low carb diets...

[cyntax]

I've been doing low carb on and off for a few years... occasionally cheat, but in general feel much healthier than before, but also eat "healthy" lots of veggies, fiber, tofu, nuts, and meats... some lower sugar berries and stuff like that... lots of sashimi! 

wondering if anyone else is or has been on this, because the only folks I've seen that are uber dedicated are also very overweight... but anyhow, apparently there is evidence that people lose more weight on this diet in hte longer term than low fat diets and Mediterranean diets etc... also have a drop in cholesterol which is odd given that they generally eat more fatty foods.  system shift or something.

Thoughts?

[TheWomanMonster]

Mediterranean style diets are actually pretty healthy for you.
The fats they eat tend to be healthy fats, omega 3 fatty acid from olive oils and fish.
A variety of carbohydrates in particular lots of antioxidant rich veggies.

The secret isn't really 'low carb' but balanced and higher protein.
Think roughly 30-40% protein, 30-40% healthy carbs, and 30% good fat.

There is a 'diet' called The Zone that teaches that balance - thing is though that you eventually want to be able to eat at least 2000 calories per day... but if you have to increase them gradually if you're trying to speed up your metabolism to lose weight (or prevent gain).

[Klara]

TWM makes a very good point:

The secret isn't really 'low carb' but balanced and higher protein.
Think roughly 30-40% protein, 30-40% healthy carbs, and 30% good fat.

I would always be weary of getting the carb intake too low because it breaks down into glucose, which is the primary energy source of the body.  The brain, for instance, works entirely on glucose.  That is why people become light-headed and cognitively "fuzzy" when their blood sugar is too low.

Also, the pancreas does not just release insulin to lower blood sugar; it is responsible for raising it as well, and it's actually a longer process.  When blood glucose is too high, the pancreas secretes insulin, which removes it from the blood.  When blood glucose is too low, the pancreas secretes glucagon, which breaks down emergency sugar stores in the liver and releases it into the blood.  I hear people say that super-low-carb diets (i.e. Atkins) are good because they give the pancreas a rest, but that's clearly not the case.  To give the pancreas a rest, eat enough carbohydrates to sustain your activity.  Levels vary based on a person's individual activity level, but the percentages above are a pretty good proverbial rule of thumb.

--Klara--

[sagehawk]

Carbs arent something to regulate in my opinion. Its very important to have them. I am on a high carb/high protein diet. If I wasnt I would be dead lol no seriously... I walk 10miles + a day on average.  I push carts at walmart so I'm using all the muscles in my body... Its calories and junk food that are bad. Also think about this... your muscles can only hold enough carbs for one hour at a time. If you move at all in an hour you need carbs!

[cyntax]

I don't have a light lifestyle and while I do opt to buy low carb bread and pasta and the like versus the full carb version, there are carbs there, just not as much as the normal diet... carbs from fiber do not count, and I eat a lot of iber, flax, stuff like that also... I would say my average carb intake is about 35-50 carbs per day... like for example I'm eat low carb yogurt and a peach right now for breakfast... lunch will probably be sugar free jam and unsweetened natural peanut butter on low carb bread with some stevia, and for dinner I'll probably have chicken with eggplant and cilantro or something like that.  The low carb replacement foods are usually high in protein and fiber... also a tiny bit higher in fat but I'm not one of those people who eats nothing but cheese and bacon and calls it heathly. 

For me, it works - I can understand that if I was doing a lot of physical activity I might need more carbs, but carbs tend to mnake me sleepy and feeling like a sack versus energized.. protein seems to boost my energy levels more, and the diet has helped a lot with mood swings.  Once in a while I'll eat something like a pomegranate or pom juice, organic orange or apple juice, or something like that - rarely but it happens... even so with that it only brings it up a bit that day, and that's usually after drinking.

[Klara]

Carbs arent something to regulate in my opinion. Its very important to have them. I am on a high carb/high protein diet. If I wasnt I would be dead lol no seriously... I walk 10miles + a day on average.  I push carts at walmart so I'm using all the muscles in my body... Its calories and junk food that are bad. Also think about this... your muscles can only hold enough carbs for one hour at a time. If you move at all in an hour you need carbs!

