No-Carb

[Pagan]

One thing that bugs me is that too many people think dieting does it all. YOU MUST BE ACTIVE!

Yeah, I didn't think to point that out because it's common sense. And then I realized my error....common sense. Most people don't have the common sense of a turnip.

I've been at my new job two months now and one of the ladies I worked with said that she thought I've been losing weight. She said I looked less "hippy"! Which I probably have since I'm walking a lot more that where I was before. Not to mention that I lost about 5 lbs due to a stomach virus that's making the rounds of the store. So, yeah, obviously, ya gotta move! Shake what your mama gave ya!

[wagegoth]

Lots of good comments.

I'm actually thankful for Atkins, because I'm gluten intolerant and it's made it easier to buy food. If I stay off gluten, I feel great and lose weight, but it only takes a couple of crackers to mess up everything. If I go to In n Out, I get a double double protein style, no fries, no soda, occasionally a shake (I keep bottles of water in the car). I was so happy when I first heard about protein style, and I've even gotten friends who aren't dieting to try it. Most of them now prefer it to having the burger on a bun.

My younger son had serious food allergies as a child, and had real problems gaining weight. As a result, he missed an early childhood period of weight gain where the body creates new fat cells. He eats almost as much as his older brother, but never gains weight. Until he was almost four, I used to make a bottle up every night combining formula, vitamins and minerals, and other things I don't even remember, but I remember it contained about 700 calories, and give it to him while he slept. Finally, he started eating more normally, and some of the allergies have faded. People in restaurants must think I starve him, because he'll eat more than I do.

[Horsetuna]

I went to a Blood type diet site to get a 'free' assessment... I filled out the papers and stuff (for some reason it still thought it wanted me to LOSE weight when i put in my 'current' and 'goal' weight as the same thing) but then it wanted me to pay.

so yeah, free assessment, but there's a 'shipping and handling' fee.

[Mark Healey]

You beat me to it!

Food, in and of itself, is not evil. It's how much you eat and how active you are that count. One of the best things I've ever heard is, "Moderation in everything including moderation."

It was in the movie "Lost Horizon". I don't know if it was in the book or not.

Now where did I put those Doublestuff Oreos?

I don't like the "stuff". If they're making double stuff why can't I buy no-stuff?

[Estil]

I had several of those "no bun" people when I worked at the hospital cafeteria back in 2004. Frankly I would've thought the "low carb" fad was long dead by now.

[Soulstealer]

But by not eating carbs you lose the ability to fertilize, your blood stops clotting.

Hmm less SC children and possible death from bleeding out. I'm confused are you for or against Atkins?

I hate those diet fads too, they don't account for how people really eat or what kind of nutritional takein they need.

[friendofjimmyk]

I'm on this new "nutrition plan" (calling it a diet is just not what it is) It's very natural, very healthy. To change one's eating habits takes time. I mean, a habit is a habit. Let me tell you, the crap I ate for breakfast this morning - I was wondering if part of this new plan required me to puke first thing in the morning.

When it comes to carbs, there are carbs and then there are the complex carbs. It is not healthy to cut out all carbs from your diet. Carbs give you energy. As someone stated, you need carbs to burn fat. It's the source of your carbs that matters. If you are eating a lot of starchy carbs, that's not very good. If you are getting your carbs from fruits and veggies and other "complex" sources, that's a bit better for you.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I hate no-carb diets. The only way they work is if you NEVER eat carbs. Otherwise, the second you start eating carbs again, you gain the weight back again.

And carbs are basically the main source of energy provided for the body. Constantly consuming no carbs will result in a lack of energy, and with no energy, the body cannot function properly.

Actually, what will happen if you never eat carbs will most likely be that you will never, ever make a bowel movement again.

Seriously, someone please explain to me how Atkins became equated with a "no carb" diet? I hear that all the time and it makes me more than a little nuts. People completely eliminate all carbohydrate from their diets, then a week or two later they go, "oh, Atkins is terrible, I got so sick on Atkins!" Which sucks, because how would they know? If they did a no-carb diet, then I don't know what they did, but it sure wasn't Atkins. Atkins is not a no-carb diet. It's a LOW carb diet...and that is why it works.

