Your thoughts on the low-carb fad

[sonofhud]

I'm currently trying this out. I have met numerous people who said they have lost a good amount of weight through low carbs.

 

If you are on this diet, what are you eating? List some examples of your meals. Maybe a breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

 

I know there is plenty of food out there, but I'm just so used to eating lots of bread, pasta, and rice because I was always taught through the food pyramid to eat these the most!

 

I know I need to cut back on my overall eating habits and have been obsessed with this for the last week. I hope I can sustain my enthusiam about it.

[Fedup&givingup]

I've never tried this diet plan, but I know people who have.

 

Here's some suggestions...

 

B-fast= scrambled eggs and bacon

 

Lunch= a salad with those Louis Rich cooked chicken strips, shredded cheese, and whatever salad dressing you want on it.

 

Dinner= steak, green beans, and a salad.

 

Can't really think of anything else besides that LOL. I also think they took fish oil pills, or something. Apparently there is something about the fish oil that balances all this cholesterol, or something.

 

Good luck!

[sonofhud]

Were they on the atkins diet? There is a difference in the two correct? I don't know much about atkins besides consumption of a lot of meat.

 

I've been eating plenty of green beans, salad, and chicken the last week.

[Sundaymorning]

You know what? I hate this low carb thing, I think its ridiculous and disgusting. I even saw low carb vitamins today. I am sorry but this is yet another diet thing that will not work in the long run. You lose the weight, but how do you keep it off? Never eat another peice of bread again? Nope.

And who says you cannot have bread? That makes you want it even more.

I feel bad for those who go on diets because diets never work. Change your lifestyles people. To cut out any certain thing will NEVER work in the long run.

[UCFKevin]

I hate it. I cannot STAND IT.

 

Are people going to be counting carbs for the rest of their life? Living in misery? Eating crap they hate just because it's healthy and denying the food they love, the food that TASTES GOOD?

 

How about just eating what you want, not over-doing it, and being active and exercise and work out?

 

Bread? Gimme. Rice? FIVE SERVINGS PLEASE.

 

Screw Atkins! Screw carbs! I eat what I like.

 

DAMMIT.

[moimeme]

Screw Atkins! Screw carbs! I eat what I like.

 

DAMMIT.

 

Yeah, me too. Thing is, I taught mysel to quit liking FAT. Deep-fried stuff - BLECH! Fried anything, really - blah. Once you stay away from it for a while, you don't even want it - and when you do eat it, you're sorry. I use olive oil and non-hydrogenated margarine and low-fat cheeses and milk and life is grand. And I am not at all close to overweight.

[sonofhud]

Yah I have been trying to cut out this crap. I was eating fast food way too much....I havent had any in for over a week. Same thing for cokes...mostly drinking water now.

[pav186]

yeah as stated in my "why america pisses me off" rant...i cant stand it too. I suppose it works but theres no reason for it. Definitely stay away from sodas, fast food etc. If you eat a normal balanced diet and exercise thats all you need to do.

 

Moi- I agree with you, once you eat healthy for a while it becomes natural. When I do eat mcdonalds or something I get sick. Of course I get the craving for something bad every once in a while but keep it in moderation. Maybe its just me but eating healthy is not that difficult for me and I feel good about myself when I do. I also prefer good real food to sweets anyways which also helps, i get sick if i eat too much of something sugary. My gf on the other hand has a crazy sweet tooth.

[hurtingandconfused]

I lost 25 lbs in 1 and a half months.

 

This is what I ate...Morning a protein shake...about 1/4 glass milk. OR scramble eggs with ham/ drink water.

 

Lunch: Chicken and broccoli and corn(you need some carbs) Drink water.

 

Dinner: peaches and pears about 3 in total. Drink water. (Try not to eat after 7-8pm)

 

If you want to try it you can eat any kind of meat. Steak, chicken, ham, fish, ect... You can eat eggs(try to take out the yoak) Eat lots of veggies and fruits(fruits have carbs but your body needs carbs)

 

Atkins diet is basically eating as much protein as you can without trying to consume carbs. Is it healthy? If you do not over do it.

