Low Carb diets

[TinyBubbles]

Just a fad? Or a genuine way to lose weight & improve your health?

I've read articles which say that low carb diets are actually what your body is designed to eat, what our ancestors ate, and that foods like breads and rice and pasta are not good for you. Plenty of people have lost weight on low carb diets; some doctors even recommend it as a viable weight loss method.
On the other hand, the brain needs a constant stream of glucose to function properly, and I'm thinking a protein-heavy diet might tax your body a little bit as it tries to obtain the necessary glucose it needs from a limited stock. Plus, a low carb diet would probably be difficult to maintain long term.

And there's the ethical issue of eating mostly meat vs. mostly plants (which is usually what a low carb diet involves); many animals face slaughter because of how we humans eat. It would get worse if all of humanity switched to a mainly protein based diet.

 

[DoveAlexa]

*begin introductory rant, not necessary for reading*
Eh... I know many hate people over positions such as mine, but I don't feel that killing animals for food is wrong or improper at all. I do not elevate humanity above animals, in that we should never kill another thing. Death is part of life and we are meant to kill other creatures to live -- "holy" cycle of nature, of which plants are also a part of --and die. Plants are not less worthy of life and spared suffering than an animal, just because we cannot perceive its suffering or view it as suffering because it is not similar to human feelings or pain.
*end rant*

Alright, I was watching a Canadian documentary where a doctor put a town of first nations and Caucasians on a traditional Pacific first nations' diet, (within reason) which included fatty meats, fatty fish and lots and lots of vegetables and absolutely no grains. Everyone lost lots of weight and their health problems began clearing up.

I do believe that diets heavy in carbohydrates are indeed too calorie concentrated for non-athletic people. However, why the hell fruits are taken as being part of the same category as bread I will never understand. The relative health hazards of bread are also relative, because nothing is purely good for you, and everything has its drawbacks. Oxygen is needed every moment, but its also really good as causing free radical damage to our DNA. Saying bread is something should never ever eat because it destroys your body and has no benefits is retarded.

Fruits contain tons more fiber, water and mineral nutrients than bread, and whats more, many fruits require the body to use more calories in breaking them down for use than they provide, so you actually burn a little off eating them.
(Yes its true, I have been on a prolonged diet putting this principle in action and have lost a total of 17 pounds recently from it, details here and here.)
Also, restricting a diet to being much more about the meats than the vegetables and fruit is also bad, because that is also a calorie overload for most people. We don't need that much meat or protein let alone the calories in it if we are not athletes. We also need a lot of vitamins and minerals best found by eating fruits and veggies.

All and all, the principle of less bread is right on, but all meat and no fruit isn't.

Leaner meats, relative to the calories you need per day, and lots of fruit and veggies is an ideal diet.

 

[the]

many animals face slaughter because of how we humans eat.

what is wrong with that?

 

[arbygil]

Actually, there is such a thing as a vegetarian low-carb diet (although not many go for it). Your proteins will primarily come from tofu. You can also be an octo-lacto low carber, which means you'd be getting your primary sources from dairy, cheese, and eggs.

A "low" carbohydrate diet is a diet where you receive less than 200 grams of carbs or fewer a day...which actually can be easy to do.

I've done Atkins (and another one I don't recommend: Kimkins) and I've tried one of the vegetarian low-carb plans. It can be done, and you can do it with a clean(er) conscious.

The best advice is to choose denser whole grains and vegetables over fruits, or be selective of the fruits you choose (avocado vs banana, or berries vs melons).

 

[Jack]

I don't have a prescribed diet, I just generally eat fruit + dairy. That seems healthy to me.

 

[randomsomeone]

I just try for balance and normal portions. That's my overall focus, but I have done low-carb before. I tend to not go for diets per se...I'm more interested in developing an overall modest, yet sustainable, lifestyle.

 

[sassafras]

I think the only carbohydrates that anyone should watch out for are simple carbohydrates. Complex-carbohydrates are healthy and, when paired with lean protein, help keep you fuller longer and your metabolism purring like a brand, spanking new porsche.

Of course, everything in moderation. If the majority of the food you're consuming are carbohydrates of anything kind, yeah... you might tend to tip on the heavier side of things.

As for low-carb diets themselves, I think it depends on how they're put together. They can be effective in helping you lose weight very quickly and most of them can be altered to meet your daily requirements, but the downside is that they can get rather complicated.

 

[DoveAlexa]

I think the only carbohydrates that anyone should watch out for are simple carbohydrates.

Yes! This! Especially drinking them. Damn you delicious delicious hot chocolate! I once put on 3 pounds in one week in December just cause I was drinking big cups of it everyday.

 

[Wyst]

I think the only carbohydrates that anyone should watch out for are simple carbohydrates. Complex-carbohydrates are healthy and, when paired with lean protein, help keep you fuller longer and your metabolism purring like a brand, spanking new porsche.

Of course, everything in moderation. If the majority of the food you're consuming are carbohydrates of anything kind, yeah... you might tend to tip on the heavier side of things.

As for low-carb diets themselves, I think it depends on how they're put together. They can be effective in helping you lose weight very quickly and most of them can be altered to meet your daily requirements, but the downside is that they can get rather complicated.

^ This.

The problem with so many people these days is that when they think of 'carbs', they don't think of healthy carbs like, beans, rice, old-fashioned oatmeal (not that instant slop), fibrous green vegetables, and fruits. No. When they think of carbs, bread, sugar-laden sin-beds of death (candy), chips, and any other manufactured/processed/created/concocted food comes to mind

 

[Ecton]

I found a low carb diet to be very helpful in losing weight. Perhaps a pound or two a week without feeling hungry. Fortunately, I like vegetables a lot.

 

[emerald_storm]

I've recently started on a low-carb diet, and simply put- it works! I try to follow Mediterranean ketogenic diet with majority of the fat coming from fish and olive oil, protein from fish (mainly), eggs, and meat, and carbs from variour fiberous veggies. So far it has worked wonders for me. I've managed to lost around 26 lbs in 3 months. I was using the diet mainly to maintain weight while weight training, but I guess I had substantial amount of fat to lose.

For your glucose comment- the brain can function on glucose AND ketones. Ketone bodies are abundant in the bloodstream when following low carb, high fat diet.

 

[Wyst]

Here's my low carb snack at work today.

 

[sassafras]

Here's my low carb snack at work today.

Mmm. I want some strawberries!