. My husband has Type 2 diabetes and has been following a healthy balanced diet since diagnosed but his bloods were still getting worse. He was two pounds below the top of the weight range for his height. In June he saw a different nurse to his normal nurse at the clinic and he said to my husband here's what you can est here's what you can't eat and here's the foods you must only have once a day. SO he can't have at all: alcohol, chocolate, ice-creams, cakes, biscuits. grapes, bananas. He can only eat once a day a portion of carbs, be it rice, potato, pasta, lentils, starchy veg. Every thing else he can have, meat, cheese, eggs, vegetables fruit etc. Within two days his bloods had recovered to those of a person without diabetes. SO a diet using carbs as a quarter of each meal at every meal is not good for every body. He's lost a stone since June 16th and is never hungry and feels better than he has for a long long time.

Thisis not going to be a good diet for everyone,I can only speak from experience. My husband has Type 2 diabetes and has been following a healthy balanced diet since diagnosed but his bloods were still getting worse. He was two pounds below the top of the weight range for his height. In June he saw a different nurse to his normal nurse at the clinic and he said to my husband here's what you can est here's what you can't eat and here's the foods you must only have once a day. SO he can't have at all: alcohol, chocolate, ice-creams, cakes, biscuits. grapes, bananas. He can only eat once a day a portion of carbs, be it rice, potato, pasta, lentils, starchy veg. Every thing else he can have, meat, cheese, eggs, vegetables fruit etc. Within two days his bloods had recovered to those of a person without diabetes. SO a diet using carbs as a quarter of each meal at every meal is not good for every body. He's lost a stone since June 16th and is never hungry and feels better than he has for a long long time.

Sounds like the book's authors are relying too much on this whole "Resistant Starch" claim to me. In reality, it's like any other diet. And their claim that you can eat pasta, bread, potato chips, and pizza and still get thin is misleading.

What they mean is you can eat whole wheat pasta and bread, baked potato chips, and cardboard pizza made from their own recipe - and you can only eat them every once in a while. 

Just another in a long line of diet books that advertise false claims and half-truths to get people to buy the book. I'd hate to see what kind of "fluff" this book has in it - this seems to be the bane of diet books - saying a lot without really saying anything that we don't already know.

Original Post by: tomatotomata

It all comes down to calories in and calories out. You can toss out everything else the author said and it boils down to the fact that ANYONE would lose weight only consuming 1200 calories one week and 1600 the rest of the time. I'm 5'0'' and 125 lbs and I'd lose on that amount! It's just another ho-hum calorie-based diet disguised as one based on macronutrient ratios. In other words, CRAP!

Exactly!

Another way to earn money by telling people how to count calories and calling it something else.

Le sigh...

I agree it's about greed, and to stop before you feel FULL.   But 6 hours is too long to go without eating.....at least for me.  My metabolism works best when I feed the beast about every 3-4 hours.  But by 'feed' I mean a small 400 calories type meal with good stuff in it.......only things that are real food!

kathysquires, I totally agree with you.  I hardly ever ate breakfast, and would eat my first meal at 11am and dinner at 430p.    I always thought I was doing ok, but I could not lose any weight, and I was starting to get into the "overweight" range of the BMI for my age/height. Then I had a wake up call when my Doctor told me my cholesterol was a bit high. Funny how things like that can motivate!

Now I have "6 meals" a day. I did not think I could do it, but it actually has worked for me.  I plan my meals the night before and it is a great way for me to "MOVE" instead of sitting in front of the TV after dinner.  I have a lot more energy through out the day... rather than those energy lolls that I had to deal with between 2 and 3pm.

Just a shameful marketing gimmik. The diet is just showing you how you "can" squeeze in some of these "bad carb" foods into a healthy diet.... so what? Many dieters do that anyway with guilty pleasures -- These fast acting carbs are edible is all im getting from this. Having a diet high in high G.I. carbs creates an addiction in the brain, triggers hormone responses, and by doing this-- creates a moody person who self medicates with food. Yes, it is possible that with moderation you can eat these foods...but to come at it like its an "exciting & very real" new thing, your feeding into peoples wants --- this author has no respect for people who have food addictions & cravings and should be ashamed of herself for resorting to such a marketing campaign. Addiction is a very real and sad thing, and especially nothing to joke around with--although it is a useful tool for someone to use if all they really care about is money.

