Since the start of the year I've been managing to take control of what I'm eating. It's helped that I've had a break from work so there is nothing to distract me.
I've noticed though that I'm maybe eating more carbs than I was before in trying to eliminate all the junk I was eating.
I only eat brown bread - though it's not as unrefined as I'm used to in the UK and I've started to include pasta in my diet as I read somewhere that by stepping up on the exercise you should also be taking on board some carbs.
On the other hand, I've been reading that to lose weight successfully then carbs should be reduced significantly in a diet.

What is the general consensus on carbs out there? I know people have made careers out of this issue so I find it difficult to get some basic straightforward advice.

I don't eat red meats or pig and while I'm living in Korea I struggle to maintain a balanced diet as the kinds of veg and "healthy foods" I am used to just aren't available all year round.

I get totally confused about all these diet recommendations. It really comes down to what suits you and your lifestyle.

If you have a sedentary lifestyle a diet with a lot of carbs will simply produce fat. However, the more active you are the more you need carbs to provide the fuel to keep you going. Any deficit (in carbs or calories) will contribute to weight loss but you need to manage things carefully. Although it has an emphasis on cycling, this article (http://www.cptips.com/weight.htm) - and its associated links - explains it rather well.

As a long distance cyclist (and especially as one trying to lose weight) I am only too well aware of the vital part that carbs play in keeping me going. The advice I have read is that before a long distance ride I need at least 600g per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride and a carb-laden meal before setting out.

That lot will last for about 2 hours of relatively hard riding! After that, if you don't replenish the carbs you'll hit the Bonk, a sudden and overwhelming fatigue as your muscles run out of the glycogen they need to work. If you force yourself to continue then you will start eating into your fat reserves (and it is very effective at that - yesterday, after a 70 mile ride into a strong wind I'd lost 3lbs) but it is a far from pleasurable experience, both physically and mentally - but hey, who said this was going to be easy.

I think the best thing is a balanced diet not restricting anything but just eat in moderation and "sounds silly" but only when hungry.

I have taken on a sponsored slim as of two weeks ago and funnily enough seem to have cut right back on Carbs, upped the exercise and for the first time on trying to lose weight seem to be losing nothing - I therefore think it is a myth the cutting back on carbs helps to lose weight as I have lost nothing in the last week - I am really confused.

Maybe someone may have some tips for me as I really cannot understand this. I am exercising more than ever before and I know people may say it is muscle but how much muscle can I hve built up in two weeks.

A couple of years ago I tried a version of the Atkins diet, cutting right back on carbs including most fruit. For the first week I felt dreadful, headaches no energy but I perservered and got through that phase. I lost a stone and a half in about 3 months. BUT I gradually put all the weight on again when I went back to 'normal' eating.

I do believe that a lower intake of carbs helps but I can't do without fruit and like to start the day with porridge as I find I can last the whole morning without wanting to eat. I try not to have any carbs at lunch time just protein and salad and then a small amount of carbohydrate plus protein and vegetables in the evening.

I find as I get older it seems to be harder and harder to lose weight!!!

I'm trying to follow India Knight and Neris Thomas's Idiot-Proof Diet (low carbs). Am only on Day 1. It's much better than Atkins (for me at least) as fruit and other carbs are introduced after the first 2 weeks. I've got just over a stone to lose and will be exercising - running and weight training. I know it's better to have carbs when taking a lot of exercise, but my willpower is non-existant when it comes to bread etc and I find it easier to have "none" than "some"!!! Their Idiot-Proof Diet book is hilairious and definitely strikes a chord with me. Fingers crossed. Am full of "first day" enthusiasm .......!!

Atkins is a horrible diet, your muscles need carbs in one form or another. There are 'better' carbs for you than others and as noted above it's definitely a consideration when doing any form of cycling or other exercise. Your muscles store the carb energy as glycogen and that is where they draw their most efficient energy from. So if you're exercising you're better off eating carbs than not.

The problem with the atkins diet is that the 'rapid weight loss' isn't always you losing fat, it's you losing muscle mass as well.

Hi Jennifer

To add on to Ron's excellent comments, I try to follw the plate/meal balance advice.

1/2 plate veg/salad (some of which is good carb), 1/4 protein (as lean as possible, 1/4 carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, potqtoes. If you can get low GI carbs so much the better. So brown (unrefined) rice - I have quite developed a taste for the nutty crunchiness of brown basmati which is a double whammy in the GI stakes, wholegrain pasta, sweet potatoes rather than normal etc.

