Low carb diets.

I have put a shed load of weight this year for various reasons ranging from injury, depression and being lazy. 20kg to be exact! I have decided to attempt the Keto diet. Fridge and cupboards are now full of mackerel, beef, eggs,chicken, cheese, nuts and broccoli. I do struggle with carb cravings hence why I’m aiming to eat less than 50g a day.

Exercise wise I’m doing either spinning or a 10k treadmill run 4 mornings a week and high rep weights and getting out on my bike as much as I can. Fortunately my fitness is ok. I did a 10k jog this morning at 10k an hour pace on the treadmill.

Anyone have any good or bad results with this? How many calories were you consuming? Calories wise I’m aiming at 12x bmr.

I can’t fit in my clothes and this weight gain is getting out of control.

Keto diet is tough, I’ve heard. Slow-carb diet known on here as the iDave diet seems a better alternative to me.

My advice is to not exercise too hard.

I have read its tough for the first 3-28 days then gets easier. I’m fully committed to this. I have dropped 20kg before but that was when I had no work and went to glentress 6 days a week.

Idave diet looks similar, except I have given up caffeine and alcohol.

Right – awaits flaming for the comments

I have put a shed load of weight this year for various reasons ranging from injury, depression and being lazy. 20kg to be exact!

Address the issues
Injury – whats the progress?
Depression – seek help
Lazy – get out and do stuff
It sounds harder than downloading an eating plan from the internet but if you sort out the cause things can get better. Eat properly and less, exercise more cut out the crap and see how you go.

Mate of mine’s lost 45kg in six months doing it. So it clearly works for him, though I can’t help but think his arteries must look like the inside of an engine with a blown head gasket.

45kg in 6 months is impressive!

I went low carb/low GI over a year ago. (Apart from beer!)

Lost a load of weight very quickly, sleep better, never get indigestion and have more energy than before. Didn’t really worry about the calorie counting and still lost weight, despite eating large meals.

It was strange at first but now I don’t miss starchy carbs at all, don’t think I could face a bag of crisps. Since I stopped eating starchy carbs, if a try a chip or similar, it tastes very starchy and powdery.

Personally I think there will be a change in “official” dietary advice in the next 10 years and the high carb advice will change.
(Awaits flaming from pasta eating racing snakes!)

I did a keto diet for about 5 months to try and get the last bits of fat off me. I don’t think it did me much good to be honest. I mean I lost some weight but in hindsight it was awful. Made me very obsessive over calories and food macros to the point where food was all I thought about. I’m really only just getting over that now after about 4-5 months back on a normal diet. So for me it was more the mental thing than anything else. I also binged heavily on carbs when I went back as I had massive cravings for them. Obviously ymmv but for me I felt like it almost gave me some kind of eating disorder.

It’s nothing special imo, it’s still just a case of calories in need to be lower than calories out. It’s just that fat/protein should keep you satiated for longer so in theory you’ll eat less, that’s all it is. And you do feel a bit better or less sluggish not eating so many carbs. But I found I didn’t have much energy for riding, about 9 miles into a road ride and I was ****. So in that regard it was also bad as I felt my workouts weren’t 100% effort like they are now.

How much weight a week were you losing WD?

7 stone!!!!! Shit the bed!!!

I can’t help but think his arteries must look like the inside of an engine with a blown head gasket.

Satuated fat myth

I know it is only one opinion but I would really recommend reading thisDiet Delusion by Gary Taubes

Joe, what anti depressants are you taking? I found I gained quite a bit of weight whilst I was taking prozac and sertraline. Dunno why, eating too much I think. Check out this stuff: DLPA, might help with your carb cravings.

If you’re doing a fiar bit of exercise, then I wouldnt cut out carbs completely. Just ride hard, eat your carbs etc. Just don’t eat to much processed shite. Maybe go easy on the pasta/bread.

I took Prozac from February to April then came off them. I craved carbs when I got depressed and went from a toned 12 stone to a flabby 16 stone very quickly. The depression is under control as the situation which made me depressed has gone. Going on the meds was a terrible decision and only made me feel worse. Hard to explain my state of mind at the time. However the carb eating has got out of control.

I have given up caffeine and alcohol
Someone please inform the OP that they have, infact, died.

Awaits flaming from pasta eating racing snakes!)
Its ok, after several years of flaming, your body compensates by developing a ceramic like crust which prevents further damage.

Winston Dog, you’re experience is how it should have been for another fellow forumite. Good for you.

You know, in these few posts we have the ‘diet problem’ summed up. Fat is good (or rather not bad), cals in must be less than cals out, high GI causes insulin spikes etc.

The problem is, there seems to be very little authoritative, concise material that is generally agreed on. As soon as a thread like this is started, so does the debate.

