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!

The only thing that's ever impacted my weight is calories in/out

I'm the same. If I want to lose weight I just eat less but I still eat whatever I like, and I walk a lot at all times. This notion that there is "good" and "bad" food is just wrong, and leads to a lot of misery.

I don't no carb because its complicated and ridiculous (and must consume the mind) but I generally don't eat bread, potatoes or rice. I like simple meals as I can't be bother weighing or thinking what to eat - so go with meat, vegetables and salad mostly with cheese thrown in.

I will have the odd pasta though when dining out. It suits me and keeps the weight off.

There literally is good food and bad food, I wonder why people are so reluctant to hear that

Unless it's binge ED

For those of us with BED,.carbs can be addictive

No there's just food.

My name says it all

I do ‘low carb’ a few weeks each year because I can quickly lose any extra pounds (and tummy bloat) before an event where I need to wear a tighter dress than normal or a beach holiday. I also feel energetic and amazing when I do it…at first.

After about a month of it, I feel crap and the weight loss slows. And I crave carbs. And I stop.

So, it’s a useful short term ‘shift the Christmas chub / get ready to put a swimsuit on’ tool, but not a sustainable lifestyle choice for me.

Isn't the issue that it is easy to fixate on things such as exclusions?
I was always whippet thin until I had DC, ate like a horse and never paid any thought to what I ate. Since 40 my metabolism has slowed right down.
For me, reducing refined carbs has been like stepping out in the fresh air after spending too long in a stuffy room; utter relief. All preoccupation with food has subsided, now I just eat at mealtimes, and don't feel pulled to think about food or snacking in between. I now experience the difference between real hunger and cravings (which have all but disappeared) and the satisfaction of feeling when I have had enough.
Before I reduced carbs, the presence of them in my diet was like walking around with a pebble in my shoe, I was never far from thinking about food. Now, food is a pleasant but periferal experience. I've got more energy and feel like it's helped my cognition, as the persistent brain fog I'd assumed was perimenopausal has disappeared.
I still eat regular stuff like carrots, sweet potatoes, legumes, fruit etc, but only have very small amounts of bread, pasta, rice or sugar etc, and only occasionally; I had a few croutons on a soup last night, for instance, but wouldn't have a slice of toast anymore. I'd be thinking about bread all day then.

www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/david-unwin-low-carb-not-just-diabetes/

Some of the science behind it. This GP has reversed 50% of his t2 diabetes cases with low carb diets. It's also proved good against non alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Good explanation of the insulin resistence aspect as others have mentioned.

So, taken to extremes, a low carb diet (like any other) can turn faddy. But there is more and more evidence of health benefits re insulin, diabetes, blood pressure, mood and more.

@Carpy88999

there really is such a thing as bad food. Take coco pops, what is good about them? There is no nutritional value at all and they are completely at odds with what human children need to grow and be healthy. They are a bad food.

also, much of what is described on here as not being a bad food, such as bread, is spoken about in terms of what the food was originally like. A slice of Warburtons Toastie bears no resemblance to bread we would have had 100, even 60 years ago. It is full of highly processed ingredients, chemicals, preservatives. It’s not like a baguette in France where it is illegal to change the ingredients of bread, it is actually now a bad food.

@hamstersarse I agree with you. Most processed food can be described as bad food.

I think different people have different metabolic tolerances for carbs, and it also potentially changes as we age or go through menopause etc. Most of my naturally thin friends can and do consume a lot of carbs as they seem to burn them readily.

I don't personally avoid them altogether as I don't feel great when I do but I don't eat pasta and eat bread maybe once a week (three ingredient sourdough). I tend to eat a lot of quinoa and sweet potatoes, some oats and brown rice etc but I certainly don't do things like avoid fruit and peas.

Personally I think that anything that removes whole food groups (unless for actual medical reasons), and demonises food, is not healthy.

It screws up your relationship with food, makes it much too big a focus in your life, and leads to guilt/shame, and feeling "bad" if you "fall off the wagon", which often leads to a binge/restrict cycle.

I think diet culture and societies obsession with thinness = good and worthy, has so much to answer for.

Yes it's not good to live entirely off doughnuts, but some bread and a potato is perfectly healthy as part of a balanced diet. I honestly think balance is the key to everything when it comes to weight and health. So many diets may "work" in that they result in weight loss when on them. That's not working imo, if you can't sustain that. Anything that fucks up your relationship with food and demonises certain foods is NOT good for your mental health, and therefore cannot be good for most people in my opinion.

Obviously many disagree and view low carb as amazing. And that's fine, each individual can do whatever they please with their life and body. But I agree with you OP

I was pre-diabetic and low carb diet was crucial to get my health back. I'm 20 months in, 2.5 stone lighter, size 8 (I'm 49) and my blood sugars are normal now and no need for any medication.

I occasionally may have some chips or some rice but I don't have the cravings anymore. Couple of slices of sourdough per week is delicious but any bagged sliced bread doesn't appeal at all now. I find this way eating very delicious and satisfying, not to mention sustainable. No need to count calories because omitting carbs keeps my blood sugar stable and therefore my metabolism running efficiently.

