I want to dispel a myth that lowering your carbs to zero will make it possible to lose tons of weight quickly.

This is day 8 for me on zero carb, and after the inital day or two of water weight, I have lost no weight!

So it's not a magic solution.

I think my experiment has ended for me the 'calories' debate once and for all.

But what zero carb is good for: Reduction of insulin! This is important for diabetics and pre-diabetics. Also it kills that insulin-hunger.


I thought it's important to tell you guys this, because I don't want anyone thinking it's a quick fix.

So do you think I will do well on this because I did well on K/E? Maybe it was the lower fat or calories?

Dave, DO tell! I'm struggling with this very issue - calories. Do they matter or not? I've been through several phases on my weight loss journey, and now I'm doing true Atkins, but w/o counting calories. I'm not sure how well it's working, b/c I have had really slow elims for the past couple of weeks, which have lead to weight gain.

I was trying to do 2,000-2,200 calories/day, but I usually ended up at 2,300-2,400. I was told it was too low for a man of my size - 6', 289 lbs. I work out w/ weights also, and I see the muscles expanding underneath the fat. I've been doing about 3,000-3,300 cals for the past week. I'm going to give it another week to see how it all shakes out.

I think calories matter
But I think less on a low carb diet
Even Dr. Atkins admited in the end Caleries matter.
I do think you have to drink more water on Zero carb diet.
sandi

Sandi, I drank heaps of water! That's not the issue!

You would think after 8 days of zero carb that when I put my work pants, that they would fit! Gah!

I am convinced in my case that calories do count. Burning of those calories.

Oh everyone,

I did no exercise, so I wonder if that was the real issue????

In my experience, eating very low carb without regard to calories got me to around 15% bf. To get beyond that, I gotta watch the calories.

I tried zero carb for several weeks, and found it didn't do much for me either. I finally stopped when I had serious plumbing problems-it just wasn't worth it anymore. Also, I like vegetables and fruits, I don't see any reason to go without them, and lots of reasons to eat them.

That said, Dave, it could well be that you didn't try it long enough. When I was still losing wt. on low carb, I could go several weeks without dropping a pound, and then boom, there goes 4 or 5. That pattern repeated itself over and over until I finally settled in at about 195ish pounds (down from 230).

I think the zero carb diet could make sense, if you hate vegetables, and don't experience the bathroom issues I went thru. If nothing else, it makes life simple, and makes it easier to monitor how many calories you're eating. A pound of beef is about 800 calories, eat two pounds or so a day, and you are automatically controlling caloriies.

I'm not convinced exercise is THE determining factor. The calories burned during exercise are a mere drop in the bucket compared to all of the hours you are performing your normal activities. Working out with weights, with the accompanying afterburn, is slightly different, b/c resistance training does boost your metabolism.

I found out I wasn't eating very many calories for a man on Atkins. I wonder if my first week was my body re-acclamating itself to a higher calorie level.

I'm going to see how things progress this week, and then I'm going to do some re-assessing. I may try a hard 2700 calorie limit and see what kind of results I get. For me, it seems calories do matter, but I'm going to give it long enough to see what's going on with more clarity.

I follow the Barry Groves advice to eat more fats and less protein. I find this is working well. I eat as many carbs as I want which is not all that many. The trace carbs in eggs and cheeses; maybe one slice of flax or rye bread a day and a nice green salad with dinner which includes tomatoes. So far I have not tracked calories because I am attempting to correct the way a low carb/low fat diet screwed up my natural appestat. After just two weeks, I feel great and I am noticing my clothes are getting looser. I also notice that I do not feel like snacking at all and can go long hours without eating. Barry says eat only three times a day to fully empty the stomach and give it a rest.

The increased fats have really made a difference for me both in terms of feeling good and appetite control, which is what naturally regulates calorie intake, after all. I do stick to Barry's advice to use only animal and island fats which work best for the human bio-chemical system.

Oh, one final thing. I have really enjoyed making the recipes people here offer. We love the cheese crisps for example; and the 3 minute flourless cocoa cake hits the old spot.

Hope this helps!