"KickStarting" a diet by low-carbing

[Lynne1]

Hi All,

I've read a few diet books lately like the Sonoma Diet and South Beach Diet. Both have 'stages'. The first stage is very low carb, the second and third introduce more carbs. Does anyone find that low-carbing in order to kick-start a diet is necessary or is it just as effective to eat healthy carbs right away?

Thanks Again!

[vanderkan]

Lynne,
I don't know much about the Sonoma diet but I know that with South Beach, diabetics should not use the frist stage because its too restrictive. I found out the hard way! By day three, I was so weak I could barely get out of bed and walking around was next to impssible....lightheaded and queasy all the time. Then I found out definitively from 2 diabetic educators to avoid stage one of South Beach. Hope this helps a little.
Kandy

[am1977]

Frankly, I think the South Beach and, especially, the Atkins diet are really just gimmicks. For most people, to lose weight it's about burning more calories than you are taking in. However, i do think Diabetics hve to be more conscious of carbohydrates since it gets metabolized into glucose more readily than protein or fat. And for those of us on insulin, the more carb we eat, the more insulin we need, etc. And insulin isn't exactly an aid in weight loss.

I would try to eat everything in moderation. Cutting out any food group seems a little too drastic to me. A food group is a food group for a reason :top:.

[Lex4153]

I low-carb to a certain point but wouldn't consider myself an Atkins person. When I do eat carbs, I make sure they're whole grain.

Personally, I haven't done any "stages". I just ate right and the rest took care of itself.

[Cyborg]

I try to consider my eating habits as a lifestyle rather than a diet. If I had to compare my way of eating to diets, I probably come close to a cross between a Mediterranean diet and the South Beach diet.

You can lose weight without low carbing and it's not required to initiate weight loss.

[Mister Q]

Best piece of advice I was ever given regarding diets and weight loss - it's a 2 stage prcocess -

1. Eat less
2. Run more