Have you lost weight on the no carb / low carb diet?

[Anonymous]

OK so I'm huge and I want to lose weight . I'm already active and I don't really over eat I work a lot and only have one reg size meal a day . I'm a size 26 and I want to get down to a 16 or 18 . I was wanting to know if the no carb low carb diet has done any of you good becuase that's what I was thinking about doing . I'm not really into sweet stuff and I don't like pop and all that but I do eat a lot of high carb foods like chips and crap like that but I'm ready to stop it . so have any of you lost weight on the low no carb diet ? if so how much and if you have any tips for me let me know !

[selfishstars]

Low carb does work. Basically, your body needs energy. To make that energy, it first breaks down carbs because they're the easiest to break down. If you severely limit your carbs, your body will have to switch to a different mechanism to get energy---it starts to break down fat instead. Thus, you lose weight.

The thing is, low carb diets are restrictive and difficult to maintain for the long-term. Not to mention that your body requires carbohydrates to function optimally. Eventually, you'll probably get sick of restricting yourself of all the foods you enjoy that contain carbs (either along the way, or once you've lost the weight you want to lose), and you'll start eating them again and you're likely to gain back the weight you've lost (and sometmes more).

Instead of cutting out carbs completely, you should just be mindful of the KINDS of carbs that you're having. Cut down on your carbs, but don't cut them out completely. Instead of processed carbs, switch to whole grains (whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, brown rice). Also, be sure to eat lots of veggies and fruit, and lean protein. Drink lots of water as well and start to exercise/become more active. Don't expect to be perfect right away, small changes will make a difference too.

I would suggest a program like Weight Watchers (or if you can't afford it, you can find pretty much all the information online for free), or try a free calorie counting site like sparkpeople.com. If you have a lot of weight to lose, it's going to take a long time to lose it. Celebrate the small victories and pick yourself up and get back to it if you "fall off the horse". A good support system will help to motivate you--there's a lot of great weight loss communities online if you can't find a buddy in real life.

[nicelilsprout]

Paleo diet: link I lost 11 pounds in under a couple of weeks. You should research it...I hated to not be able to eat rice and plain yogurt, but I had to sacrifice for my health. Basically, you'll be eating like a modern caveman, but the food always tastes good, and you'll be using your creativity while thinking of what you can do with what you have (my favorite:) Also, sitting in front of the hot stove makes you sweat...yay! Even though the diet basically takes care of itself, you should take walks regularly...go explore! The greatest part about this diet is that once you've gotten into a routine, you'll, seriously, feel like a whole new person. Oh, and the boosted sex drive is awesome!

[jimi_s]

it is all about the balance between the calorie you consume vs. the calorie you spend. The following website will allow you to calculate the calorie you spend each day depending on your activities:

link

Using that you can calculate how much calorie to eat.

From the other end of the spectrum, you need to figure out how much calorie you really eat. There are many websites that can tell you that. The ones that I find useful are:

link

link

If you use these tools that I gave you, you can practically turn the dial to what kind of weight you want to have. As simple as that.

The trick is to find the right food combination that leave you satiated all day and that has a lot to do with the concept of "Glycemic Load". Look it up in the internet and learn it.

GOOD LUCK!

[theshark50]

hey I recently tried the low carb diet this past summer. From what I've seen and researched you'll lose weight really soon (in 3 or 4 days) but unfortunatly the majority is water weight and as soon as you have any carbs your body will gain some of it back (or all of it). The best thing I think you can do is try to reduce snacking and drink more water than anything else. I'm trying to lose 30 lbs and all I've been doing is working out whenever I have time, try to eat slower. I used to eat fast so I would always over-eat. But if you take your time eating you'll end up figuring out that you'll eat a lot less.

[Asker]

Thank you for the advice. I was looking into the atkins diet I tried it once but it was really hard ( I just didn't try that hard) the atkins diet isn't really a diet its how you got to eat from now on . but anyway my cousin was almost 4 hundred pds he didn't look fat though he was more of the football player type but he got gastric bypass and now he is smaller then me .. I want to do that to but there is no way I could ever afford it so I'm just going to have to try hard and not give up

[smokeadmiral]

I'm into powerlifting so my dieting can be a bit different. However, there's one that a lot of people have tried and seems to work really really well. It's difficult for the first few weeks because of the adjustments, but very successfull. It's called the Anabolic Diet. It generally calls for a 5 day high protein, high fat, low carbs and then 2 days high carbs, low fat, low protein. So you'd be Monday-Friday high fat and protein with Saturday-Sunday High carbs. Works out well if you have something going on for the weekends. You'll notice a huge difference in energy once your body gets use to it and it forces the body to use fat for its energy source, thus you lose body fat and not muscle mass. Another thing to remember is drink lots of water...not tea or juices or sports drinks (loaded with sugars, calories, and sodium) but pure good cold water and lots of it. Give it a shot.

[BillyTheMountain]

Try using Livestrong.com to track what you eat, and tell you how many calories to eat, then stick to it. If you can mimize the carbs you eat, as in Atkins, it will eliminate food cravings. Minimize portion sizes and pick the lowest calorie foods when you eat out. You want to cut out virtually all sugar (a carb) both now and forever. (Everyone should!) Good luck!

[WeaponZero]

Completely cutting carbs is a good way to lose weight in a short period of time. But it is not a long term solution because your body does NEED carbs and once you start eating carbs again, you will gain the weight you lost back. It's what you do when you want to fit into a dress for a ball or something. But that's it. Sticking with a no-carb/low-carb diet for an extended period of time can play hell on your body.

I've lost 95 lbs so far and it wasn't through low-carb dieting.

[Archangl]

What did you do and how long did it take you to lose that?

[lelebear]

My whole office went on that diet about a year ago and most lost tons of weight very fast but as soon as they started adding carbs back in they gained it all back and they were all tired from not eating the carbs to so most took energy supplements that are not good for you at all. Some switched to a regular diet of just eating less calories and more working out and have been much more successful at keeping it off.

[emzy-89]

i have but it's not sustainable. you need to exercise for at least 30mins a day, eat lots of salads/veggies, steer clear of sugars and if you eat white bread change to something like rye bread. watch your portion control, most peoples mistake these days are eating far too much. drink lots of water, if you have dressings on salads, change to vinegar, not only does it have no calories but the acidity will speed up your metabolism.

[nermalinda]

Just cut out white refined carbs like flour and sugar and you'll lose weight. Low carb diets that cut out whole grains are too hard to stay on forever and can mess up some stuff in your body.

[Asker]

Ty

[Marrryyyyy]

no :( I only gain..dunno why