So...I've decided its time to lose weight..

In My Humble Opinion
1

…and after some research, I’ve decided that, for me, the best way to go is low carb. Even possibly…ketogenic. But , I’m just going to start with low carb. Sounds good to me and more importantly, it seems like a diet that I can stick with. And let’s face it, no matter what you choose, what is more likely to be successful is what you can stick with as an overall way of life, way of eating.

I’m just researching now and do not intend to start until March. This gives me a little time to use up whats in my pantry now without wastage, as well as deciding what is going to work for me and what might be a sticking point.

I like low carb because I’m not particularly sweets oriented or particularly bread oriented. Not that I don’t like both to some degree, but if someone put a gun to my head and said ‘pick the foods that you don’t ever want to be without for the rest of your life!’…well, I would pick eggs, bacon and spinach.

So in researching this, I have found that there are multiple ‘studies’ about the benefits about this kind of diet and many more studies about conflicting diets.

So…would I be right in assuming that it doesn’t matter what the studies say? Because it seems as though these kind of discussions ultimately end up in breaking down to ‘study vs study, cite vs cite’.

So, I’ve just decided to go with what ‘feels right’ for me. Might not be right for everyone, but I think its right for me.

Seriously, is there anything definitive out there for or against this diet plan - or any other for that matter? Is there any study that doesn’t have a conflicting study out there somewhere…or at least one that can be interpreted as conflicting?

2

If that’s the type of lifestyle you think you will stick with, then all the power to you. I seem to remember that you will see significant health issues issues if you go too low carb (i.e. in ketosis) for extended periods of time, but I’m too lazy to google so I’ll just leave it at that.

I do recommend My Fitness Pal for tracking though. I have many, many friends who have used it successfully - and you can track your carbs with it.

3

Just ordinary everyday common sense.

Why not a balanced plan, reducing overall calories while still maintaining diversity of diet, along with modest exercise. The classics never go out of style.

Why a gimmick? Why focus on carbs and not, say, fats? Don’t go all faddish on yourself. Stick to moderation. Healthiest all around.

4

and therin lies the problem…to you low carb seems to you like a ‘gimmick’ or ‘faddish’, but there are cultures and societies within the human race in which this is a totally normal, healthy way of eating. Innuit and Masai, for example. Just because its not ‘normal’ for what you have been taught, doesn’t mean it can’t work. And work well…

I’m not talking about a ‘diet’ in the accepted sense but more in the way of a change of your way of eating…forever.

5

You don’t have to eliminate anything, just cut back on everything. Have a beer, just don’t have six. Have a sandwich, but not the foot long. Have some potato chips, but just a few… not the whole bag. Smaller portions is the key and of course more exercise.

6

Are you Inuit or Masai? Do you expect to have the daily exercise experienced by such people? Do you expect to be exposed to the temperature extremes experienced by such people? A fat-heavy diet makes a lot more sense on the north shores of Alaska than it does for most of us living in the horse latitudes.

Seriously, you’re talking a fad diet. It won’t kill you. It’ll probably serve you fairly well. It’s just less than optimum. You can do better.

You certainly could do worse… (Breathareanism comes to mind…)

7

Atkins wrote his first book in…1972, and people keep having success following the plan after all this time. Wondering when we can stop calling it a fad.

Every time I read some “new” diet tips or info, it always comes back to fewer refined carbs and eliminating sugar. Fat isn’t the enemy anymore.

Low carbs means lots of whole foods, any meat from lean chicken and fish to steaks, veggies out the wazoo and some eggs. Anyone who likes to paint it as all butter and bacon is an idiot.

Keep researching Lilly, and go for it! It’s a very comfortable way of eating.

8

a fad diet? How long does a diet have to be around before its not a ‘fad’ anymore?

Like I said, I’m just looking at a way of eating that I think could work for me. What could be better than what works?

9

Yeah…I think its the ‘fat’ for me, lol. sometimes I think I could do with an all fat diet with just a few proteins and carbs on the side! hmmm…maybe I should consider that…

10

No and no. I am neither Innuit nor Masai. But I am human and so are they. So, if their physiology can adapt to those kind of diets, shouldn’t mine be able to also? Our basic physiology is not that different, is it? Why do we think that we ‘have’ to have grains and sugars in our diet? Is it because we need it or just because its what we have become accustomed to?

11

Good for you, Lily! I think lower carb is a great idea and can be a very healthy diet. Have you looked at the book Wheat Belly? If not, check their facebook page for lots of inspiration and success stories. Also, regarding exercise, focus on weight bearing and strength over cardio…squats, lunges, push ups, weights. My trainer’s philosophy is that two 30-minute sessions weekly - working hard - will do more for your body than running, elliptical, etc. I have been training for a few months now and can’t believe the difference in my body with just those two weekly sessions. Good luck!

12

These guys at Precision Nutrition basically preach that whatever diet suits you, followed properly, will do the job. They have free short video courses at their home page which boil down to really simple rules: calories down, protein up, replace grains with greens, and replace bad fats with healthy fats.

13

Who says there’s a statute of limitations? Flat Earth belief has been around for millennia. The “Bates” method of eyesight improvement has been around for some sixty or seventy years, and still has devoted adherents, despite the fact that it doesn’t work.

A lot of fads have roots in great antiquity; they’re still fads.

14

I sincerely hope that I will not come across in this post as some kind of wiseguy. I am def not trying to be funny or a wiseguy. Honest!

But, here is my message to everyone in this forum who is overweight:

I have been overweight (in fact, I have been obese), for my entire life. And, if you are overweight or obese, **nothing **you can do. I repeat … NOTHING … will, in general, improve your overall health more than losing some weight.

