# Low carb but no losing weight...



## dannielchackas (Sep 11, 2004)

First of all...

I've being on a low carb diet for many years, I lost over 100 pounds, felt great and I still am, I've been up and down in my weight, but for most of the years I've stayed @ 180 pounds vs 280 pounds. I don;t diet anymore, that means I don't go strictly low in carbohidrates, mostly I eat everything until I went to Mexico and I gained 25+ pounds of fat. With the years I've gone to the gym and lifted weights, I do know how to use most of the machines, however I never cared about "getting bigger" with modarate eating habits I was able to see a bit of results, which I was confortable with it, shirts fitted differently and looked better. Anyways in a recent trip to Mexico, I stayed there for 2 months and gained 25+ pounds now I am back to United Stated, and I am 200 pounds exactly, I was thinking...

Instead of going back to a strict low carb diet, I kinda tricked my lowcarb diet where I don't lose or gain any weight, I do eat sufficient fat and proteint mostly from chicken, or beef ( i work in a steak house LOL) , and most of the carbs comes from salads, berries (strawberries, blueberries and low sugar with lot's of antioxidants and so), and low sugar orange juice, 2% milk no lactose, high-fiber lowcarb tortillas over 12grams, low carb brad with a lot of fiber, cheses, I eat like 2 of those a day, and other carbs that don't contain too much or none sugar, that's what helping me not to GAIN or lose weight, I guess I'am not producing tooo much insulin, anyways... My question is

I know for fact that I do eat enough calories, because I don't lose weight, and I know i am not producing too much insulin, that's why I don't gain weight...

Can I do weight lifting and have results with this procedure?, I just went back to the gym after 8 mo. I did very very light so I don't get a bad SORE, right now I am sore but is not bad...

Need advice!! thanks!


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## Tatyana (Jan 29, 2006)

How do you know you eat enough calories? I am a big fan of seriously checking out the 'reality' of your diet. Have you done the record EVERYTHING you eat for a week and figure out total cals, grams of proteins, carbs and fats? And from that work out the percentages?

Otherwise you are just guessing, seriously, and most people are SHOCKED when they do this. First time I did it, I was veggie and found out that my diet was 40% fat!

Going to post a link to another thread after this, you may want to do some homework!

I am NOT a fan of low carb diets, they do seem to work quite well initially for losing weight.

I AM a big fan of sorting out a 'diet' that is easy to maintain and a healthy way of eating for life!

Putting on more muscle makes it easier to keep the fat off, so weight training is essential, and also, to get rid of fat, cardio cardio cardio!


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## Tatyana (Jan 29, 2006)

http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11769

Check this link. Daniel are you in the States? I think that freaking Atkins diet has brainwashed the lot of you, just like the low fat fad reined king for AGES! And look how well that has worked out in sorting out the obesity epidemic in N America.

CARBS are not your enemy. Crap food is! Like low carb bread! Check the ingredients list!

WHole natural foods! You are not going to like how they taste initially if you have been eating a fairly high fat, high salt and sugar processed food diet, but it is a PROCESS to learning to eat healthy, not an overnight quick fix for a short period of time and then a BIG rebound!

Vegetables are so missing from your diet! Tortillas? Corn or wheat flour, usually mixed with oil, correct? Probably crap oil as well!

Clean up the diet! What do you eat for breakfast?


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Well, I am a fan of low carb dieting.

It does work well.

Tatyana is right about the weights and having more muscle being able to lose more fat, this is true.

Sure some carbs are your enemy, the atkins diet is sound and I have read the book.

Most of your carbs tho are not preferred except the berries and some of the other stuff.

Stick to your fruits and vegetables and you will be ok.

About 1/3 of the American population has problems with carbs and you probably are one of them.

Mexican food is mostly carbs and they love their beans and rice so this might be where you slipped some.

Booze too will effect this picture.

Id drop those breads and tortillas, stick with the more natural whole foods like the vegetables and fruits and stick to the low GI ones.

You will be alright.

Controlling insulin is your first defense in not gaining fat.

