I started going "lower" carb on July 7 and it seems to be working for me. I am curious if anyone else is doing anything similar.

For a few days before starting this WOE, I tracked everything I ate, not changing anything. My carbs were well above 200. So my first goal was to have no more than 150 carbs per day. The first couple of weeks I fluctuated between 100 and 150 carbs and lost weight. At my starting weight that sort of made sense to me!

I then discovered fitday.com and started tracking everything I eat there. Now my goal is no more than 100 carbs per day and no more than 2000 calories. When I run my report for the last 7 days at fitday, I'm averaging 1799 calories and 88 carbs. And the weight is melting off. In the last 7 days I've lost 4.5 lbs.

Maybe this will get harder as I lose more, but it seems to be working well for me right now. If you've gone "lower" carb, rather than low carb, any pitfalls to watch out for? Thanks!

Diemde, thats an interesting approach to lower your carb intake in a comfortable manner....

At times when I fluctuate between 100-200 grams of carbs, I didnt really lose weight....now for the past 1 week I have been limiting my carb intake to maximum 60 grams...then I feel the change.

The pitfall to watch out for, is not to completely leave out any carbs. You still need carbs to continue but with limitations...

maybe another factor is the variety of foods you can eat while on stricter terms...but do be flexible. for example, sometimes when i have no choice but to take some rice...just have 2 tablespoons....it doesnt hurt that much.

if you have the urge to binge, i advise that u up your carbs slightly rather than doing it.

I found that when I weighed more, I had more flexibility with regard to the quantity of carbs and the number of calories I ate. However, I never went as high as 100 grams of carbs a day -- more like 50 or 60. After losing 90 pounds, I think that I have to more closely count carbs in order to lose.

You might want to check out the Triple Digits Club under Lowcarb Support Focus Groups. It's for people with 100 or more pounds to lose. People there might have some insight into your question.

In the book "Life Without Bread" he recommends gradually lowering your carbs. He says you have to keep your netcarbs below 72 to overcome insulin resistance. The book isn't a weight loss book per se, it is by a European dr. that has studied lowcarb for 40 years as a way to improve health conditions.

Your stats look really good, I'm glad this is working for you.

If you are a "true carb addict", I think you may miss out on the benefits of lower carb- having your blood sugar so smooth you can face temptation.

Thanks for the tips. I've always thought of myself as a carb addict, but the only time I have a problem is when I eat carbs alone. If I have a snack that it higher in carbs, then I seem to be hungry/craving them shortly thereafter. But if I keep the carbs in a meal along with my protein and fat, then I'm fine. I haven't been tracking netcarbs, so maybe the numbers are really lower, too.

So, I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it, LOL. I'll keep doing this until I stall or I lose it all! Thanks again!

I am doing this .... although I have tried my best to stick with Atkins and do so probably 2 out of 4 weeks a month...the other 2 months I just do lower carb (under 100) and despite not being in "ketosis", still am managing to lose or at least not gain.

I plan on being "stricter" after Labor Day since the summer has always been a challenge for me on this WOE (BTW...I've been LCing since 4/02)

When I was first looking into low carbing, that's what I did. I ditched sugar, pasta, rice and potatoes - the obvious high-carb stuff. Then I started Protein Power, which is about 30-40 g carbs per day. It saved me from going through withdrawals.

The problem with just doing "lower" carb is that you have to pay a lot more attention to calories. The advantage of low, low carb is that in the absence of carbs, a lot of the fat you eat is literally wasted because your body has no mechanism to store it. When you're still eating carbs, those calories count because it'll get stored if you don't burn it.

So if your goal is weight loss, and you find that it's not working with "lower carb", you might want to find something more strict. Otherwise, you're still doing yourself a lot of good by kicking the "white stuff" to the curb.

How low do you have to get your carbs to get that fatloss affect? Do you have to be in ketosis?

How many calories were you eating in the beginning...i would guess that is a HUGE part of why you are losing easily...that you dropped your calories to 2000....that makes a huge difference

Dear diemde,

I'm do the lower-carb thing and I feel much more "human" than when I was on a higher protein diet. I am losing weight and still, despite being a carb-lover, have no cravings to eat carbs (spaghetti was one of my favorites). I use Fitday to track also and my goals are to keep my carbohydrates under 150 and my protein above the pyramid dietary allowance of 75. Mostly I am trying to get away from too little fat and get a higher fat ratio (good fats and omega 3s) to get my HDLs up.

When I was on the higher protein diet, I became what I would call "intestinal retentive." I felt full and I was certainly not regular (unusual for me). My BMs have improved since adding some grain to my diet -- no white flour, of course. Oh, okay, that's too much information.

If I were diabetic I would certainly lower my carbs more than what I am doing now. At what point does one become insulin resistant? If they are not in "ketosis?" If you are insulin resistant, does that mean you are storing fat or mean you are diabetic? Please enlighten me, anyone.

Good luck on your diet and your goals for a healthy WOL.

God bless,


Jeanne48

Jeanne48, I think you hit the nail on the head - I like feeling "human" as you put it. For me, it was more that I want this to be a "natural" weight loss, taking in good healthy food with as few supplements as I could. I decided that the best way for me to is to eat now as I mean to for the rest of my life.

