To be fed up with ppl trying to convince me Atkins/keto only way

[rainawf]

I tried it and when younger did work but now tried it again recently and I can’t stand it. I’m going back to old fashioned calorie counting next week and everyone keeps saying how bad it is and only keto/low carb is sure way to lose weight. What are your thoughts?

Keto isn't for me either, I find calorie counting sustainable and I lost 7 stone this way and have kept it off for several years now. A natural outcome of more awareness of calories has been incorporating more veg and other low calorie high density foods for me and I like not having restrictions beyond that. It works for others though I'm sure.

I have tried every single diet going. Calorie counting does work, atkins is torture. The most effective 'diet' was when I had gestational diabetes so had to cut out sugary stuff and reduce carbs. I ate a lot more fresh foods and obviously couldn't eat crisps or sweets or cakes. I lost 3 stone in the last 6 months of pregnancy without trying (well I was trying to manage my diet but certainly not trying to lose weight)

You don’t have to do keto or atkins to reduce your carb intake.

There is a vast body of evidence about the benefit of protein and how eating more in a diet will help weight loss and help maintain it too.

If you want to calorie count and it works for you then go for it, but I’ll bet you £100 now that if you take your normal “diet” calorie level and you swap out say 200/300 of those cals you’d use on carbs and replace it with 300 cals of protein instead you’ll feel less hungry and will lose weight quicker (all other things being equal).

People talk a lot about keto because it is proven to be one of the only diets which reverses pre diabetes and helps those with diabetes to adequately control it. It is not perfect but it is a proven way to improve metabolic disease.

Being in a calorie deficit is the sure fire way to lose weight / fat - you don’t need fancy diets to achieve this, burn off more than you eat, it’s very simple - not to sound patronising, I just don’t think it needs to be over complicated. Count your calories on an app and be accountable and you’ll be fine

Keto can work well for some but not for others.

The ones that tend to be evangical tend to be the ones doing 'dirty keto' which is really not healthy long term - as PP said, butter in coffee, double cream etc, net carbs under 25. But, if you do Keto as it was intended, as treatment for epilepsy, you can have a much more sustainable and balanced diet.

Just tell them to butt out of your diet.

The reason people recommend keto/Atkins is because it is (or should be) a way of reducing calories without being hungry and without having to religiously count calories.

Personally I would never do Atkins as I love vegetables and I'm not keen on fatty meats, etc. And Keto is pretty tricky to do properly.

Low carbing is pretty simple and for me is the easiest and most reliable for a long term diet. You quickly get used to it and it's a sustainable way of reducing calories without being hungry.

I have no issues with Low Carb as a way of reducing the processed food people eat and cooking from scratch. It is when they preach the bullshit of the insulin model and the " you have been lied to " that it gets really annoying.

You can reduce what you eat (calories) in many ways. By counting them, reducing a group of them (Low carb, low fat), by reducing the time you allow yourself to eat (IF), but in the end, it is just eating less , one way or the other.

Lose weight in any way and your metabolic health will improve.

I calorie count and weigh myself weekly. If I gain weight I cut down. People think I am natural thin but it is bs. I do not really exercise but I just count calories.

Calorie counting is the best in my opinion as you can have all the nice things just eat less other stuff. I have cake for breakfast as an example. (Not every day)

The caveat with calorie counting is you can eat unhealthily & have chocolate bars as long as it doesn't take you over your calories

Atkins gave me an eating disorder. There is a reason dieticians recommend we don’t cut food groups. Carbs have a purpose

I did very low carb/keto several years ago and lost about two stone. But it messed with my digestion, my hair started to fall out, and it was not sustainable for me.
Now I make sure to have enough fibre from whole grains, eat lots of salad and veg, not much sugar or fatty foods, and lean meats or fish. I love coffee so I do have a plant milk based latte every day as I have a milk allergy.
I would not do very low carb again, but low-ish carb and generally healthy eating - along with plenty of gym time - works for me. I don’t drink so maybe that helps as well. I don’t have the motivation to calorie count but I do need to take care to make healthy choices consistently and that seems to be okay.

@ShellySarah

Why is that a bad thing?? It's more sustainable than cutting food groups out for a few months then putting it all back on after. If you can find the balance between reducing calories and still have a normal eating habit then why not have chocolate as part of a balance diet??

I have choclate, takeaway, alcohol, coffee etc. And I am 8st by calorie counting (I am short so healthy BMI before someone calls me anorexic)

I am also really healthy as I have been checked by my midwife so no concerns about the eat what you want but calorie counting diet I have been following for the 10 years before I got pregnant.

I lost 6 stone by eating a healthy diet and exercising.

When I lost the weight initially I had a lot of people asking how I did it - their faces always fell when I said a healthy lifestyle.

It may not be a quick fix or a fad but it works...

I have lost 53lb since March with calorie counting. It works for me as I don't have to cut out the food I like, just eat smaller portions. Honestly though, the only diet that will work is the one you can stick to, whether it's calorie counting, keto, intermittent fasting, weight watchers, whatever, they all work as long as you stick to them.

You wouldn't be a good lowcarber with your username @YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake 😁

I lost a lot of weight with just calorie counting, using the my fitness pal app and measuring food religiously at the beginninf to get an understanding of proper portion sizes etc.

Keto did not work for me and made me feel awful.

YANBU - I had severe insulin resistance, and tried everything including Keto and IF (separately and together). Neither helped me lose any weight, although after the initial headaches etc from giving up carbs/sugar, I did feel good within myself. I needed medication to combat the insulin resistance, and then I could lose weight with a much more balanced approach.

I can’t do either low carb or intermittent fasting, both make me feel unwell so I can’t stick with them long enough to even see if I lose weight! Calorie counting has always been the best approach for me and it seems to work so 🤷‍♀️

'UPFs' are taking over as the current fad so keto will be out of fashion soon. I wonder what will be next.

I eat a little healthy carbs, a little protein, a little healthy fat and lots of fruit and vegetables. Seems to work.

I need to point out here that a (good) low carb diet doesn't exclude vegetables or fruit (although some fruits will need to be included only very occasionally, e.g. bananas, as they have a very high carb - aka sugar - content).

Also, a low carb diet is just that - low carb. Not no carb. Vegetables and fruits are carbs.

I did strict Keto back in the 90s. There was no fruit and almost no veg allowed. Just couldn't do it.

So in other words your calories in was less than your calories out and currently in order to maintain your weight, your calories in equals your calories out

Thats what you've achieved

I needed to lose weight quickly to get my pre diabetes of44 reversed back to ideally under40 - did this in 4 months with far less carb (under 80g a day) far less sugar ( cakes, biscuits etc) and gluten free - one reason I would struggle with keto is I like porridge ideally with 1/2 a banana for breakfast most days. I'm not massively keen on salads either, so it starts to get restricting. I did try it and I had enormous headaches for days on end (at one point for almost 2 weeks)

I think studies show that both will make you lose weight, assuming there's a calorie deficit. And for people who eat healthily and cook properly , I think either would be okay. For me , the main advantage of low carb is that it reduces the amount of crap food I can eat - I pretty much have to eat eggs, veg, fish , meat, some cheese/cream/butter, which are real foods. On a calorie controlled diet I could get away with eating a lot of UPF and junk, so I was still hungry and not eating particularly well.
I think it's pretty good to cut down on sugar and artificial sweeteners and reduce dependence on sweet food.

Not all carbs are the same - you can low carb and still eat vegetables and some fruit, you just can't have cake and rubbish carbs.

So I guess the best diet is the one which compels you to eat real food, not one where you can 'cheat' and eat crap with no nutritional value