It is possible that your overall calories might be high so have a look at that.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

Tatyana just because you are not a fan of Low Carb diets does not mean they don't work as they do...not only in the short term.

i don't get on well with lots of carbs and even in the off season my diet has a max of 300g of carbs per day which is not a lot.....and when dieting for a show my low carb days are as low as 50-0g of carbs...

so to some people Carbs are the enemy.....


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## bdc (Jan 27, 2006)

my two pennies worth;

recent studies have shown that ketogenic diets worked because the fact the people were in a calorie deficit while on them, due to less variety of food i would imagine.

ketogenic diets could possibly increase the risk of osteoporosis, ketones cause the kidneys to become more acidic, calcium gets released from bones to buffer the acidity

lack of carbs obviously increases the risk of dietary fibre deficiency which within itself could cause any number of problems ranging to increased risk of CHD and cancer

i dont like fad diets because they suck in a lot of people who wouldnt know better, e.g. the kelloggs drop a jean size diet, as long as you adhere to the bowl of kelloggs cereal for breakfast and lunch (?) or whatever meals it is, you are going to lose weight- which is basically the way they market it. it doesnt alert people to the fact that they cant eat anything they want around these meals, if you managed to consume massive snacks putting you in a calorie surplus, you arent going to lose weight. along with the fact that kelloggs cereals are generally severely refined and although low in fat and 'sugar', the molecular structure of what it uses is broken down so much it might as well be sugar by the time you are eating it.

pscarb has pointed out that some people dont react well to them however, i believe that if he says he doesnt react well to carbs then he doesnt, and knows his body well enough to make that judgement, but a lot of people out there who arent carb sensitive take the ketogenic approach because it doesnt stipulate anything other than low carbs and allows certain freedom within its parameters. many people out there on these diets will be eating a lot of processed meat containing high levels of saturated fat and trans fat but because they are in the deficit and are losing weight it seems successful, very few will be doing it sensibly


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

i must point out that there is ahuge diffrence between ketagenic diets(Atkins) and a low carb approach to dieting.....


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## bdc (Jan 27, 2006)

would the guy posting be able to tell you the difference?


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

First it is not calorie deficit so to speak but controlling insulin and taping into your own fat for fuel which is the whole point of dieting.

If you want to lose weight you have to use some method of fat loss and in my opinion this is one of the fastest.

I know the diffrence.

Keto diets or ketosis is when you drop your carbs to achieve ketosis.

This is where the body burns ketones and Free Fatty Acids instead of glucose or glycogen.

At this point the body is using your own fat for fuel.

They are healthy and they do work.

Read the book if you want answers instead of comming to your own self thought interpritation of the medical aspects of the diet.

Sorry bud no link to cancer and fiber in he diet, just came out about a week ago on that subject. No proof and just speculation.

Oh and CHD?

Lower lipid profiles were on ketosis.

Is ketosis bad?

They used to treat epilepsy with ketgenic diets about 100 years ago and had kids on it for years with very good effects.

Now they use medicines for epilepsy and not ketosis.

Nobody stays in epilepsy forever, again if you read Atkins book then you will know this instead of giving your side of the argument with no merrit.

Sorry but I have problems with people giving their opinions and state them in a way it appears as fact.

Id rather not argue fats with out as this I feel will be a waste of my time.

I know this issue well and am willing to debate it with you and the other dude that is missinformed as well, on a thread all by itself.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

bdc said:


> would the guy posting be able to tell you the difference?


which guy?

and could you tell me the diffrence without looking in your book....:rolleye11


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## bdc (Jan 27, 2006)

i wasnt going to reference the points i made, but obviously the studies are going to be backdated compared to the ones you mentioned, i would be interested in reading up on that if you fancy posting it down. To get a little bit pedantic in the way of my stubborn nature, if you reread my second and third points i was very careful about not stating them as fact, as it is speculation which common sense points towards

ketogenic diets *could possibly* increase the risk of osteoporosis, ketones cause the kidneys to become more acidic, calcium gets released from bones to buffer the acidity

lack of carbs obviously increases the risk of dietary fibre deficiency which within itself *could cause* any number of problems ranging to increased risk of CHD and cancer

i didnt with the first one because i was stating the findings of a recent study. I could argue that your point was a bit contradictory, you say you dislike people stating points as if they are fact, and did the same thing yourself, although yours might be the most common knowledge you are aware of to this date, its hard to say anything is fact as newer studies with different findings are coming out all the time.

