Low-Carbers

[DigitalWanksta]

Hey Folks,
Just interested in seeing how many of you have either attempted the low-carb way of eating, or actually eating low-carb now. Have you been successful doing so? I weighed 299lbs. at the age of 17. I knew I had to do something about it, so I did. I'm now 19, and 135lbs. lighter

 

[mrkun]

Congratulations. The reason the low carb diets work is because they're usually low GI/II, which is actually the important factor for weight loss. Carbs that are low GI/II are whole grains, and this is the ideal source for them (a carb intake commensurate with one's activity level needs to be maintained).

On that note, I've lost quite a bit of weight eating a low/moderate GI diet as well.

 

[HN]

i didn't do low carb exactly, just switched type of carbs.
regular pasta -> whole wheat pasta
white bread -> whole wheat bread
white rice -> this i actually just tried to reduce or cut out altogether (being vietnamese, this was a bit difficult at first but now i hardly have any white rice at all; replaced it with mixed greens and slice of bread.)

oh...and a big :thumbsup: to the weight loss you achieved. you "lost" an entire person :Q
(you did do other things besides just cutting carbs, right? you didn't just cut carbs and sat there?)

 

[DigitalWanksta]

Originally posted by: HN
i didn't do low carb exactly, just switched type of carbs.
regular pasta -> whole wheat pasta
white bread -> whole wheat bread
white rice -> this i actually just tried to reduce or cut out altogether (being vietnamese, this was a bit difficult at first but now i hardly have any white rice at all; replaced it with mixed greens and slice of bread.)

Very nice -- I like how you went about this. I have since started eating breads and pastas now, however I consume whole wheat starches, etc..

 

[purbeast0]

I did one for 2 weeks right before I went to Aruba 2 years ago. I was pretty damn lean when I went to Aruba and kept it off most of the summer.

 

[SynthDude2001]

I have in the past. I still don't eat sugar/empty carbs unnecessarily (no candy, chips, snacks etc.). Mainly I just limit my calorie intake to 1500/day (split up into five meals). I do eat a fair amount of whole wheat bread though (usually the types that have extra fiber added and are ~40 calories per slice).

I've dropped roughly 70 pounds in the last year and a half.

 

[DigitalWanksta]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I have in the past. I still don't eat sugar/empty carbs unnecessarily (no candy, chips, snacks etc.). Mainly I just limit my calorie intake to 1500/day (split up into five meals). I do eat a fair amount of whole wheat bread though (usually the types that have extra fiber added and are ~40 calories per slice).

I've dropped roughly 70 pounds in the last year and a half.

Congratulations! 70lbs. is a lot to be proud of. I've noticed when people ask me about weight loss, their major set back is easily getting discouraged. People have a tendency to think that in two weeks, they are suppose to loose 20lbs. Sorry, it doesn't work like that -- it's a time consuming process. I tell folks that get discouraged early on to really think about their progress. Even if you loose 10lbs in three weeks, that's still a significant amount of weight taken off your joints, back, etc... I often use the expression; "Imagine putting 10lbs. of weights in a backpack and putting that on your back from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed." You'll change your whole outlook after that.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I have in the past. I still don't eat sugar/empty carbs unnecessarily (no candy, chips, snacks etc.). Mainly I just limit my calorie intake to 1500/day (split up into five meals). I do eat a fair amount of whole wheat bread though (usually the types that have extra fiber added and are ~40 calories per slice).

I've dropped roughly 70 pounds in the last year and a half.

woah that is pretty little intake dude.

but if it's for the better keep it up.

 

[Fritzo]

I did Atkins a few years back and I did lose 30 lbs and dropped my LDL levels from 132 to 101. I switched over to South Beach however because Atkins at the time was way too difficult, and it didn't include enough fiber. They've since revised it to be more like South Beach.

BTW- South Beach in a nut shell is "Stop eating processed foods." It works very well, very quickly, and is very easy to make a habit.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: DigitalWanksta

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I have in the past. I still don't eat sugar/empty carbs unnecessarily (no candy, chips, snacks etc.). Mainly I just limit my calorie intake to 1500/day (split up into five meals). I do eat a fair amount of whole wheat bread though (usually the types that have extra fiber added and are ~40 calories per slice).

I've dropped roughly 70 pounds in the last year and a half.

Congratulations! 70lbs. is a lot to be proud of. I've noticed when people ask me about weight loss, their major set back is easily getting discouraged. People have a tendency to think that in two weeks, they are suppose to loose 20lbs. Sorry, it doesn't work like that -- it's a time consuming process. I tell folks that get discouraged early on to really think about their progress. Even if you loose 10lbs in three weeks, that's still a significant amount of weight taken off your joints, back, etc... I often use the expression; "Imagine putting 10lbs. of weights in a backpack and putting that on your back from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed." You'll change your whole outlook after that.

Yah but the difference too is part of the 10lb you are losing is muscle as well, so if you put 10lbs more on your back after you lose 10lb, it's not quite the same thing since you now have less muscle in your body carrying this extra 10lbs.

 

[huberm]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I have in the past. I still don't eat sugar/empty carbs unnecessarily (no candy, chips, snacks etc.). Mainly I just limit my calorie intake to 1500/day (split up into five meals). I do eat a fair amount of whole wheat bread though (usually the types that have extra fiber added and are ~40 calories per slice).

I've dropped roughly 70 pounds in the last year and a half.

where do you get the 40 cal/slice bread? I can only find it at my local grocer with 90 or more calories per slice.

 

[zephyrprime]

Originally posted by: mrkun
Congratulations. The reason the low carb diets work is because they're usually low GI/II, which is actually the important factor for weight loss. Carbs that are low GI/II are whole grains, and this is the ideal source for them (a carb intake commensurate with one's activity level needs to be maintained).

On that note, I've lost quite a bit of weight eating a low/moderate GI diet as well.

What is GI/II?

 

[mrkun]

GI = Glycemic Index
II = Insulin Index

Do a google search on them. About South Beach, processed foods have higher index values as well. To be honest, I think the fact that Americans eat lots of processed foods accounts for a fair part of the obesity epidemic.