sorry, but carbs are actually "non-essential" for human life -- please do your research

Original Post by: lrlloyd

All I know is that since April I have taken off almost 25 pounds off using South Beach.  I am not hungry, have tons of energy, LOVE the way I eat and it works for me!   Sorry but this statement "eating pasta, bread, potato chips, and pizza will make you thin" is horrible.  If this is really a direct quote from the book is scary.  Anyone who knows anything about eating knows that this kind of mentality is what gets people in trouble!  Now if you say eating whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, occasionally have a few chips and 'healthy' pizza can make you thin then OK.  Frankly people have to retrain how they eat and what they 'crave' to realistically change their body.  Can I have pasta, pizza, chips bread now on occasion if I want them, sure!!!  But thanks to South Beach I now know how to choose wisely and I don't crave the bad stuff anymore!!!

The damage done by the low carb cults will be hard to erase -- this is just proof of the ignorance bread (pun...) by pseudo and crap science that causes people to avoid natural diets in favour of unnatural ones that don't work but only make people think they do due to reduction in water.

I will skim through the book if I happen to see it.

I agree with calories in - calories out.

I lost 35 lbs by eating whatever I wanted but controlling the portions. I use to eat the same amount as my 280lb husband!

For example, in a restaurant when I order my food, as soon as it comes I ask for a to go box and eat only half. At home I will have 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes instead of two huge scoops. And pasta (my downfall) never whole wheat (yuck) enriched semolina but no seconds. I splurge on desserts at parties or once a week. I also treat myself to 2 Hershey kisses a day. All this and I  usually average losing 1 to 2 lbs per week.

Slow and steady wins the race :-)

Cat

What I've read about resistant starch is that the food should be eaten cold - cooked first, then eaten cooled.  There have been quite a lot of studies about resistant starch and although this book is probably a gimmick, I don't think the idea behind the research is. 

Losing weight does not necessarily mean healthy.  Sounds like this book might ignore the nutritional value of some carbs vs other carbs.  

I don't view carbs as evil and eat quit a few but I choose one that NOURISH unless I am choosing to eat junk.  Things like pizza (unless it's homemade and I know exactly what is in it, chips, ect are junk.  There are way to prepare carbs that make them more nourishing.  Prepackaged food with all the preservatives, additives, ect are not good regardless if they are fats, carbs, or protein.  The majority of my carbs consist of brown rice, sprouted or soaked whole grains, fruits, and natural sweeteners like raw honey.  That's not to say I don't eat junk...I will not give up Cheetos to save my life.... ;-)  but I call a spade a spade and move on with life. 

I can see some truth to this, on days I don't exercise or lounge around I easily eat 1200 calories and I feel pretty fulll! and on days I'm more active up to 1900 depending on exercise.

I would say that a hefty amount of my diet is definitely carbs: fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grain cereal (Kashi GoLean!) and Whole wheat bread (Healthy Life, 35cals per slice). I probably consume 150-250g of carbs, so still less than the recommended amount.

I never understood the low carb or low fat diet craze, wouldn't it make more sense to reduce BOTH and exercise?? That's how I see it!

Original Post by: roninone

sorry, but carbs are actually "non-essential" for human life -- please do your research

If you ate all foods that contained 0 g of carbohydrates (sugar or starch which is just long chain sugar), so pretty much if you were a carnivore, your body would be working VERY hard to sustain itself. Your muscles literally use glucose as a fuel. Your brain, can ONLY use ketone bodies and glucose as fuel. Anything your body takes in is either stored, used to build proteins, or used by your cells to create energy (ATP). That means creating glucose to feed your cells. Eating a diet of just protein and fat would not only be difficult to obtain, but would probably do some damage to your kidneys due to the excess of nitrogen containing compounds (that's a lot of urea to deal with), as well as ketone bodies from breaking down the fats.

So you could eat zero carbohydrates and survive, but humans need carbohydrates, your body will make them if you don't give it them.

