I have never done a low-carb diet so I cannot really compare but I find calorie counting to be easy to work with. There are so many online tools to help you keep track of and count your calories that it makes life a lot easier. I have been very ssuccessful with it so far.
I did carb counting a few years ago and it was not for me. I did lose 20 pounds doing that, but once I stopped (because it was too restrictive for me) I had a major pig-out fest and gained it back (plus another 20 or so). I don't know why it is easier for me to count calories, but it is. Also, with calorie counting I'm not restricted to eating certain high-carb foods -- I just work it into my daily calorie intake.
I think it's a very individual thing. I would not be functional on a low carb plan. But many people have lost a good amount of weight on low carb plans. It might help you to write down a list of your problem foods and/or habits and see what plan would be more beneficial for targeting the issues you're having. I've never had a problem with wanting refined sugars, cakes, chips or anything like that. I recognized pretty early that one of my main weight gain issues was from too many liquid calories. I could easily down 3 mocha breves a day and ten beers over the weekend. So to get that under control I did "water only August". One month of no soda, coffee, alcohol, juice, energy drinks. Just water. Addressing my trouble area like that made a huge difference for me. For someone else taking a month of no desserts might help, but that wouldn't change anything for me.
Sorry if those examples don't make sense (I'm still waking up). But the point is both calorie counting and carb counting can be effective, but you should try to figure out what works better for YOU.
You need a calorie deficit, how you do that is up to you. I've never done low carb but I've also never calorie counted. I actually like following a lowfat diet along with GI/GL diet as a guideline but I'm also aware of calories I eat, if that makes sense.
So I try to limit my fats, I limit processed foods and try to eat foods that result in steady blood sugar levels.
Kitty, how much weight have you lost and how long have you been working at it? I might do a little of both, counting calories and trying to keep my carbs down.
Kitty, how much weight have you lost and how long have you been working at it? I might do a little of both, counting calories and trying to keep my carbs down.
That is what I do. I try to hit about 1500 calories and under 100 g carbs (which would be moderate carb). Some days I am way under, some days over, but the average is about 100. Seems to work for me....most of the time.
I prefer carb counting but usually my days still add up to around 1500 calories if I check.
I have PCOS and carb counting seems to be the way to go for weight loss with PCOS. I try to get under 40% carbs a day, much lower than the 55%-60% carb diet of the average person. Most of my carbs come from vegetables.
That is what I do. I try to hit about 1500 calories and under 100 g carbs (which would be moderate carb). Some days I am way under, some days over, but the average is about 100. Seems to work for me....most of the time.
I can't say that I'm doin low carb, but I'm definitely limiting myself on them and keeping careful track of my protein to carb ration in addition to my counting calories. Cutting out too much in the way of carbs does bad things to me...I've tried it before.
I much prefer low carbing, for a couple of reasons.
First - Digital tools and food nutrition labels make carb counting easy enough to do, if you really want to do it, but not a lot of counting is really required. Cut sugary drinks and treats and (at least temporarily) bread and other grain products, fruits, starchy vegetables, and dairy products other than cheese, cream, and butter from your diet and you just about have to be low carb. There's not much else out there that will get you in trouble. Well... you do have to pay attention to the nutrition labels on processed foods to make sure nothing is being sneaked in on you, but that's no less true for calorie counting and fat counting diets. But if you eat real food and are mindful of where the carbs naturally are, there aren't many traps you can fall into. Did you know it would take around 6 cups of chopped broccoli or more than 50 cups of fresh spinach to equal the net carbs in a single 1 oz. brownie? I happen to like nearly all of the common non-starchy vegetables, but I don't think I'm capable of binging on them to an extent that would get me in trouble.
Second, and more important - the diet isn't just easy to implement, it's easy to live with. I have loads of energy and I'm never hungry. I've placed no limits whatsoever on the foods that are legal on my diet, so I can always head to the kitchen for a snack if I want or think I need one. Even so, I average only about 20 net carbs and 1000 calories a day. That's with at least 5 servings of non-starchy vegetables and about as much meat as I was eating before. As for fat, I'm probably getting a little less of that than before. Fat so often travels with sugar and/or grain products, and all of that has been cut out, but I don't concern myself at all about the fat content of meat or hesitate to use it to season my vegetables.
Now that I think about it, there's a third reason - this is a convenient diet strategy for those who cook for others who aren't interested in dieting along with them. Other than not using breading on meat, I haven't really changed any of my cooking practices. The steamed broccoli and buttered cabbage I prepare now are exactly the same as I served before, as are the broiled rib eye and roast pork loin. All I need to do is put a baking potato in the oven for my dh, or maybe a roll, and it doesn't look or taste like diet food to him. Because it isn't.
I count calories and keep my carbs at or around 100 carbs a day which is just on the boarder of being considered low carb or not. I don't think I could function properly without carbs but I do think it's important to keep them in check. The problem with low carb diets is they aren't really mainable in the long long term and when you start eating carbs again (which you will!) you'll gain most of the weight back and fast. I think the best option is to combine the two and not go crazy low with the carbs personally but everyone is different and you'll need to find something that works best for you.
I do calorie counting, I love carbs and they don't seem to affect me too much if I eat a lot of them in terms of cravings, so that's just what works for me.
Calories Counting or Low carbs?
