It is the Atkins diet IMO.. Vegetables have carbs and sugars too. Some have lower sugar content than others. Good for your friend, I tried it and yes it does work.
I just can't do without bread for any length of time.

I know someone who lost a lot of weight the same way. She said she just didn't eat anything white. I try to eat carbs just once a day instead of at every meal. If I'm consistent with that, it helps.

I did the Atkins some years back and lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time... but it lead to other health issues and eventually after I added carbs back in to my eating plan the weight came back on...

The last and most successful eating plan I was on was like a modified WW plan. I eat anything I want, but just watch my portions and no sodas or empty calories... and most important.. I must keep moving... so I walk a minimum of a mile and a half every day.. unless it's really hot or thundering.. I dropped a lot lot lot of weight and then went off plan during this past summer and packed on about 30 pounds of unwanted weight.. so now I am back on track after being rich fooded to death over the holidays, and on a quest to lose about 40 pounds and get back into my size 8 / 10 jeans.. For me it is a matter of lifetime discipline and not eating too much food. I can be such a little piggie at times.. lol

Carolyn

That is nice, I guess, but unless she eats that way for the rest of her life, the minute she goes back to *normal* eating, the weight will come back. This is from one who has tried just about every diet out there, lost and found many pounds. The only diet I found that worked for me was WW, but they are just too expensive for me. I still have all of my literature from when I joined, about 7 yrs ago. I'm going to try to do it by following that, but I know myself and I seem to need structure, but, alas, I'll try again.

I wonder what her muscle tone is like then. Your muscles need carbs. Instead of cutting out things like, she should have traded off for other foods. Instead of white bread, eat whole grain bread. Not whole wheat. Whole grain. Instead of white rice, eat brown rice. Fruits are good for you. It's 'good' sugar. Not refined sugar. Why would anyone cut natural wholesome sugar out of their diet?????

I'm a Weight Watchers believer. Although I strayed from the good eating habits they teach, I firmly believe in eating anything you like, but in moderation. What I liked about WW's is, I could still eat chocolate. I could have my ice cream. When people said, "Debby, I thought you were on a diet! You can't have that!!!" I would tell them I wasn't on a diet. I was on a life style change and I can eat what I want and still be healthy. I lost 30 pounds eating that way. Unfortunantly, I got injurred at work, then laid off so I was home with the kitchen........... long story short, I'm putting myself back on a strict healthy eating life style again. LOL sigh........

Oh, and by the way: your heart is a muscle. Remove carbs from your diet and you can do some damage to it. Eat complex carbs!!!! They fill you up faster. They reduce your cravings for sweets. And they're good for you.

You would be surprised just how few carbs a person needs to be healthy, there are a lot of us that have to control them to be healthy. In a lot of cases it isn't vanity nor weight control, it is a way of life. I'm diabetic, this permits me to control my glucose levels without insulin and limits the medications I need to take.

On a normal day I limit my carb intake to 6 carbs for breakfast, 12 for lunch and 12 for supper. From time to time I 'cheat' with a treat, but basically I eat no potatoes, no rice or wheat products. There is a lot more to it, there are carbs hidden in many foods, especially packaged foods.

She is probably on the 'Fat to Skinny, Fast and Easy' plan.. which is also what I am trying to follow. I do miss my breads and potatoes.. but like Alisande said I have NO cravings at all now. When I do want bread (or cake if I tweak the recipe) I make a microwaved Flaxmeal version.. almost no carbs and it tastes really good!

The video in the link below shows some of the sugar you are getting in regular foods and how some simple changes can cut that sugar drastically.

Here is a link that might be useful: A good video from the Fat to Skinny website

I googled "does a body need carbs to be healthy" and got quite the list of reasons why you should eat them. Not refined carbs, but healthy complex carbs. Not a loaf of whole grain bread, but a few slices. This article explains why your body needs them the best:

Here is a link that might be useful: Low-Carb Diet Facts

I'm sorry to have to say this, but your friend is doing her body a serious disservice. We NEED carbs--they're the fuel that we need for energy. If we eliminate them completely from our diets, our body starts destroying muscle mass in order to provide fuel to keep us moving. It's EXTREMELY dangerous healthwise to eliminate ALL carbs. Granted, most of us eat more than we need, but we do need a certain amount each day to continue to maintain good health.

