Can a low-carb diet fail if you take in too many calories?

Yes, all diets will fail if you overeat.

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

Quoted message said:

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but

so

Quoted message said:

far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself)

but

Quoted message said:

have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat

foods. I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that

you

Quoted message said:

won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Yes. You need to eat less.

Mirek

Personally I think that calories do make a difference but there is no
doubt in my mind that I can eat more calories on a LC diet and lose
weight than I could otherwise. Some thoughts.

It is better to spread your carbs out during the day. Consider some
snacks and a smaller dinner.

Watch out for carb creep with condiments (ketchup, mayo, steak sauce
etc., fruit and other garnishes)

Read labels carefully there is so much difference in serving sizes and
carb info.

Try for some variety in the carbs you do eat to see if some foods are
more effective for you than others

Ernie Sty said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three meals
per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods. I
know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

For many, the low carbs and high fat lead to a natural reduction in
appetite. This leads to lower calories and weight loss.

You may consider having tiny meals every 3 hours. The key is to eat to
prevent hunger, rather than waiting until you are really hungry and then
stuffing one's self.

I modify Atkins by counting every calorie in: http://www.FitDay.com Just
knowing how many calories one is eating modifies eating habits without much
effort.

I would not wait two months.

Cubit
311/224/165

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

Ernie Sty wrote:>

Quoted message said:

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much.

As many other people will answer you, you can't loose weight if you eat
more than you burn.
What's most interesting in LC is that you may not have to cut the
calories yourself. They will cut themselves.

I find it very, very hard to put on weight doing low carb.
And after a few days (weeks), you will find that you eat less and less.
The only thing you have to do is listen to your appetite. As your
appetite will decrease each day, you will eat less .

Huey

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

This is an interesting issue. First of all if your fear is eating too much
fat, that's not the problem. You can eat 5000 calories of fat a day, and I
guarantee you it will run right through your body and you'll lose weight.
The problem is if you eat lots of other things with your fat. For me I can
eat a 3 lb fatty steak and still not gain an ounce. Once I add veggies and
about 40-50 carbs a day, then there's a big difference. I never found a
problem though, because doing LC has slowly reduced my desire for the huge
amounts of food I used to eat. When I sit down to eat I don't think of
portion control at all anymore. When you get to the maintenance stage of LC,
you have other sets of issues to deal with, so I wouldn't worry about it
now. 6 years and 50 lbs Atkins guy

--
JK Sinrod- .
Sinrod Stained Glass Studios
www.sinrodstudios.com
Coney Island Memories
www.sinrodstudios.com/coneymemories

jk said:

You can eat 5000 calories of fat a day, and I
guarantee you it will run right through your body and you'll lose weight.

Really? All fats are not metabolized? None of them?

It sounds like you're just kind of improvising your low-carb diet.
With most people it helps if you pick a specific low-carb plan
(Atkins, etc.) and stick to that. Just cutting carbs might not work
unless you have specific guidelines to stick to.

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three meals
per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods. I
know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

Hi Ernie,

Quoted message said:

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.
I know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Yes, that's possible - I am living proof for that. By overeating LC foods
high in fat I managed to gain 8 lbs in 4 months (being in ketosis every
day), while constantly hoping for weight loss in the ignorant belief that
keeping
my cabs below 35g a day would do the trick alone ...

In people who enjoy fat foods the "automatic calorie reduction effect"
of the LC WOE doesn't seem to work.

Fat foods are very calorie dense - where a LF eater would have a huge
bowl of rice (3 oz rice + 6 oz water - this looks like a lot!) equal to 370
kcal -
the same 370 kcal on the plate of a LC eater shrink to a tiny portion of 40g
of fat....

I have also found that LC foods take a couple of minutes longer to
produce a satiated feeling (10 min or so) - try eating a small portion,
wait 10 min and then decide whether you really want more.

Quoted message said:

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

That's what I did - as a result I now weigh as much as mid March 04.
If you don't want to waste that amount of time I would advise that you
restrict your calories (and, ideally, increase your exercise).

Take care,
Hamburger

Male, 48 years, 6'1"
LC since Sept. 1st 2003
320/286/200

Quoted message said:

jk said:

You can eat 5000 calories of fat a day, and I
guarantee you it will run right through your body and you'll lose weight.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Okay, so you've lost "weight". But what is your body made of after this
5000 fat calorie diet? Muscle? A pound of fat and a pound of muscle
weigh the same. Don't forget to decide what you'd like your "weight"
made of before you select this kind of diet.

jk said:

This is an interesting issue. First of all if your fear is eating too much
fat, that's not the problem. You can eat 5000 calories of fat a day, and I
guarantee you it will run right through your body and you'll lose weight.

