You mentioned in your post that your trainer said something about having carbs only in the mornings. That's what I do. I have a low-protein, low-fat breakfast with wholewheat bread and fruit, and then I eat low-carb for the rest of the day. It works wonderfully! I am also allowed to have carbs for lunch every now and then, and for me that means if I want to have a piece of cake on the weekend - that's my lunch!

I eat mostly unprocessed food (meaning I make most of my food myself from scratch), a lot of fish, some meat (mostly to keep my husband happy), lots of vegetables. The only thing I'm gonna miss are potatoes, because I love them and they are the only carbs I can't have for breakfast (but I might add them to my lunch when I'm in maintanance). Now I haven't got any weight loss to show, but I've only just started properly. But I do know I'll easily eat like this forever. It actually makes me feel great, I sleep better, my body already feels firmer (I seem to retain less water), and it makes me feel like I'm doing something really good for my health.

Low-fat or high-fat is subject to perception, I think. As I've always rather eaten food that is more "natural", I never bought low-fat cheese or stuff like that in the first place (with the exception of mozzarella, where I actually prefer the low-fat version). I eat regular cheese, I fry my food in a variety of vegetable oils and I still cut off the fatty bits of my ham. That is just a normal, healthy amount of fat to me. To someone used to a low-fat diet, it is probably high-fat. But when you cut out lots of carbs, your body needs energy from somewhere else.

Interesting.

I am actually pro-low carb even though I've only tried it for limited times in the past. I did try Atkins and lost a lot of weight, but I knew I couldn't maintain it for life. However, limiting carbs, rather than cutting them almost completely, does sound more managable.

I have always lost more weight when I ate fewer carbs.

Do you low carb-ers cut out all carbs except for veg after lunch, then?

Nope. I eat vegetables and some fruit whenever I want.

I'm not on Atkins (I have portion control issues that stall my weight loss, even on induction level carbs), but the diet influenced my food philosophy very much. I owe a lot to Atkins, and I hate to hear it so often critiqued on points that aren't really those of the diet. Most often, the critiques are based on a part of the diet that doesn't even have to be followed for more than the first two weeks.


Atkins does NOT eliminate carbs. Atkins is all about limiting rather than cutting out carbs completely. You start with 20g of carbs, but after two weeks, you can start adding them back in - steadily increasing the quantity and the variety of carbs.

Did you read the book, and did you ever go on to OWL, that is did you ever start increasing your carbs from induction level (if not, you weren't following Atkins as written)?

Was it induction or OWL, that you you couldn't imagine sticking with for life (you're not supposed to, as you get closer to goal, you're supposesed to be adding in more carbs from more sources - eventually even whole grains)? What's not sustainable about adding back carby foods gradually, following a protocol?







I don't recall Atkins suggesting any particular timing for carby foods (and the vast majority in this thread are going to be Atkins followers, not all the low-carbers following other plans would read or post in this thread. I read all the new threads, and post whenever the impulse strikes, even if I'd normally not be a part of a thread. What can I say, I'm nosy and bold).


I've been on several low-carb diets that have allowed carby foods only during certain times of the day. Protein Power comes to mind and the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet (though I read those a long time ago, so I could be wrong). I think Suzanne Sommers also gives some pretty complicated food combining and timing rules, if I remember correctly.

Some of the diets only allow specific carbs in the morning or only in the evening or only with a meal (some let you choose which meal).

For a while, I had success with allowing myself a high carb snack at bedtime (late enough that I fell asleep before it would cause the blood sugar crash that would make me hungry).

This didn't work in the long run, and it started and encouraged bad habits, that eventually led me to wake in the middle of the night starving (at first I was too lazy to get out of bed to eat, but eventually it led to larger (and dumber choices of) snacks before bedtime and even in the middle of the night, after waking hungry (and at 3am, still half-asleep I don't always make the best decisions about food).

Only got to the end of page 1 of this thread but got to get up and get out. I'll come back later.

Great question and great answers, thankyou!

I'm just about to start India and Neris's Idiot Proof Diet, which is NOT the Idiot Proof one with the bad name, its subtitle is "From Pig to Twig" . I've done versions of most diets under the sun, and have resisted low-carb for a long, long time. My biggest fear (TMI alert) is constipation - so any help in that er area would be good!

Good luck, OP!

Hi Rosinante -- since you are eating percentage-wise a higher fat diet, constipation should not be a problem or at least it isn't for me. Do not make the mistake of being scared of fat -- olive oil, butter, animal fat. (Avoid all seed oils like corn, sunflower, soybean, safflower, etc.)

To the OP --
I eat way more veggies than I ever did before on my low-carb primal type diet. I have cut out added sugar totally, which I think will be for life, even after I reach goal weight. The "real food" carbs like potatoes I will use moderately. Wheat has problems of its own for me, and I do NOT think of it as a "healthy whole grain".

I do often switch from low-carb to calorie-counting depending on what is going on in my life (ie, if I'm traveling and eating out a lot). But even if I'm calorie counting, I tend to stay "lowish" carb which I define as approximately 120 grams of carbs a day. My calorie-counting software tracks carbs too, so it's easy.

I love this thread!

If this is too much of a thread-hijack, let me know and I'll start another one: Yes, I'm afraid of fat: most of my diets have been low fat or low cal, and I'm absolutely not knocking either one; the only problem with them has been my willpower recently.