I do wish your friend would speak to a qualified nutritionist (not a sales person for a weightloss plan, who's getting paid on commission, of course).

This is a great topic. I'm trying to cut way back on the carbs too. But if you cut back completely, that would be an extremely restricted diet, because I think even milk has carbs, right? I think the best diet is a balanced one with small portions of all the food groups.

A recent LA Times article said that people consume an average of 250-300 g of carbs per day, but the recommendation now is that we consume half that or less. It also discusses subtracting fiber from carbs to get net carbs.

Lynn, how do you eat 6 carbs? That would be "grams," right? 1/4 piece of toast?

I rarely see triglycerides mentioned in connection with carbs. Yet a high triglyceride level is a serious heart risk, especially for women. My theory--which I can never prove--is that my maternal grandmother's death from a heart attack in her mid-40s was caused by high triglycerides. She died before I was born, but I figure I inherited my predisposition for high triglycerides from somebody, and it might have been her.

When I was 50, my triglycerides were 547. Very bad. My doctor at the time told me I had to cut my carb consumption drastically. My husband had a tofu business, and we belonged to a food co-op. Our family ate a diet of natural foods. Our baked goods were mostly homemade and made of whole grains, sweetened lightly with honey. It wasn't as though I was into Twinkies and cream puffs. The rest of my family did great on our diet, but I did not.

My doctor was right: Giving up the carbs got my triglycerides down where they're supposed to be. In the past few years I've been less strict about my diet, and it shows in my blood work. A week before Christmas this year, I went back to my more limited diet, but kept a couple of fruits. We'll see how this works out.

Hi Socks, yes, 6 grams. I have a bran type cracker that I eat with smoked salmon and cream cheese that is 6 grams of carbs, or a half an avocado, or something similar. Yes, milk has lactose so I use cream which is lower. I have lived a low carb lifestyle for 20 years, the big thing to note is that it is a lifestyle not a diet. I fell off the wagon a year or so ago when my mom died, but am back in control now. I've just recently added coconut oil to my regimen, it replaces other fats and it is making a world of difference!

I consume very few carbs (just the good carbs) because I'm a diet-controlled diabetic. My A1c is very good this way at 5.5.

I get plenty of protein and vitamins in my diet. It is "normal" eating for many people, including me. It isn't a temporary diet; it's a lifestyle.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes I was not overweight, I weighed 124 pounds, and with my diabetic low-carb diet, I now weigh 114, feel very good with it.

Lynn, I was taking coconut oil too but stopped the last 2 weeks. All the Holiday crap got in the way. Just wondering how its going for you and what differences do you notice?

There are carbs in vegetables and fruits. What our bodies don't need is all the sugars(carbs) that come from breads, potatoes, rice, etc. Starchy vegis turn to sugar. We also don't need the extra sugars in some fruits, pineapple for example. Sugar is sugar and we simply don't need it in any form.

A low carb lifestyle is healthy and nutritious. Fat is not the enemy for most, it is sugar.

Hey Magic! Happy New Year! It is helping me get my blood glucose back into control, especially my overnight fasting. I have always had trouble with my numbers in the morning, now a spoonful at night and my numbers are 15 points lower than I was seeing before. Or if I want a treat I make it with CO. (fudge, chocolate covered almonds, etc) I've lost at least 2 inches around my waist in the past 2 months! And my hair and nails are different, not sure if it is all due to the CO or not but I think that it is a big part of it.

