The FastDay Forum

For a long time I didn't believe the hype that carbs were "bad." I figured low-carb diets worked just because you were eating less calories. However, I'm starting to read and see more research confirming that they are part of the problem. I just saw a friend today who has lost 45 lbs. in 4 months by giving up carbs. He's also exercising and giving up carbs meant giving up beer, but still that's pretty impressive.

I still don't think I can give them up entirely, but I think I'm going to try harder to reduce them!

For me, the goal of carbohydrate restriction is to identify your individual limit and use that limit to make reasoned choices, NOT to prohibit any-or-all carbs from ever passing your lips again.

If you want to lose weight but can't, had some progress but have hit a plateau, or are having cravings, carb restriction will be the most helpful thing you can do.

If you regain weight, carbs are #1 on the list of probable culprits.

If none of these apply and you're happily maintaining, then carb restriction is pointless*.


* = other than when commiserating by example with those who haven't discovered their limit.

I don't like the idea of giving up a particular food group but this forum and its members have proved to me that some of us @cblasz are better off with less carbs than were taking in, carorees said that our body doesn't actually need carbs and my personal choice is to reduce the amount I eat because my health issues have vastly improved since my reduction and on those weeks I reduceeven further iI lise extra weight, its finding the happy medium for your own body.

Your not really giving up a complete food group. It would be impossible to give up carbs totally as most vegetables have a little bit to a lot in them. But giving up grains or drastically reducing them is a good idea. Putting it into practice can be very hard, they are such a mainstay of modern diets that you feel as if you are cutting out an enormous section of food. Generally though just giving up wheat and rice is a good start. I did it for 6 months and managed to lose 13lb in 3 weeks doing so, but I stalled after the 13lbs, so wheat and rice crept back onto my diet and now I am struggling to get them out of my diet again.

Some of the things dropping the wheat helped with was my IBS, gone. The eczema I have in my ears, gone. A lot of my hayfever symptoms, gone. All inflammatory conditions. Logically I know I should stop again, but another part of me is in the corner of my brain crying like a baby at the thought of missing my next fix of bread or pasta.

I think too that wheat causes inflammation in my sore heel ( plantar fascitis). I cut it out for 3 weeks and the pain went from a 7/10 to a 3/10 ( when first walking around when out of bed) and from a 5/10 to a 1/10 ( the rest if the day walking around) so from yesterday I can eat wheat again. So with my little experiment of 1 I'll let you know how it goes.
Xxx Julianna.

I, along with a lot of others on here, have cut back on the amount of carbs I eat but I still eat them just in vastly reduced quantities but nothing is forbidden, I enjoy eating and living far too much to deny foods that I love. The thing is that when I now eat them I really do savour them more than I ever did before so the frequency and quantity has dropped dramatically but the pleasure gained has increased beyond measure.

Ballerina x

For me,the penny has just dropped that i can give up rice,pasta and cereals without a thought.i really don't miss them. I can ditch the cake and biscuits and potatoes with a struggle,except for special treats. So i am gonna allow myself a slice or two of bread on my four or five non fasting days a week,perhaps not low carb enough but thats the plan for now anyways.
@julianna ive just bought some gel insoles to help my Plantar F.
Theyre called Scholl Orthaheel heel pain relievers..mine cost £22 but there's a 30 day money back guarantee on them if you're not 100% satisfied ...
have since seen them on special offer.. half price online.
They do give some relief tho havent cured it after a week of wearing them.
Been doing some simple exercises i found online.
People say this condition goes as suddenly as it arrived! Hope we get rid of it soon,it's the last thing we need! X