Low/No Carb Diet

I will soon be starting a no carb diet for the sole purpose of getting lean for a few events which are a few weeks away. I am aware of the benefits of this diet however the disadvantages, not so much. Are there any significant disadvantages that I should know of?

Just to add, I'll only be following this diet for just over 2 weeks - this isn't a long term thing but I've been told this is enough time to see the effect of this diet. Feel free to comment on this too

Also, I will have been in a deficit for 4 weeks before I start this diet.

Update of how it went is on page 2. Read it before posting please. No more suggestion is needed.

(edited 6 years ago)

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Reply 1

Oxcy

listen, the description of a low carb diet and the science sounds great and all 'ketosis' etc etc but, ive done it so please take my advice
I did a low carb diet and i reached 'ketosis' on 10g carbs a day (i had ketostix to text my urine ketone levels) so i was in ketosis
but it really doesnt make a difference, i mean it- it REALLY doesnt

one does not lose weight quicker low carb + calorie deficit than moderate carb + calorie deficit

in fact, after i did ketosis, i started reverse dieting and upped my carbs and calories back to normal again - i lost more weight adding carbs than cutting

so my proposition in this - you'll lose weight doing low carb if you're in sufficient calorie deficit NO DOUBT
but why would you want to when you can get the same result whilst enjoying sources of complex carbohydrates?

the most important macro is protein - make sure you get 1g per lean pound of body mass - i do 1g per pound of body mass i have because 1) im light and 2) i love protein so who cares.

after you have adequate protein, if you want to use your macros for fat or carbs - you do so (just get the min amount of fats required for a healthy diet)

you wont see any results in 2 weeks. ANY diet takes min. 3 weeks to see minimal change

Reply 2

Tracking

Bump.

Any negatives? If there are none, I see no harm in giving it a try.

If anything it'll be a learning experience through trial

Original post by Oxcy

Thanks for your input

Reply 3

It's****ingWOODY

The one huge disadvantage is you'll feel like crap, and feel hungry and crave carbs constantly. Don't see why it's worth it just for some marginally better results, just run a standard caloric deficit with a good balance of macros and be flexible with what you allow yourself to eat as long as it fits within your caloric budget. Don't just make your diet up with crap of course because stuff like sugar isn't satiating and also eating a lot of crap isn't healthy, but if you want a little bit of whatever then have it if it fits into your caloric budget.

Reply 4

Tracking

Original post by WoodyMKC

Thanks for the input.

So other than those disadvantages, it isn't harmful for the body? It must be for prolong periods but I'm only planning on doing it very short term.

Also if anyone can confirm or add to this: I read somewhere that this diet reduces water retention - so this is good for aesthetic reasons

Reply 5

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by Tracking

Just low carb isn't unhealthy long term, so long as you're getting enough micronutrients.

Not necessarily. It might have a minor effect, but water retention in healthy individuals is mostly governed by sodium/salt levels. What you will get with while on low carbs is glycogen depletion, which will make your muscles look flat AF which obviously isn't aesthetically pleasing at all :lol:

Reply 6

3121

When I diet I follow a high protein, medium carbs, low fat diet. The fat in diets is mostly from unhealthy and you want to minimise it ofc you can’t have no fat but keep it as low as possible. You need carbs for day to day energy so don’t cut them out, just balance. I usually go for 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat, follow a macro like this forces you to follow healthy eat, you could only reach such targets by having vegetables, lean meat, fruits, whole grain alternatives, no junk, etc.

Reply 7

uw0tm9

I'm not advertising lol but if you're doing Keto which is low carb, high fat then download the app called Total Keto Diet. I've been using it even though I'm not on Keto and it's pretty useful. Mostly because I don't know **** about cooking and have no idea what to cook so the recipes are useful for me.

Reply 8

Tracking

Original post by WoodyMKC

Ah yeah, I read that part too (about glycogen) but completely forgot/ignored it lol. Doesn't sound dangerous so I think I'll give it a try. Thanks for the help!

Reply 9

trapking

Original post by WoodyMKC

Exactly this I did low carb diet for a while and only took carbs post workout only. On my rest days I just ate protein and vegetables and lots of fats like almonds etc. I would then have 1 cheat day in the week where I would eat whatever I crave.