It came across as a bit childish but i am sure you will respect the points i was making


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## bdc (Jan 27, 2006)

Pscarb said:


> which guy?
> 
> and could you tell me the diffrence without looking in your book....:rolleye11


the guy who asked originally, i didnt think it was necessary to distinguish the different types of carb depletion for his benefit in all honesty.

saying this is coming from a book is a little bit petty though is it not? i was in dietary discussion a few hours ago and have hardly come up with anything in-depth


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Anything in depth?

I just answered why he might possibly be not doing so good on the low carb.

There are other factors too that might be happening like cortisol.

But Carb depletion is also carb cycling which does do a number of things like rev up the thyroid and get the body into tricking it back into fat loss.

so there was some depth, like his choice of carbs too.

Dude you are giving your opinion like there is some weight in what you say.

I have done keto diets and am on one right now.

I just dont like the way you were posting like it was fact.

Ok, let me rephrase that.

Dude you are wrong in what you say.

It is wrong in you assuming and using in a fact stating way.

I just started another post.

I welcome your thoughts on this debate.

Bring some info and not just speculation, opinions are welcome but say it is your opinion then.

Get your books too as I am sure they are not axactually right in this area too.

This stuff is very isolated and they wont teach this to you in your nutrition class.

http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12957


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## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

As Tat has said.. I am not a fan of fad diets either. Low carb diets for one, sure they may work for a bit but as soon as you're off them they tend to have a recoil effect. This is my gun analogy of a low carb diet - when you pull the trigger the bullet shoots off in one direction.. Think of the bullet as fluids. You lose a lot of fluid in your body causing the initial weight loss. However with that has the recoil.. Think of the recoil as fat. Remember, instead of carbs you are eating protein and fat. Your body can only store 500g's of carbs as glycogen at any one time. That is the first thing your body uses to produce energy since it is the most efficient. However fat has unlimited storage on your body.. It is just stored as fat, nothing else. If you cut the carbs out, sure your body will be looking for other places to get the energy from. Hence - the fat will initially be burnt off. But so will muscle. The best way to burn fat IMO is to eat a balanced diet (everything in moderation) and train your cardiovascular fitness. Good cardiovascular fitness actually burns fat when you are doing nothing, as your heart is stronger and requires more energy to work and your metabolism increases.

So the summary? Eat everything in moderation and train in cardiovascular fitness to increase your metabolism. (of course, don't leave strength training out though).

My apologisies if that post sounded technical :/


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## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

Oh and in respect to that, low carb diets make you feel like absolute **** anyway. Really drained with a lack of energy.


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## Tinytom (Sep 16, 2005)

Sorry mate but I disagree with that. Low carb diets don't work because the person using them sees it as a fad diet to shift some excess weight. Then when they've lost the weight they 'treat' themselves and put it all back on again. They are not following a fad diet they are in the mentality of a quick fix. - same as someone who joins the gym in January and gives up after a few weeks cos they don't like hard work.

Diets are a way of life not a temporary measure, bbing show diets are of course extreme but the bber isn't trying to hold that condition for more than a week or so and is perfectly aware of the rebound.

When you are trying to lose weight long term then you make a decision to undertake a way of life - Myself I don't eat crap in the week and eat primarily chicken and rice, oats and maybe a spag bol in the evening. But it's all low saturated fat with additional fish and other unstaurated fats (don't worry hackskii I still have my requirement of saturates ).

