"You cant function on a no-carb diet." - Myth or truth?

[atypical1]

I just saw this quote in a post and rather than muddy up the water in that thread I thought I would take the time to relate my experiences with this group and you can make up your own mind.

Back in November of 2007 I made a conscious decision to lose some weight. I was at the point where clothes were all tight and I was nearing 40 (I had just turned 39 at this point). I read a book called "TNT Diet" and figured that I would give this a go as the book seemed reasonable to me.

The gist was to give up all carbohydrates. Period. Well, not quite "period". They allow for a day a week or so of crappy foods. In many ways this is akin to the Anabolic diet that you can read about here. This book didn't ask you to take any supplements though and really revolved around eating whole foods.

The only way I figured this would work was for me to jump in feet first and just go for it. So I did. I cut out grains of all kinds (whole or not), fruit of all kind, carrots, potatoes, milk, bbq sauce, etc. Essentially if it had carbs I did my best to eliminate it from my diet or greatly reduce it. I ate primarily meat and veggies along with some almonds. I did this for the first month. After the first month I would allow myself a cheat meal every couple of weeks. Typically this might mean a hamburger or a couple of slices of pizza. I slowly started adding things like cottage cheese, some fruits like apples, some bbq sauces. I'm going to list my waist measurements by month:

11/07 - 42.25 inches (107.3 cm)
12/07 - 39.5 inches (100.33cm)
1/08 - 38.25 inches (97.15)
2/08 - 38 inches (96.5 cm)
3/08 - 37 inches (93.98cm)
4/08 - 36 inches (91.44cm)
5/08 - 36 inches
6/08 - 35 inches (88.9cm)
7/08 -34 inches (86.36)

Today I'm a lot more generous with my diet because I've achieved the "inches" goal that I wanted. I'm also working out a lot heavier than I was. I'm at a 35 inch waist. Part of that is fat and part of that is muscle. I'm going to slowly reduce carbs again to get a bit more lean but need to do so in a less dramatic way as I'm going to try to maintain my strength.

So, does cutting out carbs work? For me it did. Is it sustainable? For me it was. There wasn't a really rapid loss of weight but there steady fat loss and I was able to maintain that. As always though, YMMV and we all adapt to diet and exercise differently.

james

[holvoetn]

James,
just wondering, what is your height ?
Just to get an idea ...

FWIW I am 1m80 (5'11" ?) and have a waist of about 95cm (37 odd something ")

[atypical1]

I'm 6'2" or about 188 cm. I'm about 210lbs or 95kg.

james

[zizzy80]

James,

That is amazing. A huge drop in the first month. I'm on a similar diet as well. But I fail much often than just one junk meal a week..

One thing for sure though, is that energy really has nothing to do with the carb intake. As long as you eat enough, you don't really feel hungry or feel lack of energy. At all.

So, one vote for "You can't function on an no-carb diet." - Myth.

[sean]

James,
One thing for sure though, is that energy really has nothing to do with the carb intake. As long as you eat enough, you don't really feel hungry or feel lack of energy. At all.

I disagree. I did GOMAD for six weeks (still would be if not for the acne,) and the extra carbs and calories shattered my plateaus. MAYBE a no carb diet with the same amount of calories would have worked just as well, but eating 5000 calories a day of red meat and veggies is very, very difficult. If anyone has the time and effort to do that, more power to them.

My personal experience - When I'm eating carbs, I have more energy in the weight room.

[zizzy80]

MAYBE a no carb diet with the same amount of calories would have worked just as well

That answers it all. The key is "same amount of calories". I wholeheartedly agree with you on that its very, very difficult to eat 5000 calories a day of red meat and veggies. Totally with you on that one.

As long as you meet your calorie intake, the energy should be there no matter the source. If you are going no-carb and have no energy, then you probably aren't eating as much calorie.

[atypical1]

I disagree. I did GOMAD for six weeks (still would be if not for the acne,) and the extra carbs and calories shattered my plateaus. MAYBE a no carb diet with the same amount of calories would have worked just as well, but eating 5000 calories a day of red meat and veggies is very, very difficult. If anyone has the time and effort to do that, more power to them.

My personal experience - When I'm eating carbs, I have more energy in the weight room.

But you did gomad in order to gain weight and you were willing to do what it took to get those extra calories. I did no carb in order to lose body fat and get lean. While on no carb I didn't try to get my PR's in. But I had plenty of energy in the weight room once I adjusted to the diet. My workouts were different than they are now but no less intense in nature.

I'm going to be reducing my carbs and stay on the madcow so I'll keep track of how I feel in the weight room while still trying to gain strength. It should be interesting.

james

[gregsheppard]

ive found going on the paleo diet (cut all refined/starchy carbs and high carb fruit and veg. eat lots of meat/fish etc, fibrous fruit and veg, and good fats) has helped me loads, its helped me loose weight and gain muscle cause it forced me to really ramp up my protein intake.
and its making me eat my veg as well.
and ive never had this feeling of loss of energy some people do complain about, in fact i find cause im not having blood sugar spikes i feel generally much more consistent in my energy levels

for me it definitely is a myth

[joesterizer]

Myth. I'm into week 3 of the Anabolic Diet, and after the induction phase I felt great.

I have more energy at the gym now that ever before. Works as advertised, at least for me.