 

I did this for about 2 months.

 

Carbs are energy your body uses. If you do not use this "energy" it turns into fat. If you exercise properly and use the energy nothing happens. When you lift weights your muscles burn calories even when you sleep. So if you work out you won't have to try the Atkins diet.

 

Now I crave chocolate all the time. My body depends on it or something. I eat about 1 bar every other day. I have not gained weight since I stopped my strict diet. However, it might be because I still work out.

 

If you want to lose weight quick try the Atkins. If you want to be in shape begin to work out and watch what you eat. (no fast food)

[moimeme]

Carbs are critical to a brain's functioning. It needs 60 grams of carbs a day. You want to starve your brain? Not me!

 

Now I crave chocolate all the time

 

Probably because your bod is screaming for stuff you're depriving it of.

[Thinkalot]

Just an added point, sometimes diets have an unfortunate side effect. The more you think about food, ie in what you can or can't eat, the more you actually want food, and fixate on it a little. This sometimes makes things worse! Eating healthy foods in balanced amounts, and exercising is the best approach. Going to extreme usually is a bad idea.

[faux]

I really haven't looked into counting carbohydrates. I simply count my calories as best I can when I eat every day. Over the period of a year, I have apparently learned to crave what is good for me, and eat properly enough to have lost a great deal of weight (60+ pounds since last year, this time) and keep it off, and maintain my present weight.

 

The way that I see it, is that one should not have to analyze the food labels on everything one eats. One should, instead, over time develop a sense of what is good and what is not good, eventually having to put little thought into it. Diets need to last for life, not just a few weeks of careful planning.

[Thinkalot]

I spent years hooked on counting calories (my obsessive tendencies didn't help), and that was not a fun place to be.

 

Now, I have no idea how many calories I consume, and my weight is about the same, only I have more freedom and enjoy eating again. I am fit and healthy, and like moi and the others, I simply no longer like fatty fried foods, and they make me feel sick if I eat them!

[hurtingandconfused]

Carbs are critical to a brain's functioning. It needs 60 grams of carbs a day.

 

I was eating carbs

 

It was natural carbs from fruits.

 

What I crave is chocolate...I believe that it's different..it's because I deprived myself of all the junk food I use to eat.

[aroseInLove]

Originally posted by moimeme

Carbs are critical to a brain's functioning. It needs 60 grams of carbs a day. You want to starve your brain? Not me!

 

Now I crave chocolate all the time

 

Probably because your bod is screaming for stuff you're depriving it of.

 

 

Moi.. maybe you hit the nail on the head for me.. Damn.. I've been LIVING Atkins for 4 years.. different extremes depending on what I was trying to accomplish.. BUT I NEVER heard of this carb:brain ..I'm not debating it at all.. just never heard it.. My poor clients.. if that's the case..yikes!!!! with all the software I've written.. .. I'm going to look into this fact alone..

 

Meanwhile .. I maintain a size 3 because of Atkins.. The ONLY carbs I do are vegetables.. and they are NEVER corn or carrots.. If you want success with Atkins.. do two things..

 

**ONE**: Go on the Internet.. scan the phrase "glycemic index"... eat carbs with LEAST in the index number.. The higher the number, as in chocholate, it FLIES to fat at the speed of light.. where veggie carbs give your metabolism LOT MORE TIME to process it... The theory behind Atkins in laymen's terms.. is that we only have so much metabolism.. which process FAT/PROTEIN first and foremost.. then.. if you have ANY metabolic action left, it process the carbs you ate... now by the INDEX number.. as in how FAST it FLEW to become fat.. if that car you ate is low enough in number that it IS still there to BE processed.. .. then it WILL.. and if, in fact, you had NO carb in said meal.. then the metabolic STILL in action attacks the FAT on you BODY... keeping in mind .. what we eat and do not immediately process is stored in 'pockets' for 24 hours.. thus if not burned in 24 hours.. it turns to fat.. by the same token ... don't go to bed HUNGRY.. as your body will hold onto FAT in it's self-protection against famine..