Interesting subject. I and my children have spent our lives fighting this weight business. In the last year or so, some of them have gone on a "wheat free" diet (avoiding wheat in any form) and it has been an amazing transformation. I am diabetic, on meds and successfully control my numbers....but the weight stays the same, almost. Health issues have compromised my ability to walk and exercise as I should (exercycle being delivered this week) and it would not be difficult to avoid wheat as it has always been an "allergen" for grandson with autism (but he is a sugar-holic and I worry about that for the future). Anyway, sans-wheat for the New Year for me and I will see how it goes. I guess the other important thing to note, is to increase vegies, but being semi-vegetarian(my preferance is to be a vegetarian), one does need to increase green non-root veggies. Nanny

Lynn, what is that "bran type" cracker? Is that your breakfast, the salmon and cr. cheese? I ask because I have problems with breakfast foods, most of which do not appeal to me, including eggs, pancakes, etc. I can eat granola cereals, but they are pretty sugar-y. This morning I had a WW English muffin with peanut butter and the tiniest amount of jam I could use and still taste it.

They are GG Scandinavian Crispbread. I order them from Netrition but there are other places to get them. If you wish they can be soaked in warm water and used as cereal, or ground and made into a breading or for pancakes. I simply use them as toast but they are very dry and it took me time to get used to them.
Yes, that is my breakfast, or I sometimes eat it for lunch with a salad and sugarfree jello. (the premade not the one you make at home)

Here is a link that might be useful: Crisp Bread

I bake all the bread, rolls, etc that we consume in our home and that way I can better regulate what goes into them. I do eat some bread, but if I wish to drop the excess weight, then I have to be careful. Home baked bread is sooooo tempting, especially hot from the oven and with butter on the counter.. LOL I eat oatmeal with blueberries nearly every day. And I eat fish at least 2-3 times a week. I love sardines, so that can be a meal for me while hubster eats a burger with all the trimmings,french fries and washes it down with a huge glass of milk... then a generous serving of ice cream just before bed... and he is soooooooooooo painfully thin... Gahhhh.. but he is pretty healthy for 82 and that is a blessing..

I think incorporating walking is a huge differnce in how I lose the weight and tone my body.. and I am so completely addicted to walking especially here in these beautiful woods and country roads.. it is to me like paradise.. Trouble with me is that I will set out with the dogs and we will walk 3 or 4 miles out and I sort of tend to forget we gotta walk back that same amount.. More than once hubster has had to come and get me because it got dark out and I still wasn't back.. he worries because of my heart condition.. but I don't.. cuz I know he will come and get me..

Carolyn

I LOVE carbs! Eat a lot of them. I don't think it matters to cut out carbs, it matters to moderate! and work some of the food back off.

Diets are temporary. Life style changes matter, specially in the food and exercise area.

Moni

I echo what Moni said. Just portion control and exercise. As if that is what I do. But, I know that is right thinking. No dieting here.

I eat pretty strictly compared to most people. No animal products of any kind, no refined sugars, no simple carbs, no GMO's.

I eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want. I believe that our ideal diets are foods that we can utilize straight from nature without having to cook, process or otherwise modify, like meat or flour. Granted, I love my whole grains and I do freely indulge but I still believe the absolute healthiest is straight from nature, like every other species. And yes, you can get all the protein you need from greens. ;)

I also don't restrict fats. Since mine are all plant-derived, there's no cholesterol to worry about. Fat is essential for the body and I find it very satisfying. Avocados, olive oil, coconut...

Coconut oil is great. It boosts the metabolism and, unlike other fats, it's burned as instant energy so it won't be stored in the body. It also can help steady blood sugar levels through its digestive effects. And it tastes nice. I like it in smoothies especially. I also like it as a skin moisturizer.

Don't take away my carbs. I have a panini every day, and I make it with two slices of a very heavily grained bread. I eat at least five or six different fruits for lunch along with the panini stuffed with egg salad. I don't use mayonnaise but avocado and add chicken livers to it. At night I have chicken or fish, mostly salmon , sweet potato, and asparagus or broccoli or green beans. Never any soda or baked goods except a few Xmas cookies I made. I do have a small dish of icecream at night, but that's the only dessert I ever eat. I walk two miles a day with the dogs and two miles on the treadmill at the gym..

I sold my treadmill.... I used it regularly when weather was bad, but my problem was when I got off of it, I got light headed and woozy.... and my feet would feel so strange...Do any of you treadmillers have any sort of issue like that??