Does low carbing work?

[Honeyporridge]

I have about a stone of baby weight to lose to get to my pre pregnancy weight and also would like to lose half a stone on top of that. Lost weight successfully on Cambridge before but obviously not suitable now.

Does reducing your carbs really work? Can't face counting calories or points or syns ...

[MrsJossNaylor]

Some posters on here, for example, are describing what, to me, is an ordinary healthy diet, as "low carb." It's not.

It's just that our idea of what is a normal amount of stodge to eat, and what is a healthy diet, has become very warped. Not least due to the portrayal of low-fat, high sugar shite such as Go Ahead bars and Muller lights as "healthy."

[PetulaGordino]

people tend to find a good balance in terms of what they feel best on and what fits in with their lives

i don't think it helps to be too prescriptive. i'm much more strict than many on this thread because i feel better that way. but they are eating "lower carb" than the usual western diet so it works as a descriptive term

it was interesting to read about your PBs joss. i found the opposite once i'd been eating this way for a few months. i never hit a wall again unless i had eaten large quantities of carbohydrate. it does go to show how important it is to find your own equilibrium

[MrsJossNaylor]

Exactly pensioner. People I know eat sugary cereal for breakfast, a filled bread roll at lunch and a huge pile of potatoes for tea and still think they're eating well.

[PetulaGordino]

i agree it's not fast, and shouldn't be ideally (though some people do find they lose a lot). but it does tend to be sustainable because there is focus on satiety and stable blood sugars

[MrsJossNaylor]

"i found the opposite once i'd been eating this way for a few months. i never hit a wall again unless i had eaten large quantities of carbohydrate" - I'm the same Petula in that I crash if I eat lots of carbs - which is why I never do.

I just found that reintroducing some wholemeal grains and maybe pasta once a week - after being very low carb - helped my times. Obvs if I ear biscuits, chips, white bread etc I feel dreadful and can't run properly.

As you say, it's about finding your own equilibrium - and exercise!

[PetulaGordino]

i think my idea of "large quantities" has changed!

[Bogeyface]

When I say low carb we aim for 20-30 grams a day tops. I eat whatever I like providing it comes in at less than that so I dont cut out dairy as I dont need to, neither does H. What I find irritating is people who confuse low carb with high protein, the two are not the same.

I eat the same amount of protein I always did but now I eat vastly more green vegetables than I did, loads more leaves and salads. You can increase your protein which is what Atkins promotes I believe but that is very expensive and not as healthy as Atkins would have you believe.

[MrsJossNaylor]

What doing low carb IS really good for is making you think of quick, easy lunch options that aren't a sandwich, which you can then stick with for life.

Avocado and spinach, for example, are quick and healthy lunch staples that fill me up more than bread ever did. I also tend to eat sweet potato much more now (yes, I know it's not low carb) and barely touch "normal" potatoes.

[Bogeyface]

it also helps you realise just how much crap is in what we eat. Bottled sauces for example are usually chock full of sugar but we dont think about them. Its amazing how much sugar is in some things that you wouldnt think would have much in, I am much more discerning about what I buy now which is good for the whole family not just the low carbers. I have found that in many cases the value items can be healthier in terms of sugar content than the more expensive lines, so it isnt more expensive which was my main worry when we started this.

[BMW6]

TBH just cut out bread and spuds from your diet - you will instantly massively reduce the carbs and you will go into Ketosis (body burns fat for energy).

(Be careful not to replace bread - a sandwich for example - with pasta/rice!)

When you've lost the weight, you need to gradually reintroduce carbs till you start to put weight back on - then you know your carb intake is too high for you and can find the right level of intake to maintain your weight.

[MrsJossNaylor]

Totally agree, Bogey. Low-carb forces you to cook from scratch, which is always a good thing.

The amount of shite in stuff like pasta sauces, soft drinks and flavoured yoghurts is worrying. Now we never, ever have any of that in the house - but again I don't consider that low-carb, just eating well.

Those sorts of things create the sort of gradual sugar-creep which is making us as a nation fatter, because people just don't realise it's there.

I mean, cakes and biscuits are obviously sugar-filled: pasta sauces, less so. Even bloody basic baked beans are full of sugar.

[Discopanda]

OP how old is your baby now? What people don't realise when they demonise a macro-nutrient is that they are all important in moderation. Replace some of your starchy carbs, like rice and potatoes with more veg, try foods that have carbs, protein and fibre like quinoa, chickpeas and lentils and eat real food!