I’ll have another donut whilst I consider my next step… 🙂

Seems to me that some folk manage fine without plenty of starch, and others don’t. I really struggle to ride with any intensity without the starch.

The problem is, there seems to be very little authoritative, concise material that is generally agreed on

Oh, I think there is. The establishment ‘agrees’ that fat is bad, low fat is the way forward, if you don’t lose weight, its because you’re a lazy get and that you need to count calories.
😉

Before getting tied up in all that. Perhaps people might ask themselves: ‘How does the body’s system for creating and storing fat, work ?’ I’d suggest that would be a good first step in deciding what to do about excessive fat storage.

As for calorie counting. Well yes, cals are cals, but how does your body decide to partition the calories you eat, between use of said cals and storage (fat) ?

Oh, that’s probably it for me now.
🙂

molgrips – Member
Seems to me that some folk manage fine without plenty of starch, and others don’t. I really struggle to ride with any intensity without the starch.

I think you can probably get used to riding fasted, you’ve just got to do it for a bit. I find it ok. My brother can’t ride for shit unless he’s about about 2 bowls of cereal and a loaf of soreen.

joeelston – I went from a nice 12.5 stone at 6’2″ to 16 stone in a matter of months. it’s easily done if you get into bad habits. i’ve started commuting to work [1 hour round trip] and cleaning my diet up but not religiously cutting anything out, just eating cleaner. I’ve taken a stone off in around 3 weeks, and feel alot better. I got into the habit of having a beer with dinner which turned into a bad habit. I know this was a main reason why so much weight piled on so quickly. Alcohol is full of nasty calories and bloats me like a pig!

The plan is to get back down to 13 which i’ll be happy at.

good luck and keep us updated.

Perhaps people might ask themselves: ‘How does the body’s system for creating and storing fat, work ?’

how does the body’s system for creating and storing fat work?

Seems to me that some folk manage fine without plenty of starch, and others don’t. I really struggle to ride with any intensity without the starch.

I agree.
The viewpoints that carbs are either good or bad seam pretty much like the thesis and antithesis part of a dialectic

I think you can probably get used to riding fasted

Yes you can adapt, but I think some people will do much better than others. Depends on your physiology. Some people are better at using fat,some are better at using carbs.

The wife and I went Paleo about 6 months ago. I didn’t lose much weight (I’m only 70kg anyway) but the wife lost about a stone and a half and feels noticeably better.
I’d avoid ‘low-carb’ as a general do it all, you still need the vitamins and minerals from fruit and veg. However I race quite happily in the Expert class without ever wanting pasta, bread or porridge.

how does the body’s system for creating and storing fat work?

Eat carbohydrate
Raise blood sugar
Release insulin to reduce blood sugar
Unused carb/sugar is stored as fat
Blood sugar is low
Crave carbohydrate
Eat carbohydrate……

I am 70-80% Paleo, but not necessarily low carb. I do eat fruit, potatoes, sweet potatoes, starchy veg etc.

My weight keeps itself stable if I strictly limit grains and sugar and try and avoid “empty calorie” foods like crisps, alcohol, sodas etc. I lost a stone and a half after going gluten free due to discovering I was coeliac and then going Paleo for digestive issues.

wife lost about a stone and a half and feels noticeably better
I saw what you did there, cheeky monkey. Please stay on topic.
😉

Good to hear you came off the prozac. Keto diets do work but you should have regular carb breaks.
I carried extra weight for years (I am diabetic) then found that no matter what diet I followed including all the low fat ones, I was craving carbs even more. I found out my thyroid was out of whack and my body temperature and metabolism was slower than it should be. (Hypothyroid).
With depression and very slow metabolism and a lazy assed approach to exercise I ballooned to over 15.5 stone, not a weight to carry at 5 ft 4!!! I also just felt like sleeping all the time.

Last november I had had enough and was introduced to a primal diet by a cage fighter who found enormous success with it. Gave up grain, pasta, bread, sugar and all processed food. Filled my cupboards with fish, nuts, cream, red and white meats and loads of veg. I eat about 50 gms carbs a day sometimes less and eat yams and carrots and other carbs with plenty of protein on heavy workout days. After 6 months I went from a size 18 into size 12 clothes and am a lot fitter and lost my depressive angsty moods, stomach aches, bloating and aches and pains. I rarely drink alcohol and if I do it’s a vodka, tequila or gin.
You are doing far more exercise than me so your body will need some extra good carbohydrates to convert into glycogen for energy.
You might want to look at the ‘primal diet’ as it is being used successfully by other athletes and has helped a lot of people with all sorts of problems. Not just weight loss. It still works for me to the point that I can reduce my diabetic meds and actually enjoy peddling and lifting weight again.