I determined my calorie limit by creating a new account at fitday.com and entering the my goal weight as the current weight. I actually tried several weights (15-20 pounds above and below) to find the amount of calories that would be needed to sustain my lifestyle. I've never been at my goal weight, so am not really sure where it is. Based on fitday's calculations, I should average around 2000 calories.

I'm still trying to figure out the right amounts of fat, carbs & protein that make sense for my goal weight. I've searched the net for the last couple of days and can't find any stats. I know there are plenty of skinny people out there who maintain their weight naturally. I just can't find any records that show it. [I would just love to see some reports out of that fitday.com database!]

Nawchem, I'm losing at 100 carbs, but then as baconbabe suggested, it's probably the lowered calorie count that is causing my weight loss. 72 carbs might be a better target - I've read on here that a lot of folks use 60 as a guideline.

Regarding your comment on temptation, I figure that it is going to be something that is in my life for the rest of my life. So I need to learn to live with it. I'm trying to balance, so that if I want to have a wicked dessert, then I just don't eat any other high carb foods for the day. But you are right, if I was the type of person who binged on high carb foods, then this would not work for me. I am a binger when it comes to chocolate and cookies, so I'm trying to avoid those 2 items. I used to buy a package of cookies at the store and they would be gone in 2-3 days. I can't do that anymore and maintain my health!!!

>>"How low do you have to get your carbs to get that fatloss affect? Do you have to be in ketosis?"

It's a little different for everyone. No, you don't have to be in ketosis. It depends on how much insulin your body churns out in response to carbs, ie your insulin resistance statis. If you have no IR, you can get away with more carbs and still lose.

I have a couple of tricks related to eating 'lower carb'. I try to eat carbs as low as possible on the Glycemic Index, and get as much fiber as possible in the process. Adding fiber (I add various types of bran & flaxmeal) will lower the glycemic index of many foods, so I can 'tweak' recipes to make 'em mo' bettah for me. For instance, I use 1/4cup Quick oats mixed w/2 T of oat bran & wheat bran, + sliced almonds & fresh fruit, cover with boiling water, stir, cover and let sit for 3 minutes. I add flaxmeal at the last instant for my daily breakfast. Carbs, yes, but low glycemic carbs, and loaded with fat & protein and a whole lot of fiber.

I don't eat rice per se, but I mix up a pilaf of Converted Rice, Buckwheat, Barley (Converted Long Grain Rice is quicker cooking than brown rice, yet low glycemic, and the 'converting' process adds most of the original nutrition back into the grain as the bran is removed). I boil/simmer this then add lots of sliced almonds, sesame seed & sunflower seeds, stir to blend. This pilaf is tasty & has a much lower Glycemic Index rating than white rice, & has about 8 times as much fiber as white rice. A serving of this alongside your fish/chicken curry or Dal is very satisfying.
That brings up another point. I try to eat any of these low Glycemic Index carbs WITH some protein &/or fat, this affects your digestion & insulin production. Even if you're eating more carbs than a real 'low carb' diet, don't eat the carbs 'alone'. That eliminates a lot of the 'craving' variety carbs in the first place, and preventing insulin spikes is important. If you're going to try 'lower carb' and you have insulin resistance (got belly fat? then you've got insulin resistance), it's worth a lot of effort to avoid insulin spikes, this mis-application of carbs to belly fat is what caused most of my problems in the first place.
Bread? I only eat bread w/2 or more grams of fiber per slice (adios baguettes) I often eat whole wheat Pita bread with whatever I'm grilling. I rub the Pita with a cut clove of garlic, grill it, cut it into wedges then dip the pieces in olive oil, tapenade or hummus. Low Glycemic carbs, plus fiber, fat & protein...and a lot of flavor. Pretty satisfying.
FWIW, I find that a lot of Mediterannean & Asian recipes fit into my personal guidelines, esp. if I tweak the ingredients using the Glycemic Index & adding olive oil + fiber as necessary. I eat a lot of pilaf, dal & curry, whole wheat pasta w/clams & fish, lots of grilled meats, grilled & marinated veggies, salads. Lots of Provencal, Indian & Italian recipes. Lots of fish, chicken, lean pork & beef, lots of barley, oats, lentils, dry peas & beans. I'm losing a pound or 2 per week ~ 1700-1900 or so calories per day, feel pretty good. I didn't pay much attention to my diet for ~ 3 years after I quit smoking/got divorced/working 70 hour weeks and I went from being a 'big, strong man' to 'fat' in shorter time than I'd have thought possible. Back to lifting weights, and already back to feeling strong...I've still got some belly fat. But not for long.

How do you know if you have insulin resistance? At my weight, I'm fat all over, so just looking at my belly may not be valid... In order to overcome the insulin resistance, do you just experiment with the amounts of carbs to see at what point you start losing? I've been analysing my data, and can't make hide nor hare of how the counts are affecting my weight loss. thanks.

I don't know how to quote but TexasCarl said something about BELLY FAT and insulin resistance... can someone give me more info on THIS? Thanks!!!!