Original Post by: ddidonat87

Original Post by: roninone

sorry, but carbs are actually "non-essential" for human life -- please do your research

If you ate all foods that contained 0 g of carbohydrates (sugar or starch which is just long chain sugar), so pretty much if you were a carnivore, your body would be working VERY hard to sustain itself. Your muscles literally use glucose as a fuel. Your brain, can ONLY use ketone bodies and glucose as fuel. Anything your body takes in is either stored, used to build proteins, or used by your cells to create energy (ATP). That means creating glucose to feed your cells. Eating a diet of just protein and fat would not only be difficult to obtain, but would probably do some damage to your kidneys due to the excess of nitrogen containing compounds (that's a lot of urea to deal with), as well as ketone bodies from breaking down the fats.

So you could eat zero carbohydrates and survive, but humans need carbohydrates, your body will make them if you don't give it them.

not exactly, if your protein was primarily from plant sources you wouldnt have excess nitrogen --- you should look into the requirements for protein (amino acids) & how they came to that conclusion. The study was done in 1919 on rats; we now know that rats need 2x as much sulphur containing amino acids which are primarily the animal protein sources (mainly methionine & cystine). The current standard has not changed yet and still uses the old 1919 study to base its amino acid profile ... so, if you follow the current standard  "Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score" (PDCAAS) than you will have an excess of nitrogen no matter what you do. I do agree with a healthy carb intake, including fiber, but that comment was suppose to quote someone much earlier on this forum stating  that carbs are essential to life -- i was mearly trying to correct their insistant ignorance.  If I find the article explaining this discovery I will come back to re-post it. I do know its french & titled "recent developments in protein quality evaluation". Overall though, you are correct in that your body will provide them if you dont.

also to add to the above comment -- my personal diet consists of mainly whole grains & legumes, with fats from fresh (but "soaked") nuts & seeds (plus avocados, coconut, etc.) -- i do take in some carbs from fresh fruit smoothies & lots of veggies & I do eat some meats, but only a few times a week maybe -- I now see that my above comments were written out of anger & frustration, so I apologise for the "tone" I used, as it made me appear to be arrogant.

I have lost a lot of weight and fight to keep it off. I too love all things carb., My eating now is the same as I used to lose my 100+ lbs. Basically eat at a calorie level to maintain my correct weight based on height and lean body mass. I could never have maintained the calorie level I ate at while losing or stay at to maintain my loss without LOTS of fresh fruits. I love butter and a terrific piece of beef but I could pretty much always eat them in reasonable quantities, and I can't say I ever had a DEMANDING craving for those items. Not so with carbs of any kind. Pasta, potatoes, cookies, and cakes were and are the items that I crave. Resistance was futile until I ramped up on sweet fresh fruit. I also enjoy a wide variety of vegetables and always did. Vegetables have been and continue to be the food group I can go BIG with to really fill me up. I have a pretty significant fitness program so I have to be sure to have enough protein for muscle recovery and maintenance but that is a lot less than many people would think for anyone but full time athletes, body-builders, etc. I honestly have a pretty low fat intake in my diet, often not enough of the good fats - it's an issue for me. However, I will always be working on diet, trying to fine tune and balance for health and satisfaction - and some fun too.

Original Post by: ddidonat87

Original Post by: roninone

sorry, but carbs are actually "non-essential" for human life -- please do your research

If you ate all foods that contained 0 g of carbohydrates (sugar or starch which is just long chain sugar), so pretty much if you were a carnivore, your body would be working VERY hard to sustain itself. Your muscles literally use glucose as a fuel. Your brain, can ONLY use ketone bodies and glucose as fuel. Anything your body takes in is either stored, used to build proteins, or used by your cells to create energy (ATP). That means creating glucose to feed your cells. Eating a diet of just protein and fat would not only be difficult to obtain, but would probably do some damage to your kidneys due to the excess of nitrogen containing compounds (that's a lot of urea to deal with), as well as ketone bodies from breaking down the fats.

So you could eat zero carbohydrates and survive, but humans need carbohydrates, your body will make them if you don't give it them.

Of course you could eat zero carbs and survive because all digested food is converted into glucose regardless of the source of the food.

not all food is converted into glucose.

Original Post by: roninone

also to add to the above comment -- my personal diet consists of mainly whole grains & legumes, with fats from fresh (but "soaked") nuts & seeds (plus avocados, coconut, etc.) -- i do take in some carbs from fresh fruit smoothies & lots of veggies & I do eat some meats, but only a few times a week maybe -- I now see that my above comments were written out of anger & frustration, so I apologise for the "tone" I used, as it made me appear to be arrogant.