Frankly I would've thought the "low carb" fad was long dead by now.

Naw, it's only dead among the legions who treated it like a fad diet, didn't educate themselves on how to do it properly, played around a lazy, misguided version of it, then quit it when to their great shock it didn't work. The people who know what the heck they are doing are still going strong...and there quite a few of us out there....because when you do it right, it's like the magic elixer of health. No lie. And since we know that, there's no way we're going to give that up.

As for going off of it, well, of course you gain the weight back if you start eating unhealthy food all the time again. That's what makes people fat and unhealthy to start with. Doing Atkins for a couple weeks does not immunize you forever against unhealthy habits. No lifestyle, excercise program, etc. does. The healthy effects of it only last as long as you put effort into it. I hear that all the time, too, and I am always amazed. What "diet" continues to keep your weight down after you abandon it?

None. This is why diets don't work. None. Low fat, low carb, Zone, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Grapefruit, Dumb-fad-You-Got-From-Your-Hairdresser, none of them work.

Only changing your lifestyle works. Low carb works (my low carb lifestyle of choice is Atkins). 6 years and no plans of stopping. I credit it to saving my life.

[Raieth]

Only changing your lifestyle works. Low carb works (my low carb lifestyle of choice is Atkins). 6 years and no plans of stopping. I credit it to saving my life.

Before I start, ahem, ah, laying into you.

Did you get your low-carb diet from a certified dietitian or your doctor? Or did you just buy the book?

If you changed your eating habits with the guide of a professional then please ignore the rest of this post.

I refuse to support something that says you aren't allowed to eat a plain fruit salad for lunch. And recommends a cheese covered steak instead.

I have read the Atkins book. The amount of fruit and veggies (the best source of carbohydrates) it recommends is so low you have to take vitamin supplements to make up for the lack. It promotes bad eating habits and also implies that exercise isn't necessary.

Lets put it this way.

Atkins followed his diet. Not only did he gain a lot of weight he also died of a heart attack when his doctor told him he needed to exercise. He was so overweight his heart couldn't handle a slow walk up the street.

I'm going to let this go now. I get far to worked up about this kind of thing.

[Seshat]

Sugars and carbs

Just so the folks who don't yet know, find out: sugar is itself a carbohydrate.

In fact, glucose (the stuff the body runs on) is one of the sugars.

The stuff we normally think of a 'sugar' is 'sucrose'. Other sugars are glucose, fructose (in fruit), lactose (in dairy), and a few others I won't go into there. Mostly because I can't remember them offhand.

Any refined sugar (including fructose, lactose, etc), refined white flour (eg: white bread, some cakes and cookies and things), mashed potato (some sorts) and a few other things will give you sugar spikes when you eat them.

In people with insulin problems, a sugar spike can be Real Trouble. In other people, occasional sugar spikes are no hassle - but frequent sugar spikes can put a load on your pancreas and might give you insulin problems. Or maybe not.

For complicated reasons you can find in any Glycaemic Index explanation, sugar spikes can also tend to mean you store more fat for the same daily intake of calories; than someone who never lets themself spike. But unless you've got insulin problems, it's a minor issue - and if you do have insulin problems, you don't want MY advice! Go to a nutritionist!

Slowly-digested carbohydrates won't give you sugar spikes. Combining carbohydrates with things that make the whole meal digest more slowly (like fibre, fat and protein) will reduce the sugar spike.

General dietary opinion

You want to improve your body health and body shape? Then like lots of folks here have said:

Energy in < Energy out = lose fat.
Exercise = gain muscle.

I like to use another rule of thumb:

For optimum nutrition, make sure you eat all parts of plants, at least once a week.

Flowers: cauliflower, broccoli, a few other things. Ask an actual greengrocer.
Seeds: nuts, grains, seeds, maize (corn).
Seed pods & fruits: all fruits, string beans, all the 'veggies' that are actually fruits, a few rarer things. Ask a greengrocer.
Leaves: all leafy greens.
Stems: asparagus, rhubarb, celery, broccoli stem...
Roots: carrot, potato, turnip, swede, onion...

