To think low carb is just another faddy diet?

[trilobiterevival]

(And it works for some people, much the same as other diets. We know this. And some people are sensitive to carbs, so I am not including them in this AIBU).

But I think most naturally slim/fit people eat carbs. They just don't gorge on them.
Many who go low carb began quite overweight and were probably eating large portions before. Changing their diet and becoming more mindful is likely the reason for weight loss, not the total annihilation of all carbs.
It's all a bit evangelical isn't it?

Plenty cultures enjoy rice, bread and pasta. But I have seen these foods described on MN as.... and I quote.... "nasties'. What utter, utter tripe. There is a huge difference between a serving of wholegrain rice and a sugar festooned donut!

There are healthier carbs than others, like most foods, but it is very easy to locate bread made with only a few ingredients, similarly to what you could make at home. The excuse that all bread is full of sugar and oil is a cop out IMO.

Most people I know who are slim and healthy eat bread or pasta, or both. It isn't the work of satan. It is quite easy to incorporate healthy carbs into one's diet, whether daily or weekly and stay healthy and slim. I wonder if those who claim they can't eat carbs or else they gain a ton of weight immediately are not able to them it in moderation, so it's easier for them to just quit.

For the record I don't favour low fat diets either, I also believe that fat is good for us.

Unless you have a health related issue that requires you to reduce carbs, then I think YABU!

I totally agree that healthy carbs are not bad for you. That said, Kings university (Tom Spector department) research says that different foods and diets affect people differently.

@Underroad I'm similar, low carb (carbs coming mostly from healthy veg) and higher fat has almost completly reversed a health condition. I now take a sub-cinically dose of medication.

@Lynnthesearesexnotgenderpeople it's not as boring as my dh's muesli for breakfast; sandwich, crisps, juice, apple for lunch, and then whatever I cook him for dinner.

I eat so much more of a variety. Breakfast might be a boiled egg, or yogurt with a few raspebrries and hazelnuts, or a cheese omelette, or left over vegetable soup from yesterday.

I think low carb, along with many other dietary approaches, attracts orthorexia-types who become obsessed with whichever diet they are on then they become almost evangelical about it because they think everyone else should do the same. Realistically I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all approach to diet. My brother has a rigid calorie intake set to match his fitness tracker calories burned and he maintains a normal weight. I eat low carb high fat and don't count anything and I maintain a normal weight. I couldn't do what he does, and he wouldn't want to do what I do. I saw a post on Facebook today from a woman that was eight days into a dry fast, i.e. no food or drinks for eight days, with another two to go. There's no way I would do that in a million years but it seemed to be working for her no matter how extreme it seems to me.

I agree.

I live near a Planet Organic and I was thinking last time I was in how so much of the shop is dedicated to restricted diets, dairy free, gluten free, keto, low carb.... As if these are the healthiest options.

My mum and grandma are in fantastic shape and eat carbs every meal. I was brought up to be balanced and not eat a lot of processed foods - that was key in our family, real home cooked food. Low junk.

Interested - what would happen if you started eating carbs again? Would the condition return, or is it actually properly reversed?

The NHS recommended ‘healthy diet’ is completely reliant on grains

The average british diet of toast or cereal for breakfast, meal deal for lunch and spag Bol/curry and rice/pasta carbonara/shepherds pie…whatever…is completely reliant on grains

Do those who berate people for "cutting out whole food groups" feel as strongly when they are around someone who eat a very low fat diet? Or does fat not count as a food group?

Why wouldn't it be the same? Fat is also a macronutrient, and avoiding it rather than balancing it is just as much an issue.

Spot on. Whether naturally slim people eat carbs is irrelevant, they’d be slim whatever they ate. Low carb is the perfect way for me to lose weight. It means I can basically eat whatever I want, including mayo on my salad, lots of cheese and full fat Greek yoghurt - all things that I love. Basically we’re all different and what works for some people doesn’t for others.

I can't speak long term yet. I started a low carb diet 2½ weeks ago.

I'm early 40s, used to be very (too) slim. Really fast metabolism so could eat anything and not put on weight.

In my late 30s I started to accumulate weight around my stomach. I have a tendency to post meal sugar dumps, too.

More recently, I was starting to get quite intense shakes between meals. I would literally feel faint, dizzy and as if I hadn't eaten a meal for the whole day. The only way to stave it off was to eat a snack.

Since I've started the new diet I haven't felt hungry between meals. I haven't had shakes between meals.

The blood pressure medication I was taking (for chronic migraine, not blood pressure) have been cut in half already because my blood pressure has reduced.

Who knows, I might in time find a balance that allows moderate carbs. Right now, low carb is suiting me.

