Aibu to think carbs are not the enemy and make you slim

[JonathanDunn]

Lots of people seem to believe that carbs are what make people fat, after following the 80/10/10 diet and losing 3 stone I can see past all this crap about carbs being bad.

The 80/10/10 diet is one where you get 80% of calories from carbs and 10% from fat and protein. This diet is vegan so may not be for everybody but its principal is one everyone can follow eat less fat and replace it with carbs.

The low carb made me wonder why countries like Thailand aren't obese where rice is the staple of the diet.

Are people honestly going to say that it was pasta and rice that made them fat and not the fatty animal products like bacon or burgers (again okay as a treat).

Carbs also get blamed for example foods like chips when infact the fat in chips is what makes you fat.

So those of you on a high fat low carb diet should really look at this diet because it was one I could stick to and not a fad diet like the Atkins.

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2149362/Fruit-meals-cooking-allowed-Is-80-10-10-raw-vegan-diet-secret-Olympic-athletes-body.html

I think people should stop treating food as the enemy full stop. Love it, enjoy it, don't obsess about it and then you probably will not eat too much more than your body actually needs and will be more likely to eat the healthy stuff.

Carbs don't make you slim any more than cutting them out does. A healthy diet, regular exercise and being fortunate enough to be in good health makes you slim.

I know loads of people who do faddy bullshit diets and lose epic amounts of weight only to put it back on as soon as the madness/diet finishes. Just run, walk, go to the gym, join a cricket club, take up rugby, do something, anything, to stop you sitting about watching GoT every night and you'll be far healthier.

I agree about an overall healthy diet, however if you are trying to avoid junk food and fatty foods you need to have plenty of carbs.

It's food for thought. No pun intended . I lost 10 kilos in six months when I left home because I couldn't bothered cooking for one person. I lived on pasta and tomato sauce.

I don't think carbs are the enemy, I don't get why people obsess over them.

I have always enjoyed carbs and I am a healthy weight, it's not about one food group it's about overall diet and exercise.

I think you are being a little disingenuous. The 80 in that link is fruit and veg, not 'carbs'. If 80% of what you eat is carbs and you eat too much food then of course you will put on weight.

If I sit on my arse and eat 200g of pasta twice a day with a chicken (10%) and cream (10%) sauce then of course I am going to put on weight.

As described in that article, they are suggesting a strictly calorie controlled diet made up mainly of fruit and veg. So 'eat less fat and replace it with apples' would be more accurate.

And all diets are faddy. There's no difference between this and Atkins in that sense - it is a faddy diet.

I agree.

My own experience is that carbs really are the enemy, but everyone is different.

There is no "one size fits all" in weight, food and bodies. We each have to find a diet we feel healthy on.
I am grossly overweight and have found reducing carbs the first thing that has worked for me, just as your 80:10:10 has for you. Both are just ways to eat healthy food and control our calorie intake

I think for a lot of people any 'diet' that they stick to will cause them to lose weight. More because of thinking about what they're eating, planning it and/ or portion controlling it. If you were on Atkins or slimming world for example, that portion of chips you don't have you don't have because you're thinking about it. Even the 5/2 gets you thinking about what you're eating and whether you should/ shouldn't. Also for most people I know being on a diet comes hand in hand with taking up more exercise.
It's sticking to it that's the problem.

I would love to know how people who don't eat carbs get any fibre? From a nutritional point of view not eating a lot of fibre is really bad and has been linked to bowl cancer.

If you eat more calories than you burn, you will put on weight.

If you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight.

why countries like Thailand aren't obese
If you are living in a country like Thailand, it's unlikely you will have the opportunity to eat more calories than you burn. Until very recently, for example, in India being overweight was a sign of high status (still is to some extent).

If you are living in the UK, you have much more opportunity to over eat, hence many of us are keen to find a way of eating that makes us feel full and prevents us eating more. That is different for each of us.

Calories come from three sources - carbs, fat or protein. If you drop one type, you have to eat more of the others. Low carb = more calories from fat or protein; high carb = fewer calories from fat or protein.

if you are trying to avoid junk food and fatty foods
Body fat is not the same as dietary fat. There are bad and not-bad dietary fats, e.g. you cannot compare an avocado with a Mars bar in terms of what you get from each, but both are high fat food items.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about food and diet, propagated by (a) our human desire to over-simplify and find a magic bullet to all our problems, and (b) the media which relies on over-simplification of complex issues.

Carbs do not make me slim, they make me heavy, bloated, tired and craving more. But I luffs them anyway. That is my problem, some people will have a similar problem, others won't and will do better on a low-fat, higher-carb diet. None of us is wrong, but it's a lot of work sometimes to find what's right for you.

Here endeth the lecture...

A friend recently lost a lot of weight and kept banging on about how it was all down to cutting out carbs. I gave up trying to explain that it had much more to do with he fact she was only eating 1200 calories and doing lots of exercise rather than "carbs are evil".

I agree with you op. People lose stones doing slimming world, while eating plenty of carbs. Also eating whole grains and cereals reduces the risk of bowel cancer.
www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/10/high-fibre-diet-less-bowel-cancer

Carbs are the enemy for me but not for everyone

In my case its mainly bread, pasta and /or rice once a week is no problem

I gain weight on sw

It depends what kind of carbs we're talking. Brown bread, rice, pasta, sweet potato etc are great foods (IMO) and I eat 3 portions of each a day (size 6-8). Obviously carbs found in junk food and things like processed white bread/pasta are not good for you.

My "diet" if you can call it that is based on 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat daily. I weightlift 4 days a week. It works for me. Might not work for everyone else. I don't like this whole "carbs are bad for you" mindset. They're a lot better for you than many "low-fat" foods which are disguised as being healthy but usually packed out with a ridiculous amount of artificial c**p.

Welcome to Mumsnet, Jonathan.

Have you actually done any reading of your own about carbs? (Hint: the Daily Mail doesn't count)

There's a lot of scientific evidence about the impact that a carb-heavy diet has on our bodies. From a biochemical point of view. And a lot of evidence about the benefits of a low carb diet.

Fat, interestingly, doesn't have the same impact on weight.

Some people are carb sensitive like my dh and ds, and this affects their blood sugars. Dh has lost stacks of weight by doing the Hairy Bikers diet, and the only carbs tend to be in small amounts, and I add loads of broccoli. Dh's blood sugar levels (he is Type II) have been under far better control, and at a consistently acceptable level since I restricted his carbs.

Whatever works for you. I lose weight on low carb and am never hungry. So why should I change?

Ooh. Saying that eating too much makes you fat, and silly diets don't work. Mn won't like that, far too obvious !

I don't do well on a lot of carbs, they make me hungry. But if you're happy then crack on.

Yep I lost seven stone eating a fuck load of carbs. Mostly fruit! I had a massive sweet tooth when I was fat which was my downfall, I'd eat maybe five chocolate bars a night. So when I had to ditch them it was tough and I dealt with it by eating a lot of fruit instead. The weight flew off, skin glowed and I was full of vibrant energy.

Carbs=energy source. They're the most important food group IMO. I get the fact that refined carbs are not so good but I'm talking natural complex carbs. They're everything.