If you want, add cinnamon and you've even got bark.

If you're not vegan, aim for variety in your animal-based eating habits as well.

I can go into a lot more detail about ratios and such, but the optimum ratio, IMO, varies depending on everything from personal metabolism to the activities you do to the local soil content (which affects what nutrients are available in what plants).

But it's a fairly good rule of thumb, I think.

[FuzzyKitten99]

None. This is why diets don't work. None. Low fat, low carb, Zone, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Grapefruit, Dumb-fad-You-Got-From-Your-Hairdresser, none of them work.

If Weight Watchers doesn't work, then how did I lose over 60lbs since last May and have kept it off?

Like I stated, there are no foods that WW tells you are taboo, unless you choose to do the "Core" program. On the FlexPoints program, eat whatever you want, as long as you stay within your points allowance for the day and the week. They calculate your target points for the day by your current weight & height and your age, and whether or not you're nursing. So by that, I get 22 points per day to use on whatever foods I choose. Stuff that is better for you gets lower points values, like carrots and asparagus and celery get either 0 or 1 point per serving. Stuff like pasta, dairy, meats get various points like pasta gets about 3-4 per serving (not including sauce), meats (depending on kind & cut) get 3-6 points per serving, etc. You get a booklet and a little slider points calculator to help determine points values that are not in the book. You take the number of calories, match it up with the amount of fat and fiber content, and you get your points values.

The great thing about this plan is it helps you change your habits without realizing it, if you're serious. You want to make the most of your points without feeling hungry so you start choosing more of the lower points foods. It is hard at first, but once you get past that first week, and if you have stayed on the plan and have been honest with your points tracking, you'll have more motivation when you see that you have lost anywhere from 1-3 lbs. Plus having someone else help you track your weight gives you some accountability as well as moral support. I never stayed for the meetings, it was just the subconscious thing about having someone else track my weight with me, made me make the effort to stay on track.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Did you get your low-carb diet from a certified dietitian or your doctor? Or did you just buy the book?

I read several books, read up as much as I could find, then starting thinking for myself about how what I had read made sense. Then my husband and I made a commitment to do it right 6 years ago. I told my doctor what I was doing. Seeing what it was consistently doing to my sugar levels, blood pressure, and cholestrol levels, overall appearance, and weight control, he heartily approved. Even while I was pregnant (Although I did allow myself more fruit and milk than normal for me when I was pregnant. That's what I craved.). The nurses staff constantly remarked on how amazingly under control all this stuff was, even at my age.

So technically, no, he didnt' put me on the diet. But he knew what I was doing, and certainly gave his feedback, which was positive.

Interestingly, a friend (who's various dietary problems nearly landed her in the emergency room,) got put on a low carb diet by her doctor. He probably saved her life.

I refuse to support something that says you aren't allowed to eat a plain fruit salad for lunch. And recommends a cheese covered steak instead.

Me, neither. Although the cheese steak sounds awesome for supper.

I have read the Atkins book. The amount of fruit and veggies (the best source of carbohydrates) it recommends is so low you have to take vitamin supplements to make up for the lack. It promotes bad eating habits and also implies that exercise isn't necessary.

Actually, I eat more vegetables now than I did before I started all this. All the people I know on Atkins tend to crave them, so you eat a lot of them. You should tone down the more sugary of both the vegies and the fruits (apples, carrots, etc) and replace them with melon, berries, and lower glycemic vegies (brocolli, brussel sprouts, etc). You don't need to cut out anything, really, just ration them depending on how high they are on the glycemic index. If you love apples, eat a small one, or half of one, early in the day, so you don't give yourself an unhealthy glucose/insulin rush. I love peaches, but they are very sweet. So I eat half and save half for later. Tomatoes are kind of higher but they are really good for you, so we eat them anyway. My husband loves sweet potatoes, so sometimes we split one.