Do those who berate people for "cutting out whole food groups" feel as strongly when they are around someone who eat a very low fat diet? Or does fat not count as a food group?

Nope fats are a necessary part of food groups, fat ensures the body runs correctly same as carbs.

People who have lost weight doing keto have lost because of CICO not because of the Keto diet.

I’ve never been able to diet in the traditional sense, nor really had to when younger

But late 40s low carb is good ime, and not faddy as it’s easy to do long term

Slimming world worked for me. Lost 4 stone and kept it off. I know what works for me.

So to lose weight insulin must be low. It's the storage hormone of the body. If it raised it tells cells to store glucose as glycogen and for fat cells to store fat. You cannot burn off your fat stores while insulin is elevated.

Both protein and carbs trigger insulin. But carbs, particularly refined carbohydrates will trigger it the most. By lowering carbs you reduce insulin and therefore fats can be released from fat tissue and used for energy.

When people diet using calories as a measure you will still be reducing the insulin because you will either cut back on chocolate or cake or crips. Or you will eat smaller portions.

Calories in Vs calories out does not explain why some people get fat and others don't. I know all the thin people think it's because us fatties are gluttonous beasts but in reality that isn't true. My DH has been obese for years but his weight is perfectly stable. Does he eat too much - yes, but why then isn't he continually getting fatter? Don't tell me he is perfectly balancing his calories in Vs calories out because that takes some serious in depth knowledge about his metabolic rate which he does not have.

Calories in Vs calories out does not explain why some people get fat and others don't.

So thermodynamics is selective? Or is it more likely that people overestimate their TDEE and don't/can't adjust accordingly?

Calories in Vs calories out does not explain why some people get fat and others don't.

It really does , it's physics its not a made up thing.

Your DH will not be gaining weight as he will have hit a point where his intake matches his outgoing calories.

I don't think carbs are evil or a sin, or any of those things, but I do know that as someone with PCOS I am more likely to develop diabetes in the future as it brings with it insulin resistance and all sorts, and I just know that sugar does not do me any good. I love it, I love bread, I love pasta and everything else. But my hirsutism does not. Nor does my mood, or my energy levels. When I eat low carb, all of my symptoms improve and life is happier and more balanced for me. I sleep better, I look better. I wish I had the metabolism of others, but for me I know they are not a good choice.

My friend has lost 5 stone on the Keto diet. She has done well but personally I think she is too slim now and it’s become an obsession, she won’t touch any carbs and even drinks low carb wine. IMO, she has lost the weight because she overhauled her diet and now eats small portions compared to the huge ones before.
I have been slim all my life, have always eaten carbs but one thing I do is eat my food in small portions, I never overload my plate with carbs, everything in moderation.
If carbs are so bad then why were the majority of people, pre the last few decades, mainly slim even though potatoes and bread were the staple of their diets back then?

I don't think carbs should be demonised, but the only time I successfully lost weight was on a low carb diet. If I reduce my calories but still eat plenty of carbs, the volume of food is smaller and I feel hungry, which makes snacking more tempting. By cutting out/down on carbs I could pile my plate high with veg and eat much more food for the same number of calories.

I’m slim but as I approach 40 to maintain my 20 something figure and weight I have had to halve my carb intake.

it’s not a diet, I still theoretically eat what I want but I eat a lot less as I can feel my metabolism slowing as I age even if I’m probably burning more calories (desk job in 20s vs running after a small child and looking after large house/gardens and never sitting down in 30s).

Calories in Vs calories out does not explain why some people get fat and others don't.

It absolutely does... it's simply a fact that if you consume less calories than your body is using (total daily energy expenditure) then your body will turn to fat stores for fuel... therefore losing fat/weight. Similarly, if you consistently consume more calories than your daily expenditure, the surplus will be stored as fat for future fuel reserves.

Most people barring any medical conditions like diabetes could eat 1500cals of cake a day and lose weight. Wouldn't be healthy or fulfilling but it would work.

There's nothing magical in carbs that make them worse for gaining weight than protien and fats. People are fat because they overeat calorie dense carbs like pasta and rice. Weighing nearly everything I eat and properly counting calories was a game changer for me.

Low carb diets are very effective for some people (I lost 4st on one) - I don’t doubt you do eat less overall, mainly because high protein diets seem have have a positive effect on satiety, and you don’t get the food cravings that a diet high in processed carbs seem to trigger.
But you have to be mega disciplined to stick to low carb - I just couldn’t do it long term so sadly the weight has returned. It makes me sad, as I hate the heavy uncomfortable feeling eating lots of carbs gives me, but seem unable to regulate my eating

I do low carb, low fat, low sugar
That is low not NO
everything in moderation works best for me