Do low-carb,high fat diets actually work ?

Think it depends on who you talk to. It all comes down to exercising and a change of lifestyle in the end of the day. Just recently the absolutely best treatment for obesity has been reported to be gastric bypass surgery for life-long health. And I am doing it March 10, wohooo! :)

Atkins-type diets are supposed to be higher in protein and fats and lower in carbs. The reason why they work is the low carb part….but if you have a high fat diet, you risk increasing your chances for atherosclerosis and heart disease. A modified Atkins diet is more appropriate (like South Beach). They are more concerned with eating foods that have a lower glycemic index. This way, the foods you eat are broken down to sugars more slowly, your insulin levels don’t spike as high, and less is put away as fat. Check out some websites that talk about glycemic index.

I think eating even fewer grains to try to lose weight or more importantly, be healthier is pretty crazy. Even if you do lose weight, your cholesterol and risk of heart disease will go through the roof.

The people I know have yo-yo’d on that diet ,but use it to get excess weight off quickly.

It can probably work if you pair it with rigorous, regular exercise. If you are not burning any calories, at the end of the day no matter what you eat, you’re still gaining.

I think a healthier approach would be to maintain a balanced diet – not cutting anything out of your diet completely, rather using portion control to carefully track calories – and pair that with a solid fitness program.

Don’t do the diet thing, they don’t work. They’ll make you drop a few pounds while you’re on them, but once you come off of them, you’ll gain everything back. Plus, they are super hard on your body.

@Oxymoron aren’t you doing the cardio 5 times a week to burn 500 cals and eating 1500 cals a day?

@faye – Yes. But that isn’t a diet.

They work, but as soon as you start eating carbs again, you will gain back all the weight you have lost. Your body has no choice but to lose weight when you cut carbs because it goes into a certain starvation mode called “ketosis” which is actually a poison created by the body. This diet is horrible for you. Look into the “zone” diet instead. It’s the perfect balance of carbs, fat, and protein. Jennifer Anniston and many celebs do the diet.