# Is no/low carbs essential?



## Danieljames95 (May 9, 2016)

Really want to lower my body fat percentage, is no or low carbs essential for this? I would struggle with no carbs tbh..


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

Calories are the main determining factor for body fat control, using more energy than you consume is the simplistic way of looking at it....

Many will benefit from the reduction of carbs but in my opinion to eliminate them totally is not the best approach, there are some threads on the forum concerning carb cycling and timed carbs that would be a good place to start....


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## Dan TT (May 9, 2012)

Myself at the moment only have carbs between midday - 8pm. In my breakfast and last meal I have >5g carbs, so a small negligible amount really and then have protein and fats a lot higher, I think this is suitable if anyone with a bit more knowledge will input?

I find this easy to do.


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## barsnack (Mar 12, 2011)

Danieljames95 said:


> Really want to lower my body fat percentage, is no or low carbs essential for this? I would struggle with no carbs tbh..


 exercise and controlling your diet is key....ive tried low carbs but felt little energy to go to the gym or running...normally keep carbs around 100g, suits me perfectly as long protein and fats keep my total caloires enough under my maintenance limit


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## Growing Lad (Feb 14, 2009)

In term of importance

1: total calories

2: adequate protein

3: carb & fats

4: meal timing

nailing the first 2 is 90% of the picture


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Danieljames95 said:


> Really want to lower my body fat percentage, is no or low carbs essential for this? I would struggle with no carbs tbh..


 You need to be eating lower calories which is bound to mean lower carbs to a degree, but you don't need to eat extremely low or zero carbs.

Eat fewer calories than you use and you will lose body fat.


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## UK2USA (Jan 30, 2016)

Total calories are without a doubt the primary issue, but i recently started carb cycling after reading a really good article on here, posted by pscarb, and it is working great. You eat in a deficit every day but you have high carb, low carb, and no carb days, it is easy to follow and works, again, only if you're in a calorie deficit each day. I start on a Sunday and my days are this: high, low, no, high, low, no, low. Search it out and have a read. Good luck mate.


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## ironman1985bcn (Mar 3, 2010)

You NEED protein to hold/build muscle so you cannot lower to near 0 that.

So in what way can you lower kcal intake? Reducing kcal from carbs as they aren't really necessary for the musscle other than to produce energy as fuel (and even you can attain energy from fats and aminoácidos degradación) and reducing fats (which you dont have Many to start with if not in keto).

So yeah, reducingg carbs is a good way to lower kcal intake and be in déficit to lose your gut.


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## AngryBuddha (Nov 25, 2015)

Its very difficult to eliminate carbs anyway, a low carb diet for me usually has 50-100g, just think a few pieces of fruit, a shake with milk, and whatever else you eat and you can easily hit 50-100g


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## zyphy (Jun 23, 2014)

Carb cycling with carbs taken pre and post workout works really well for me


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Danieljames95 said:


> Really want to lower my body fat percentage, is no or low carbs essential for this? I would struggle with no carbs tbh..


 I prefer to add more cardio than drop calories to low. I find cardio easy and I actually enjoy it so I do a bit of both.,


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

Aside from all the above, I'll just add that if you do decide to experiment with manipulating macro ratios, there's no need to make sudden drastic changes necessarily. Try making small adjustments and yielding as much as you can over a period of time. This won't shock the system and will also give you scope for progress.

So, if you feel you won't do very well on low carbs, then there's no need to jump to low carb all of a sudden. For example - try implementing a no carb meal 1 and see how things go.

Low carb can be really effective but I personally don't like really low (or no-)carb - not a fan of keto or just carbs from residual non-carb-sources. At minimum I like to keep moderate intake around training (I like to optimise peri workout nutrition).

Having said that, I love having no carbs in my first or last meals, works really well for me in all regards - function, progress and conditioning.


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## John. (Jun 24, 2013)

No


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

A calorie deficit will result in fat loss - whether you do low carbs or low fat.

Some people do quite well on low carbs - they find that going into ketosis blunts their hunger, and dropping water weight makes them look better. Others (myself included) cannot function on low carbs at all, and keep carbs reasonably high on a cut.