I have done no-carb in the past (Stillman?Stilmann) 20lbs in a month but breath like a sewer.
I have done Atkins induction and into the next stage for a while. I remember eventually finding it restrictive (again, I offer no blame, it's me) but I also remember how great the absence of fluid retention in my ankles and fingers was, and that's largely the reason why I'm revisiting it in Pig>Twig.

I Will go back to the book but I want to ask too, please: Can someone point me to some comments/threads/reliable not scaremongering or diet-promoting articles about which fats are good and why?
Thankyou.

Hi Rosinante -- I can give you lots of technical information supporting which fats are healthy. In the meantime, I'm going to point you to a post at Stumptuous.com which outlines it pretty well. Here is the link.

To skip to her recommendations, they come down to this:

You should aim to get most of your fat intake from a balance of:

• omega-3 fatty acids (fatty fish, fish oils)
• naturally occurring monounsaturated fats (avocados, olive oil etc)
• naturally occurring saturated fats (meats, eggs, etc)

You should avoid:

• artificially created trans fats
• artificially created, highly processed oils such as sunflower, canola, corn, and safflower
• artificially created oil products like cooking sprays and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (they should call that ... I Can’t Believe This Gets Sold As Food)
• excessive consumption of omega-6 fatty acids

There are a variety of reasons we should avoid seed oils (corn, soybean, canola, safflower, etc.), not the least of which it messes up our Omega 6/Omega 3 fatty acid ratio (seed oils are heavy in Omega 6's).

A lot of this started by the way in 2002 when Gary Taubes wrote an article in the New York Times called "What if it's all a big fat lie" which discusses the villification of fat and why it is wrong. Out of this came his epic book, Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Great post CJZee.

I've had more bacon this month than I did in the last year. More butter and more beef fat too. And way more veggies. It's amazing how much room there is for good food when you cut the sugar, grains, rice, potatoes and other empty calories. I have lost a ton of weight, dropped my blood pressure from scary to normal, relieved a three year old belly ache, solved my very difficult bowel movement issue, have healthier skin, healthier hair, healthier sleep, more job productivity, and a happier, healthier child. Sure bread and pasta and desserts are tasty. Cereal is convenient. They ain't THAT good though. I cannot imagine going back. I am having too much fun with this food and the way I feel. I eat like a king. I feel sorry for people filling up on bread.

Rosinante -- This isn't easy, but it isn't ridiculously hard either. If you eat enough of what you're allowed to eat, and you're allowed to eat really good food, then the poisonous processed stuff you've eliminated won't be missed after some struggles kicking the addiction. Low carb flu is a real condition. Just understand that your body is adjusting from burning sugar (carbs) and storing fat -- to burning fat. It takes awhile for your system to transition. Once that's done it's a matter of how bad you want it. We all cheat, so don't let that stop you or even be a worry. The reason some low carbers opt for high fat, it because it is the fuel we now run on, and eating it keeps us running on it. Some paleo low carbers run on 80% fat, and that's mostly saturated fat, and they are lean as ****, mocking the conventional wisdom that banishes fat. It is the fuel we burn most efficiently once the liver, pancreas and the rest of the endocrine system get on the right page.

I'm becoming a low carb evangelist. The Taubes article at the bottom of CJ's post is what started it all for me. It's long, but it's worth reading and digesting. So is his book, Good Calories Bad Calories.

Thankyou, CJZ and BibBob, very helpful posts. I've stuck to plan so far this week, and because life has kind of got in the way of shopping - busy, car hit by a bus, car later being towed home on a truck (separate incident) - I've really relied on the quite high fat things I already had in. I might have spread them out a bit more, if I'd had more supplies in.
Monday - a semi-lowcarb day: meant to be Day 1 but suffered from foodpoisoning type symptoms all day.
Tuesday - stuck to it absolutely.
Wednesday - felt a bit 'distant' in the morning but kept on with it.
Thursday - feeling fine, I feel to have lost a lot of bloat.

Happily, today I get to go shopping!

I have found this to be true. In fact, I am eating more veggies now that I have eliminated the whole grain starches(excepting oatmeal in the morning). I intend to slowly add them back in, using my food journaling as a guide. Ordered Gary Taubes book. I think I have seena dn heard all the talks he is done online:-)

If I had to choose between low carb or high carb, LOW carb would win hands down. The original poster is correct in that choosing a WOE you can sustain is important. We each have to find our own answer to that, however, appetite control is almost always an important part of the equasion. Some people are so sensitive to carbs that a very low carb diet works best for them. Some of us are able to eat a more moderate (I define moderate as about 80 to 100 carbs daily) amount of carbs. I'm fortunate in finding that The Insulin Resistance Diet way linking of protein to carbs works well for me. Good luck in finding what works best for you.

I am in week 3 of a low carb/high protein/low fat diet as prescribed by my doctor and I couldn't be happier. I have a list of good veggies/fruits/low fat proteins to choose from and I am always satisfied. I feel like this is finally the lifestyle change that will work for me. Nothing else worked for me like this. Other things that have helped me are lots of water, one 5-htp (an amino acid that addresses any carb cravings) and green tea while eating every 2-3 hours.