Avoid anything processed and eat less grain as it raises your insulin needs and leaves you feeling hungry from pancreatic overwork. Have a look at a website called ‘marks daily apple’ or look online for a 30 day primal plan you might also find that you don’t have to work so hard to stay fit and lose the weight. 😉

Just ride hard, eat your carbs etc. Just don’t eat to much processed shite. Maybe go easy on the pasta/bread.

This is basically what I do and it works better than keto did. I think I’ve lost more fat in the past few months than I did in the 5 months of keto. Lifting weights helps, just make sure you’re eating enough protein.

Eat carbohydrate
Raise blood sugar
Release insulin to reduce blood sugar
Unused carb/sugar is stored as fat
(Ok up to this point)
Blood sugar is low
Crave carbohydrate
Eat carbohydrate……

6/10

6/10

Solo – Very simplistic I know.
However, I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me on how to get it up to 8/10?

Low carb diets can be effective but you need to be carful if you have suffered with depression. Your brain needs some carbs to work effectively. Slow carbs are fine but you do need them.

I have fallen foul of this before and later discovered the brain needs carbs to generate serotonin but can only do this when there is an absence of protein in the blood stream. On a high protein diet the window of oppertunity for this is quite slim.

I still have a reduced carb diet compared to most but will eat some potatoes, brown pittas, brown pasta and lots of good nuts and veggies. I know when I need carbs.

I eat lots of saturated fat including a block of cheese a week lots of butter and meat with fat in it. In my experience fat is not a problem for weight gain. Sugar is.

Excess sugar can also cause peaks and troughs which can effect depression as well as locking fat in.

IMO the caleries in/out model for weight loss is flawed.

Eat sensible amounts of good carbs (broccoli is good for me in particular) with protein. Exercise modorately and get sleep and drink lots of water.

Avoid alchohol in large quantites.

I did loose a stone or so but was not a lot over weight. I’m 5’11” and a steady 73kg. I also came off anti depressants and with the right food exercise, sleep and social life have not needed them since (consult doctor).

One note is that some (a lot) of anti depressants can cause considerable weight gain and carb cravings. In my experience also reduced my capacity for cardio exercise.

Exercise is fine for my physically and mentally but hard physical exercise releases cortisol which has negative effecton on your mental well being, so if you are recoving from depression, do try things but all in moderation and have some patience.

Another note is that you need to get your body used to burning fat, speeding up your metabolism, long steady rides with your heart in the cardio zone, get a heart rate monitor if you don’t have one. This will help NOT because your have burnt X no. of calories but because your body will treat the food that you are eating differently when you have a faster metabilic rate.

I am not a dietician, medical professional or psycologist, these are things that I have researched and tried and helped me.

i know a bloke who has lost 5stone following a well know mtb website based diet………… 8)
it is a very low carb one also.

Solo

Once excess glucose in the blood has been sent off to the liver to become glycogen, body fat, etc, which is a function of insulin. Then blood glucose levels will normalize and insulin levels should drop also. As this happens, other hormone levels will vary and hormone sensitive lipase in fat cells will then permit the break down of your stored triglycerides (FAT), into mono chain fatty acids, which leave the fat cell to enter the blood stream and provide a supply of energy to sustain normal activities. You shouldn’t experience a conscious blood glucose ‘low’ as the body switches to using more fat.

With age, we generally become more insulin resistant and then also, in mid to later life, as testosterone and Estrogen levels diminish LPL will become more active and promote the accumulation of body fat as is typical in middle age spread, onset.

Other folk are better at dumbing it down, but for that very reason, I can’t always trust what they tell me.

Thanks for the replies. Folk seem to have had success with eating low carb. I have no intention of giving up veg. I don’t really crave food during the day. It’s the evenings what seems to be the struggle.

Try jerky as a snack, it is very satiating and has a low calorific content.

i know a bloke
BOOM ! And he’s back ! Hi Ton. Hope you’re doing Ok.

For anyone who’s interested, Ton demonstrated very well that its mostly about the diet. Not being able to resort to silly amounts of exercise to get shot of the tub, Ton had to eat himself thinner.
So, listen to Ton, he’s got the T Shirt, and it’s way too big for him now.

😉

@solo

ta, now:

I’d suggest that would be a good first step in deciding what to do about excessive fat storage.

how does that relate to your answer?

(I presume your approach would thus tend toward minimising insulin release and maximising lipase response, through food quantity & food type?)

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar…learn to spot it and don’t have it. After a while it begins to taste like the shit it is.

Agreed on sugar,

No dont stop eating veg, use them as a source of carbs.[/url]