Does anyone else find the idea of low carbing depressing?

[losenotloose]

I'm sure it's probably effective but the thought of no bread, rice, pulses etc makes life seem miserable! For me food is obviously more than nutrition and I know I couldn't do it long term. Also, if carbs are the enemy, how come countries like Italy are known for good health?!

This isn't meant to dig at anyone who finds it suits them btw.

[noodlenosefraggle]

I find low carb incredibly difficult to stick to long term and its very unforgiving if you slip up. Obviously if you low carb you aren't eating biscuits, bread or cake, so you'll lose weight and its harder to eat a lot of fat without carbs but I hate it. Its not worth being slim if I can't have a bit of rice with curry or lentils or roast potatoes or a lovely wholemeal sourdough bread ever again! I'd rather cut down the refined carbs but still eat wholewheat pasta, rice, bread etc in smaller portions. I'm not doing this, so I'm still fat

[Aquifolium]

Agree with fuzzy.
I find it impossible to stick to a low calorie diet... i’m Starving all the time!!!

Op: ^I suppose I want to know exactly why low carb will work in a way other diets don't^
I did a low carb diet for 6 weeks which was no sugar, no rice pasta or potatoes, no bread. I ate pulses and grains such as millet and quinoa. It changed the way I felt about food. I realised that I was addicted to carbs for the sugar spike they gave me. Once I had broken that cycle, I have managed to maintain my weight despite eating a normal balanced diet with wine and dark chocolate allowed.

If you can’t bear the idea of a low carb diet, it’s probably exactly what you need.

But my experience is that it doesn’t have to be forever, unlike calorie controlled diets.

[BlueberriesAndCream]

I hate it too. I know I need to, as my blood sugars are getting up there, and people in my family have type 2 diabetes.

But god it's depressing. I did it for 6 months earlier, quite strictly, and did lose about a stone in that time, but so depressing. I keep telling myself it's a way of eating, a new lifestyle, try to look forward to having the foods I can, but I haven't convinced myself yet. They're just not the foods I like or that give me any pleasure.

So I slid back, and was much happier, but blood sugars started going up again, so I'm trying get again to stick to it strictly. I so miss pasta, cake, bread, bagels, rice, cous cous, cookies, porridge, etc etc.

It's not even just about losing weight; I know it's the diabetes factor that matters more. And I'll have to do it, depressed or not. But maybe I can be more lower-than-I-was-carb, and get rid of the carbs that don't matter to me as much, like cereal or potatoes, and still have occasional ones.

[Desmondo2016]

Goodness me I run everyday, lift weights, do hiit sessions and play netball regularly. If I didn't use carbs for fuel I'd die. In my opinion (ok, well, 2 opinions) people use fad diet ideas for short term losses but with no way if maintaining it longer term and b) they use fad ideas because they are too lazy to actually lost weight the healthy way AND give equal effort and attention to health, strength and fitness.

[BobbyBrewstersMagicTorch]

I've started dieting and have lost 4 lbs so far (10 days).

I'm LOW carbing, not NO carbing. So watching the calories, but having the majority of them as protein/fat etc.

So I'm still having potatoes tonight, but a small portion of new potatoes, rather than a big plateful of roast old ones. I have chicken/fish/ham for lunch with lots of chopped up veg (carrots, sugar snaps, cucumber, beetroot, celery, tomatoes, peppers), followed by a handful of strawberries or blueberries.

So although veg is all carb, it's the healthiest option. Any other "white" carbs will be smallish portions of wholegrain pasta/rice/bread.

You don't have to cut it out entirely, just cut back on mainly the refined carbs and sugar.

[LoudestRoar]

Following this with interest. I've cut out carbs during the day, chocolates etc and fizzy drinks.
I've been doing it for about a week, and I've lost 5lbs. I haven't got a lot to lose, but the fact that I allow myself some carbs in the evening, seems to make it a bit easier.

[feelingverylazytoday]

OP You asked upthread how I lost the weight. Just ate less and moved more, basically. Cut most of the obvious crap out (we all know what that is), eat more fruit and veg, used a smaller plate, weighed out things like pasta and rice (75gs usually, which is quite small until you get used to it), loads of exercise.

[LittleMissEngineer]

Just think about eating healthy, nutritious food and go from there: good diet is really just common sense.

Not all carbs are bad for you, but heavily reducing sugar and highly processed carbs is a lot better for you.

Eating lots of vegetables, fruit and lean protein (chicken, fish, the occasional lean red meat) is good for you. Through in some good carbs (oats, high fibre bread). Avoid sugar and alcohol as much as possible. Also avoid too much fat. Avoid fried foods. And you will do ok and maintain a healthy weight.

[EarClipper]

Goodness me I run everyday, lift weights, do hiit sessions and play netball regularly. If I didn't use carbs for fuel I'd die.

Goodness me, someone's fond of a bit of hyperbole. Although I suppose a player snuffing it on the netball court would would enliven a Tuesday evening game.

Sadly no one is going to drop dead from cutting back on rice and spuds..

signed,
a low carbing weight lifter

[Ylvamoon]

I think there is a huge misconception about carbs.
Yes cut out the highly processed & refined carbs. They are after all stripped of all the goodness or covered in crap.
But I hate it when people demonize the humble potato, pasta or whole grain rice. It's good, honest healthy food. Nothing bad about it. Your body needs carbs to be fully functional.

[EarClipper]

I think there is a huge misconception about carbs.

