Anyone here had success with a low carb diet?

Question

....and I'm not talking atkins because I think that diet plan calls for a little too low of carbs, not to mention, not the biggest variety in food. I have 10lbs to lose. Low calorie/fat diet plus exercise isn't working for me. I would like to try low carb, but would like to hear some success stories and results. How much did you lose and how long did it take? Any side affects? any suggestions?

Answer 1

I've lost 65 pounds through a combination of Atkins, exercise, and watching my calories (it's easy for me to overeat even "legal" foods). It was very hard at first - carbs are physically addictive and I had some withdrawals. The good news is that it gets easier over time. I cut back my carbs in March of 2004 and am still watching them now. I try to stay under 120 net grams a day, the lower the better. 120g a day is more properly controlled-carb rather than low-carb, but it is lower than most people eat.

I'd say I lost most of my weight in the first 18 months and then it slowed way down.

Find a good book about low-carb diets, read it, and follow it. There's several good ones out there. My recomendations would be either Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution or Protein Power.

It still comes down to calories so do watch them. The thing about low-carb is most people have a smaller appetite so it is easier to eat less.

Answer 2

Yes however, it was specifically the carbohydrate addict's diet. Having been overweight most of my life it was the first time I was on a food program and didn't feel deprived since I was never more than 24 hours away from my favorite food. In addition, not only did I have more energy but also the emotional roller coaster ride I was usually on smoothed out. Lastly, I never felt it a diet. For me, the program was certainly something I could do for the rest of my life as opposed to "never can eat ______ again". :-( Basically the diet works like this. You have to limit your carbs for 2/3 of meals each day. The third meal however, you can eat ANYTHING you want and as much as you want as long as you are completely done eating within 60 minutes. For me, I would set the timer to 50 minutes, so I'd know when it was time to wrap it up. The difficulties involved remembering not to taste any food while cooking it because now I've "started the clock", so to speak; watching the clock when you go to restaurants for the same reason. Thank you for asking this question, you reminded me that I need to get "with the program". I went off a while back due to a bout with depression and I know this program helped me to feel better, as well as look better. Good luck to you in your pursuit of healthy eating. P.S. There was no counting carbs in the version I did, just weighing and measuring at times (my choice).

Answer 3

Yes, but it wasn't easy.

I did a bodybuilder's diet called the "T-dawg" as spelled out in an issue of Testosterone magazine. Do a google and you'll see it.

It helped to get rid of a lot of fat but it was difficult to stay with and after 5 weeks I truly had had enough of it. I was able to drop the final 20 pounds in that time along with some lactic acid training.

It was effective and I never want to have to do it again.

Answer 4

I've been following a low carb diet for most of my life. to "me" low carb is less than 35% of my total calories from carbs. I don't eat many carbs and the majority of the ones that I do are low GI and high fiber. there is a direct correlation between the glycemic load of the carbs ingested with the body mass and body composition. for a lean body you want to consume high fiber carbs like beans, lentils, oats, etc. and low GI fruits like apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, oranges, blueberries, etc.

Any side effects? almost 40, 250 lbs and 9% body fat

Answer 5

I've lost over 60 pounds with Atkins.