My aunt has lsost 35 pounds in 3 months by only eating 20 carbs a day. She eats whatever, but just makes sure she only consumes 20 carbs. She says i should try it but, a friend i work with, who is going to school to be a nutrionilist(sp) thinks that it is not healthy and as soon as i stop doing that all the weight will just pack back on. does anyone have any insight on this? i saw how much weigh my aunt lost and would love to lose that much but i don't want to do something unhealthy

20 what? Grams? Portions?

Not sure how far your friend has progressed at nutrition school, but it rather strikes me that if you take up ANY temporary plan you will put weight back on if you intend to quit and have no maintenance strategy.

I eat anywhere from 20 to 50 carbs a day and I have been losing weight steadily.....1 to 2 pounds per week. I eat green vegetables, a few starchy vegetables, beans, lean meats, eggs, fish, seafoods, nuts, basmati rice, wild rice and fruit and I drink only water or tea. I do not eat sugar, junk food or processed foods and I do NOT eat at fast food places.

Ask your nutritionist friend if that is a healthy diet.

Well if you are meaning 20 grams of carbs it is low. AND if you follow the normal 55%-60% carb diet like most americans do, that means you'll be going from 20 to over 200 grams of carbs when you stop and yes I agree you'll gain all the weight back (if not at least some).

20 grams of carbs a day is usually an induction period to get you to stop craving carbs, but then you are supposed to slowly raise them. I find as long as I'm eating under 100 grams of carbs a day (usually around 75) I would still lose weight. I'm not trying now cuz my mom's home and I missed her cooking! lol.

There are many things you can do to lower carbs, eat salads instead of sandwiches, don't put potatoes or pasta in your soups, eat a lot more vegetables, eat more protein, etc. I eat a lot of protein (way more than I used to) and my meals are usually 5-7 oz of protein and usually half a plate of veggies.

Good luck.

thanks everyon! =)

To canadianwoman,

You lose weight with eating up to 50 grams of carbs a day and are eating fruit? Alot of low carb plans Ive seen dont allow fruit. Im glad your plan is working for you.

Thank you.

I don't eat fruit every single day but occasionally, I will have one serving of berries or an orange or half a grapefruit, etc. Whatever I eat on any given day is worked into my allotment of 50 carbs a day. I plan it all out.

Recently I had some cherries that were on special in the store and apricot season is coming up soon. I can't wait for those. Yummy!

I lost about 30 pounds on Eat to Live but I was working on a farm, so much easier to eat lots of fresh and free vegetables. Now I live in the city and have a more fast paced life and I find I can't hold to the Eat to Live diet that easily.

I've recently become a personal trainer at a gym that mainly caters to body builders so I hear a lot of talk about protein and cutting carbs. So I decided to try the Atkins-ish diet. I usually do 35 minutes of cardio on the eliptical with weight training at least 4 times a week. I don't count the grams of carbs I eat, but I cut out all grains, eat a lot of eggs/egg whites, steak, salad with ranch dressing, chicken and all that. I also work at a bar and it's hard not to drink, so I drink vodka and sugar free rockstar. If I have a craving for something sweet I eat an atkins bar that is usually around 3 grams of carbs. When I follow this, at first I usually lose about 5 pounds a week and it looks like a lot more.

I used to be a vegan and now I'm a hard core carnivore. This diet is actually great for me and it is very effective.