I keep my carbs low (in comparison to other bbers) in the off season and only have 200-300g of carbs a day at the highest during the week. This keeps me lean in the off season but not lean enough that I'm shredded. In the summer I will drop my carbs by 100g a day in order to look a bit better

Now you may say that 300g is a high amount of carbs but actually for what I do energy-wise it's just about right. And there are others who eat a massive amount of carbs for the same workouts.

I've conditioned myself to low offseason carbs so that dieting is a doddle when I have to drop down to 100g a day in the diet phase. Diets are all about conditioning and if you really want the body you have to eat for it.

Ketosis diets do work but the intelligent people who utilise them will incorporate a high carb day once or twice a week in order to push up thyroid and leptin levels so as to prevent that recoil effect you talked about.

The recoil happens through high levels of lipoprotein lipase due to low carbs. as soon as you add in an extra 200g of carbs for a day you push them right down again.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

AussieMarc said:


> Oh and in respect to that, low carb diets make you feel like absolute **** anyway. Really drained with a lack of energy.


No they don't i am dieting on 50g of carbs on my low days and i feel fine...

FAD diets are a waste but to say low carb diets are a waste of time also is wrong i follow a Low carb(carb cycling) approach all year round with no recoil effects...

so i would say that for those who are wanting to lose weight going for a low carb approach is good but for the long haul and not just for the short term ...

besides this you did not mention the role of Essential Fatty Acids in the low carb approach it has been proven time and time again that for fatloss a hig protein moderate fats and low carb approach is more succesful than the typical low fat high carb approach preached by many in the old days...


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## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

Each man has his own opinion. I am basing what I posted on science and the very light touch of nutrition that was in my course. In saying that, yes I completely agree and not sure why I didn't touch on this because that was half of my point - diets are a complete lifestyle change. They are about fixing up your nutrition for the rest of your life, not just for however long the cycle is. For the average joe, not a pro BB, they don't need "low carb diets" as all they are looking for is a healthy body and to feel and look good. If you haven't been eating many carbs for a few days you are definately going to feel drained and a lack of energy. For the average joe, I am against diets fullstop. It is better if they simply cut the [email protected] and fix up their nutrition as a life long thing, not just for the above mentioned cycle.

As I said, each man is his own opinion. Yours is as much correct as mine is, depends on the person. This is what has worked for me so far so I decided to share it and add the science behind it.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

In defense of low carb diets you do not feel like crap. You actually have very stable blood sugars. There is no rollercoaster effect from insulin tanking your blood sugars leaving you with low energy. Low carb diets for me make my energy levels very stable. It takes about 3 days for you to not crave food, in this time you will be very hungry when the body turns form glucose to FFA and ketones for fuel. This is all normal but necessary to get into fat burning of body fat.

I wanted to lose about 25 to 30 lbs of bodyweight and primarily fat. I have lost 14 lbs and 4" on my waist so far in about 7 weeks. The 4" should tell you something about what is going on in regards to fat loss.

Remember this is approximately 49000 calories in fuel that has left my body so far.

How many hours of cardio do you think you would need to do in 7 weeks to burn that?

I will do the math for you?

At 700 calories an hour of cardio that would be 7000 hours of cardio.

Do you really think that cardio is the answer over diet?

Also you have to remember that when you are at a sprint you burn almost 100% glycogen and dont even target fat loss.

Once I hit my target weight I will have to up my macronutrients (carbs/proteins/fats) or I will still continue to lose weight.

I will not rebound I assure you, but when I hit my target weight I will show you in pics that I wont be lacking in muscle and look like my diet has gone bad in any ways shape of form, even for a 46 year old man.  Pictures tell a thousand words and this will be my proof of what I have been preaching.

I drank beer for many years, abused my body with crap food and it took 9 years to get where I was overweight and not looking good.

A little correction on your numbers too, the body can store up to 400 grams of carbs in the muscle and 70 grams in the liver.

A little thing you need to remember about fats. Fats are the number one suppressing food for insulin. Contrary to what many people think about fat it does not store as fat. Insulin is the hormone that stores fat and without the influence of insulin in the diet it is actually hard to store fat. It takes either excess calories over and above or the presence of insulin to store fat.