No worries, I do that all the time, lol. I would actually be interested in that article. Although I don't think it has much to do with what we were discussing. That PDCAAS is about absorption and how much protein is actually absorbed. There are many flaws in how it is measured but it is a good number to use to compare two different protein sources. No matter how much is absorbed though, all amino acids have at least one nitrogen atom so a diet that is mostly protein and some fats, would probably result in excess nitrogen in the body.

One would have to eat a lot of protein and have kidney problems for this to really be a personal issue.

I actually eat A LOT of carbs... I would say 70% of my intake most days. I've lost 20.4lbs since April 5th. Not too bad. Plus.. I don't want to get rid of my carbs.. I love em.

Not all foods are converted to glucose, but all carbs are, this is why it is important to try and eat low glycemic index carbs when you have them. 

Also, if you begin with eating protein or fat, like nuts or olive oil dressing before consuming carbs, you digestion process will be slower and the sugar from the carbs will be released into your blood stream more slowly without spiking your blood sugar.  This is important for diabetics, but also important for people who are not. 

For those non-diabetics out there who eat a Snickers bar and feel great just to have that energy crash a short while later it's because all that sugar was released right away into your system spiking your blood sugar and then it comes crashing down a short while later if you are not diabetic.  Any calories you consume this way have a great potential to feed the fat cells, if they can not be used right away by the body/muscles, they are converted to fat storage. 

I am a believer that you must eat a well balanced diet which includes all of the food types, protein, fat, and carbs and the amounts of each will vary person to person dependent on their particular system. 

Note: Many people believe that since dairy products contain protein and fat that they are not high in carbohydrates, however, if you speak with any nutritionist you will find that milk, yogurt and the like are considered carbohydrates. 

Gonna stick to my blood type / genotype diets.  According to them, everyone processes foods differently, and I heartily believe that.  A diet rich in certain kinds of carbs, and definitely not wheat or potatoes, is what's right for me (I judge not just by the way I feel or weight loss, but also the perfect "elimination" that occurs after I consume the right foods - you can't fake that).

I've read that most of the world's population has issues processing wheat.  Most foods, including wheat, allow one to subsist, but living well comes from making choices.  Eventually, in the wrong person, and diet rich in carbs will be detrimental to their health.  People grow wheat and corn for economic and historic reasons, not because they're the most healthful substances.  Remember, we've only been an agricultural society for a tiny bit of our human history.

I think this book might help some people, but I'm guessing that for most it will be a mistake. 

Of course carbs are great.  I mean bread, rice, spaghetti ... what could be more comforting?  But from my experience I really have to keep my eye on the carbs with the goal of keeping them to a minimum. The calories just mount too quickly.  For breakfast I have coffee and fruit, sometimes oatmeal.  For lunch I try to have a balanced meal making sure to get my fiber, some protein and green vegetables. (Generally lunch is my big meal of the day).  It's at dinner that I am most likely to have some small amount of carb, maybe pizza, a small serving of rice or pasta or a turkey blt.

When I eat carbs, I am always careful to bulk them up with other stuff ... lots of veggies on the pizza, blueberries in the oatmeal.  Like that.  But since I eat a lot of fruit, I seem to get a full complement of carbs without really trying.  There was a time in my life (before caloriecount.com) when I probably ate mostly carbs and hardly ever any protein.  That didn't work.

I wouldn't even read this book or anything like it, because just watching and logging my calories every day and keeping a generally balanced diet is working for me.  It's easy, it's effective, it makes me feel good and it's something I feel I can do for the rest of my life.  I don't want to go back to gimmicks and games and I don't really care what the latest round of research shows.  Eat less, move more ... that's pretty much all there is to it.

I guess in my comments above, I'm distinguishing between processed simple carbs (bread, rice, pasta) and natural complex carbs, like fruit and vegetables.  I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.  I love apples and strawberries and I eat them throughout the day to keep hunger pangs away.  I find by having balanced meals and grazing on fruits, I never feel like I am starving or depriving myself.

And, by the way, when I want the occassional plate of lasagna or pancakes, I go for it.  But since I am counting my calories every day, it doesn't get out of hand.

why buy that book when we have Calorie Count for free?

I think the problem is the use of the word "carbs".  Some people think carbs are the same as "starches."  Actually carbs include sugars, starches and fiber. 

