Is a low-fat, high carb diet bad for you?

Hello all. I just start eating healthier instead of dieting. I'm 16 years old, 5"8 and 165 pounds :(. I eat a salad for lunch and dinner and home made veggie juice as well as other healthy things and I feel full and satisfied (I've already lost two pounds!) However I was doing some research on the net and several sites said that my high-carb diet could be bad for me since I'm growing and all that.

I don't exercise so much, except for taking walks or some running since I've a very busy schedule. I want to be healthier and lose at least 30 more pounds (my doctor recommended I should aim for a low 130s or below).

What should I do then? Should I eat more fat and less carbs or more protein? Or exercise more? Please help me!

(ps. I'm also a vegetarian trying to go vegan)

I think it would be very much worth your while reading here: Unofficial Calorie Count Guide to a Fad-Free 2009 as this provides all sorts of basic info on nutrition and balancing out your diet. To your specific question, though: while for some it works, you are young, and need a balance of nutrients. This includes fats, which help you grow and help keep your hair strong, skin clear and period regular among other things. Just aim for the healthier fats over the less healthy. Still, that link'll help you.

Because you are a vegetarian it is very important to make sure that you are getting enough protein in your diet. Nuts and legumes are an excellent source and will provide you with some good fats. Be extra careful because a vegan diet is not healthy unless you work extra hard to get the right amount of protein and vitamins.

Original Post by mtobweddingdiet:

Because you are a vegetarian it is very important to make sure that you are getting enough protein in your diet. Nuts and legumes are an excellent source and will provide you with some good fats. Be extra careful because a vegan diet is not healthy unless you work extra hard to get the right amount of protein and vitamins.

 That was my concern too. Make sure you're taking advantage of all the healthy sources of vegetarian protein...TVP, tofu, soy protein powder, etc.

Exercise is always the best way to lose weight, when diet is used in conjunction with exercising the results are potentiated. Your diet should be governed by the type of exercises you do. For example, I am a long distance runner and I am also a male cheerleader which involves a lot of weight lifting. During running season I need the sustained source of energy to run our 13 mile races so my diet is low fat 50g of protein and I aim for 500g of carbs. During cheer season when I am weightlifting, I eat low fat 126g of protein and 300g of carbs. Carbs are good for things like cardio work outs and long extended exercises and protein is good for weight lifting and for building muscles. I try to keep my fat at 20% of my caloric intake.