 

**TWO**: Do Not.. I repeat DO NOT make a life out of bacon, steak, ham.. yikes.. you will clog your arteries.. Did you ever the saying .. go from 4 legs.. to 2 legs .. to no legs.. foir weight success.. exactly.. four-legged animal foods are the WORST.. (besides processed food and straight up sugar-- like is chocolate).. .. MOVE at least to chicken and turkey.. and best is fish.. Keep in mind ANYTHING not metabolized turns to FAT... even protein.. I learned that the HARD way.. I was drinking those 45g protein shakes twice a day and skimpy lunch and I was GAINING.. couldn't believe it.. then a nutritionist clued me in to that one...

 

There ARE foods out there you truly can LOVE that are low fat AND low carb... I spend hours in the grocery store looking for such items.. I eat hot sugar fritters, for instance, that have no sugar, no carbs and 1 gram of fat.. Now I LOVE it and I can overdose and be stuffed with this sort of thing IF I'm ravenous, and I not only do NO harm to my size, but I know my arteries are clean.. I have energy.. not sluggish.. I swim and I run.. My brain codes approx. thousand lines per day..it's in use while driving 100+ miles per day.. w/o accidents.. though my brain, does have relationship 'processing' issues at hand, however..

 

.. I have learned that this 'routine' is not JUST a diet.. it's a way of life.. for me.. I'm sold.... write me any time..

[bluechocolate]

I recently read a study conducted about Atkins and the study's conclustion was that Atkins primarily works because protein makes you feel more full than carbs - the people were actually eating LESS food, even though theoretically they were allowed to each much more protein. It was simply that they felt full.

 

Personally I think any diet that restricts the amount of fruit and veg you're allowed to eat and then tells you that you can fill up on meat/animal proteins has got to be bogus. The whole dieting thing is bogus - it's so simple - eat less, exercise more.

[wideawake]

My take.

 

First, obesity related illness will account for more than 1/2 of all health care costs in the next few years. So ANYTHING that makes people more of aware of their health, and instigates conversations on diet are cool in my book. (hence this thread...).

 

Is this 'low-carb' thing going to far and just becoming one more marketing fad. Sure, but who cares? It's still educating a ton of people that otherwise would still be cramming themselves full of 'low-fat' cookies and pretzels non-stop.

 

So chill...our society could use a little kick in the ass as far as educating themselves, and discovering what nutritional plan works for THEIR body.

 

Now - my deal.

 

I'm a basic endo/meso, so I can throw on muscle fairly easily, but I also have a tendency to gain fat if I'm not careful. And it's tougher for me to lose fat than a classic meso or ecto.

 

I lift weights 2-3 times per week, and try to get out 2-3 times for cardio as well (girl is kicking my ass all over the road these days, but that's another story.)

 

I'm actually going low carb myself right now to throw off a few pounds I put on over the winter.

 

Now..low carb for me is 150g - 175g of carbs on cardio days or rest days, and 250g-300g on days when I lift. The point here is that you need to figure out what works for your body type, and how to incorporate exercise into your life, and how to incorporate your meals around your exercise schedule.

 

I've tried keto (i.e., modified Atkins I guess, not really familiar with Atkins) based diets in the past, and they simply do not work for me. Not that I can't lose fat on them, I sure can, fast and furious as well. But low carb crashed out my endocrine system, and my dopamine and serotonin levels like a motha. Hence low carb equals depression, paranoia, and lethargy. Not a great combo for a healthy life. Bottom line is that everyone is going to react differently toward nutritional intake, and exercise. You need to figure out what works for your body though.

 

Some key things:

 

Eat carbs before and after exercise. Period.