False. Eat enough dietary fat, and your body doesn't need to burn
any bodyfat, and you fail to lose after the water-weight losses of
going into ketosis. Eat even more fat and you can gain on low-carb.

There is absolutely nothing magical about low-carbing that makes
overeating "run right through your body" just because it's fat.

168/125/125 7+ years: LC since 2/18/97 maintaining since 3/17/99
--
jamie ([email hidden])

"There's a seeker born every minute."

No wonder you're fat.

--
If the price of stupid ever goes up, I claim drilling rights to this guy's
head. -- MFW

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Hamburger said:

Hi Ernie,

Quoted message said:

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.
I know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Yes, that's possible - I am living proof for that. By overeating LC foods
high in fat I managed to gain 8 lbs in 4 months (being in ketosis every
day), while constantly hoping for weight loss in the ignorant belief that
keeping
my cabs below 35g a day would do the trick alone ...

In people who enjoy fat foods the "automatic calorie reduction effect"
of the LC WOE doesn't seem to work.

I still don't get this whole "fat makes you feel full" theory. It sure
doesn't for me. Protein, on the other hand, does make me feel full. I
could eat 1000 calories worth of cheese and butter a whole lot easier than
1000 calories worth of lean chicken. Fat just makes things taste better,
imo, which makes me less likely to want to cheat on the diet than when I
was on low-fat.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

Luna said:

I still don't get this whole "fat makes you feel full" theory. It sure
doesn't for me. Protein, on the other hand, does make me feel full. I
could eat 1000 calories worth of cheese and butter a whole lot easier than
1000 calories worth of lean chicken. Fat just makes things taste better,
imo, which makes me less likely to want to cheat on the diet than when I
was on low-fat.

Fat's not supposed to make you feel full, it's supposed to prolong the
feeling that you had a meal, and don't need to eat again yet.

--
jamie ([email hidden])

"There's a seeker born every minute."

Beggone, foul troll. *plonk*

"JC Der Koenig" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

No wonder you're fat.

--
If the price of stupid ever goes up, I claim drilling rights to this guy's
head. -- MFW

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but

so

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself)

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a

couple

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

Thanks to everyone who responded (except for the troll.) I don't have time
now to respond to everyone, but there was a lot of good info in your
responses.

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three meals
per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods. I
know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

calories in vs calories out. there is no magic. eat less, exercise more.

"jk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.

This is an interesting issue. First of all if your fear is eating too much
fat, that's not the problem. You can eat 5000 calories of fat a day, and I
guarantee you it will run right through your body and you'll lose weight.
The problem is if you eat lots of other things with your fat. For me I can
eat a 3 lb fatty steak and still not gain an ounce. Once I add veggies and
about 40-50 carbs a day, then there's a big difference. I never found a
problem though, because doing LC has slowly reduced my desire for the huge
amounts of food I used to eat. When I sit down to eat I don't think of
portion control at all anymore. When you get to the maintenance stage of LC,
you have other sets of issues to deal with, so I wouldn't worry about it
now. 6 years and 50 lbs Atkins guy

[censored]. if you eat 5000 calories of fat you will get fat.

You are correct and the trolls are wrong.

I found this on cbs news:
"The study, directed by Penelope Greene of the Harvard School of
Public Health and presented at a meeting here this week of the
American Association for the Study of Obesity, found that people
eating an extra 300 calories a day on a very low-carb regimen lost
just as much during a 12-week study as those on a standard lowfat
diet.

Over the course of the study, they consumed an extra 25,000 calories.
That should have added up to about seven pounds. But for some reason,
it did not"

Go figure.

Pj

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 08:59:04 -0500, "Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everyone who responded (except for the troll.) I don't have time
now to respond to everyone, but there was a lot of good info in your
responses.

"Ernie Sty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been doing low-carb for a while, but I haven't been watching my
calories.

I had been on a very low-fat diet, limited to 2000 calories, and I lost a
LOT of weight, but the cravings became too much and I started binging on
lots of junk food and not counting calories.

I've switched to low-carb because LC helps keep away the cravings, but so
far I have only stopped gaining weight (which is a victory in itself) but
have not lost any. I may be eating too much. I try to stick to three

meals

Quoted message said:

per day with no snacks, but I seem to be eating a lot of high-fat foods.

I

Quoted message said:

know fats are necessary, but is it possible to eat so much fat that you
won't lose weight even keeping the carbs under, say, 20 grams per day?

Or maybe I am just not being patient enough. I think I will wait a couple
more months (I am 298 now) and see how it goes.