I need some advice. I've been reading some books and talking to people. Some say Low Carb is the way to go and others say it's bad. I checkout the book. (Atkins) I found it to be interesting but I know I couldn't have a lifestlye with out carbs. I looked at produces out there and seen if it was low carb it was high in Sat. Fat. My head is spinning I want to keep Sat. Fat as low but if I do I have carbs!!! Is there a lifestyle plan that has a happy medium?? I was going to try it the Atkins way but find myself not able to resisted fruit or my oatmeal!! Help! HELP!!
As a person who regularly does low-carb diets, I have tons of advice! It's not about low carb, it's about RIGHT carb, white breads, pasta's, anything processed like that isn't good for your body, you need to focus on having whole grains, like brown rice, whole wheat bread. As for fruits and vegetables? There are definitely some better than others, carrots for example are higher in sugar, which spikes your blood sugar, and can produce cravings. Atkins doesn't really focus on fat, but you want to have lean meats like chicken breasts, turkey breasts and lean cuts of meat. The one good thing I can say about Atkins is that he didn't do the aspartame thing, which I believe is evil!! I hope that helps, but if it's not enough information, you can ask me anything! Also, check out South Beach, while I don't follow any diet, thats the closest to how I eat.
Hey, Mez. I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. I guess my take on all the low carb/low fat stuff is that you can lose weight on most any plan, but you have to pick something you can stick with. From the studies I’ve read recently, you may lose more water weight on low carb at first, but over time the results are the same as other plans. I basically don't follow a commercial plan at all but have been pretty successful. I try to keep my fat/carbs/proteins in balance (30% of each) and stick to a 1300-1600 calorie diet by tracking my food with DietPower software. I avoid REFINED carbs like white bread/rice/pasta and eat the more fibrous counterparts of those foods (I’ve really developed a taste for whole wheat pasta, which I didn’t think was possible!).
If you really feel like you need to follow a commercial plan, there are lots of reviews & stuff scattered on the site. Hope this helps!
I agree with what the others have said. Food is made up of 3 components: proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Veggies and fruits are still carbohydrates. Obviously those aren't the foods you want to not eat, it is refined carbohydrates that you want to cut back on. Anything that has been processed so that there is practically no nutritional value left in it. Anything made with white flour and any kind of sugar are foods you want to eat less of. Also you can't go too low fat because you need fat to process vitamins A,D,E,K and for other metabolic processes. Right now I am trying to eat lean proteins, veggies, fruits and low fat dairy and skipping all kinds of refined carbs and for right now even whole wheat grains.
I am currently on the South Beach Diet, it is low carb/low fat. The basics are low carb but they recommend that you stay away from fatty meats and use low fat dairy when possible. The first two weeks you do a carb & caffeine purge and then you add "good" carbs (whole grains & fruit) slowly until you get to a point that you are losing 2 to 3 pounds a week. There is tons of info on the internet so you don't have to buy the book unless you want to. As with all diets the results are not the same for all people but I have lost 35 pounds in a little over 6 weeks. Good Luck finding a plan that is perfect for you.
Howie and I try to follow the American Heart Association's dietary guidelines for carbs, fiber, fat, etc. It's well-balanced, we think, and something we can stick with for the rest of our lives since it's just plain good for you in the long term, plus it offers the variety we want. We also do like others have said here, having whole grains rather than processed foods like we once ate. We really like the nuttier taste of wheat pastas and breads, plus brown rice.
Thanks for the advice. I switched to whole wheat pasta/bread when I started WW. My family likes it better than white. I looked for bread with sticks in it. I didn't read the Atkins book cover to cover just skimmed each chapter. I thought I couldn't have any carbs. Well I think it said only 20 a day. I do eat the alot of fruit. I must be eating the wrong ones. I LOVE bannana's, apples, pineapple,oranges, rasins and grapes. I have those pretty much every week. My veggies do include carrots, corn, peas, greens, tomatos and onions. I usually have potato's but from some reason I have passed them by the past month. For meat I only buy 98% lean ground trukey. I also buy chicken breast. We also only use lean turkey or chicken in our sandwiches.I do have eggs once every 2 weeks. For fish and seafood we eat. Salmon and tuna or shrimp. For nuts I eat almonds and walnuts and pecans. I like to throw a few in a salads. That is the basics of what I buy each week. What do you think?
I'm not following WW I did the first few months then I kind of started to do my own thing by keeping Sat. fat low and fiber high. I do watch sugar but not as much. I look for Cal. if the cals seem high I avoid it. Sugar Busters is something I will look into. I really don't know much about that. I did check out the URL by The Ameican Heart Association. Very Helpful!!! BIG THANKS TO YOU FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL ADVICE!!! therubyslippers
Gardenwife
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Mez - one really positive thing I've noticed since I started REALLY cutting out sugar/bread/pasta is that I'm forced to be creative in the things I'm eating. So I'm learning to use spaghetti squash instead of pasta, and I'm adding different kinds of veggies into the mix. Look at all the different plans, and find the things you can do, and whats doable for you. And get back to exercising (oops, I need to as well), and I'll see you over in the weekly exercise thread
Amiee - I really need to take a closer look at sugar. You all have given alot to think about and I know I'll get to the right eating plan for my lifestyle. You've all helpped me so much. I know that workouts are very important for me (or anyone) If I don't workout my weight loss goes to a standstill or gain. Which I'm sure I've had a gain. I asked my husband to look at the scale for me but not tell me what it said. I'm going to weight myself if I can hold out that long on Easter. I need to get those workouts in. I felt totally different when I didn't workout. It was expensive replacing some of the videos and weights but it was something that HAD to be done. Seeing you at the exercise sounds great!!
Mez,
If you are looking for a happy medium, I would definitely look at South Beach Diet. I always considered it a low carb/low fat diet but it is more of a good carb/low saturated fat diet.
Low Sat. Fat/ Low Carb is there such a thing?
I didn't read the Atkins book cover to cover just skimmed each chapter. I thought I couldn't have any carbs. Well I think it said only 20 a day. I do eat the alot of fruit. I must be eating the wrong ones. I LOVE bannana's, apples, pineapple,oranges, rasins and grapes. I have those pretty much every week. My veggies do include carrots, corn, peas, greens, tomatos and onions. I usually have potato's but from some reason I have passed them by the past month. For meat I only buy 98% lean ground trukey. I also buy chicken breast. We also only use lean turkey or chicken in our sandwiches.I do have eggs once every 2 weeks. For fish and seafood we eat. Salmon and tuna or shrimp. For nuts I eat almonds and walnuts and pecans. I like to throw a few in a salads. That is the basics of what I buy each week. What do you think? 