I recently read an article about Drew Carey losing 80 pounds by eliminating "all carbs."  In the very next sentence, the article said he ate "fruit for snacks."  Of course, we know that fruits are carbs!  What he actually eliminated was grains and starchy vegetables.

Vegetables are carbs, too.  Whole grains are carbs.  Even beans, especially pinto beans have significant carbohydrates.  These are all nutritious foods and can be part of a healthy diet. 

Carbs are not just "pasta, pizza and bread," and not all "pasta, pizza and breads" are created equal either. 

After reading this article it was interesting how contrary it is to what we normally believe and follow.

However i was wondering if anyone HAS done this carblover's diet and how they fared on it.

What about the carboholics - like me?  The more carbs I eat, the more I want!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful comments about this article. People aren't created equal, and no one "diet" should be followed by anyone since we all have different calorie and nutrient needs based on gender, age, frame size and activity levels (not to mention genetics). The key is to find a pattern of eating that works for you, and that is safe and sensible and maintainable.

I enjoy carbohydrate-rich foods each and every day and have been able to maintain a more than 30# weight loss for years. I'm in good health, have no signs of disease or deficiency (bp, cholesterol etc all seem to be at healthy levels, knock wood). What works for me may not work for you. Many people (including my high school self) tend to overdo portions of carbohydrate-rich foods--it's tough to stick to just one cup of pasta or rice, right? But consuming carbohyrate-rich foods--especially whole grains, fruits, and veggies (including beans) as part of a healthful eating pattern is critical for good health. As many of you know, glucose is the key fuel needed by the brain and central nervous system. The best source of glucose is carbohydrate-rich foods. Consuming the most healthful carbohydrate-rich foods and limiting foods rich in saturated fat, cholesterol, trans fat, and added sugars, consuming enough but not too many calories to meet our needs for weight loss or weight maintenance, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle with plenty of physical activity is the best defense against diet-related diseases ad conditions--it can also help us feel great and stay energized.

When you see diet books like this, you need to bypass all the claims they make--most diet books that sell well make outlandish claims which gets them notice and results in book sales--and read what's inside and decide if and what parts you want to take from it and apply to your life. Find what you can do and live with--don't go on a diet only to go off it later.

Just my two cents!! Have a great day all:)

Original Post by: ddidonat87

not all food is converted into glucose.

Actually, people have died by eating zero carbs. It _is_ dangerous when taken to the extreme. I have written articles for chemistry textbooks about the mechanism by which the Krebs cycle stops without the input of glucose (over a very long term, but it does happen).

That said, I recently discovered a low-carb diet and have lost 42 pounds so far (in about 4 months). More than the weight loss, I feel much better when I eat LESS carbs. Not no carbs, but less carbs. Bread just doesn't make a lot of us feel good, really. Sure is delicious, but my body and mind actually feel better without it.

@christathin,

Can you give info re which / what type of low-carb diet you're using?  42 lbs. is a LOT!

I'm with christathin.  We should not eliminate ALL carbs, just the bad carbs.  Truly whole foods like fresh fruit, veggies, grains contain the good fiber rich carbs our body is designed to use.  White rice, breads, pasta or anything with high fructose corn syrup in it is poisoning us.  We should not eliminate ALL fat, just the bad fat.  Avocado, nuts, olive oil...these contain the MUFAs which our body is designed to use.  Good protein sources can be found in lean meats and beans but we have to be careful how it's prepared or we can sabotage our health.  EXAMPLE: I love black beans and rice, but if i eat the beans with white rice or rice died yellow (with saffron-yummy!) i've sabotaged myself.  I should take the time to cook the black and brown rice which is so good for me, throw in my own saffron and black beans and top with fresh home made salsa and guacamole.  If i eat a reasonable serving of this (say one cup) a fresh salad, and if i feel like it, a little chopped up roasted chicken breast on top and i've made a good protein rich, good carb rich, good fat rich meal.  Oh and guess what?  This would be perfectly acceptable on the SOUTH BEACH DIET (after the first phase of course)!

p.s.  My profile picture, the horribly delicious looking burgers, is an add i copied from caloriecount.about.com, SERIOUSLY! 

The low carb diet I've been on where you can lose 20 pounds a month (really! it's unreal) is called the Bernstein diet and is offered through medically-supervised clinics in the Canada and a couple of states -- Florida and AZ, maybe?