 

Eat Protein and Carbs after weight training. Make these carbs high-glycemic (sugar). After weight-training is the one time when your body will actually use sugar more efficiently than something like oatmeal.

 

Meal frequency is bs, studies have shown no difference in metabolism/fat loss between 3 and 6 meals a day. Under 3 and things get dicey, but you don't have to eat 8 meals a day to lose weight.

 

Don't worry about losing 'weight', worry about losing fat and keeping as much lean tissue as possible. Eat carbs before and after exercise in this regard.

 

Stimulants will f*** up your system over the long haul and up-regulate cortisol receptors and increase their number. This is bad. Very bad. Avoid stims, i.e., 'fat loss pills' They also do a ton of other bad stuff from a body comp perspective.

 

Obviously there's much more, but that's a start.

[LizzyB]

I think Atkins is a good idea but I know that alot of people at my work are going about it the wrong way. All they ever eat is fat filled crap and lose weight doing it. All of my co-workers are eating hot wings at lunch! (every day) I think if you want to lose weight, you should cut out a bit of everything....Cut some carbs and some fats. You just have to weight it all out. If your going to have a lot of carbs at lunch, go easy during dinner. I think the atkins diet just works well because a big part of American's diets are breads. I cut out a lot of the unneeded breads in my diet and I keep my weight off easily now. I think many people just eat a lot of carbs, they don't necessarily need.

[wideawake]

The 'best' before bed meal in the world (for me...)

 

1 cup skim milk

16oz of low-fat cottage cheese

Enough splenda to kill a cow (10ounces...)

1 packet of fat-free/sugar-free jello pudding mix (choc if you're me)

 

Blend until smooth and refrigerate. This makes four servings for me.

 

I always wanted to build cottage cheese into my diet and I just couldn't choke it down. The protein in cottage cheese is mainly casein, which is a very slow acting protein, so you get a nice sustained release over the long night-time fast as you sleep. Carbs from both the milk and cottage are fine as well. (obviously I have no lactose probs, if you do...sorry, you're s*** out of luck as dairy is a huge bonus for the bioavailabily of it's calcium).

 

Maybe someday I'll grow up and not have to disguise my food, but until that day I raise a spoon to my yummy and healthy treat!

[aroseInLove]

Originally posted by bluechocolate

I recently read a study conducted about Atkins and the study's conclustion was that Atkins primarily works because protein makes you feel more full than carbs - the people were actually eating LESS food, even though theoretically they were allowed to each much more protein. It was simply that they felt full.

 

Personally I think any diet that restricts the amount of fruit and veg you're allowed to eat and then tells you that you can fill up on meat/animal proteins has got to be bogus. The whole dieting thing is bogus - it's so simple - eat less, exercise more.

 

 

Living 'my version' of Atkins.. This IS true.. If I eat carbs.. it takes a LOT longer for me to feel full.. Hate to say it, wish it wasn't the case.. but I am a classic over-eater from years of Prednisone (steroids) for hives. Speaking JUST for the sake of discussing *volume* to reach that feeling of 'full'.. If I'm ravenous I can eat pretty close to a whole large pizza or a family size bowl of macaroni or rice.. Sorry.. disgusting, I know.. but, in comparision I can NOT eat two 10 oz.. steaks.. or 5 cans of tuna, etc..

 

Also, I heard Atkins works exceptionally well with O+ blood types.. which I happen to be.. There were a few other blood types on that list.. just don't remember what they were..

 

Overeating and being overweight will de-motivate and create sluggishness... the less fat I'd be 'carrying' in my skin, the more I could self-motivate to get TO the gym and the more energy and drive I would have once I got here.

 

Everyone needs to find their OWN way of what 'works' for them.. tolerance and tastes are so varied.. but if you can find something that works for you and it's a balanced Exercise:Eating right ratio.. then, treat it like it's your 'patent' to your weight success.. and if you slip up.. don't give up.. just go back as soon as you can.. as like most everything else in life.. success breeds success.. and failure breeds failure... I placed a post-it note inside my medicine cabinet and each morning I'd wake up ..open that cabinet door and see the note that said.. 'What kind of 'roll' are you on today, Rose? Sounds korny.. but there were days it WAS my wake-up call to reverse a downhill pattern of sabotage..