Most of us have far too many carbs (1/2 our plate) and protein. 4oz steak or chicken portion for a woman is sufficient if meat or fish protein is consumed 5 days out of seven or more.

Some nutritionists stongly recommend a carb curfew after 5pm (often needs a major habit re-think) or 7 pm at latest and suggest that snacks should be carb free (apart from the natural carbs in veg or fruit)

Finally, to re sytate, if you are pysically active it is better to slight;y up the carbs in your diet. If inactive, sedentary then slightly more protein. The body processes them differently.

Carol

You should never cut carbs from your diet, but you can aim for the better ones. Carbs include sugars, starches, soluble fibre and insoluble fibre. You need the last three, though by cutting out fruit you may be depriving yourself of some nutrients. Starch is broken down into glucose which the body can them use.

If you eat a food high in starch (especially if white flour or baked potato based) or sugar, you'll get a quick rise in blood sugar which in turn will cause your pancreas to release too much insulin. This is because it's dangerous to have too much sugar in your blood.

Several things then happen, two of them being: excess glucose in your cells is stored as fat once the liver and muscles have filled their glycogen stores; and you get a big drop in blood sugar (because of the insulin spike), and this sets up cravings for starch and sugar ... and the cycle repeats.

1) Eat some protein with your starch, as the protein slows down the rate at which starches are broken down/absorbed. A bit of oil helps too.

2) Go for complex carbs (wholemeal / fibrous / unadulterated) rather than processed, plastic, and sugary foods. These will help you keep up the vital fibre too (including your oats)

3) Make sure you include non-starchy carbs like leafy veg

If you cut out the alkailne carbs (esp leafy veg) and eat more protein, your blood pH will become more acidic (proetins are broken down to form amino acids). Many studies indicate that the body then takes calcium from the bones to redress the balance. You also run the risk of becoming less 'regular' or constipated: too much of this can increase the risk of bowel cancer. You may lose weight quickly, but at what cost?

I have done Atkins in the past and have started again. I have never felt better and I didn't put all the weight back on when I stopped - people do that regardless of the type of diet. If you go back to eating "normally", you need to be aware that that is probably how you put weight on in the first place!

Atkins is very low carb for the first two weeks, then you gradually increase the amount and type of carbs each week. You are encouraged to get most of your carbs from fresh vegetables and to eat unprocessed food.

I used to be reluctant to tell people that I was doing Atkins because of the reaction it causes.

I'm on a low GI and low fat diet, and I'm not finding it too touch to stick to, and I've lost 8lbs in 3 weeks. My plan now is to really stay tight on portion control and further up my exercise levels... and I really don't think I could do that without carbs!

Good luck!

I went on the Atkins diet about 6 years ago (please don't throw your hands up in horror until you've read all of this) and lost about one and a half stone. I had bags of energy, my migraines disappeared along with my mouth ulcers (up to twenty five in my mouth at any one time, OUCH...), I stopped being an insomniac and my frozen shoulder which I'd had for two an a half years suddenly became better. After the two week induction period I started to introduce more fruit and vegetables into the diet as the book suggested. All my illnesses listed above, apart from the frozen shoulder came back. So I cut out fruit and vegetables completely again and was fine.

Listening to friends, doctors and family telling me I was damaging my health and encouraging me to eat a balanced, healthy diet, I kept going back on the fruit & veg with exactly the same results. I once met Amanda Ursell at a dive show where she was promoting her book and we got to discussing the above subject. She gave me a very sensible answer when she said "If something works for you then stick with it." so I have.

Which brings me to the Neris/India diet. It is their adaptation of the Atkins diet, and I started reading it about two months ago. as my weight has been creeping up for the past six months. Anyway I'm back on track and have lost 12lbs since the beginning of January.

I have come to the conclusion that I am a meat eater plain and simple and I never touch any fruit, vegetables, wheat products or starches. I still get well meaning people that tell me I am storing up trouble for myself in the future. Well, I don't care because I am fit, slimmer than I ever was before I read the Atkins diet and I do scuba diving, power kite flying and I still go horse riding.

When I tell people that I am allergic to vegetables they very nearly say straight out that I'm a liar. I think though if you can be allergic to peanuts, milk, gluten, cats, (not to eat of course) or any of the other numerous allergies, then why not vegetables. OK I'm probably not allergic to all of them but as I don't really like fruit or vegetables I can't be bothered to sift through them all to find out.

I am not saying that this would work for everyone as some people thrive on a vegetarian diet. However, for every healthy glowing vegetarian you see there are probably as many vegetarians that look weedy and unhealthy.