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> A calorie deficit will result in fat loss - whether you do low carbs or low fat.
> 
> Some people do quite well on low carbs - *they find that going into ketosis blunts their hunger*, and dropping water weight makes them look better. Others (myself included) cannot function on low carbs at all, and keep carbs reasonably high on a cut.


 surprised no one mentioned this yet

this is the only real benefit to a keto diet

all the immediate weight loss is just water weight

a 500 calorie deficit will yield the same amount of fat loss regardless of approach

did you push through into actual ketosis?

for some people this can take up to 3 days

the brain fog and lethargy during the transition is brutal but once you are in ketosis most people find they have a decent amount of energy


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

swole troll said:


> did you push through into actual ketosis?
> 
> for some people this can take up to 3 days
> 
> the brain fog and lethargy during the transition is brutal but once you are in ketosis most people find they have a decent amount of energy


 I stuck with it for 3 weeks IIRC, and it never really got any better. Permanent brain-fog and feeling like I had concrete boots on.

I kept testing my pee with ketostix. I know that they don't test blood ketones, they only spot the ketones that have spilled over into urine, but I got absolutely nothing.


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> I stuck with it for 3 weeks IIRC, and it never really got any better. Permanent brain-fog and feeling like I had concrete boots on.
> 
> I kept testing my pee with ketostix. I know that they don't test blood ketones, they only spot the ketones that have spilled over into urine, but I got absolutely nothing.


 ah fair enough

i too personally just prefer to eat lower overall calories and not really do anything drastic with any of the macros

as i start getting leaner i usually up protein not for any kind of muscle sparing benefit but because i just find im more satiated eating a piece of steak over say a baked potato


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## Will2309 (Jan 15, 2012)

UK2USA said:


> Total calories are without a doubt the primary issue, but i recently started carb cycling after reading a really good article on here, posted by pscarb, and it is working great. You eat in a deficit every day but you have high carb, low carb, and no carb days, it is easy to follow and works, again, only if you're in a calorie deficit each day. I start on a Sunday and my days are this: high, low, no, high, low, no, low. Search it out and have a read. Good luck mate.


 Have you a link to this article please. I need to start my cut soon.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Will2309 said:


> Have you a link to this article please. I need to start my cut soon.


 How new are you to dieting to lose body fat? My strong natural inclination is to to keep things simple to begin with, and you certainly don't need to do anything like carb cycling to lose body fat.

I suspect this is the article in question though:

https://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/topic/19713-timed-carbs/?do=embed


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## Will2309 (Jan 15, 2012)

https://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/topic/26455-a-very-good-article-on-carb-cycling/?do=embed#replyForm

I thought it might of been this one. I just read it all and I might give it ago.

Ultrasonic. I have never really dieted properly before, always sat between 20 and 22% ( rough guess going by pictures on the net) BF, Iam tall so I carry it well. But as iam getting older I do find my self getting fatter.

I have booked to go on holiday in 12 weeks so I would like to get nearer 15% if possible.

Iam on 500mg of test so that will help to hold on to muscle.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Will2309 said:


> Ultrasonic. I have never really dieted properly before, always sat between 20 and 22% ( rough guess going by pictures on the net) BF, Iam tall so I carry it well. But as iam getting older I do find my self getting fatter.
> 
> I have booked to go on holiday in 12 weeks so I would like to get nearer 15% if possible.
> 
> Iam on 500mg of test so that will help to hold on to muscle.


 In that case I would definitely forget about carb cycling for now. Starting with something more complicated than you need will just make it harder for you to stick to, and right now getting used to consistantly eating fewer calories than you use should be your priority. This is what will make you lose body fat.

Do you have any idea how many calories you normally eat per day? Many people find Myfitnesspal a very helpful app/webpage to keep track of what they eat.


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## Will2309 (Jan 15, 2012)

Ultrasonic said:


> In that case I would definitely forget about carb cycling for now. Starting with something more complicated than you need will just make it harder for you to stick to, and right now getting used to consistantly eating fewer calories than you use should be your priority. This is what will make you lose body fat.
> 
> Do you have any idea how many calories you normally eat per day? Many people find Myfitnesspal a very helpful app/webpage to keep track of what they eat.


 Yeah your probably right, I do eat to much food at the moment and not all good food at that. I bet I eat over 3000 cals if I added it all up.

I will have a sit down and write a new diet up. Cheers as always.

Sorry for the hijack DJ95


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## Danieljames95 (May 9, 2016)

Will2309 said:


> Sorry for the hijack DJ95


 Not at all pal! I'm still learning whilst reading, so it's all good!


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## Will2309 (Jan 15, 2012)

Danieljames95 said:


> Not at all pal! I'm still learning whilst reading, so it's all good!


 Aren't we all.

Lot of helpful knowledgeable guys on here.


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