[Nekurahn]

Personal experience has shown me that you can lose weight eating whatever as long as the caloric deficit is there.

I would say that not surviving because of a lack of carbs in the diet on the short term is not realistic. I can't say anything about the long term except that I wouldn't do it. A lot of foods that I like have carbs and depriving myself day after day would demoralize me more than anything.

Regardless, good on you James. Great results. Whatever works, right?

For anyone still struggling to lose weight, my advise is following Mehdi's Stronglifts 5x5 program, following Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat lifestyle and finally some good HIIT running. All this has landed me a good 4 to 5 pounds of weight loss per week with increased strength on my lifts.

[zizzy80]

That's interesting Nekurahn. Can you tell more about Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat? I've been to the site and can't get much out of it. Its just a calorie deficit eating? Its interesting that you lost 4 to 5 pounds per week. That sounds like a too rapid loss to me..?

[Nekurahn]

Sure thing Zizzy.

Brad's Eat Stop Eat promotes intermittent fasting.

What you do: Pick a day and a time. When that day and time arrives, don't eat for 24 hours.

ex: On Monday morning around 7am, I eat breakfast. The next time I eat, it will be breakfast at 7am on Tuesday.

How often: Brad promotes doing this only twice a week, and not on consecutive days. I wrote to him about doing it three times a week or every other day, and he said he picked twice a week because it wasn't too intrusive on social engagements, but that 3 times a week was fine.

Things to remember: Whenever you do eat, eat as if the fast never happened. Don't try to compensate by eating more before the fast or more after the fast. Also, don't listen to people who'll tell you that you -need- to eat every 3 hours or your metabolism will crash. Hate to break it to everyone, but that's just marketers wanting you to consume more. "Starvation mode" is a marketing tool. Nothing more, nothing less. Also, this cannot work if you don't do weight training.

Why it works: Aside from the obvious caloric deficit from not eating, there is a strong hormonal response generated by the fast itself. If you're like me and worry about losing muscle when you read about fasting, have no fear! Brad thought of that, too. He conviniently co-released a compilation of studies thoroughly analysed to show that as long as you get the proper stimulation from weight-training, you won't lose muscle. Another reason to follow Mehdi's Stronglifts 5x5!

Hope this helps.

[zizzy80]

Also, don't listen to people who'll tell you that you -need- to eat every 3 hours or your metabolism will crash. Hate to break it to everyone, but that's just marketers wanting you to consume more. "Starvation mode" is a marketing tool. Nothing more, nothing less.

The main reason for eating every 3 hour is to not feel hungry so it will prevent a possible over consumption at the next meal. When you are eating every 3 hours, you are eating small meals(usually high protein, and when you are on a high protein diet, consuming a lot of protein AND get a lot of calorie is kind of difficult, hence the lower calorie meal every meal).

I agree that eat-every-3-hours-because-if-you-don't,-you'll-go-into-starvation-mode statement is incorrect.

Also agree on that your metabolism won't trash if you don't eat every 3 hours.

Those 2 statements are true if you go calorie deficit for a very long period of time. I don't know how long but I guess more than a week or something like that. But NOT 3 hours!



Having said that, its interesting how this can work. Hmph. It will be very very hard though. No food for 24 hours...

[Nekurahn]

Also, don't listen to people who'll tell you that you -need- to eat every 3 hours or your metabolism will crash. Hate to break it to everyone, but that's just marketers wanting you to consume more. "Starvation mode" is a marketing tool. Nothing more, nothing less.

The main reason for eating every 3 hour is to not feel hungry so it will prevent a possible over consumption at the next meal.

I'm 100% with you on avoiding over-consumption. This being said, let me tell you a little story.

Until about a year ago, I was only eating a standard 3 meals per day, and very rarely between meals. After some research, I found out I could improve on the fat loss from my workouts by boosting my metabolism. Thrilled, I started started eating a little more calories per day and split everything into 5 meals.

Fastforward 9 months later, I start Eat Stop Eat and revert to 3 meals per day. To my surprise, at the times I used to eat my meals, I get massive rumblings in my stomach. People actually give me weird looks.

I still eat about the same quantity of calories in my day, but my body hasn't tossed out the habit of receiving food at those hours. What I'm trying to say is that hunger is very often acquired through habit and not your body telling you it needs nutrients.

Food for thought.

[zizzy80]

What I'm trying to say is that hunger is very often acquired through habit and not your body telling you it needs nutrients.

That is true. But my reason for eating every 3 hours is mainly for my protein consumption. Apart from hunger and controlling hunger, of course these are important, but to consume enough protein, I have to break those protein into separate meals otherwise, I can't possibly consume 50g of protein every meal. I don't know about you but I'd puke if I were to consume that much amount of food at one sitting. And you can't eat steak and salmon cans every single meal. Again, I'd puke if I had to do that. Not because my body can't tolerate massive amounts of protein per meal, but my food choices are more convenient if I eat often.

That being said, I usually eat about 4-5 meals per day. That's not really every 3 hours. I try to make it 6 meals but rarely make it. But I usually am able to hit around 120-140g protein per day. If I go 6 meals, then I easily hit 150g per day. Less meal = less protein.

So that's the real reasoning behind it. Not because of metabolism or to prevent "starvation mode".