[HokeyReligions]

As a diet its okay, as part of a healthy eating plan I think it works. My husband is diabetic so we've really had to watch what we eat and how we eat carbs. It has to do with the way it metabolizes and its not like we've give up a lot.

 

The best thing to do is drink lots of cold water whenever you eat.

[quankanne]

I think this latest diet fad is feeding into people's mentality of "eat this/that and lose weight fast," and it's a bunch of BS. Not everyone is a candidate for diet plans like Adkins, Scarsdale or whatever's hot now -- and not everyone realizes that because they want the best possible results with little or no effort.

 

The only way a person is going to lose weight is to eat sensibly, eat moderately and exercise -- not flit from diet to diet to diet, especially when those diets are not even balanced.

 

Every time I've been sent to a diabetes education class for "updates" on how to handle my health, the American Heart Association diet has been stressed -- stick with the food pyramid and within the caloric intake the dietician has prescribed AND exercise moderately, you'll do well. Frankly, if you tried to eat everything you're supposed to on the food pyramid -- all the fruits and vegetable and grain products -- you'd have a hard time eating it all. The problem lies in grabbing snacks like chips or donuts or chocolate candy bars, which taste wonderful, but blow your plan of caloric/carb intake and don't even fill you up! ... I think this is where binge eating comes in: because it's labeled "healthy," people think they can consume large amounts without it affecting their diet.

 

Besides the AHA diet, the other thing the dieticians have us do is look for carbohydrate intake. Between 15-22 grams of carbs equals one exchange of food, and I've found it to be a good rule of thumb. Read the label to see how much one serving weighs or is portioned and go from there.

 

At this point, I must confess that I'm overweight, and not just a little. However much those "lose weight fast and keep it off" diets appeal to someone like me, I realize that only a lifestyle change that includes a regular exercise regimen and sensible eating will keep my weight in check.

 

... So yeah, I think diets like the Atkins diet are very unrealistic because not everyone can use them healthily.

[quankanne]

Hokey? has your husband's physician mentioned adding Chromium Picolinate to his regimen? Basically it's a trace element/thingy that helps your body better utilize carbohydrates.

 

When I switched PCPs three years ago, the first thing he did was switch me off "old people insulin" to a regimin that was better tailored to my lifestyle and he had me start taking 400 mg of chromium. *I* think it works pretty well!

 

also have read in several places that the spice cinnamon -- yes, cinnamon! -- is supposed to help diabetics metabolize carbs better. I think the going rate was a teaspoon a day, though I'm not sure if you could use it to flavor meals/drinks with, or had to take it straight.

 

quank

btw, interesting photo .... is this from the "Baby, you can drive my car" series?

[Fedup&givingup]

Originally posted by moimeme

Screw Atkins! Screw carbs! I eat what I like.

 

DAMMIT.

 

Yeah, me too. Thing is, I taught mysel to quit liking FAT. Deep-fried stuff - BLECH! Fried anything, really - blah. Once you stay away from it for a while, you don't even want it - and when you do eat it, you're sorry. I use olive oil and non-hydrogenated margarine and low-fat cheeses and milk and life is grand. And I am not at all close to overweight.

 

Yup, this is me too. I eat 2-3 servings of dairy products, and at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (which will give you loads of energy), and I watch my portion size. I drink plenty of water, and my weight is pretty ideal. I don't constantly feel hungry.

[aroseInLove]

Originally posted by HokeyReligions

The best thing to do is drink lots of cold water whenever you eat.

 

BEFORE you eat, yes.. but not during.. The body can NOT effectively grind/digest food that is LITERALLY FLOATING in a pool of water...... that's a fact I rec'd from a nutritionist..