How many times have you read articles in popular magazines, or heard commentators on YouTube, or had friends inform you that low-carbohydrate eating is unsustainable as a way of life? This is the received "wisdom" parroted by media and medical sources All. The. Time.

With respect for those who have had the guts, as it were, to lose tens and hundreds of pounds the first time around, I know that maintaining that loss, or most or even some of that loss, is the hardest part of weight management we ever face. Maintenance is simply not a sexy topic for a famous diet book.

I used to call it the weight rollercoaster, and some have said that the cycle of losing and gaining is worse than the alternative. Worse than regaining everything?

In the 1990s, I lost 50 lbs. with a serious commitment to 1200 low-fat calories and massive amounts of exercise. It worked! Then it didn't. Nobody can sustain that kind of regime. When I rediscovered Dr. Atkins via his 1999 revision of Diet Revolution, I came home. I achieved a healthy weight for me, and I have been committed to LC eating ever since--with human lapses I regret. Nevertheless, I know where "home" is and how well it works for me. I always come back.

People who claim that low-fat/low-calorie eating is the only way don't know beans about "sustainability." They've never tried to starve themselves forever.

If you are at any point along the LC journey, congratulations. Learn all the tools, try all the recipes, make a total commitment. Sustainability is its strength.

Best wishes!

Totally agree, maintained for a few years until my life disrupted by !#/!#/!

Low carb commitment kept me at 202-205.

High carb = gain, gain, gain.

Today keto is knocked as "another fad diet".... by the uneducated. Keto is just another name for low carb, but only those in- the -know get the connection.

The ignorant are showing their.....ignorance. Keto us NOt going away.

The question of personal sustainability brings to my mind an old saying:

"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."

Very apt in this case. In the last few days, I related a story of me listening to Samantha Heller who has a nutrition show on Sirius XM radio, and when keto came up, the response from her expert guest was that it wasn't sustainable. I can only assume that neither has committed to trying a keto approach for any length of time. They just "know" it isn't sustainable. Me? I'm going on 9 years of keto and hoping it's sustainable . . . .

The "not sustainable" myth is the only argument I hear repeated over and over. Recent research and clinical experiences by Dr. Westmain, Dr. Unwin, Dr. Gerber, Dr. Cucuzella, Virta, and others prove keto is healthy and sustainable.

Food, water, air. All necessary for survival. Having them is a human imperative.

Constant hunger is what is not sustainable. The Human need for survival dictates that we MUST eat. Because LCHF eating leaves us without hunger, it is the only restrictive dietary plan which is sustainable. True, it takes discipline, but everything worth doing/having requires a degree of discipline.

My first diet was not my choice, but my mother's. I was nine and starving. Cruel. We all know what calorie restriction does. Once on a "diet" always on a diet.

This is the only way of eating which keeps me trim and healthy, and I've tried everything except bulimia.

Why do they keep saying it is not sustainable? Based on what-- their own experience? And if so, why did they fail? Did they go back to eating processed, prepackaged junk foods?

I myself will be the first to jump up and admit that is what happened to me. But I NEVER said this way of eating and living was not sustainable. I just started eating badly again, and why I cannot remember--maybe it was because the holidays rolled up and I thought what the heck--I'd just eat some Thanksgiving food and enjoy myself. That must have been it. Because I ate a little of this, a little of that, and then started binging on Little Debbies and whatnot. I'm pretty sure that is what happened, LOL. My own lack of discipline and willpower. But I did okay for about 5 years, only gained a little bit.

Then I had foot surgery, and had months of non-weight bearing recovery. Disabled (legally blind since birth and unable to ever drive), I don't have a career, so I sat around at mom's, so she could help take care of me, got bored, and ate and ate and ate. The pounds came on strong, and a lot-- well over 50! Dare I admit, that mean almost 85lbs I put on in the past 6 years or so.

But I would never say eating LC or Keto is not sustainable. IT IS! The ONLY thing it might be is more expensive. And that is a shame, that it costs MORE to eat healthy foods, than junk foods.

Which really sucks, right? Because the government, they want us to eat healthier. The finally revamped the stupid SAD food pyramid for a healthier plate edition. Still needs work, but it's better.

And the insurance companies.... don't they too want us to be eating healthier, to improve our lives, to cut back on THEIR costs?

This WOE IS sustainable. How many times have I read that our ancestors ate mostly meats and fats? And some veggies, little fruit... makes sense, right? Ok, so it was a long time ago, but still. It's not like they were sitting around eating Goldfish and Oreos and pasta!! They were eating what they killed, and what roots they could dig up.

This WOE costs more. But it's worth it. And Gray had the best quote up there! So true!!

I just don't get why people say it's not sustainable. It baffles me. Especially with all of the science behind it.

We need to keep on doing what we are doing. And if we fall off the wagon, like I did, it's not because this WOE isn't sustainable. It's due to other factors, like a lapse in discipline, or something else. WE know the truth. We have seen it in each other's before/after photos and stories. Don't let them get to you! Let's prove them wrong, AGAIN!

LCHF eating leaves us without hunger, so it is the only dietary plan that is sustainable because it does not feel restrictive.

I once did the math and the price of chips per pound was equal to the price of filet mignon...

Yup!!!!

And you have to eat a pound of chips to get the same amount of protein as there is in 4.5 ounces of prime rib.

I guess I have been on my fad diet for over 14 years....

Count me in as sustainable. I lost 50 pounds so many years ago I don't exactly remember. It was during the original Atkins #1 phase.

I should have noted it, but I think I jumped on the Atkins diet in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I did induction, and found that 20 carbs/day was my max when I tried to go into maintenance. So I guess I've been keto for close to 30 years.

Yes the diet is restrictive, but I don't mind it at all. It's better than being obese. And I like being healthier than I was before. I think in that 30 years I've caught 2 mild colds that lasted about 2 days each.

Everybody else in my family is 300 pounds or over. I was on my way there.

Some people think they need a lot of variety in their diet. I guess I don't. Sure I miss some foods, but I don't miss the poor health.

I also think "the diet is unsustainable" comes from the processed food folks. The propaganda disguised as scientific articles support a lot of for-profit agendas.

Bob

Hi, Bob. Good to see you here! Your personal story is not unusual. I'm always glad to hear from people who have succeeded in spite of the "evidence" from authorities.

I've had more ups and downs than you over the course of my journey since the early days of Atkins. Wish I'd stuck with it! But since 2001 or so, I've known that LC keeps me in the best place, maintenance wise, even when I fall off.

I have never regained the entire 50lbs I lost on the starvation low-cal/low-fat/xtreme exercise diet that dropped it in the first place. I couldn't have sustained that! But Atkins and all its successors to the rescue.

Some good habits accrue. I still exercise regularly, not for "calorie burning" but for strength and flexibility. I still think of sugar as "poison" for my body. I still come to this forum for friendship and encouragement. It's all good.

And I HAVE tried everything!

I've sustained this unsustainable way of eating for over 15 years now. At present I am 110 pounds less than I was at my highest weight. During this 15 year+ period of time I once went off for a short while and gained back 20 pounds which came off quickly when I got back on the wagon. At the moment I am up 10 pounds from my lowest but am back to tracking everything and the weight is beginning to come off again. Since that 20 pound gain I never eat off plan foods except maybe on Thanksgiving. The myth of non-sustainability is just that, a myth based on people who have other agendas to protect. I find maintenance to be easy. If you've read my success story you will know that this way of eating has done much more than help me lose weight.