OK, I want to know:

Why did I lose weight, have loads of energy, and look good, eating lower fat (never went extremely low or no fat), and walking?

I also felt healthier than I have in years. And I did have good tone. Sooooooo if I did it then, and WOULD have kept it off, if I had continued to walk, I do believe ... why is it said, that's it better for you to do low carb?

Edited to add: Before I lost this weight, I had been overweight by 55 pounds for many years, at least 15 years.

Please let's discuss ...

I did too when I was in high school, but I went very low in fat, than I began running everyday, and than I developed full blown bulimia... not saying its because of low fat, but maybe if I knew about low carbing like I do know I culd have saved myself much earlier...its not REQUIRED to lose weight its just such a difference, try it first before you judge, Im sure many women here have already tried low fat if anything...

The problem that I had with eating a low-fat diet was not with losing weight, but tolerating being hungry all the time. Also, low-fat eating resulted in problems in controlling by blood chemistry. I was getting close to being diabetic and on more drugs every year.

By switching to low-carb eating, I was able to get off all the drugs and avoid diabetes. I was also able to avoid being hungry all the time.

Have you read the Atkins book?
Even better, have you read Protein Power Lifeplan or Good Calorie, Bad Calorie?

Weight gain is only ONE of a multitude of problems that carbs cause. (And one could argue it is the least damaging of the problems.)

Low carb will take care, not only of the weight, but all the other ailments that carbs bring on to begin with.

YEs, you can lose with low fat/calorie restriction/exercise.
But it will not be as healthy a loss.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that individuals eating a lower-fat diet had higher levels of insulin associated with an increased risk of weight gain and an increase in waist circumference. This association was not evident in individuals eating a higher-fat diet.

Overall, in the low-fat-eating group, individuals with the highest insulin levels gained 9.9 pounds more than those with low insulin levels.

Low-fat diets, for most people, offer no apparent advantages over diets with fat levels close to the national average. This was demonstrated in the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial. Women in this trial who were assigned to a low-fat diet did not lose, or gain, more weight than women eating a "usual" diet.

You may want to watch THIS.

Bo

You lost weight on the diet, felt great, looked great, had energy... but didn't stay on it. That's not exclusive to low fat diets -- it's not so unusual on this board either.

But if you're trying to ascertain the 'right' diet (for you), whether for weightloss, general health, longevity, curing an illness, whatever... the ability of an individual to eat the diet longterm is a far bigger criteria than initial, temporary results.

And it's just another reason that a universal 'right' diet can't really be established. For some people some diets just aren't doable as a way of life.

Ah yes! You see, this is the FIFTH time I've attempted low-carb eating.

I did however, keep that weight off the first time, for 2 years. It was me who stopped walking and eating junk.

Anyway, yes, you hit on a good thing. ... I really need to find a WOE that I CAN stay with for life, I'm just SO frightened that I'll never be able to do that.

The reason? I suffer from depression, and am not able to take antidepressants. I've tried them all, yes ALL of them, and they all raise my blood pressure dangerously high and affect my heart.

Reason being, I happen to have a very sensitive autonomic nervous system, and mitral valve prolapse syndrome. Soooooooo I have to TRY to function on a low grade of depression daily, with it spiking to a horrible place, every so often.

NOT FUN!

The way that affects my eating is, I can stay with most changes in eating, for awhile ... then I reach the dark place, and feel VERY discouraged, that one, I haven't lost loads of weight fast, and two, that I'll NEVER be able to live without the foods that make me happy.

Now realize that I'm a small eater, I have a little appetite, so I'm not talking about LOTS of food, but just foods that are easy for me to prepare when I'm in that 'dark' place, and when my lupus or fibromyalgia act up, and I go into a flare and not able to do allot physically. Cereal (and I always eat healthy cereal) is one of my favorite foods, so are banana shakes. They're easy to prepare and I love them. But on low-carb (Atkins particular), can't have fruit or cereal for awhile, and even then, in moderation.

Whole grain bread I love, and peanut butter on that (natural) is another easy and very loved food for me.

So I start low-carb, and I do that for 2 weeks, and start to get tired of preparing food, eating fat, and if I go into flares or depression, I just don't have the strength to do all that, and end up wanting to have cereal and fruit, etc.

Walking is very hard on me also, because of the depression, fibro and lupus.
I'd LOVE to buy a treadmill, but I just can't afford it right now. I know I'd walk on that daily. Walking outside is not good for me, because in the summer, I can't bear the humidity .. it affects my lupus very badly. A treadmill would enable me to walk with air conditioning.

All I know is, my life is a mess emotionally right now, separated and in a very sad place trying to decide if I divorce my husband or not, problems with family all around, and it heavily affects the way I eat.

So there ya go .. take it and see what the hell you can make of it! LOL

Seriously, it's discouraging, because each time I've tried this, I really meant to go all the way, but the depression and my physical issues play a big part in me having to quit.

Well, I was 45 when I lost that weight ... younger than I am now, yes, but not in high school.

Funny you should mention bulimia, I got down to eating so little, that I was on the verge of anorexia. I never thought that could happen to me, but I guess I was SO paranoid about what I ate and how much I was eating, that I almost ate nothing. Thank goodness for meeting my husband, because even though I gained TOO much, at least I started eating more.

I switched from Atkins to CALP, because then at my one reward meal per day, I could have OATMEAL if I want it.

CALP takes all the intense food cravings away.

You might want to check out the CAD/CALP forum on the scroll down menu.

I actually didn't experience that, I think because I got use to eating much less, so I actually couldn't eat very much.

I also ate quite a bit for losing weight I think. I made my own version of brownies, so I had a treat ... and had graham crackers with low fat milk for dessert. I ate well, but with the 3 miles a day, still lost. I actually was content, I just went overboard for awhile, and started eating TOO little.

You say you had to tolerate being hungry all the time on low fat, and were able to avoid being hungry all the time on low-carb. I always get to a point in low-carbing, usually around the 1 1/2 week area, that I'm not hungry at all, and actually feel quite sick ... and food doesn't appeal to me. I don't like that. It makes for a not very pleasant way to live, food making me sick and not interesting at all.

Yes, I have read the Atkins book ... I've misplaced it though, and am trying to find it. I do understand the concept of low-carb, and how it's suppose to control many things ... but also what I'm questioning is, why did I feel better than I have in years, when I ate lower fat, and was walking?

I did keep that weight off for 2 years, and the reason it came back was because I stopped walking and started eating too much junk. I also think I 'might' have been able to keep allot of the weight off, if I had eaten what I wanted, but still kept walking.

I also know people who walk allot (treadmill or outside) and eat what they want. They maintain a healthy weight and feel really good. So I question why low-carb is said to be better than that?

Hi Bo, I'll take a look at that video. Are you saying then, that if I were to eat a diet with an average amount of fat and WALKING, would still allow me to lose weight? I know friends who eat quite a bit, but they eat healthy and walk ... they stay thin and are in good health (cholesterol, no diabetes, etc.)

Actually I did stay with that way of eating for 2 years and kept the weight off.

You are right though, I'm SO concerned that I'll not be able to stay with low-carb long term! As I've said before, this is my FIFTH attempt!

Each and every time, I get very sick and am unable to eat at ALL. All protein, fats and vegetables are horribly unappealing to me, and I feel sick most of the time, NOT fun.

I really wish I could find the WOE that I CAN stay with comfortably, but so far I haven't been able to. The lower fat WOE worked fairly well, but then again, I did give in sometimes, and eventually after 2 years, went off.

Hi Annie, I will definitely check it out.

You might also try South Beach, which is higher (but still fairly low) carb and lower fat than Atkins.

Rachel