Low carb question

[pipsqueak]

I quite like the idea of a low carb way of eating but wondered if it is right for me , I am quite i am good at sticking to eating plans but realistically am likely to have a slip now and then . So if I had carbs a couple of times a week say when eating out perhaps would it undo the weight loss ? Not planning to cheat but I know myself well ,,, any thoughts gratefully received

[somewhathorrified]

It doesn't really work doing it that way. If you think of carbs as an addictive substance, the low carb diet says you "carb cleanse" for the first 2 weeks thereby ridding yourself of the habit of eating them. Lapse and eat as normal a couple of times a week and your body will soon want to eat like that all the time...you'll find that you'll prob gain weight because you'll be taking calories from fat and carbs not just fat. If you eat out just have a green salad or something...later on in the diet you can sometimes save your carbs up and use them on a specific day, but that's much later on after your body has adjusted.

[SpringGoddess]

It's different for everyone. It might work for you and it might not. Depends on your activity levels, sensitivity to insulin and probably many other factors.

[teaandthorazine]

Well, realistically, we all slip now and again! But most of us doing low-carb would still really try to avoid carbs even when eating out. And as SpringGoddess says, everyone is different, some can afford to 'cheat' more than others and still lose, for some it ruins the hard work completely!

If you're happy losing smaller amounts more slowly, then the odd slip isn't the end of the world. But you should be aware of 'carb creep' - when all those 'little slips' mean that actually you end up regularly taking in a pretty high level of carbs, and stop losing. And yes, somewhathorrified is right - carbs are addictive and the more you eat the more you'll want.

You might want to consider the Harcombe Diet, or John Briffa. Both are based on low-carb but fairly tolerant of the odd bit of slippage - HTH!

[teaandthorazine]

Oh, and of course come and join us on the Bootcamp threads!

[pipsqueak]

Thank you all for your advice . That really gives me something to think about . I will definitely have a look at the sources suggested , I love MN there is always such a wealth of experience

[rhondagraymond]

A low carb diet can be very effective in helping you lose weight because it cuts out fatty, starchy foods from your meals that would facilitate weight gain. The point is to eat healthy carbs, meaning fresh fruits, vegetables and if you must eat bread or rice make sure you eat whole wheat bread or brown rice. Protein is an essential component in a low carb diet so if you?re eating less of carbs, you have to make sure to eat more of lean meats, chicken, seafood, tofu?basically protein-rich foods. Combine the diet with a good, hour-long workout and you have yourself a perfect method of losing weight.

[pipsqueak]

thanks all . have bought the zoe harcombe book and done a week now - all good so far . i like the fact that you can eat healthy carbs but not too optimisitc that this will work for me as it is so similar to my normal diet but jsut missing the few bad bits that i used to have , anyway , will go for it for a few months and see what happens . thanks so much for all the advice and encouragement all .