If taking a few supplements a day means that I can stick with what I am doing, I think it's worth it.

I have not found that carbs make any difference to my ability to exercise; I'm not a marathon runner, but I do exercise hard 5 or 6 times a week and do some significant walking as well. We are all different.

That we are indeed Chris.... I've just found that if I don't have something a bit more filling, then I find myself grazing for the rest of the day - and thats not good!

That was very interesting, Patricia. Why not go and have a simple vega food intolerance test? It takes an hour and, though not backed up by double blind science trials, etc, seems to me to be pretty accurate. One lady was sick for years and the docs couldn't work it out. The test showed an intolerance to potatoes of all things. She avoids them and is very much better. There's also that stuff about your genes: hunter gatherer, etc, and getting a diet to suit you there.

Re Atkins, those of you who are on it and don't want to say, I think it's because people stay on it far too long and then the damage can occur, and that's what hits the headlines.

In the end, we all have to read the research and our bodies and make our own minds up.

I am doing low-carb (not carb-free) and find it quite easy. I focus on eating lots of protein, and making sure there's enough fat in my diet as well - without fat I feel not really full and then end up eating more and more. I did this last year and it worked so well I ended up having to buy new clothes. Trouble is, I relaxed for a while and allowed my sweet tooth free reign again, so have gained a bit, which is why I'm now back on low-carb and determined to at least get back to where I was.

I do have cereal for breakfast and the odd glass of fruit juice and some fruit - just less than before, when I used to drink orange juice just because I was thirsty! Now I drink water if I'm thirsty. At lunch and supper I just focus on filling up on protein plus some veg, and if I fill up on that I just don't feel the need for carbs. And I snack on nuts/almonds/cheese/cold meat. I do love chocolate, so I keep some Green and Black's 70% dark chocolate to hand - it's so intense that I can't have a lot in one go.

I wouldn't count calories if they paid me to. If I'm hungry I eat - no guilt trips! This works well for me.

I have a fruit allergy/intolerance. It's not as severe as going into anaphalactic shock but my throat swells and I have trouble breathing.
I have the same reaction from people - they think I'm lying to get attention.



With regard to the carbs, I guess it's a question of seriously listening to your body and trial and error. I'm really trying to adjust my diet longterm rather than wanting to follow a regime that I will tire of, and every person is different. Thanks for all the advice guys.

I agree that it is a matter of finding a way of eating that you can stick to for life and I think that I have.

Although I have not been losing weight for a couple of years, I haven't put back all the 5+ stone that I lost; I put on about 10 lbs when I gave up smoking last year. I did what Atkins recommends and gradually increased the carbs each week, with the emphasis on including more fruit and vegetables, and eating mainly unprocessed foods and whole grains.

It has suited me and I found that I was rarely tempted to snack between meals.

Now that I am confident that I won't go back to the cigarettes, I can deal with the additional 10lbs and get back to losing the rest of the three stones that needs to go.

Actually, the 10 lbs wasn't just giving up smoking - 7lbs was and the other 3 was Christmas.

There are carbs and there are carbs ...
my problem carbs are hot fresh bread and potatoes: they trigger binges. I now have pitta and rice instead, with bread and potatoes as occasional small treats.
To fill up, I'd recommend beans: baked beans, chickpeas, lentils etc. Replace half your meat in recipes with beans and pulses, and save a bunch of calories while taking on board vitamins, fibre etc. They're cheap and they fill you up.

If wind is a problem, start with small quantities until your gut gets used to them. x

not if you add a bit of seaweed to the water you're cooking the beans/lentils in.

How does that work then?

i eat large amounts of everything that comes near me, and people who exercise regularly, especially large amounts of CV, burn it up, you cant drive your car without fuel in it! the type of fuel is the key. really we all know sugary cakes and bikkies, the saturated fats ( put a sausage roll in the micro and see the grease pour out) are the problem. we can eat them but not everyday and restrict the portion size. right , were did i put those choccy hobnobs?

I don't know exactly but it may be because it aids digestion (among other things). I first came across seaweed in cooking in the States when visiting friends who followed a macro-biotic diet. All I know is that it is an effective flatulence-buster!

Paul,
Being a bit Yank myself, what is a bikkie, and what is a hobnob?
I do so love the vernacular on this site.

Tip of the day: Light beer has much less carb content than regular.
I just had three, and given my diet, whew! Used to be that I could drink 6 w little to no effect!

I'm becoming a lightweight!

Actually I'm only halfway through my third one now! Good greif!