The FastDay Forum

This is a very good article (not a long read) about the pros and cons of eating low carb. I think we already know many of these points, but I would be most interested to hear your comments and experiences !!!!

https://www.yahoo.com/health/8-things-t ... 85903.html

My carb intake is certainly much much lower than it was but I cannot say it is 'low' carb. If I end the day between 100g to 150g I consider I have done well but VLC is not for me as way of eating long term and it has been the cause of me falling on and off the fasting wagon if I go too low. The same applies if I carb binge. I need to have my veggies and fruit for fibre which can push up the carb intake. I am however careful not to eat refined carbs and avoid sugar wherever I possibly can. I have switched to ezekiel and manna bread from sourdough and have a slice maybe a couple of times a week which seems to satisfy any carb cravings.

As the old saying goes - moderation is the key for me.

All the wisdom is in the comments. The article is dreadful.

It's certainly carb-biased, "eat less carbs AT YOUR PERIL!!".
Anyhoo, I've found no need for carbs except desire; constipation is sorted with either 3 prunes before bed or milled flaxseed in natural yogurt, or a good curry.
I keep my carbs to rice cakes, fruit and veg, occasional gluten free bread or oat cakes (birthday cake notwithstanding).

Wellll....for anyone who chooses to go low carb or who can tolerate that long-term, more power to you! And I don't argue that I wouldn't lose more going low carb. However, I have done low carb several times over the years...and while I do lose weight on it, I just can't do it long term, leads me to going back to my bad old ways. For me, the beauty of 5:2 is that I can eat "what I want" on normal days; this means I can honestly tell myself on light days, You can have it tomorrow! (don't think I'd fall for it very long if it wasn't true!) And, like many of you, I often find that the next day, I don't want it. If that's the case, I don't have it. But I really need that freedom to have it if I want. Sure, I've found that when I indulge in something really "naughty" (think homemade rice krispie treats, oh my!), I do get hungrier the next day (though I only notice if the next day is a light one); don't notice if it's for carbs or just anything. Ironically, I naturally gravitate toward pretty low carb on light days; really the only carbs I eat those days are fruits and veggies; usually the very low cal ones are also low carb.

[carieoates]

I can't do it long term either, and the dog breath is always a turn off. So carbs from veggies, and nice fresh brad at the weekends is what I'm used to now. But if someone offers me a nice biscuit, cake or glass of wine, I may say yes.

I do believe that eating a wide range of whole foods, and eating according to hunger and what the body is telling us, is optimal for good health. In terms of the science, however, it is very difficult working out what to believe! This article and others it references talks about carbs being the best source of energy for exercise, but this forum has provided links to articles which maintain that fat is (once the body learns to access it effectively?). I think this is the newer science??

Whatever, and as we know - and I think there is agreement from both camps - is that processed foods and added sugar (including artificial sweeteners) are the foods to avoid!

For me we talk about good food, appropriate exercise and our wellbeing - a balance for us, our families and lives.
Through fast day I have cut the carbs I do not need, reduced portion size... For me everything above I take in moderation, slow and steady...... x

I'm naturally a lowish carber. I don't love bread, pasta, rice etc. My biggest problem is sugar - I do love sweets occasionally, or sometimes more than occasionally! I refuse to believe that eating vegetables and whole grains is bad for you, in general. I did lose a lot of weight on a very low carb diet once, and found it completely unsustainable. This sort of surprised me since I'm not a big carb eater anyway. But too much denial turned out to be a bad thing for me.

@barbarita, I wonder why you think the article is so bad. It seems to focus a lot on the affects of low carb when you first start, without saying that it will get better, but it seemed pretty truthful to me.

edit to add: I liked this comment "1st, "low carb" is not the same as "no carb" - How low a person should go depends a lot on how much insulin resistance he's developed from years of carb over-consumption.
2nd, not all carbs are equal. I heard one doctor propose a "carb pyramid" (similar to the old food pyramid): At the base are fibrous vegetables, which should form the bulk of your carbs; the next level up are whole grains and legumes; above that are fleshy vegetables and fibrous fruits; next are the starchy vegetables, juicy fruits, and refined starches; at the narrow peak are sugars, including cane/beet sugar, corn/agave/maple syrups, honey, and fruit juice. The more insulin resistant a person is, the more he should limit or eliminate foods near the top of the pyramid."

I'm interested to know who fresh Brad is @carieoates

I'm interested to know who fresh Brad is @carieoates

Cute !!!!!!

I'm another one who can't really do low carb in the long run ... and if anybody tells me that I'll have to watch the number of cherries, grapes, carrots, bananas etc. I can eat then I just switch off.
I tried eating really quite low carb for a while, lost weight, actually felt reasonably good on it ... except for every time I jumped on my moutain bike and it got really steep - suddenly there would be nothing left ... any sudden big effort would cause that empty tank feeling ... no, can't live with that... of course there are people out there who would say I just needed to persevere ... but what for? My natural masochism levels aren't all THAT high
So, if it works for you - great! If it doesn't try something else...

What an interesting topic again!!! I did find the article rather biased toward eating carbs. Didn't read the comments.
My comments are.
1) low-carbing really helped me to lose weight, but it became less effective as time went by.
5:2 is very effective every time. It is amazing!
2) As I started with 5:2 I began to eat more carbs. berries, Granny Smith apple and sugar free Muesli, with low fat no sugar pro-biotic yogurt. And some Stevia sweetener for breakfasts. On low carb it was eggs, eggs and eggs.
3) I do fasting with some low carb and it works for me really well.
4) Had a son + girlfriend for a visit, they cooked HIGH carb things for us. Could not refuse! My weight shot up. I began to crave sugary carbs. Phew!!! Am fasting now. They left yesterday
5) I think people's bodies react differently to carbs or lack of carbs. Know thyself, is a good motto!
I will be definitely fasting and low carbing some to try and loose these 2-3 extra kilos.

[carorees]

edit to add: I liked this comment "1st, "low carb" is not the same as "no carb" - How low a person should go depends a lot on how much insulin resistance he's developed from years of carb over-consumption.
2nd, not all carbs are equal. I heard one doctor propose a "carb pyramid" (similar to the old food pyramid): At the base are fibrous vegetables, which should form the bulk of your carbs; the next level up are whole grains and legumes; above that are fleshy vegetables and fibrous fruits; next are the starchy vegetables, juicy fruits, and refined starches; at the narrow peak are sugars, including cane/beet sugar, corn/agave/maple syrups, honey, and fruit juice. The more insulin resistant a person is, the more he should limit or eliminate foods near the top of the pyramid."

I think this a key concept. Everyone has to find their carbs 'sweet' spot (pun intended). Unfortunately, some people will need to reduce carbs more than they'd like and will have to choose between health and desire for carbs. Even more unfortunately, it is the insulin resistance which makes our bodies think they are starving and so results in carb cravings. If you really suffer from bad carb cravings it is possible that you are most in need of cutting them out

[Debs]

Interesting article, and for me, like MaryAnne, sugar is my downfall rather than bread etc. i have also increasingly noticed that the more refined carbs I eat,the worse the heartburn I get, so there is a warning.
Unfortunately I can't sustain low carb for too long as I get bad carb flu and crave sugar, so like Rawkaren, some balance is required.
The comments were interesting though!