As my doctor told me … "For every few pounds you lose, many, many, many of your health systems are postively impacted and improved. For example, if you lose (say) five pounds, the function of your kidneys, your liver, your heart and any sign of diabetes are all improved!

If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (as I have), there is a real good chance that if you lose a few pounds, the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes will essentially be greatly reduced, or even possibly disappear and that is a true miracle!

So, in most cases, if you have a medical problem, you can help that problem by taking a specific form of action. But … check this out … if you lose (say) 5 or 10 pounds, you will be helping not just a single medical problem … but a whole host of medical problems. And so, I would just like to ask you all these questions:

Isn’t that just the best deal you can imagine? You improve one set of circumstances in your health and the result is that you increase your health in many different areas. How can you get a better deal than that?

This was the thing that struck me so hard and convinced me to finally lose some weight.

I had been obese for almost my entire life. But when I finally realized this kind of “deal” was available, I found it absolutely irresistable and I then proceeded to lose some weight.

I had suffered from back pain all my life. The weight loss made a great reduction in my back pain. The result was that I stopped taking medication for my Type 2 Diabetes (under my Doctor’s supervision). The function of my kidneys, liver and so many other bodily functions dramatically improved.

Wow! What a great deal this was! How can anyone resist such a fabulous deal like that?

That was the thinking that finally got me to lose some serious weight. I encourage the OP awa all other members here to consider signing up for this kind of deal. How can anyone walk away from a great deal like this?

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That is certainly a key feature of any successful plan: it has to be something that you can stick with for the long term.

Low carb works well for some people. Maybe you are one of them. You think you are and you know you best. Sounds logical. Good luck!

16

I’ve never needed to lose weight but ate low carb for a long time for health reasons and felt great! Now eating a lot more carby junk and don’t feel so good :confused: Lots of people have great results with losing and keeping off body fat eating low in carbs/high in fat, hope you do as well!

17

Anything works if you stick with it, so if low carb works for you, go for it. You really don’t need to lose a whole lot of weight before you’ll start feeling considerably better, and that’s great motivation to keep going.

18

A little while ago there was a thread on the Dope about a 7000 yo caveman specimen and his DNA. I guess it was the first time a complete sequencing had been done? He was the one who had blue eyes and dark skin. Anyway, two more facts about him that were mentioned in the article were that he couldn’t digest starch or lactose.

A human body that can’t digest starch or lactose is a human body that is relying on fruit and honey for its digestible carbohydrates. If that human is living 7000 years ago, that human is probably, therefore, living on what would be called a low carb diet today.

Our bodies are different from the caveman’s because we can digest starch. That, however, was a simple mutation. It only takes one enzyme to cut starch into sugar so that the rest of the metabolism–hundreds or thousands of genes–can work. There probably hasn’t been very much radical change in that complex series of hundreds or thousands of genes, so we can probably get by just fine in a relatively low carb diet too. That’s my retort to anyone who might say that we “need” more than 50-100 grams of digestible carbs a day.

Okay, on to my personal story. I was always kind of pudgy and after my daughter was born I couldn’t lose the extra weight. My problem was hunger. I couldn’t tolerate calorie restriction because I would get so ravenous that I couldn’t fall asleep at night, or couldn’t stay asleep. I also had reactive hypoglycemia, which meant that I ate more than I wanted when food was available because I was afraid of getting hypoglycemic later. No surprise I couldn’t lose weight, eh?

Then I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome. It’s pretty common in women and fertility troubles are its famous symptom, but it’s actually a disorder of insulin regulation. A person with PCOS dumps out too much insulin whenever she eats carbohydrates. That insulin gobbles up her blood sugar, stores it as fat, stops the liver from properly storing glycogen to use later, and makes the person hungry again far too soon–and possibly hypoglycemic.

I went semi-Paleo on January 7. Within a week my appetite had contracted. I’m no longer hungry at night and eight pounds have come off me in the six weeks since, with no counting or hunger or frustration or feelings of deprivation on my part. No weight loss like that, in my life, had ever been anything but torture. It’s amazing.

I eliminated refined sugar, white potatoes, legumes, and most grains from my daily diet. After a couple of weeks I added back in a serving of oatmeal after I go to the gym, because I was having problems with headaches and constipation, and the oatmeal fixed those. I also eat honey, dark chocolate, have an alcoholic drink maybe once a week, and will eat other things on rare, special occasions.

I don’t assume that what worked for me will work for anyone else, but it’s definitely worth trying if you have tried to lose weight and just couldn’t do it without going crazy. Not only has my hunger gone away, but any desire for rice, pasta, bread, cake, and cookies has gone away too. I’m just not interested in them.

19

Strange/weird diets never last.

A coworker of mine recently started a new diet. He is only allowed to eat fruit, vegetables, and nuts. I can’t picture him adhering to this diet ten years from now. He will get sick of it (how can’t you?), and go back to his usual diet. And blow back up as a process.

To lose weight, and permanently keep it off, you must permanently change your style of eating. This means eschewing certain foods, eating “regular” (but healthy) foods, and portion control.

20

OP, no, I do not have a link to a study indicating “low-carb” is unhealthily, dangerous, or ineffective. A lot of people are of that opinion, but I’ve never seen convincing evidence.

I believe there are studies demonstrating that reducing your caloric intake **ONLY **results in short-term temporary weight-loss only, but I don’t have any links on this computer.

Every study I can recall indicates an increase in exercise is necessary.

Me, I am not satisfied unless a meal contains fats (and something crunchy), so your approach seems sensible to me.