Nutrition & Diet Low Carb vs Plant Based

[shyvas]

From what I've heard, not sure that its accurate, is that low-carb diets are very effective for quick weight loss. But as soon as you incorporate carbs back in, you'll blow up like a balloon. Or at least back to your regular fat state.

Low carbing is quite complex. You would really have to read a book on how to lose weight doing this method as there are 3 steps to follow ; 1,2 and 3. You work your way up gradually to a moderate carb plan which does include plenty of vegetables and whole grains.
There are also vegetarian low carb plans which do work if you need to lose weight.

 

[Pickle Juice]

If you analyze these kinds of diets what you find is that they still restrict calories, so that it is the calorie deficit created that causes fat loss, not the composition of the diet. If you stuck to a 500 calories a day plan and ate nothing but chocolate candy you would lose weight, but it's not a good idea. If sticking to low carb foods while calorie restricting causes a reduction in weight that stays off, it's more likely that the diet is able to be maintained because it consists of foods the dieter liks to eat, not because you can eat unlimited quantities of flesh, eggs, cream and cheese and melt off the pounds.

 

[Virpukka]

I agree...you can diet even with eating just chocolate. One thing that bugs me in this low carb fever is that people have started to take it as a lifestyle instead of diet and it's not a lifestyle. But because it's seen as lifestyle people have started to put their kids also on it even if they don't have over weight. Though i don't think low carb would be right diet to anyone, to kids it's worse since they do need the carbs for their developement. And when there is so many well done studies from how harmful large amounts of anmal products are I do have to agree with Furhman when he writes in his book that why would you want to change extra weight to higher risk of getting cancer. The veggie low carb people are probably in bit better position since if I have understood things right the problem really lies mostly with the animal protein but then the high saturated fats are still problem for them too and those raises heart desease risk. So in the end what is the point to even lose weight if you just raise your risk to have blocked blood wessels even higher than it would have been with the extra weight. That may not happen immediately but in long term, that definitely is the case.

 

[Doktormartini]

There's nothing wrong with being on a low carb diet.

There is when your body's primary fuel source is sugars (carbs).