Carbs or calories for weight loss.

Crunchyknees

Hi all, used to post a year or 2 back but lost password, moved house, new email address and so on....

However.... my question is, what is the general opinion about the best way to drop some weight. Is it a carb thing or a calorie thing?

I used a low carb diet about 4 years ago, very successfully, but then a change in circumstances and didn't get out on the bike much and I've gradually put it back on. The problem is, the low carb thing isn't working this time. I am, of course, older and at 56 (years not stone) maybe my metabolism is getting really low?

Thoughts please?

Thanks.

ai_1

Not quite getting the distinction.
Sufficiently reduced calorie intake will lead to weight loss and most likely the majority of the calories you eat are in the form of carbs.

MikeWW

Focusing on low carb food is the way to go IMO.
Whilst it is about lower calories the higher protein/higher fat/fibre foods make it a lot easier to achieve

kajjal

You may just need your body to adapt to exercise and recover its fitness. As we get older it is a lot harder to keep weight off especially after inactivity.

neilr4

I went low carb for the month of august as I wasn't losing any weight from riding 5 days per week......

Visited health shop for supplements and owner recommended a detox, never had done one before... he reckoned that my liver and kidney's had most likely 'stalled' and I needed a detox to kick start my organs/metabolism I got one for 10 days and went on low carb for 4 weeks, lost 3KG and kept it off by regular riding!!!

Try it!

Crunchyknees

Thanks all.

Low carb seems to be the plan.

I have some great recipes......lasagne made using leeks for the pasta, cauliflower mash, zero sugar jellies made with cream for pudd......

Dammit........have to go eat.

diy

There are 100s of different ways to achieve weight loss. There isn't one best way. I personally found intermittent fasting worked well for me and was compatible with exercise and my corporate entertaining. But in general they all work by reducing what goes in vs. what goes out. As others have said: Carbs tend to be a good source of calories anyway.

Ideally you want to go for something that you can sustain for many years - This will give you long term health benefits (allegedly). For me controlling what I eat 2 days a week saw big improvements in the first couple of month and I wasn't exactly fat to start with.

keef66

" he reckoned that my liver and kidney's had most likely 'stalled' and I needed a detox to kick start my organs"

You sure it was a health food shop? Sounds like you may have wandered into Kwik-Fit :roll:

I think if your liver or kidneys do stop working you'll be heading for A&E rather than H&B...

bobmcstuff

keef66 wrote:

" he reckoned that my liver and kidney's had most likely 'stalled' and I needed a detox to kick start my organs"

You sure it was a health food shop? Sounds like you may have wandered into Kwik-Fit :roll:

I think if your liver or kidneys do stop working you'll be heading for A&E rather than H&B...

I agree - I don't doubt the poster lost weight from the diet but that kind of statement is dangerous pseudo-scientific rubbish.

pushingnatural

I'd be wary around the low carb diet, whilst it is true that the general population consume too many carbs they are essential to people partaking in exercise. Choice of carbs is a much better question to ask, go for the most nutrient dense carbohydrates that you can find such as sweet potatoes and quinoa. Choosing foods like these and consuming them immediately after exercise will allow your body to replenish glycogen and the insulin spike caused will be welcomed by the body as it'll allow more protein to be taken up.

Whilst initially effective, a low carb diet is not always sustainable and the initial weight loss seen is a water weight loss. For every gram of carbohydrate you store, your body will store 3 more grams of water so when you restrict carbs you're initially only losing weight because your body is not storing as much water.

Feel free to message me through pushingnatural@gmail.com if you'd like more advice.

chrisaonabike

bobmcstuff wrote:

I agree - I don't doubt the poster lost weight from the diet but that kind of statement is dangerous pseudo-scientific rubbish.

+1

The whole notion of a 'detox' is complete rubbish. The idea that 'toxins' from food accumulate in the cells, and can be washed out somehow (with some expensive juice drink, or eating special foods) is simply garbage.

The liver is a fantastic chemistry laboratory, and detoxifies (by breaking them down) all kinds of things all the time, notably alcohol. But it does this whether you want it to, or not, unless it's damaged beyond repair.

Obviously if you consume something actually toxic (such as lead, cadmium, or any number of fat-soluble nasties like DDT, that can't be easily metabolised), then it will potentially accumulate.

But you can't detox those things by drinking a fruit smoothie and going on a fad diet.

rnath

Carbs for me. I did a strict 2 week Atkins induction which was very effective in quickly shifting lard. After which I came off the diet and have just continued to avoid junk carbs (sugar, bread, snacks etc). For whatever reason this has proved much more effective compared to simple calorie watching. Need to take it easy in the first 2 weeks though.