Remember we are talking about dieting right here. Many people are sensitive to insulin and a low carb approach is sound thinking for those with hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

AussieMarc said:


> As I said, each man is his own opinion. Yours is as much correct as mine is, depends on the person.


you are 100% correct mate....

I place people on eating Plans rather than diets because diets give the impression it is for a short period....


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## Tatyana (Jan 29, 2006)

Pscarb said:


> No they don't i am dieting on 50g of carbs on my low days and i feel fine...
> 
> FAD diets are a waste but to say low carb diets are a waste of time also is wrong i follow a Low carb(carb cycling) approach all year round with no recoil effects...
> 
> ...


I use carb cycling and daily carb tapering when dieting too! Mind you after years and years of veggie/macrobiotic diet, I find the BB diet quite easy, I eat 'clean' most of the time and I have not had any 'recoil' yet, just enough chub to look more girlie curvy and have some breasts!

Low carb/carb cycling is NOT the same as the ketogenic thing!

Paul what carbs don't agree with you? I now think of things like tricolore pannini, peshwari naans, papadums and chicken and leek pasties as major cheat foods! (and I am going to eat them ALL this week, and some proper white PASTA). For some people this is their daily diet!

But wholegrains like brown rice?


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## Tatyana (Jan 29, 2006)

hackskii said:


> .
> 
> Do you really think that cardio is the answer over diet? NO one on this forum has ever said diet only! It is always diet and cardio. You do not do cardio.
> 
> ...


Has anyone else noticed that the newbie asking for the advice has disappeared?

I think we need to sort out some BASIC SENSIBLE DIETARY ADVICE that people can follow, NOT a bloody keto diet and NOT a competitive BBers diet!

Can we take the KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid!

I am a bit annoyed with all this. I am stopping myself from ranting, Scott I will have a moan at you later, PRiVately! :axe:

For most folk, being overweight is a combo of bad eating habits and emotional issues!

IT IS a PROCESS of learning how to eat properly and take care of yourself!

Let's not scare them off with all of our in'debating' and differing opinions.

[/QUOTE]


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

The post started out that he lost 100 lbs on a low carb diet.

Dont you think he knows what a carb is?

He is simply asking why he is not losing now.

That is it.

I answered his post and you didnt.

If he wants to do the keto diet then fine.

Why not ask somebody else like myself that is doing the same diet with success?

What is the problem with this?

Talk about KISS

Geez at least somebody is helping the poor guy.

There is no medical evidence to back up saying a keto diet is unhealthy.

If the guy wants to lose 25 lbs then fine take a couple of months and do keto.

Then all he has to do is slowly introduce some low GI carbs like fruits and or vegetables and he is done.

I am about two seconds from deleting all unrelevent posts.

Stay on topic.

Anyone want to debate keto or any other diet start your own thread.


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## Jimmy1 (Aug 14, 2003)

all diets work if done correctly

all you have to do is stick to them

ever heard of vo2 tes?

anyone who has will know that we all burn a variable ratio of fats/carbs

we need to know what we as individuals burn more efficiently in order to know what type of diet to follow

i understand that the human body doesnt need carbs but does need fat and protein

however i still like to keep my fats/carbs/proteins on an even keel when dieting

the 50/50 ratio of carbs and fats work well for me

i have tried P&C diets with little or zero fat and it made me feel like a pile of [email protected]

i tried the oposite and fealt ok

if fats are high enough, and the right quality...one can diet without carbs and feel pretty good...no slin spikes at all...love it

however, i like to eat carbs too much, which is why i always go back to that good ol' 50/50 split


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

i don't eat rice cakes....far to high insulin responce...


