Should I Do a Lo Carb Meal Plan or Weight Watchers?
Monday, September 27th, 2010 at
7:16 am
I want to lose as much weight with exercise in 4 months… I don’t want to do Atkins diet because I have done that many times and i am having problems staying on it long term. So if I wanted to go lo carb (not no carb) how many carbs should I stay between each day or meal?
Or should I just go on weight watchers??? I only have four months until my Caribbean cruise!
Tagged with: 4 Months • atkins diet • caribbean cruise • Exercise • four months • Weight Watchers
Filed under: Weight Watchers
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Low carb is consider <9grams per hour up to 144grams per day. As long as you remain <9 grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control, and shouldn’t gain weight. That may not be low enough to lose weight though (it may for some active people though.)
Did you do Atkins properly, increasing your carb level 5grams per day every week? It may be restrictive at first but it increases as long as you maintain weight. Your minimum carb level may be high depending on your activity level.
There is no reason to ever go off a low carb way of eating, you slowly re introduce carbs to your way of eating and as long as you don’t exceed 9grams of carbs an hour (144 carbs a day) you will never trigger insulin (the fat storage hormone) no matter the calories. Most of us do low carb most of the time and occasionally cheat and slip back into low carb the next day. .
The rungs to reintroduction of carbs in 5 gram units – all available to very active people in as little as 11 weeks. Make sure you do them in order & you can skip a rung if you do not intend to include it in your permanent way of eating, such as the alcohol rung.:
* (minimum week 3 – maximum 25grams day) Acceptable vegetables, larger quantities
* (minimum week 4 – maximum 30grams day) Add 5grams Fresh cheese
* (minimum week 5 – maximum 35grams day) Add 5grams Nuts and seeds
* (minimum week 6 – maximum 40grams day) Add 5grams Berries
* (minimum week 7 – maximum 45grams day) Alcohol can be added if desired
* (minimum week 8 – maximum 50grams day) Add 5grams Legumes
* (minimum week 9 – maximum 55grams day) Add 5grams Other fruits
* (minimum week10 – maximum 60grams day) Add 5grams Starchy vegetables
* (minimum week11 – maximum 65grams day) Add 5grams Whole grains
If you are continuing to lose or maintain (whichever is goal) in week 12 and beyond, you continue to add 5grams a day per week til you reach your personal carb level.
Many people gain weight on high carb, then switch to low carb to lose weight & then are shocked when they return to high carb that they gain weight. (Isn’t insanity defined as doing the exact same thing, in the exact same way and expecting different results??) Many people can return to moderate carb levels but very few can really eat all they want of sugar and maintain weight or health.
You will lose more body fat eating protein and fat (don’t eat protein alone) than not eating AT ALL. To lose weight fast eat all you want but nothing but meat, eggs, healthy oils, mayo, butter and half an avocado a day (you’ll need added potassium). Keep the calories high and the fat percentage high, at least 65% of calories. Adding in green vegetables & some cheese will continue weight loss but at a slower pace.
Your body won’t release fat stores if you lower calories below what it needs. It will slow your metabolism to compensate and store every spare ounce as fat. If you continue lowering your calories, it will continue lowering that set point, til you can survive off nothing and store fat on anything. The body will only release it’s fat stores if it knows there is plenty of food.
Eating carbs while trying to lose body fat is terribly inefficient. When in glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) you have to lower your calories (which slows your metabolism) and exercise heavily to deplete your glycogen stores before burning body fat.
The core of the Atkins program is converting your body from glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) to ketosis (burning fat as fuel). You need to keep your fat levels at >65% of your calories, if you don’t your body will still remain in glycolysis by converting 58% of excess protein into glucose (via gluconeogenesis).
It takes minimum of 3 days to convert your body to ketosis, (but only one bite to convert back to glycolysis) you will probably feel sluggish the first week but most people feel better than ever thereafter.
Simple carbohydrates (sugar, flour, bread, cereal, pasta, potatoes, rice) triggers insulin which can store the calories you eat into fat. The more protein you eat the more the fat burning hormone glucagon is released. The more carbohydrate you eat the more the fat storage hormone insulin is released.
High insulin levels promote inflammation, weight gain, hunger and unbalance other hormones. Controlling your insulin level will balance out other hormones & allow human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so you will gain lean muscle even without exercise.
Ground flax seed (2 Tbsp) 1/4 cup water, artificial sweetener, mix in a raw egg – let sit 10 min. to absorb liquid, put some cream cheese in the middle & nuke 2 minutes. Suggested for daily fiber needs.
The first 2 weeks you can have several cups a day of (mostly) lettuce and celery, cucumbers, radishes, mushrooms, peppers and more variety of vegetables thereafter add 5 grams per day additional (20 grams day first 2 weeks, 25grams 3rd week, 30grams 4th week etc) every week til you gain weight, then
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about the weight watchers system, but I do know some about Atkins and low carb diets. Atkins works because your body burns calories in the order of carbs, then fat, so if you eliminate the carbs, the only energy your body can make if from fat (then muscle). With that being said, your body needs carbs, and I know a lot of people who when on the Atkins diet suffered from one form or another of an altered mental state, plus once you get off the diet, they all complained about weight gain.
Low carb diets are going to be a lot better for you since they give you at least some of what you need. I would say the amount of carbs you need to eat is based off of how much exercise you plan on doing. If you plan on doing a good amount of exercise, such as around an hour, three meals including carbs will give you the energy you need. If you don’t exercise as much 1-2 meals would be better. Also, trying to eat healthier, and more often helps. When I say meals, I really mean a meal or a snack since a good diet will have you go meal-snack-meal-snack-meal with possibly another snack if you have an intense workout, so if for one of those you have a sandwich or some pasta once a day you should be okay.
Have fun on your Cruise!
When we try to lose weight, we all know what it really takes to lose it: proper diet, exercise and portion control. Fad diets are just that-spotty results and usually the weight is put back on over time because they are only a temporary fix. Weight Watchers stresses a proper diet without any real gimmics (although they do say you "could" eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your allotted daily points-but to do that you’d be starving all day). Over time while on the program you start to learn to make better choices that will hopefully carry over into your every day use even after you’re done with the program. So, I’d avoid the low-carb thing in favor of Weight Watchers which will not only help you lose weight now, but keep it off for life if you do it right! Good luck.
I don’t like low carb diets. I’ve been on Atkins and I only lost about 10lbs but it came right back as soon as I stopped being strict. With a diet that I came up with on my own I lost 60lbs and kept it off. I also helped my mother lose about 25lbs. Anyways, I think you’re better off going with Weight Watchers. I didn’t know much about their plan until I got curious one day after I had bought a WW cook book. I looked up their plan online and I think it sounds like it would work pretty good and it would be easy to stick to. I myself haven’t tried it but I know people who have and have lost weight. I don’t know what your weight loss goal is but your probably going to reach faster with WW because it will be easier to stick to than a low carb diet.
Hope this helped!