Untruths that kept me overweight and made me struggle for far too long:

• you need to eat a balanced diet
• cutting out whole food groups is unhealthy
• everything in moderation
• calories in calories out
• Life's too short not to eat (insert any crappy treat here)

If your blood sugar is too high, you do have to either cut or severely moderate your sugar/starch intake. Modern bread simply turns into a sugar once eaten even if it doesn't look like a sweet treat.

No-one ever tells vegans or vegetarians that it is unhealthy to cut down entire food groups, they get fawning instead But say you you won't eat bread and bananas anymore and the whole world comes down

Yes of course. I remember Rosemary Conley's very low fat/fat free diets and thought they were bonkers.

I think the main issue for me is that people who low or no carb often don't understand that there are different carbohydrates, and that some are really beneficial and there's just no need to exclude them.

I think the main issue for me is that people who low or no carb often don't understand that there are different carbohydrates, and that some are really beneficial and there's just no need to exclude them.

It may not be your intention but this is so patronising. Low carb eaters are not thick. They may make some errors at first but tend to find the balance as they get more familiar what they can eat and which carbs keep their blood sugar stable. Nutritional benefits can be meaningless if your blood sugar is spiked.

Yep. You aren't wrong.

Low carbing does not mean cutting out a whole food group. That would be a no carb diet! Low carbers get plenty of important nutrition from eating carbs in the form of vegetables, salad and (some) fruit.

Coco Pops (as with the majority of UK cereals) are fortified with vitamins and there not totally nutritionally empty. One bowl according the the information online has 115 kcal, which isn’t a huge amount so adding some yogurt or milk (for calcium and fats) and some berries isn’t an appalling breakfast. It’s higher sugar than is ideal, and I wouldn’t offer it to a child every day. As a child we had cereals like Weetabix or Ready Brek in the week, and were allowed cereals like coco pops at the weekend, which I think a balanced way to handle it.

There are foods which are more calorically dense, foods which are richer in vitamins and minerals, foods which are higher fat, food which are higher sugar, but in isolation none are bad or unhealthy. Diets as a whole can be unhealthy, but a small amount of high fat, high sugar food if you fancy it isn’t a terrible thing. If the weather picks up today I might head down to the new ice shop in town and get one. It’s high in fat and sugar, and probably fewer nutrients than Coco Pops, but I know that my diet is balanced so that doesn’t worry me.

There is a problem with too much ultra processed food being consumed, but I think being more descriptive is better than just labelling good vs bad. Coco Pops are ultra processed. Nuts are high fat. Mango is high in sugar. Broccoli is a good source of vitamin K and iron. Tomatoes are a source of lycopene. Lentils contain some essential amino acids. If people have more knowledge about food (as well as the money and education to access it, which I know I’m in a privileged position to have both) then that will help people far more and feel less negative and shaming than spinach = good, chocolate = bad. That messaging has been communicated for decades and the nation’s health has only worsened in that time.

Calories in calories out is unhelpful because it doesn't reflect how the body responds to and metabolises different sources of calories. CICO tells you how much heat is produced if you burn the food in a laboratory but this is a huge oversimplification of what actually happens in the body.

Coco pops are just a food stuff. There's nothing intrinsically bad about them and 30g a day isn't going to turn anyone into Rick Waller. If you're sitting down to a 100g bowl a few times a day you may run into issues, everything is fine in moderation...

If I smash down a big bar of chocolate today I probably won't have a massive cake as well.

Everything in moderation is fine but not many people can moderate themselves with delicious sugar filled junk food which in turn can lead to obesity. I also don't think its appropriate to label certain foods good or bad to kids they need to be taught what a balanced diet looks like and why its important.

It wasn't patronising, it was my observation. Many people don't understand what a glycaemic index is, what a complex carbohydrate is, the effect of a ketogenic diet on the body and so on.

I disagree that nutritional benefits are 'meaningless' if blood sugar is spiked. Minerals, vitamins, amino acids etc are still absorbed if blood sugar increases.

I don't find the good/bad classification helpful. How I see it, at my age (52) I need my diet to work pretty hard for me if I want to keep this vintage body of mine looking good and feeling fit and healthy.
I have a lot of nutrional needs, but need to keep my calories low, so I need to select the foods that give me the best bang for my buck.
Biscuits for example, while morally neutral, give me a poorer return than the same calories would if used on oats, fruit, veg, nuts etc. They taste nice, but that's it. Other foods support my heart, skin, bone health, immunity. If I want a biscuit I will have one, but tbh it feels a bit of a waste.

I agree it’s patronising. I’ve done a lot of reading & discussed at length with my GP. I know a lot about different carbohydrates & their affect on the body. That’s why I eat limited amounts of bread, pasta & rice and eat lots of green veg & salad. My diabetes has been reversed, I’ve lost weight & feel so much better. It’s not a fad for many of us.

If she hasn’t drink any liquids her kidneys might not be happy.

there really is such a thing as bad food. Take coco pops, what is good about them? There is no nutritional value at all and they are completely at odds with what human children need to grow and be healthy. They are a bad food.

Nope you are completely incorrect, there is energy in it and vitamins and minerals, protiens and fibre, You don't know nothing about nutrition with what you are saying.

If you want to go down the road of bad foods, celery has very little nutritional value apart from a tiny amount of fibre and vitamin c.

Every food has some sort of nutrition in it, and labeling foods as good and bad isn't helpful and can lead to sending people down road to eating disorders.