Do you think low carb diets work?

Hi!

Ive stared a low carb diet because i want to loose 5 kg by march and ive heard you do loose a lot of weight with these types of diets...i have 3 friends who are fitness instructors and athletes and they swear by these types of diets and have been eating low carbs for years now!!!they are always energetic,healthy and never bloated but ive heard that once you stop obiding by a low carb diet then you pile the weight on back again very fast....Is this true?Has anyone experienced this after a low carb diet? I usually eat healthy anyway, never drink soda or eat ready made meals and always use unrefined sugars and salts but im a sucker for potatoes and im scarred that after ive shed the weight that i will put it back on by adding potatoes into my diet again!

There's a very good phrase... 'don't do anything to lose weight that you can't see yourself happily doing for the rest of your life'.   Low-carb diets do have an immediate effect on weight because the body's short term carbohydrate (glycogen) stores include quite a lot fluid.  When this is used up and not replaced you're automatically lighter..... often as much as 7 - 10lbs.  The rest of the weight goes the same way as every other diet i.e. calories in less than the calories out!  However, you're right, reintroduce carbohydrates, the stores replenish and the fluid returns with it.  That's where the 'pile the weight back on very fast' part comes in.

So if you enjoy potatoes, bread, pasta or other forms of starchy carbohydrate and you want to lose weight don't drop them all together and end up feeling miserable.... just reduce the amounts and keep them in the mix.  Much more fun.

Thank you very much for your comment...the diet im doing does consist of carbs but just small amounts and only in the mornings and im combinding that with reducing my intake of calories aswell...anyway lets see how it goes....i will update on the subject just incase other people are wondering what the results will turn out to be

I whole-heartedly agree with gi-jane's phrase! Loosing weight isn't something you want to keep doing every so often because you 'gained it all back!' (That's really dangerous on your body by the way!) All those diets that cut out certain items work well while you are on them and if you can stick to it as a lifestyle, but keeping the weight off is more about self control, portion sizes and changing your attitude about eating. Good for your friends for being able to stick to their low carb lifestyle though! Personally I never met an M&M I couldn't refuse so cutting out all sweets was a complete failure for me! I also happen to love a good baked or roasted potato, pasta, bread and potato chips.

What I've found that helps both satisfy those cravings and keeps me focused is substituting the higher carb items for lower, healthier options. For example - switch from white rice and regular pasta to brown or basmati rice and whole wheat pasta. There are so many choices now that it's easier to find one that doesn't have that cardboard taste!

Also, potatos get a bad rap, but in moderation are actually good for you - its a veggie and it packs a good source of potassium and other important nutrients including (if you eat the skins) fiber. Try playing some mind tricks with yourself - choose a smaller potato (any kind, about the size of your palm or smaller) for a baked potato once a week. (Just watch what you put on that baked potato!) Or try making 'oven fries' from sweet potatos, olive oil and a little cayanne pepper or brown sugar.

What these things do is help you feel fuller longer, up your fiber (studies show that a higher fiber diet helps reduce belly fat!) and still lets you enjoy the things you like. Bottom line, you shouldn't have to cut something out completely in order to loose weight - moderate it or modify it, but somehow, cutting it completely only makes you want it more! Could you really see yourself cutting potatos forever?

(Let's just say I had 10 M&Ms yesterday!) :-)

Great post by gi-jane,

All diets will work if you are restricitng calories and creating a deficit.  The extra weight loss you get with low-carb diets is the water that is attached to glycogen. Gylcogen is important for quality workouts so the water weight lost can result is less fat lost down the road and IMO fat loss is what we really want.

Also she is correct about finding a lifestlye you can follow otherwise you will gain the weight back.

Original Post by alexandragr1987:

Hi!

Ive stared a low carb diet because i want to loose 5 kg by march and ive heard you do loose a lot of weight with these types of diets...i have 3 friends who are fitness instructors and athletes and they swear by these types of diets and have been eating low carbs for years now!!!they are always energetic,healthy and never bloated but ive heard that once you stop obiding by a low carb diet then you pile the weight on back again very fast....Is this true?Has anyone experienced this after a low carb diet? I usually eat healthy anyway, never drink soda or eat ready made meals and always use unrefined sugars and salts but im a sucker for potatoes and im scarred that after ive shed the weight that i will put it back on by adding potatoes into my diet again!

