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.

if fat people could eat a balanced diet and exercise and it were that simple then the billions in the diet industry would be lost overnight.

good for you if you can eat a 'balanced diet' ( whatever the fuck that is) and not eat shit - but dn't be a smarmy sanctimonious arsecake.

everyone is different and uses a different method. the basics are simple - don't eat shit and expend more energy than you consume. but for those of us who have mssive problems with food - we need a structure.

my change was a lifestyle change that has lasted about 5 or 6 years. that's a long time for a fad

I agree. I'm a child of the eighties and grew up with the F Plan Diet - brown everything and baked potatoes ahoy.

It's a great way to feel fuller and lose weight. Potatoes are not the enemy.

I lost weight on the Rosemary Conley diet in the 90's (low fat and higher carbs). Different diets suit different people.
I personally wouldn't do a low carb diet, as I am vegetarian, and I find I need to eat bread (the seeded kind) to get sufficient protein. I don't eat potatoes very often though, and only small portions of rice and pasta.
Also, I have heard that you should do a fair amount of aerobic exercise if you eat a higher carb diet. If you want to lose weight without doing much exercising then a low carb diet might be better for you.

Lol all this 80/10/10 stuff is just a FAD too....

I think different 'diets' suit different people (I don't like the concept of a diet just for everyday eating tbh).

There is good evidence that the Framingham Study which linked high cholesterol to heart disease and stroke led to low fat dietary advice, which in the Western World led to a dreadful overconsumption of poor quality carbs. There is also mounting evidence that the resulting insulin spike affects appetite regulation and the laying down of visceral fat.

Anybody who either has a very strenuous job (say, digging ditches all day long ) or who does a lot of sport should take care to have lots of carbs. The rest of us not so much.

Whatever works of you though, I really don't think generalisations are necessary.

I tried a low carb diet for the first time recently, after a lifetime of dieting. The weight fell off and it was easy to stick to as well. Low carb diets have been shown to reverse type 2 diabetes in a matter of weeks. There are definitely health benefits, I don't think it should be dismissed as another fad diet, there is some really interesting research going on at the moment.

Ime it depends on which carbs. In my young days (different culture) everybody lived on a diet of boiled spuds, small helpings of meat or fish + veg, washed down with milk, and overweight people were few and far between.

I think it is partly because spuds are slow-release carbs (and these were cooked without fat), partly because no one in their sense are going to sit and eat more boiled spuds than will make them stop feeling hungry.

Fluffy white sliced bread doesn't fill you up to anywhere near the same extent.

Carbs are fine, it's just that we eat more of them than we need.

Before getting knocked up I tried to target complex carbs to post exercise meals which worked well, but then my focus was increasing strength and fitness, not weight loss. Now I'm pregnant I'm eating 95% carbs so can't really comment

Carbs are not fine for me. I am insulin resistant and if I eat carbs without medication I very quickly develop a blood sugar level that makes me clinically type 2 diabetic. This is not due to being overweight, as I am perfectly within the healthy range. My body just cannot properly process carbs and I become unwell if I eat them. My weight goes up dramatically. I believe that in years to come studies are going to show that many more people suffer similarly to me, and that cutting down on wheat based carbs in particular will become far more the norm than it is now. Of course my own experience is only anecdotal but the difference I feel in overall wellbeing from when I'm eating the typical western diet as compared to my low carb lifestyle is as dramatic as night and day. And it shows medically too, as my blood sugar levels and other stats quite clearly demonstrate.

Also, shame on you for trying to back up your claim with a Daily Fail reference.

I can't eat starchy insulin inducing carbs or dairy for health reasons - but I must be the only bugger who doesn't lose weight on a low carb diet!

Actually carbs are bad for me. I have pcos.

But carbs themseleves are not evil. Neither is fat.

But there is no reason that carbs have to be processed wheat bread. They could be boiled spuds, as in my example. They could be home-baked rye or other grain.

People in northeastern Europe have been living off a diet of boiled spuds and dark bread and cabbage for centuries. The recent rise in diabetes and overweight is just that- recent.

Obviously, there will always be people who have to eat a special diet. But for most of us I suspect it is about quality and quantity rather than carbs themselves.

I think any diet that cuts out one food group isn't great and that as soon as you start eating that food group again you'll stack the weight back on.

Eat within your calorie allowance, eat as much great fruit and veg as possible, have treats and exercise. I honestly think that's the way to a healthy body and to feeling happy (happier)

Low carb isn't a fad. We lived for many thousands of years not eating huge quantities if carbs in many cases.
I don't believe carbs are unhealthy per se but most people do eat too many of them. Even when I did my low fat diet, you were supposed to weigh out your carb portions and they were small.

Carbs and me really don't get along sadly. They increase my appetite and give me blood sugar issues. I get depressed and lethargic. I follow the paleo diet which is lowish on carbs but I still get masses if fibre from veggies, eat sweet potato and squash and other starchy veggies and feel good on it.
The diet you've referred to in your op looks far more faddy than low carb but whatever works for you. We're all individuals.
Oh and masses of science out there to say a low carb diet is very healthy.

OP you mentioned Thailand as an example - Thailand has a significant and growing problem of obesity, it is second only to Malaysia in the region, eg see here.

Like most places the culprit is probably sugar and other quick-release carbs, especially hidden sugar. Not fibrous carbs.

problems with sugar known for 40 years

And low carbing isn't about cutting out an entire food group. It's LOW carb not NO carb!

All it means is re-balancing your macronutrients. So instead of being carbs:protein:fat, it becomes fat:protein:carbs

Anyone on a low carb diet gets most of their carbs from vegetables and salad, so how can that be a bad thing?

I think the issue is also confused a bit by people like me (Sorry!) who use the term 'carbs' as shorthand for 'the foods most people think of as carbs i.e: potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, cakes, biscuits, sugary foods and drinks' - I know full well that I get plenty of veg based carbs in my diet, but I suppose some people who haven't actually looked into it might be nervous that this means no carbs at all. But it's clear to anyone who actually evaluates a properly balanced low carb lifestyle that there is no question it's perfectly healthy and perfectly fine for you.

It may not be what everyone wants to do but that's okay with me. I know how well I do on it and I know how unwell I am on even supposedly healthy carb-based eating.

Yes your body needs fats, that's why on a sensible low fat diet you wouldn't cut out fats. Eg. On slimming world meat, fish are a free food, milk or cheese should be eaten each day etc. Equally i hope people on a low carb diet would still eat whole grains and cereals regularly as these have been shown to reduce the risk of bowel cancer (as per link i posted yesterday at 21.46)

Also nuts, avocado could be used as part of your allowance each day