I adapted to it but my god did I feel miserable despite having 1 cheat day where I could eat what I wanted. In fact on the cheat days I ended up binging so much. The diet worked though I got lean af real quick but wow it's not worth living life like that. Now I just eat healthy good foods, if I want to gain mass I eat more good food and spoil myself occasionally with treats. If I want to cut I just decrease portion sizes and eat slightly less and do it over a longer period of time, it's a lot slower but it keeps my sanity and I don't track either I just go by how I look in the mirror

Reply 10

Oxcy

Original post by Tracking

in my opinion, it is also harmful to the body. During a low carb diet, body lacks electrolytes. I bought some electrolyte tablets from online fitness website but i still had 'low carb flu' which was so bad for me because it negatively effects your workouts and i almost fainted on many occasions - particularly when going up stairs. It also effected my mental state - i genuinely cannot remember the period of about 2 months where i was low carb dieting - i was so out of it that that period of my life is not present in my memory. Quite scary really
finally, low carb dieting was the main trigger of disordered eating for me. You need to weight/measure everything to make sure your macros are in check. It became obsessive for me which lead to disordered eating - im no longer even dieting but i still have to weigh all my food, eat a specific number of calories and i track macros even though i dont need to but low carb dieting got me to start observing my macros and now i cant stop. im not anorexic because im not afraid to eat, but my methods of eating are now very disordered because of keto

im not saying you're as suggestive as me - it may not lead to disorder in you but as you can see, low carb dieting had many negative effects for me. In my opinion, its made the last 6 months very bad for me since it triggered disordered eating in me

You can really be very healthy on a diet that doesn't obsess over macros and it will be way more worth it - you wont resent dieting you may even learn to enjoy clean eating. please consider. I really think its not worth it

Reply 11

username1842595

You'll feel hungry, constipated, moody and like ****. Low carb diet is the worst thing you can do to yourself. You should only be eating low carbs on rest days other than that carbs are extremelg beneficial and you can lose weight while eating carbs.

Reply 12

butfirst_coffee

those who claim to feel 'energetic' on low carb diets are lying to themselves lmao.

Reply 13

FlyingRabbit

Original post by butfirst_coffee

those who claim to feel 'energetic' on low carb diets are lying to themselves lmao.

No, they're not.

First of all, it takes months to fully adapt to a low carb diet. Your body's cells have to change to build more fat burning units.

Secondly, if you do it wrong and don't eat the right fats you'll screw up your hormones which makes you feel like ****.

Finally, lots of people who do extreme diets are also on anabolic steroids and fairly strong stimulants so that changes the game entirely.

Reply 14

FlyingRabbit

I don't know why you guys complain so much. Low carb is the most efficient, and easiest way to lose fat. Sure, you can do it without going low carb but if you're trying to lose fat, why give your body the most readily available fuel source, carbs?

Easiest way to lose fat is to go on this diet : Eat 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter a day, 5 grams of fish oil, as much salad/vegetables as you want, and as much lean meat as you want. You'll lose 2-4 lbs a week.

Reply 15

Tracking

Thanks everyone, will take it on board

Original post by trapking

How early did you start seeing results? Even if they were very minimal

Reply 16

trapking

Original post by Tracking

Thanks everyone, will take it on board

How early did you start seeing results? Even if they were very minimal

The results weren't minimal at all. I got stupidly lean quite quickly but it was not easy took a lot of willpower and discipline to stick to it. I did it for about 5-8weeks.

Reply 17

mashbbk

Original post by FlyingRabbit

I wouldn't say its easier to lose fat, maybe weight (as a low carb diet usually means you retain a lot less water).

It all comes down to CICO at the end of the day. Everyone is different, I didn't find low carb curbed hunger any more or less than high carb. I also found having a diet of high carb/protein as opposed to high fat/protein, kept me more alert/awake and have more productive work outs. I know people say you eventually get used to the low carb thing, but for some, you just eventually get sick of it.

Everyone needs to find what works best for them for the end game of achieving their CICO and work-out goals.