Gist of it: 7 oz. of protein and 1 lb. of veggies, a couple v. tiny extras, but you don't get hungry because they give you extra potassium (which, with the protein, which you _must_ eat enough of per day, helps burn the fat) and vitamin B shots.

I've copied below another thread that I found about it and my response to what is said there.

I don't see why people say it's unhealthy to lose fast. I'm a chemist and I've now done this for 42 pounds so far, and I have thought a lot about it. I think it's more healthy than staying obese! That said, I can also see that doing the maintenance (strongly recommended for even a year after Bernstein) will be key. I am feeling great and looking good and want to stay this way. The low carbs and the lower weight are really nice. Nicer than I knew they'd be.

What I've learned about the Bernstein diet.

I read the whole thread at http://www.steadyhealth.com/viewtopic.php?p=819732#819732

and I posted this reply. I thought I'd share it with you, but you don't have to read it if you don't have the time! I probably said it all out loud already. I find I could write so much more about this! Maybe I will.

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I am doing this diet and I think it's a great thing. Lower blood pressure, lower hypertension, better energy, better sleep, reduced risk of diabetes... I read the whole 7 pages here wondering if I'd find out what's so bad about losing weight fast. I've thunk and thunk and it seems to me that the risks of being obese are worse than the risks of losing fast. Yes, maintenance will take discipline. For sure I plan to do the maintenance program for quite a while. I have two older relatives who lost huge amounts of weight on this years back and they both still feel great. I have tried SO HARD to lose weight since having my son, and despite exercise and healthy diet, it just stays on. After 2.5 weeks on the diet, my weight is lower than it's been in 6 years. FINALLY. I am so tired of people leaving me out of athletic things because they incorrectly perceive me as unfit because I have a few extra curves.

Losing fast -- maybe it dumps a lot of toxins in your system. That would make sense to me, since breastfeeding cleanses the body of toxins stored in fat and this may be a similar effect. So... drink water! Tons and tons and tons of water. That seems to be the best defense for liver and kidneys too.

I had one nasty nurse and I complained by e-mail immediately. I heard back from the manager by telephone and she addressed it. I explained I would not see that nurse any more and they gladly accommodated that, so far. The other nurses have been kind and encouraging.

If you're wondering if losing the weight is important, check this out, a Jamie Oliver show in 8 parts, with a lot of anatomical and real-life information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srUZwQf76Xs

The cost is $330 startup fee and $600 per month (2010). It's a huge amount of money, but as others have said, I am feeling at the moment like it is totally worth it.

I have learned that salt really packs the water pounds on! But when I drink enough water to get rid of the salts again, the weight peels off. It's awesome, and I'm feeling great, and I am a real Canadian woman and not an advertiser, I promise.

I have had some VERY hungry days on this diet. No doubt about it. And I have cheated. Teeny, tiny amounts -- and every cheat slowed the weight loss. So, I feel it's really experimental. Live and learn, take records, improve.

One issue I have with this diet is that I wish the food options focussed more on whole grains and healthy foods. Some of the choices are at odds with, for example, the GI index, or what I know about healthy eating in general. Getting AWAY from processed foods is something we should ALL do, but Dr. B. seems to encourage processed foods over fresh (mainly the carb options), which I do not appreciate. I find myself trying some Splenda, but I'm thinking that it would be much healthier to just detox all of that junk.

One thing I LOVE about this is I had a lot of tests done I'd never had done before. For example, I learned that I had great cholesterol levels. That was nice to hear.

Any carbs taste super, super sweet when your body is off them! I've discovered that. Somewhere somebody wrote on a forum that "everyone feels better at a different level of carbs" and I think that person hit a good nail on the head -- some of us DO seem to function a lot better with fewer carbs. Certainly without white flour and white sugar!

And finally, I wish Canada and the world would start putting warning labels, nicotine-style, on sugar products. For example, the healthy-sounding Starbucks cold drinks are just criminal. Kids and adults seem to have no idea of the damage they're doing by guzzling these suckers back. And surely sugars could be cut back across the board!!!! Jamie Oliver's program said there is DOUBLE the sugar in processed food these days than there was 30 years ago. Why are we allowing the food industry to do this to us? It's rotten.