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

Tatyana said:


> Paul what carbs don't agree with you? I now think of things like tricolore pannini, peshwari naans, papadums and chicken and leek pasties as major cheat foods! (and I am going to eat them ALL this week, and some proper white PASTA). For some people this is their daily diet!
> 
> But wholegrains like brown rice?


all carbs i have found from many many years of errors that eating too many carbs will make me fat and bloaty in the off season this is my body makeup i guess so in the off season i stick to approx 300g max and i do fine..

when i compete i use carb cycling with a Low day of anything from 0-50g i must stress this is what works for me but 50g of carbs for others would be far to little..

the point i am trying to make is that we are all diffrent no one way works for everyone i have dieted and competed in approx 18 shows over the years and it was only when i realised that for me when dieting Carbs are the enemy...and therfore should be restricted...


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## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

Let's get off the idea of diets fullstop. In my opinion (that magic phrase), someone who is looking to lose weight and isn't cutting down for a pro competition is better off fixing their nutrition up for the long term not just the short term. Diets tend to have the time asociated with them. If you simply say, a balanced eating plan, no strings attatched so it remains flexible is the best way someone is going to keep to healthy nutrition. If you tell them what they can and can't eat it will only deter them from sticking to the healthy nutrition. Unless he is after a strict diet with little place to go when it comes to what food he can and can't eat, unless that is the case he is better off with a general knowledge on what is good for him and what isn't. Eat what you like mate, just eat it in moderation. You will not end up eating the same plan for the rest of your life, so forget any plans just sort the good from the bad and eat when you feel you need to.

Scott, I tend to disagree with the no cardio thing, as good cardiovascular fitness increases your metabolism so you can digest food a lot faster so you don't store as much fat. Although, this is all my opinion so  < see the smiley? It's alright!


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Resistance training burns fat for 3 days after you lift.

Cardio 3 hours.

You can lose fat with diet alone without cardio.

Its easy and I did it.

Now to get past a plateau yah do cardio, it is healthy anyway.

Fat loss comes from diet not cardio.

If a person is on a diet probably the person struggled with food for what ever reason.

Doing cardio does nothing for this type of person.

All the cardio in the world will not burn off fat from a person that likes to eat.

Did you read that?

Fat loss is all diet.

Cardio is a good idea for health and to aid in fat loss but stands nothing anywhere near diet for this purpose.

Cardio is fine for the guy 3-5 lbs overweight and has a month to knock it with cardio.

But the guy that started the thread lost 100 lbs.

The risk of a guy 100 lbs overweight and doing cardio can do more harm than good. At this point diet is key and this is the answer, not cardio.

Tell a guy that is 100 lbs overweight that he has to do cardio and you will get punched.

I dont care if you or anyone else believes this.

Sure a good eating plan is best.

But do people get 100 lbs overweight by eating good.

This hyjacking on the thread has got to stop, myself included.

Low carb diets do work with or without cardio.


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## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

hackskii said:


> Resistance training burns fat for 3 days after you lift.
> 
> Cardio 3 hours.


I agree with resistance training but cardio all depends on what you are training. If you are training for cardiovascular fitness you are doing split training or pharlap, in which case increases your metabolism as your heart pumps harder. A strong heart means a lower heart rate but a bigger pump volume. Oh did I mention it increases your metabolism? 

Strength training - yes it is way better then cardio I agree in that sense.. More muscle = higher need for energy = calories are burnt faster by doing nothing. Very true, but it doesn't mean your cardiovascular fitness should be neglected as it does also increase your metabolism in it's own way.

Your heart is a muscle too, and the easiest way to train the heart is split training / pharlap training. Jog, sprint, jog, sprint, jog, sprint until you are absolutely nakked.

Never said cardio is better then resistance training, just proving a point that a lot of people neglect an important muscle in the body - the heart and the easiest way to train the heart is to get it to pump harder, the only way you are going to get it to pump harder is to get your heart rate up past that line where it is reaching it's optimum performance.


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## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

hackskii said:


> This hyjacking on the thread has got to stop, myself included.


No disagreement there - I posted on GD to try and move it to there but it didn't really work :/


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## Jimmy1 (Aug 14, 2003)

when ever i diet i never use cardio until i am around 7/8% bf

at this stage i need it to loose more fat

the problem is that as soon as i start cardio i feel fooked

drained of energy and tired/depressed. i hate cardio on low carbs!!


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