[SolitudeSometimesIs]

I'm low carbing to lose my baby weight. I've had great results. The first week can be a bit of a pain but you just need to retrain your body. If you want carbs, have them in their natural state ie. not processed shite. It's hard to find anything in nature that doesn't contain some carbohydrate so you are hardly depriving your body

Good luck!

[coolbeans]

I disagree. Low carb diets - famous ones like Atkins - don't cut out dairy. Cheese, full fat greek yoghurt, butter etc., are an important part of them.

Lots of people assume low carb just means stuffing your face full of meat and that is inaccurate.

Low carb does mean cutting unnecessary refined carbs from your diet - white rice, pasta, things labelled as low fat...

I think healthy eating confusion comes arises from the low fat messages that have been pushed for so many years. Low fat quite often equals high sugar and that is wrong.

Good fats are to be encouraged.

[Bogeyface]

cool my mum has been on a low fat crusade for as long as I can remember, she has totally bought into the idea that as long as it is fat free it must be good for you and you will lose weight. Of course she hasnt which frustrates her. When H was diagnosed with diabetes and we first cut the carbs she asked what we were eating and was very disparaging at the idea that we could have full fat, butter, chops, bacon, loads of eggs and cheese etc and a) lose weight and b) not have a heart attack. Now we have both slimmed down so much she agrees that it works but simply cannot embrace it as a lifestyle. She always says "but what do you have with it?" because she cannot fathom a meal without some form of carbs to "fill you up". She wont have that if you eat properly you dont actually need filling up because you feel sated after a meal of protein and veg.

[coolbeans]

Bogeyface - I agree; it is so unhelpful that the low fat message remains so prevalent.

It is changing but it is going to take years and in the meantime, there are people completely conned and harmed by food industry's advertising still pushing the low fat mantra.

[Littleen]

I did it for a few months, and I've never felt so ill and unhealthy -.- I did it "by the book", did lose weight but I just found it horrible to eat that way, so stopped. Gained back most of the weight, but have now lost quite a lot by eating healthy, normal food instead. Wouldn't recommend it at all.

[Rosecottage888]

I do it for a quick fix if I've got an event coming up.

Usually have scrambled eggs with butter and pepper in the morning, cold chicken breast with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and a shit load of grapes for lunch, then either a salmon fillet or bit of steak with a massive veg stir fry.

Still have the odd packet of crisps or small choc bar just to take away the sugar cravings and always manage to lose half a stone in 2 weeks, more if I'm running every other day.

[compostwoman]

I have lost 5 stones since June 30 by following The Harcombe Diet.

[compostwoman]

June 30 2014 that is

[sunflower49]

In my experience, yes it bloody does.

It also gets easier, and it becomes a way of life in a way. But I do it and have a day off if I need it, and I don't ultra atkins low carb, jsut avoid starches and high carb foods, I still eat nuts and veggies and certain fruits and have a glass of wine. Just avoid bread/pasta/couscous/potatoes. It makes for good cooking experience, too :)

It's the ONLY thing that worked on me.

[poolomoomon]

No it does not work in the long term, it is absolute bullshit 'science'. Our bodies need carbs for fuel, carbs are out ENERGY. Cut them out and you get various side effects, fatigue obviously being one and bad moods soon follow.

EAT CARBS. They are NOT evil. Complex carbs I am here referring to so Wholewheat bread, pasta, brown rice, potatoes, FRUIT! Because fruit is also a carb don't forget. Bananas are a massive carb, they're also an incredible energy source.

Just cut down on shit and move your body. It's as easy as that. Don't cut out a whole food group, just cut DOWN on things that have little to no nutritional value- I include white pasta and bread in this along with the usual suspects like pizza, chinese take out, cake, biscuits, chocolate and so forth.

Try yoga, Pilates, walking, running, swimming... Anything to move and tone your body. It will come off in its own time, I promise.

[poolomoomon]

I say this as someone who has lost close to six stone since the end of April and I am vegetarian so I eat A LOT of complex carbs. I eat a banana every single day, some days I eat two or three . No funny diets here, just good clean eating but a balanced diet- I eat pizza, cake, biscuits sometimes too but not often enough for it to cause me issues. I DID do the 5:2 diet in the beginning which was great for retraining my binge eating obese brain to learn when it was actually hungry and not just bored or emotional. However the fast days started to make me anxious and depressed so I had to stop. The weights still coming off! So it works. Carbs work.