 Yes they do !! Low carb diets are the real deal. In fact most celebrities like Jessica Alba, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansen, etc follow strict low-carb diets, even zero carb diets.  The less carbohydrates you eat, the better you will look. Because carbohydrate intake increases insulin-levels and the more insulin your body produces, the fatter you get. Because insulin in the body leads to water-retention and fat-storage, it is also labeled as the monster-hormone.

By the same token, the more protein you eat the more glucagon-levels your body produces. And glucagon has the opposite effect of insulin.  Glucagon is a fat burning hormone.  So high protein, low-carb diets make you: burn fat, look better and lose weight.

That's why body-builders who are trying to lose fat and weight follow low-carb diets !

So yes get out of the regular high-carb, low calorie diets, and get into the low-carb lifestyle, because it is the real deal for weight loss !!

x

Original Post by gi-jane:

There's a very good phrase... 'don't do anything to lose weight that you can't see yourself happily doing for the rest of your life'.   Low-carb diets do have an immediate effect on weight because the body's short term carbohydrate (glycogen) stores include quite a lot fluid.  When this is used up and not replaced you're automatically lighter..... often as much as 7 - 10lbs.  The rest of the weight goes the same way as every other diet i.e. calories in less than the calories out!  However, you're right, reintroduce carbohydrates, the stores replenish and the fluid returns with it.  That's where the 'pile the weight back on very fast' part comes in.

So if you enjoy potatoes, bread, pasta or other forms of starchy carbohydrate and you want to lose weight don't drop them all together and end up feeling miserable.... just reduce the amounts and keep them in the mix.  Much more fun.

 Right on the money.. I am on SB and everyone says ooo low carb.. I eat a LOAD of carbs every day.. but I get most of my carbs in fresh veggies and some of my carbs in brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grains and fruit.  

No one diet will work for everyone.. if it did there would be no fat people.  I detest dieting... and do not feel that SB is a diet.. as it is something I can do for the rest of my life,  I look at it as changing the relationship I have with food.. and it works for me :)

Best of luck

Binge eater I disagree with a no carb lifestyle.. it is not balanced nor healthy in my opinion.  There is nothing wrong with carbs I have listed up above.. they are part of a well balanced menu.  If you follow the no carbs diet you will end up with malnutrition and some serious health problems.. pls be careful what you advocate.. Just because a Hollywood actor/actress does this does not mean healthy!!!!

Sure they work. Removing or reducing most food groups from your diet is going to make you lose weight. Well, initially, anyway.

The only problem is maintaining this. Whenever you want to eat more carbs or more of the food you eliminated or reduced from your diet, you will most likely gain (all or some) of the weight you lost back. Well, it's not always that way, but possible.

Generally cutting all carbs from your diet is a bad idea, for the reasons gi-jane mentioned.

Yes, they work, because they encourage a better hormonal profile for weight loss. There's less insulin in the blood stream, so fat can be burned primarily for fuel instead of carbs. Studies have consistently reflected the superiority of low carb, high protein diets over high carb, low fat diets in terms of weight loss, metabolism, and various health markers.

A lot of people give low-carb diets undue and un-researched criticism. Anyone can say a diet is bad, but are they prepared to provide scientific evidence that supports their claims? They misunderstand the mechanisms behind fat loss and make the assumption that macronutrient ratios have no effect on it.

However, macronutrient ratios are very important and do make a large difference on weight loss and its sustainability.

Thats actually what we are being taught in University at the moment... but I've read articles that argue this ...just like quite a few people are doing on this thread!!!! AHHHH!!!

so far ive been on the low carb diet for 2 days and ive lost 500gr i know its only fluids but i have had no cravings at all and im not hungry even though the protions are small...

I agree on the last aprt of your post.... no carb diets are highly malnutritional!!!

I MUST STRESS that i am not doing a no carb diet, just a low carb one! i eat brown rice, porridge and wholemeal bread every day but only in the daytime and only small portions of it. Plus once a week i am allowed to eat anything i want aslong as i dont binge...im sure by the end of the week anyway my stomache will be so used to eating small portions that i wont be able to eat too much on the 7th day anyway!hahaha

Ohh and im not going to stop eating potatoes no matter what!haha

haha im such an idiot sometimes! i pressed reply instead of quote... the first one goes to binge eater and the second one goes to nanny 317