Who's been on a low-carb diet?

[spinbaby]

Tell me about it.

[TZ]

1. I did Atkins

Worked well for a while..I lost 40 lbs..but after awhile no matter how hard I tried it no longer worked for me..and I ended up putting it all back on...Not sure I really accomplished anything//

[LucyParsons]

2. ...

:rofl:

[spinbaby]

3. What's so funny?

:hi:

[LucyParsons]

25. Man, I could NEVER do that

:hi:

[yellowdogintexas]

4. well easy to follow because you don't have to remember much except if it is

protein, eat it.

However, they are ridiculously hard on your kidneys and your digestive tract. It is a very low fiber plan so you end up w/not much in shall we say...solid waste. This is not good for your body, esp if you are prone to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I am convinced that this diet aggravated my GI tract but good.

I lost weight quite successfully twice using this plan, I was in my 20s' then after I had my daughter, I could not lose weight at all. I had resigned myself to just being permanently overweight when I decided to check out Weight Watchers. THAT WORKED!!!!

me with my sisters in late 2003



me with two good friends in late 2007

I started WW in the fall of 2005... Best Thing I could have done, wish I had done it years ago

[spinbaby]

7. Weight Watchers didn't do it for me

I'm a post-menopausal carb craver.

[yellowdogintexas]

11. you might do better on the Core Plan, which is somewhat similar to South Beach

there is a HUGH!!!111 list of Core Foods that can be eaten to satisfaction and an additional points allowance of 35 flex points per week for foods that are not on the Core List. and Core was just modified recently...I admit to not paying much attention because I don't do CORE

[kay1864]

5. South Beach Diet, worked like a charm

It's really more "good carbs" rather than "low carb", ie avoiding high Glycemic Index (translation: foods that digest real fast, like white bread, and thus release glucose sugar into the bloodstream), and instead eating low GI foods like whole-grain breads, fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken breasts, etc.

I lost 11 lbs in 2 weeks, then about a 1-2 lbs a week after that. (first two weeks is Phase 1, then in Phase 2 you add back some foods)

IMHO it's lots better than Atkins, since no way can eating lots of steak, butter, and cream be good for you.

Best part of SB is that it's not heavily based on portion control. ie you eat whatever portion of the "good foods" until you're not hungry. You might lose weight a little slower, but better than having hunger tempt you to go for an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's.

[yellowdogintexas]

10. I tried South Beach but I missed my morning oatmeal way too much

I really like counting points and balancing out a splurge ..I know that just because I went crazy and ate a cheesburger and fries one day I can get right back on plan the next day.

[spinbaby]

13. It doesn't work that way for me

Once I start with the sugar it's almost impossible to quit. That's why I thought low-carb might be the way to go.

[kay1864]

15. Huh? Oatmeal's on SB, I just checked:

http://www.southbeachdiet.com/public/dailydish/dd_20070212.asp

[yellowdogintexas]

17. seems like first two weeks it wasn't...that was a while ago though

I could be disremembering

[kay1864]

30. Oh yeah, in Phase 1 it's pretty regimented

But you can add it back in Phase 2.

All kinds of fun stuff are verboten in Phase 1...but it only lasts two weeks. And dang do you ever lose the lbs, great motivation :)

[AlCzervik]

12. sb is literally the only plan that ever really worked for me, it took me a long time

but it was something i could do without feeling deprived or miserable except for the first week, i had a migraine but it went away on day 5. I think there is something out there that works for everyone, the trick is in finding it.

[Richardo]

16. I will second the SBD

:thumbsup:

[AlCzervik]

6. i did south beach, it's low carb but you can still have plenty of vegetables.

for me it worked, it doesn't for everyone, i've lost 90 pounds, with 5 to go and it's taken me almost 3 years. I could not do atkins, i tried once but it was just too much for me, sb was a good compromise.

[spinbaby]

8. I read the book

And came out with no clear idea of what I could and couldn't eat. As I recall, the book went something like this:

Wow, this is really great!

Here's some testimonials!

Here's a few recipes!

[AlCzervik]

9. it's like adkins minus the grease. You eat protein and vegetables and you limit

processed carbs, the first 2 weeks are hard, really hard and there were times i did have fruit but i still dropped a good amount of weight in those first 2 weeks. The easiest way to think about it is for example when you go out to dinner, say you order the chicken or the fish and instead of getting rice or potatoes you ask for the broccoli instead, it's pretty easy once you are on it for a while.

[spinbaby]

14. Potatoes ARE a vegetable.

And is fruit a processed carb?

[AlCzervik]

20. it's also a starch, twinkies, are a processed carb. Junk which was a problem for me

were all processed carbs.

You can have potatoes again but i think it's the fist week you can't or if you can it's limited.

http://health.yahoo.com/weightloss-getstarted/south-beach-diet-basics/prevention--24388.html

[spinbaby]

23. That's a pretty good link

Thanks.

[AlCzervik]

24. good luck with whatever you do, the weight loss forum is a good place for support

[av8rdave]

18. I learned a bit about carbs and how a low carb diet works thanks to having a diabetic daughter

The low carb diets are potentially hazardous. They're pretty good for fast gratification, but they can be really hard on the body. There are healthier, albeit slower ways to lose weight.

[grace0418]

27. Exactly. I learned the same when my husband was diagnosed two years ago.

We've both lost 75+ lbs since then and his readings are that of a non-diabetic.

[av8rdave]

28. Glad to hear that!

My daughter, being a type 1, can't get that result, but she has figured out that diet and exercise makes a huge difference in her overall health and particularly her blood sugar control.

[grace0418]

31. Yeah, type 1 is tough. But it's excellent that she's figured out how to manage it.

Which, sadly, is something a lot of people can't do. Good for her, I hope that someday soon we'll figure out a cure.

:hi:

[Puzzle]

19. Carbs are not your enemy.

Processed carbs are.

I don't believe in diets, but lifestyle changes.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

[AlCzervik]

21. exactly.

[Shakespeare]

22. Not necessarily true--it depends on the individual.

I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, and have to strictly limit my carbs to maintain my health. I only eat low-glycemic index fruits (and not a lot of them), and almost no starches. I can't remember the last time I had any kind of potato.

I eat lots of vegetables and lean meat, a little fruit, and rarely a little whole grain (like quinoa, for example). Carbs, quite literally, ARE an enemy for me. If I don't limit them, it puts me in danger of developing multiple health problems.

[grace0418]

26. I don't diet, but I try to minimize carbs like white bread, white rice, sugar, juice and potatoes.

Instead I eat 100% whole grain bread (if it doesn't say 100%, they may have just thrown in a handful of whole grain flour into the mix), brown rice, agave nectar, whole fruit and sweet potatoes.

[GirlinContempt]

29. Diets are bullshit.

Especially ones that deprive you of totally necessary foodstuffs.

It's not that hard to figure out:
Eat healthy, cut out refined foods, limit refined sugars, salts, fats, increase vegetable and fiber intake, be aware of what you're putting in yourself, get at least a moderate amount of exercise, don't starve yourself, and if you don't lose weight, talk to your doctor if you think it's a big problem, but you're probably just that size and that's the end of it.

Health should always come before weight.

Oh, and potatoes are really damn good for you.

[lukasahero]

32. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Why confuse the issue when the answer really is as simple as that?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html

And if the goal is weight loss, there's one more word to add to the equation. "Move."