Certainly is. One is that a lot of people think if you're not eating rice, potatoes and pasta that you're therefore not consuming carbs. I'm having celeriac chips tonight instead of potato chips. Far fewer carbs than potato chips but still contains carbs. And tasty and nutritious too.

[AntennaReborn]

I think there is a huge misconception about carbs.
Yes cut out the highly processed & refined carbs. They are after all stripped of all the goodness or covered in crap.
But I hate it when people demonize the humble potato, pasta or whole grain rice. It's good, honest healthy food. Nothing bad about it. Your body needs carbs to be fully functional.

Yes to all of this! It really IS about calories in v. calories out, and banning a whole food group is just a gimmick, not a silver bullet.

I eat plenty of carbs, including the starchy ones, and I am lean enough to see most of my abs. I just aim for most meals being made of nutritious ingredients (lean protein, veg, fruit, good quality bread, dairy etc) and make sure I keep my portions under control. If I do that most of the time I can have the odd cake or ice cream when I fancy it. (I also weight train 4 times a week but do absolutely no cardio ever).

I am 40, if it makes a difference.

[cathycassidy]

I have pcos and initially thought like this but after a while I found a low carb diet to be fine and manageable.

However because of my pcos induced cystic acne I now find I can’t eat dairy or dark chocolate without flaring up. I hate to sound dramatic but I do find it much harder to carry on eating like this now, really miss being able to have a ‘treat’ (low carb dark choc, or cheese board) after dinner

[losenotloose]

Lots of different opinions on this. Maybe it's just a case of different diets for different people. I did once try low carbing for around 6 weeks until I started to get very frequent palpitations. I even had an ecg I was so worried! Anyway, as soon as I reintroduced carbs they stopped. This was about 4 years ago and at the time it convinced me it couldn't be healthy but when it keeps coming up as being a really healthy way of eating I start to wonder.

[TheBestNapIEverHad]

I find calorie counting more depressing!

Low carb is the easiest and most sustainable way I can lose weight, so I’m a fan. Appreciate it might not be for everyone.

I’m low carb, though - not ‘no carb’. I couldn’t stick to the Atkins type thing of inhaling cream and cheese and meat but getting obsessed with which veg has the most carb in it etc. I couldn’t sustain that and definitely wouldn’t enjoy it. I eat small amounts of sweet potato, brown rice, the very occasional slice of wholewheat toast, but mainly stick to chicken, fish, eggs or lentils/beans with lots of veg.

For me low carb works because it gets rid of my carb cravings, I don’t have the carb slump I get after eating carbs so have more energy and honestly...the weight just falls off and stays off.

[Nearly47]

I think it's all about the quality of the carbs too. Here there is a lot refined carbs that are prepared with loads of fat such as pizza, chips, pasties, pies, etc. In Italy the pasta with homemade tomato sauce doesn't have as much fat as the shop brought here. And if you choose complex carbs they will keep you full for longer and not give you so much craving afterwards. It is all about balance and variety to be a sustainable diet .

[NotMeNoNo]

I think the common ground in these diets is unprocessed whole food, lots of veg and fruit, good quality protein. Nobody can object to that.
Whether lower fat, lower carb or something else works is probably down to taste and metabolism.

Also losing weight and being a healthy maintainer are two different things.

Personally I missed pasta /potatoes less than I expected on a low carb diet and still get to eat cheese

[MarshaBradyo]

I find calorie counting way more depressing and more difficult, I have done that kind of thing for over a decade

Low carb is a swizz in comparison

[Desmondo2016]

Goodness me, someone's fond of a bit of hyperbole. Although I suppose a player snuffing it on the netball court would would enliven a Tuesday evening game.

Sadly no one is going to drop dead from cutting back on rice and spuds..

No hyperbole intended, I can assure you! I tried low carb a few years ago and felt dreadful after a couple of weeks. I don't see the point in putting unnecessary restrictions on yourself. Life is just too short to not eat bread and pasta! For me, fuelling my body is the most important thing.

[Aquifolium]

I eat plenty of carbs, including the starchy ones, and I am lean enough to see most of my abs. I just aim for most meals being made of nutritious ingredients (lean protein, veg, fruit, good quality bread, dairy etc) and make sure I keep my portions under control

I would say if you can see your abs, you probably don’t need to lose weight or change your eating habits for a more sustainable regime.

I definitely can’t see any abs! I agree with others on here who are saying a low carb diet can help those of us who are hooked on carbs in our diet which is causing overeating, cravings and feeling hungry all the time. I think there a lot of us.

It is annoying to have highly active fit and healthy-weight people tell us the diet, which has been life changing for those of us who have yoyoed on calorie controlled diets would kill them.

[Aquifolium]

Desmond, do you need to lose weight?

[ExpletiveDelighted]

I didn't get on with it, it made me very anxious and took away all my enjoyment of food. Apart from losing some weight it didn't make me feel any better either. I know the science, but it's definitely not for me.

[managedmis]

I 'm not overly fussed about giving up chips/crisps/cake it's the normal stuff like rice and bread that upsets me.

^

Thing is, it isn't normal to eat the huge amounts of bread, rice, pasta that we are now conditioned to eat. Your body treats a slice of bread in the same way it does a cookie - converts it into sugar.


I'm starving if I don't have a reasonable amount of carbs as part of a meal.

^

Carbs in the form or pasta etc actually MAKE me hungrier.

Took me a while to realise that.

[managedmis]

Fwiw I've lost over 3 stone on a lower carb way of eating and feel a million times better, look ten years younger and eat really well.