Quote:
Originally Posted by prinny
I have found by choosing my calories wisely I'm NOT hungry at the end of the day and often need to slip in another snack before bed to catch up. I just love pasta, rice and bread too much to completely give them up but I have learned sane portioning and now one serving of spaghetti IS enough.
Also everytime I go on low carb I start craving strawberries and CAN NOT go without them or I start wanting to kill people.
The best thing about calorie counting is everything is on the menu as long as you adjust and be reasonable about it.
I wholeheartedly agree that if a person can stop at reasonable and sane servings of carb-rich foods like pasta, rice, or bread - and those foods don't trigger intense hunger, cravings or binges - calorie counting (or the shorthand equivalents like exchange plans, and WW points) is the absolute best place to start (the kiss philosopthy - Keep it Simple, Silly). If a person has absolutely no understanding of nutrition (and no interest in learning), or likes a shorthand method of insuring balance while controlling calories - an exchange plan may be a better option (unless a person refuses to eat any foods in one food group - such as dairy, fruits and/or vegetables; although even then an exchange plan could be developed eliminating the food group, not that that's such a hot idea). But if calorie counting, even of "good carbs," still results in extreme reactions to carbs - a control aspect may have to be added (some people may be able to do so just by avoiding certain foods or certain types of food - refined carbs for example, or more broadly sugars and grains.... whatever, I think the philosophy applies, only restrict as much as you need to). And still, for some folks it may not be enough.
Essentially, the least restrictive method that is effective and manageable is the best method. For many people (maybe even most) calorie counting (or some derivative) fits the bill. But when it doesn't, something else has to be available.
I think that too many calorie counters AND low carbers (and many dieters on other plans as well) think that their way is the only legitimate and healthy choice. I don't think that there is a one-size-fits-all approach (at least it hasn't been invented yet).
I think calorie counting is the place to start for almost everyone, but it may not be where everyone ends up, as it's not a perfect-fit for everyone. While calorie counting is the method I used most often in previous weight loss attempts, and I did lose weight when I stayed withing my calorie alottment - I was absolutely miserably, intensely, insanely hungry 24/7 - and with a fair knowledge of nutrition, I was making good choices, and the hunger persisted. Even avoiding sugar, potatoes, white flour and white rice, the crazy hunger was still always there (and much worse during TOM). On South Beach after Phase I, I was always hungry too - not to the degree as on low fiber carbohydrates, but still too hungry to be able to lose weight without constantly thinking about food, and feeling miserable.
For people who know that they are crazy-hungry on a carb-rich diet (even when the carbs are "good" ones), or have found that high carb foods aggravate health issues or result in not feeling well - then low carb really is an option to consider. Until I was persuaded by two doctors, I would have advised anyone (because it's what I was taught) to stay away from low carb diets because they were dangerous and unhealthy. Finally, more to disprove my doctor's sense in recommending a low carb diet, I started researching the various low-carb plans and found that most, even the most restrictive, allowed alot more carbohydrates than I had assumed. I also found that the research evidence against low-carb diets was not nearly as compelling as I assumed - there was just as much research supporting low-carb as condemning it, and some of the research condemning it had some pretty seriously design flaws (like limiting carbs far more than most low-carb plans advocate). Most low-carb plans (even Atkins) allows a fair number of carbs, often increasing them indefinitely (like Atkins) until the dieter decides to stop at the level best suited to their needs (weight maintenance, continued weight loss...). The all-meat diet is a persistant, but inaccurate myth.
By volume, a person on a low carb diet eats mostly vegetables - not meat.
The standard plate dividing plan of half veggies, quarter meat, and quarter starch - is a low carb plan (the old food pyramid would recommended half the plate being pasta or other starchy food, 1/6 of the plate protein, and 1/3 the plate vegetables), and dessert being a small piece of fruit.
While a person on a lower carb plan, does have to be cautious with fruit, strawberries ironically are one of the best choices for carb-sensitive people, because like most berries they're are quite low in carbs (only 8g of effective carbohydrates for an entire cup).
On my plan, I could (and on occasion do) have three cups of strawberries a day (more if I wanted to dip into my flexible exchanges).
It is all a manner of what you find doable - and any plan should be based on common sense. Just as calorie counting, but eating only Snickers bars wouldn't be sensible - avoiding all food groups but protein isn't sensible either.
I think a lot of people would look at what successful low-carbers eat on a daily basis, and say "that isn't low carb," but the fact is that it can be. Even grains and fruits are not limited on Atkins, in the sense that there's a limited number of carbs at the start, but that number is increased incrementally each week until the dieter - using good common sense- decides to stop. There's nothing in Atkins that would prevent a person from having 100 to 200 carbs (or more) as long as they were able to lose and/or maintain (whichever they needed to).
I think the problem with low carb being assumed to be unhealthy, is that many people who it would benefit, are frightened away unneccesarily. If nothing else has worked for you, low carb-done responsibly, certainly is worth an attempt, especially when like me you started with over 200 lbs to lose.