Anyone had success with low carb diets?

[Carbaholic876]

The first week I did a very drastic keto diet, and since then I've reintroduced wholemeal bread and porridge.
Been doing it for just over 2 weeks, I was 62kg and have gone down to just over 60.
I wasn't overweight but the main issue was bloating. My stomach made me look pregnant and my entire body and face would swell up due to all the refined carbs.
I've lost all that bloating, don't have a perfectly flat stomach but I just feel better in my clothes and certainly slimmer.
Don't know if it's related but I've slept through every night more or less since starting, whereas before I'd sometimes wake up at 4am and not be able to get back to sleep.
My spots all disappeared, though I've had one or two return.
My diet before was horrendous. I would eat one of those large packets of sweets every couple of days. Could go the day without eating much fruit or veg, refined carbs every single day. Couldn't make it through the day without cakes or biscuits, addicted to white bread.

If i didn't eat every 3 hours I'd feel sick and dizzy.
In my 20s I could eat like this and remain a size 6 but now in 30s it started to catch up with me.

Just be interested to hear from others and their thoughts.
I'm having one day a week where I eat whatever I want, would you recommend this?
I buy protein shakes/bars and things like Lo dough, but they can be quite expensive. Do you find eating low carb more expensive overall?
Have you managed to stick to this long term?
I do feel that with the one day off a week it's something I could absolutely stick to long term

Yes, low carb works for me. I started doing it as part of a pre-diabetes prevention programme, and although I was eating the same as normal otherwise, losing 2lb a week was an unexpected bonus.

You will only lose body fat if you're eating fewer calories. You can't eat at maintenance and lose weight just because you're eating low carb it's just not possible.

I've done Keto in the past. I lost weight but it made me horribly constipated and gave me reflux. I found having one portion of wholemeal carbs a day resolved the constipation. I should add that I don't have a gall bladder and for me that gives me issues with digesting fat.

I can't do low carb, high fat - it makes me feel really ill. But the best diet for me is low carb, medium fat, high protein. say 20/35/45 macros. Plus a fasting window. I don't eat any low carb snacks or buy any of that stuff.

I also have so much more energy if I don't eat anything with a high gycaemic value.

I like it because I can't do moderation when it comes to carbs. I'm not good at having a small bowl of cereal or just one slice of toast. It makes me feel really unsatisfied.

I've been low carb for a month now and the hold that food has on me has reduced massively; I think about it much less and do not feel hungry or have cravings. My sleep has noticeably improved, as have the energy slumps in the afternoon. I wake up feeling rested.

I've not lost a drastic amount of weight; around 1lb per week but these non-scale benefits motivate me as well.

My diet at the moment includes lots of protein, lots of vegetables, especially greens and fat in the form of oils, butter and dairy. I don't feel that I am missing key nutrients. Nobody needs to eat bread, pasta and sweets.

I’m 19 months in in my low carb diet and it has been life changing for me. I started with Fast800 and carried on eating low carb once the 12 weeks was over. I lost 2.7 stone and have maintained it since. I’m now size 6-8 at 49 years old.

I haven’t counted the calories for over a year now, I just eat 3 meals a day, fast 13 hrs (suits my routine) and keep the carbs low’ish. Eating everything full fat is delicious and satisfying and has cured me from my crazy sugar cravings. I now have a slice of sourdough occadionally and some chips if eating out but I still don’t generally eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach etc as they are high in oxalates which cause health problems and insomnia for me.

I don’t do cheat days either because I don’t want my insulin to spike and I actually don’t even fancy any of the junk I used to enjoy anymore. It’s very liberating. Cheat days also imply that your diet is otherwise somehow a punishment which will impact your mindset and you won’t have long term success with it.

Going low carb has also given me some health benefits I didn’t expect at first:
Skin tags gone
Chub rub gone
Lot less gas and bloating
Skin a lot clearer
No more cystic acne spots
I tolerate summer heat much better now
I actually learned to cook

I’ll never want to return to MM favourite “balanced diet” as all it was to make me struggle with food and cravings with a massive spare tyre around me.

I think any diet is great while your willpower remains strong

^ This. I did really well on low carb, until I fell off the wagon. No way could I stick to it long-term.

My father (will of iron) went low(ish) carb after being told he was pre-diabetic about a decade ago. Gave up most carby stuff except his homemade muesli. He soon ended up slimmer in his 70s than he'd been in all his adult life, pre-diabetes gone, no longer on statins or bp meds, also got rid of his sleep apnoea. He was only a little overweight to start with. Still going strong. So it can be done - just not by most people, because most people will not stick to it long-term.

It’s the best and most easiest thing I have ever done, I lost 2.5 stone easily and now a few years down the line I still follow the principles of the diet, but I am more relaxed now (have the odd cracker with my cheese if I want and if I am out for coffee / lunch I eat whatever is on the menu). No limiting of calories, I can eat as much as I want of the right foods at meal times so I’m never hungry. No snacking in between meals though, I became more aware of my fruit habits (not grabbing an apple or banana in between meals any more, I eat fruit with breakfast).Once I started I found it easy to follow and it has changed all of my family’s eating habits. Sleep better and feel better overall, no more achy joints either. No need to buy ready made meals, bars or shakes, just eat proper food! I struggled to loose weight for years so I’m so happy to have found something that works for me.

Lots of great ideas here, marking place.

OP, you might find The Glucose Revolution useful in your situation. She doesn’t say you should never have carbs, but gives really good practical suggestions for how to minimise their impact. Eg, if you see a treat you really want, buy it and have it as pudding at your next meal, rather than snack between meals.

Also, I would highly recommend not buying the low-carb substitutes for bread/pasta etc. Just learn to eat differently without them in your diet.

@Shakeupandwakeup that's calorie counting on my fitness pal aswell.Sorry I forgot to mention that part!

I went on Carb diet, just to see what happens. Since then I have eaten smaller and smaller portions. My tummy size has gone down and I have added 2 extra belt sizes down.

I eat low carb (not no carb). But I think I do it healthily. So most of the carbs I eat are from veg - broccoli, grean beans, kale, avocado, celery, fennel, asparagus, celeriac, cauliflower, aubergine, tomatoes, red / green peppers, olives (I could go on).

I add in some high quality protein - eggs, beef, duck etc. I limit processed food such as ham, bacon, sausages

And some dairy - butter, cheese, cream

I enjoy cooking and I have time so I cook from scratch.

I don't use any of the low-carb breads or crisps. I avoid highly processed and ultra processed food items.

I have some protein from pulses (lentils, beans, peas etc) once a week.

In general, I don't eat bread (particularly supermaket bread with 27 ingredients) and I don't eat pasta - I find that most pasta dishes have a lot of pasta and little of everything else.

I don't eat products with refined sugar and I limit my fruit sugars - so no fruit juice, but I do eat some strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb (or is that a vegetable?) etc.

There are so many lovely tasty dishes that you can make from that selection of ingredients.