Basically, you must educate yourself on this stuff, and make your own decisions that work for you. Be aware of what your food is doing to your body and plan accordingly. If you read only the first bit about Induction (the only part most people read, if they even bother to read that much.) I can see why you'd think the fruit and veggie amounts are too low. You are allowed much more leeway on the maintenence plan.

And I don't take a vitamin suppliment. I never got the idea that exercise wasn't necessary. But Atkins is not an exercise system. It's a better eating system. The exercise thing is a different subject entirely.

Atkins wasn't designed as a weight loss system. It was designed as a way to control your sugar levels. People use it to lose weight because it works very well for that. But that was not it's primary goal.

Several months after I started doing Atkins, people noticed a change in me. First of all, they noticed my mind was much sharper...my attention improved, as did my reflexes and ability to think quickly. I can tell you my head was clearer than it had been since I can remember. Those of you with sugar issues probably know what I'm talking about. They noticed I'd lost fat and gained some muscle definition. My skin cleared up and my hair was shiny. People remarked I looked "happier" or "younger" or "I dunno, you just sort of...glow."

Seeing all this, most of my close friends and family got on board, too, with the same results.

Atkins followed his diet. Not only did he gain a lot of weight he also died of a heart attack when his doctor told him he needed to exercise. He was so overweight his heart couldn't handle a slow walk up the street.

This is a rather unkind myth that was circulated after his death of a head injury. Take a look: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/atkinsmed1.html

Last night I had grilled salmon with broccoli and snow peas, and a bowl of beautiful fresh berries with real whipped cream for desert. I had a glass of white zin. By the prevailing logic I'm going to drop dead unless I add a side of fries and a beer.


Note to FuzzyKitten: What I meant to say was that no DIET works...permanently. The day you stop with whatever is working for you, that will be the day you start to lose the benefits of said "diet." LIFESTYLES work. Congrats on your weight loss, it sounds like you have found something that works, and you are putting in the effort, and that is awesome. So many people don't. But you have to make it your lifestyle, not your diet.

My way doesn't work, either, if people just use it as a "diet."

The trick is finding a lifestyle you can live with and sustain over the long haul. That's where diets fail.

[JustADude]

The trick is finding a lifestyle you can live with and sustain over the long haul. That's where diets fail.

Bingo.

Me, my main issue, along with many other people's, is simply that I'm at a Zero-Sum point in my lifestyle. I don't consume large amounts of calories but I'm not burning significantly more or less than I eat, either, therefore my weight stays stable. I'm overweight by the same amount (varying for water-weight) every day. People simply see their diets as the easier of the two options in adjusting the Cal In - Cal Burn = Weight Change equation.

I don't need a change in my eating habits. Those are fine and healthy, consisting of mostly home-cooked foods made from as close to scratch as is convenient, with the occasional bout of fast food when I feel like indulging. I don't watch my calories, carbs, or any of that... I just listen to my body's cravings and eat what it tells me to, since cravings are your body's way of telling you what's highest on its list of needed materials. If it wants red meat, I eat red meat. If it wants snow peas I eat snow peas. If it wants caffeine or sugar, it gets caffeine or sugar.

Doing just that I've been told that I'm not in bad shape for a person at their proper body-fat levels, even though I'm over 100 lbs over it, and if I got down to where I'm supposed to be I'd likely be one of the healthiest people my Doc had ever seen. Not meaning to brag, I just ended up gifted with a body that knows how to take care of itself.

What I need to do is get off my fat ass and exercise. The big problem is that I don't have a negative body image, which means, with no health issues, I have zilch in the way of motivation if it's not uber-convenient.

[Kilamon]

I'm still waiting for the Jetsons era where I can take 1 pill to handle all my daily nutrition needs and has a set amount of caloric energy. Mmmmmm Pillls.....

[protege]

One thing that bugs me is that too many people think dieting does it all. YOU MUST BE ACTIVE!

I've had people telling me that I eat too much...and that's why I'm a bit, um, roly-poly around the middle. Er, no...that's not the reason. It's because I sit on my ass all day at work, and don't get out much to exercise. Yes, going to the gym helps, but it takes *forever* to get into shape.