Someone has to explain it to me, because I don't see how...

[babar]

a low carb diet can really work. How is it healthier to eat a burger patty with cheese on it, which probably has so many fat grams and calories, than a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce and tomatoe? I don't get it!!

Does this diet work better for people who are really overweight, rather than people who just want to lose less than 10 pounds?

I just don't see how it can be healthy in the long run. I just lowered my entire caloric intake, reduced my fat intake, and exercised more. When you stop this diet, won't you just gain all that weight back? Because it doesn't seem to teach you how to eat healthy, just how to lose weight fast.

Does anyone know someone who's done this diet for a long period of time, and then reached their goal weight? Did they still eat like this, or did they eat carbs again? Are they healthy? Did they gain the weight back?

Just curious.

Andrea

 

[snoopy]

I've never been succesful losing weight on a low carb diet, I always atributed it to the fact that I have never had much weight to lose. It seems to work best on people who have 100 or more pounds to lose, but that is just been my experience, not based on fact.

I thought I'd give it a try a couple of years ago just to see if it worked. I found myself gagging at some of the stuff I had to eat (not big on red meat or protein in general) and I missed my beloved pasta and bread too much.

But we have plenty of people right here on these boards who have been very successful with low-carb diets. They probably can give you an explanation on how it works, it just never worked for me.

 

[nativetxn]

I'm going to move this to our W.I.S.H board where I'm sure you will get an answer to this question.

 

[Deb in IA]

I am NO DIETITIAN, nor do I have any first hand experience with these low-carb, no-carb diets, but I'll give it a try.

When you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down in digestion into sugars. These sugars are absorbed into your blood stream, which stimulates your islet cells in your pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin lowers your blood sugar, and also promotes the storage of excess calories as FAT. Thus, the theory that carbs are bad for you.

Protein and fat, on the other hand, do NOT stimulate insulin production, and tend to take longer to digest, thus keeping you feeling "satisfied" longer. Also, since food high in fat and protein tend to fill you up quicker, you tend to eat less total food.

I believe that is the basics of these diets. If anyone else can add to my explanation, please feel free.

 

[montessori]

Also, people who have reached their goal weight DO eat some carbs. One trick is to eat them early in the day.

I don't eat a lot of red meat when I do Atkins, but I do eat a lot of chicken.
And black olives! Yum!
Many of the "stars" stay thin by eating low-carb.

It may not be right for everyone but it's not a BAD diet either.

 

[wovenwonder]

YEP --- I'd choose that burger with the cheese over the Turkey sandwich on wheat bread BECAUSE that bread of the turkey sandwich just makes me want to eat some chips -- and then something else a half hour later and I still don't feel satisfied ---- before you know it I'm out of control because I cannot handle what the carbs do to my system.

BUT -- and this is a BIG BUT [no pun intended ] I will have that burger with the cheese and I top it with onion, tomatoe, lots of lettuce -- a little mayo -- maybe even a heap of mushrooms AND I'll have a side salad or a side of Broccolli with it. That meal will satisfy me for a LONG time.

I often order a turkey sub loaded with lots of veggies and request it without the bun. Same goes with having a chicken cheesesteak -- YUM! I still have it -- just minus the bun.

I don't quite know how it works -- but I know it will be my new way of eating -- my new way of life. I feel better than I have in a LONG time! And the great bonus of it all is that I am losing a bit of weight at the same time.

You may find lots more answers at www.lowcarbfriends.com

 

[wovenwonder]

I just don't see how it can be healthy in the long run. I just lowered my entire caloric intake, reduced my fat intake, and exercised more. When you stop this diet, won't you just gain all that weight back? Because it doesn't seem to teach you how to eat healthy, just how to lose weight fast.

YES --- If you stop the low carb 'diet' you will gain all the weight back. That is why you have to pick healthy foods within the low carb choices that you can live with. This is a way of life NOT a diet. If you lower your calories, reduce you fat and excersise more you will lose weight too -- BUT if you stop doing all that and go back to your old ways you will gain it all back. It has to be a way of life -- not a temporary fix.

 

[dizneegirl]

How does it work?

Lowering the carbs helps to balance blood sugar levels. There are all sorts of lower-carb "diets" out there... the "trick" is, it's not a quickie weight-loss diet, it's a lifestyle diet... that is, you don't go low-carb just to lose weight, and then go back to high-carb eating... you eat a lower-carb diet permanently. The nice thing is, if you are overweight, balancing that blood sugar, and not consuming the sugar and starches helps you lose, and then maintain a healthy weight. The protein in the diet helps you maintain lean muscle mass.

If you follow a set plan, such as Atkins, you actually go through phases... the first of which, induction, is often mistaken for the whole diet. In induction, you cut out all sugars, starches, white flour, etc., and limit your carbs to a list of allowed vegetables (salads, non-starchy veggies, veggies low on the glycemic scale). And, yes, you can eat steaks, bacon, butter (which is much better for you than margarine), cream, etc. When you first start low-carb, especially if you're trying to lose weight, the dietary fat without the carbs actually helps the weight-loss aspect. In the first stage, fats and calories don't matter as much as carbs. You're basically re-adjusting your body's settings.

As you progress through the stages (speed depending on whether you're low-carbing for health or for weight loss), you begin adding more "good" carbs back in to your daily diet. In the final phase, maintenance, you're eating whole grains, fruit, and the occasional potato or starchy vegetable. You also cut down on the fatty foods. You do NOT however, go back to white bread, french fries and Twinkies. Moving from stage to stage is what teaches you to eat healthy. It's what makes it a lifestyle diet.

It's a sound concept... but very much misunderstood. Most people consider it to be a "eat-all-the-fat-you-want" diet, with little nutrional value. They don't look past the strict craving-breaking induction to see the "real" diet. It's a healthy diet for diabetics, hypoglycemics, people who suffer from Candida, and quite a bit of the general population.

It boils down to eating "whole" foods (meats, veggies and fruits), and cutting out those refined foods that are so prevalent in our society, and so nutrionally empty.

If you follow a low-carb diet, you don't have the blood sugar swings, which cuts down on energy swings, mood swings, and cravings. After a while, you're not eating as much as you would on a low-fat or low-calorie diet, because you're simply not as hungry... you stay satisfied longer. The foods you do eat are all low on the glycemic index (higher glycemic = higher insulin/blood sugar levels). Maintaining lean muscles mass, avoiding those sugar spikes and drops... that's what makes it an ideal diet for both weight-loss, and for a long-term lifestyle.

Does it work for everyone? No. But neither does anything else. Everyone's different. Low-fat doesn't work for everyone.

You'd probably be amazed that you can live without pasta, bread or potatoes... but getting past those cravings isn't easy.

There are people out there that have lost 100+ pounds, and kept it off for years. They're healthy, and they do eat carbs - but good carbs. If they went back to eating processed junk, chances are they'd gain weight again. Same as those people who lose weight with Weight Watchers, and then go back to eating Snickers and ice cream and gain their weight back. There are those people that didn't need to lose weight, that eat low-carb just to maintain their health. It really is a natural whole-food diet.

 

[Snow White]

Thanks for all the great info, I keep debating whether or not to do this diet, Im not much into breads etc. but it seems like if Im NOT supposed to eat a certain thing, that is the ONE thing I MUST have!!!