Want to know why CARBS are the DEVIL!!?

Question

I am 25 y/o, 5'4 and weigh 173lbs.!!!! I have started my own variation of the Atkins diet (bcuz I don't have the book) I only eat lean meats, low-carb veggies/snacks as well as cheese and sugar free drinks/jellos. I've only been doing this for about 2 weeks, with a few slip ups here and there. My question is---I have read atleast 50 different resolved questions on here about how bad low-carb is, and how you need them to be healthy---yet the REASON I have been overweight ALL my life is because of my unhealthy addiction to pies, cakes, breads, pizza, fried chicken, loaded potatoes, french fries, rice, pasta galore, cupcakes, and every other BAD processed---white carb out there. And I HATE HATE HATE---when people say eat wheat bread, or brown rice---bcuz when you have an addiction to these bad carbs---ANY type of similar carb (disguised in color) still can TRIGGER you to eat bad carbs. So my question is---with my new diet (lifestyle change) I am following am I going to lose weight??!!

Answer 1

Bleached or enriched flour is always going to be bad for you. If you try whole grains or whole wheat bread, they are better for you. Best to stay away from rice altogether unless you plan on exercising it off. Sugar free drinks are actually worse for you because your body thinks that if it's sugar free you can make up for that lost sugar later. Cheese is high in fat, so that's never a good option. Fish and chicken with fresh veggies and a low fat dip are your best options as well as beefy jerky and pork rinds. Switch to water and green tea. It boosts your metabolism and is an appetite suppresant, so you will eat less.

Also, just eating differently won't help you. Those fats will still stay in your body. Some exercise is better than none. A 30 minute walk a day can make all the difference.

Answer 2

Those foods you just listed (pies, pizza, fried chicken, french fries, cupcakes) all contain fat as well as carbs. Fat is the highest source of energy.

You may find this as a suprise but carbs are not the devil, neither are fat nor protein. To lose weight or maintain weight you need to balance your intake with your output.

In order to lose weight you need to take in less energy (as food - protein, carbs, fat whatever) than you are expending (i.e. exercising). Maybe staying away from all carbs is a way for you to also stay away from those fatty/ bad carb foods (i.e. french fries) - and if that is the case then go for it.

People say to eat brown rice, wholegrains etc as these are more filling so you feel like eating less over the day, they are a better source of nutrition than the lighter options (e.g. more nutrients/ vitamins) and have better long term healthy benefits (e.g. increased fibre for bowel health).

Really there is no magic tricks to weight loss. You don't have to cut out all carbs, eat nuts once a day at two, do one twenty sit ups at dawn and all the otehr c**p people try to sell. Energy in needs to be less than energy out. So eat less energy and exercise more.

Hopefully that helps. Don't beat yourself up if you have a few slips - just brush it off and keep going!

Answer 3

Yeah!!! you should with the proper amount of exercise along with it.

I know exactly how you feel about any of the starchy foods. But for me even the ww toast causes an enormous spike in the glucose numbers. I am not nor have I been too much overweight. Like about 15 to 20 pounds at most.

All Carbs turn into sugars in the digestive system. Excess carbos turn into FAT for storage in the blood and on your bod.

I do not exactly follow either South Beach Living or Atkins food plans either. But most of my choices have to do with what the "allowed" carbs do to my glucose.

And yes, the initiation stage of Atkins severely restricts carbs down to the bone. The reason is to get rid of the addiction to carbs!!!

Now, I do plan in a "cheat treat" every week!! Reason for this is so I can not have the guilty feelings for messin up my food plan, and also because the Endo said to NEVER crave any food. Have a very small serving of the "bad carbs" occasionally.

Most people "DIET" and go off their diet because they think they have messed it up big time. They haven't, but it is all in their minds. So do cheat once in a while for sanity.

Much good luck loosing your weight!! I'm glad you see it as a lifestyle change!! That works best.

You get enough fiber eating the cruciferous and dark green leafy veggies!!! Cruciferous are broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage type stuff.

Answer 4

They aren't the devil.  The body needs carbs and it's your choice  to eat bad ones or good ones.  If you have trigger issues, then get a professional involved.

Answer 5

OK. They just had on the news &  internet where they did a study between a few different diets..it was two other diets and Atkins. The Atkins won the study for being healthy. There are alot of rumors about it that are not true.  Some diets work different for other people. I am currently on Atkins myself and love the diet. I do eat 35grams of carbs a day (the good ones) but I eat them in the morning for breakfast. Then after that it is all meat, and different kinds of carb free salads. And I do not eat within 4 hours of my bed time. I did Atkins back in 2005 and lost 40lbs in 3 months. With no exercise. I recently stopped smoking cigarettes and gained 20lbs. SOOOO, I am back on the diet hard core and want to lose the 20 lbs I gained from stopping smoking. My trick is that I do the diet strictly through the weekdays and then I eat within reason what I want on Saturday and Sunday. That keeps me from cheating on the weekdays. I have been back on for the last 10 days and have already lost 4 lbs. I AM EXERCISING THIS TIME - to replace the smoking I exercise now. You don't have to have carbs to be healthy. ALL PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT.

Answer 6

Right On Girl!! I am 23 and started my variation of Atkins 6 days ago, i have not had carbs for 6 days and feel GREAT!! I am 5'10 and 220 lbs. I know my problem is CARBS, addicted to bread and pasta. I have lost 6 lbs so far in 6 days, a start to a new way of life!! Good luck to you.

PS - i got great info from Atkins.com, the acceptable food list for each phase is listed. You don't need the books

Answer 7

Carbs, like alcohol, are not bad, per se.  It's the individual's use, or excess use of them that is bad.  People can say they are "addicted" to carbs just like some people are addicted to alcohol (alcoholics), and then carbs or alcohol or anything they are addicted to is bad FOR THEM, but, it's not the object that is bad.  It's the  combination of that substance and the individual that is bad.  Still, carbs are a necessary part of one's diet.  Alcohol is not.  So you can reduce your carbs but you'd need to cease alcohol intake if you were addicted to it.  Also, exercise, and I mean serious exercise, can undo the negative effects of carbs.  I know since I used to be an avid bicycle rider / racer, and my diet was high in carbs, but now that I'm not the avid bicyclist anymore, and do much less exercise, I MUST reduce my carbs.  It's real simple.  The more carbs you take in, the more exercise you MUST do.  God Bless you.

Answer 8

I think everyone is different and what might work for some people doesn't necessarily work for another. I am 5'8" and weigh 140, although people guess me to be thinner. When my weight was high, around 180, I tried a very low-carb diet and only managed to lose 4 lbs. after a few weeks. You need a healthy diet with carbs most likely. No one can make a life plan after Atkins. Exercise is what really did it for me. After riding a bike for an hour and a half a day I didn't want to eat fattening foods, and I felt rested enough to sleep and not think about food so much.