This is a question that I hope someone can answer. I have been on a low cal, low fat diet for a couple of weeks. It has been going okay and I lost 3 pounds, but it just isn't producing the effects I was getting on the Atkins diet (lost 21 pounds in 2 months) I got to the point that I was getting bored with Atkins so I switched to the low fat, low cal. My question is, if I would try limiting my carbs to approx 50 grams per day, but not limiting calories and fat, could I lose weight? I know that limiting carbs to 20 per day worked wonderfully, but I can't get the motivation to go back down that far. Would 50 grams maximum per day do anything for me? Please anyone, advice please!!!!!
Losing 3 lb in a couple of weeks is a healthy weight loss, in terms of losing fat weight. The low carb diets cause you to lose weight faster because you lose lots of water in addition to fat loss.
If you reduce your carb intake to 50 grams (200 calories) but maintain your calories and your fat intake, the only way you can accomplish this is by increasing protein intake in order to replace the lost carb calories. This is extreme.
To lose fat weight, your total expenditure must be greater than your total calorie intake, whether a low carb and/or low fat diet helps you do this. A low fat diet may provide you a greater variety of choices compared to the low carb diets and therefore, may be easier to stick with.
One more thing, if you are exercising to any regular extent, 50 g of carbs may negatively affect your ability to perform exercise at the level you desire. And if you think you were bored on Atkins, 50 g of carbs in a diet may be worse.
Originally posted by Connie: The low carb diets cause you to lose weight faster because you lose lots of water in addition to fat loss.
The average size human will lose at most 5-6 pounds of water weight on a low carb diet (that is about 1 gallon or 128 ounces). So initially yes, you will likely lose faster on a low carb diet due to the water loss. But after the initial water loss, the loss in weight is either fat or muscle. If you are eating adequate protein, then studies have clearly shown that a low carb diet will result in faster fat loss and less muscle loss than a low-fat low-calorie diet.
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If you reduce your carb intake to 50 grams (200 calories) but maintain your calories and your fat intake, the only way you can accomplish this is by increasing protein intake in order to replace the lost carb calories. This is extreme.
If you cut back on the carbs to this level, then you need to increase both fat and protein intake. Don't try to do low fat and low carb at the same time because that ain't healthy. Fat is necessary for proper digestion of protein and should be relied on as your primary energy source, not protein. On a 50 gram per day low carb diet (which many people are successful with if they are not too insulin resistant) and taking in about 1600 calories per day, this equates to 13% of energy intake from carbs. The rest of your intake should be about 35% protein and 52% fat based on energy levels. Since fat has over twice as much energy per gram as protein (9 calories per gram vs. 4), what you would end up with is about 2/3 protein and 1/3 fat by weight to get that ratio. Eating only 6-7 ounces of protein from animal sources (meat, eggs, cheese) per meal with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables and/or low sugar fruit with a snack of high fat nuts or avacado or cheese would get you the above carb/protein/fat ratio. This is only extreme by today's food pyramid standard which recommends an unhealthy 60% of calories from carbohydrates. There is no scientific basis to support this high of a carbohydrate intake. Note that in the example above at 1600 calories per day, this results in about a 500 calorie per day deficit (depends on activity levels and current lean body mass) which would result in approximately 1 pound per week of fat loss. Quite reasonable.
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And if you think you were bored on Atkins, 50 g of carbs in a diet may be worse.
How so? Atkins recommends <20 grams of carbs per day during the 2 week induction period and then allows you to increase carbs to 30, 40, 50, or so grams per day as long as you are able to maintain your weight loss. Granted, Dr. Atkins stresses those carbs should mainly come from boring low starch green leafy type vegetables and low sugar fruit instead of simple sugars and high starch grains, potatoes, legumes, etc. While low carb diets may not be exciting, they do make sense from a biochemistry standpoint and just plain old common sense.
Alan
[This message has been edited by arkie6 (edited 07-31-2001).]
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The tragedy of science is the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. T H Huxley
Arkie says: The average size human will lose at most 5-6 pounds of water weight on a low carb diet (that is about 1 gallon or 128 ounces). So initially yes, you will likely lose faster on a low carb diet due to the water loss. But after the initial water loss, the loss in weight is either fat or muscle. If you are eating adequate protein, then studies have clearly shown that a low carb diet will result in faster fat loss and less muscle loss than a low-fat low-calorie diet.
Where are these studies, can you provide references to back up your claims?
I decided to not wait and did a little investigating myself. I truly am interested in this topic and do not wish to judge your passion and knowledge for the "low carb diet". So if you have some references that are missing from my list below, I would appreciate it if you gave me the information, so I too can make an informed opinion of this topic.
From my MEDLINE search using “low carbohydrate diet” and “weight loss” as key words. I found only two (out of seven studies found (through 1995-2001) that reported a significantly greater body weight loss. The first, (Baba et al, Internatl J Obesity, 23:1202, 1999) gave participants a caloric intake equivalent to 80% of resting metabolic rate. Groups were given either a 45/25/30 PCF or 12/58/30 PCF diet. Those on the high protein diet decreased body weight significantly more than the high carb diet (8.3 vs 6.0 kg), BUT there was no difference in body fat loss. Resting metabolic rate however was decreased more on the high carb diet, suggesting that the high protein diet may help in longer term weight loss (this was only 4 weeks).
The second study showing a greater weight loss with a high protein-low carb diet (Skov et al, IJO 23:528, 1999) using a diet of 30% ad libitum fat, and either a 12%/58% PC or 25%/45% PC combination diet. Those on the high protein diet lost more body weight (8.9 vs 5.1 kg) and more body fat (7.6 vs 4.3 kg) over a 6 month period. BUT, from the abstract, I could not determine if the diets were isocaloric or not, this would make a difference in the interpretation of the results.
The other studies I found did not find a significant difference in body weight loss between diets. And in fact, one study (Golay et al, IJO, 20:1067, 1996) found a greater loss of lean body mass on the high pro/low carb diet. The diets were 1200 kcal/d, either 25% carb or 45% carb. Protein intake was the same for both at 1.4 g/kg ideal body weight. The low carb group lost 2.2 kg lean body mass vs 1.4 kg in the other group. This is over a 12-week period.
The other studies not finding significant differences in body weight are summarized here:
Golay etal, IJO 24:492, 2000. 25/47/25 PCF vs 25/42/31 PCF, 1100 kcal/d (I wouldn’t expect changes from this since the diets are very similar.)
Lean et al, European J Clinical Nutrition, 51:243, 1997. 58% vs 35% CHO
Golay et al IJO 63:174, 1996. 32/15/53 PCF vs 29/45/26, 1000 kcal/d, no difference in body fat as well.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63:254, 1996 (I forgot the author’s name). Compared a fiber-rich, high carb low fat diet with a modified fat (high MUFA).
Given all this, I found no study that clearly showed what you indicate, and I quote: “…studies have clearly shown that a low carb diet will result in faster fat loss and less muscle loss than a low-fat low-calorie diet.” I found no study that measured muscle (indirectly or directly by creatinine excretion or MRI, respectively). I found only one study that showed a faster loss of fat, but I am not sure of the caloric intakes for that study.
Having said all that, the low carb diets vs the high carb diets lower insulin moreso in diabetics and obese, which is a very good thing. However there was no real indication that lipoproteins were improved more on the low carb diet than the high carb diet, and in fact, the high carb diet seemed to show more overall improvements (in TC and lipoproteins).
50 grams of carbs??? 
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