Your case is one where you do need a lot of carbohydrates based upon activity level.  For an extreme, look at Michael Phelps - because of his extreme energy output, he had to take in a rediculously high amount of carbohydrates to perform.

However, for people who have a more sedentary lifestyle, carbohydrates are not as necessary for performance.

--Klara--

[sagehawk]

Carbs are nesisary for anyone its just a matter of how much.

[TheWomanMonster]

Carbs are nesisary for anyone its just a matter of how much.

Correct.

[tomakins]

Extreme low carb (like the "induction phases" and such) seems like a body-hack to me. A way to trick the body into kicking into another mode for a quick initial result, but not a long lasting lifestyle. However, lowering carbs, especially from breads and sweets, has seemed like a positive step for many people.

Many, not all. Because (as already stated here) people are all different. For some going above 50g of carbs is a very bad thing, for others they are fine until they cross 80g.

After 5 months on a low carb diet and not being able to lose any more than the 20-25lbs I did in the first 2-3 months I switched to doing Weight Watchers-style system. Used the points system I read about online to go at it alone (instead of paying and going to meetings and all) and had much better results. As I learned more about what foods are how many points I found a better balance and at my lowest was down a total of 72lbs.

But really with any diet I think the most important thing is finding the balance that works for YOU in YOUR lifestyle. Not just the calories, fat, carbs, etc but what kinds of foods that not just make you the weight you want to be but make you feel good too.

[Camazotz]

I've done low-carb diets a number of times, but it was never as effective as the very first time. I kicked myself for having quit after that, but an extended period away from home had made it too difficult to stick to it.

For myself (speaking from an Atkin's perspective) I can't afford to go much higher than the carbs allowed in the induction phase and say two weeks after that, once I re-introduce too many foods both the weight loss and energy levels stop benefitting.

Ultimately whilst I *definately* saw great benefits in terms of kick-starting my system and generally being more conscious of what I was consuming, trying to just be balanced will always be better for myself than any stricter regime.

As far as health worries, low carb still allows for a pretty large intact of green veggies and such, so there's no need for low-carb to equate to high fat as some end up doing by just binging on the cheeses, red meats, etc allowed.

[sphynxcatvp]

Mine's fairly simple: Avoid fructose, and consequently anything with fructose - and a lot of things with sugar. (Table sugar is sucrose, which is 50% glucose/dextrose, and 50% fructose.)

I've discovered just how AMAZINGLY healthy I've been eating by avoiding ONE ingredient....and having to make a whole lotta shit from scratch.

[Lono676767]

avoiding fructose.....but that means your avoiding fruit...how can you avoid fruit?!!!

lol
but i do say that i have seen a change in cutting one related ingrediant from my life "high fructose corn syrup".
its in pretty  much everything these days....and the body doesnt process it well.


-L

[sphynxcatvp]

avoiding fructose.....but that means your avoiding fruit...how can you avoid fruit?!!!

Fruit is one thing - but I'm having that only in moderation as well.

Mainly, fructose added to prepared foods - especially high fructose corn syrup, as you've seen - is a bit easier to avoid. Fruit has fructose, and yes, it's impossible to avoid that while still having fruit *le sigh* so I just don't have fruit as often.

There are some prepared foods that don't have fructose (or sugar) at all - either they use dextrose (which is glucose) or they don't add any - but they're hard to find, and not always the tastiest. Though I have gotten used to using just dextrose in my tea instead of sugar. Dextrose isn't as sweet, so I end up using more of it...but my joints aren't swelling up with it, and most of the body can use the dextrose anyway, so it works out.

Of course by the same token, I'm finding normal sugary things to be extra sweet now...talking about killing a sweet tooth!

*Edit*

I should add...I'm not especially caring about the level of FAT in my food - but I do care about the source! With great preference to butter (real butter, not margarine!), bacon fat, etc., basically all natural fats that have been used by people long before the technology of the last 100 or so years.

(Mmmm, bacon grease and steak...*drools*)

[sagehawk]

I only try to avoid high frutos corn syrup because like 99 percent of it is GMO. Same with soy. I try and stay as natural as possible in my diet. I wont even eat farm raised fish.