Do calories matter?

[Cambiel]

Hello

Have just begun the low carb program and filled in my first food diary. Carbs are good at 66 but calories are at 1637 which is way more than I would need in the normal course of events. If carbs are good do the calories matter?

 

[Guzzler]

This can sometimes cause a little controversy but I will give you my opinion for what it is worth.

I have never counted a calorie in my life.
The calories in carbs are not the same as the calories from fats, carbs and fats are metabolised on a different pathway. CICO (Calories In Calories Out) is a flawed concept because the maths simply do not add up (See Dr. Zoe Harcombe on youtube for more details).
The priority for those newly diagnosed or new to lowering carb intake should be improved blood glucose levels management rather than calorie restriction for weight loss because oftentimes a lowered intake of carbs results in weight loss anyway.

My advice to you is to keep noting your calorie intake but do not stress about it at this (very) early stage.
Hope this helps.

 

[Cambiel]

Many thanks for your thoughts and advice.
It is, as you say, very early days but I have noted a reduction in blood glucose so I will monitor as you suggest and not stress overly about the calories.
Having given up smoking a few months ago and now tackling sugar, I don’t really want another thing to contend with.
Thanks again. It has indeed helped.

 

[daisyduck]

I had spent a lifetime on low calorie low fat diets and just got fatter and fatter.
3 years on LCHF.. I've lost nearly 3 stones. reversed my fatty liver and can easily maintain my weight without counting a calorie at all. I'm hardly ever hungry and feel better than I've done in years.
It works for lots of us.
Concentrate on improving your BG and weight loss will be a bonus.

 

[Guzzler]

Many thanks for your thoughts and advice.
It is, as you say, very early days but I have noted a reduction in blood glucose so I will monitor as you suggest and not stress overly about the calories.
Having given up smoking a few months ago and now tackling sugar, I don’t really want another thing to contend with.
Thanks again. It has indeed helped.

Congratulations on giving up the ciggies, I wish I could. Glad to see you are already seeing an improvement in your bg levels.
Just as an added incentive, smoking has been shown to raise bg in some people so carry on the great work.

 

[VinceUK]

This can sometimes cause a little controversy but I will give you my opinion for what it is worth.

I have never counted a calorie in my life.
The calories in carbs are not the same as the calories from fats, carbs and fats are metabolised on a different pathway. CICO (Calories In Calories Out) is a flawed concept because the maths simply do not add up (See Dr. Zoe Harcombe on youtube for more details).
The priority for those newly diagnosed or new to lowering carb intake should be improved blood glucose levels management rather than calorie restriction for weight loss because oftentimes a lowered intake of carbs results in weight loss anyway.

My advice to you is to keep noting your calorie intake but do not stress about it at this (very) early stage.
Hope this helps.

Totally agree @Guzzler. I never count calories or even fats I only count carbs and in 5 months I have lost now 18 kilos and and eating like a horse. My HbA1c down from 78 to 33 and my cholstrole form 4 to 3.

 

[Guzzler]

Totally agree @Guzzler. I never count calories or even fats I only count carbs and in 5 months I have lost now 18 kilos and and eating like a horse. My HbA1c down from 78 to 33 and my cholstrole form 4 to 3.

Smashing management of bg there, well done that man!

 

[zand]

I started a thread here a few years ago about how I was going to try to lose weight on a low carb diet. I tried to at least consider all of the advice given to me on that thread. Someone advised me to keep my calories lowish and I thought this was sensible. This is the one bit of advice I wish I hadn't listened to. I don't think it helped me at all, just made things more complicated. I wish I had simply reduced the amount of carbs even more back then. T2 is a metabolic disorder, reducing calories just makes the metabolism burn less fuel in the long term.

 

[Cambiel]

I had spent a lifetime on low calorie low fat diets and just got fatter and fatter.
3 years on LCHF.. I've lost nearly 3 stones. reversed my fatty liver and can easily maintain my weight without counting a calorie at all. I'm hardly ever hungry and feel better than I've done in years.
It works for lots of us.
Concentrate on improving your BG and weight loss will be a bonus.

Thanks for this Daisy. I too have a fatty liver and hope I will be able to improve it but unsure if the amount of fat I am eating on my new dietary intake will hinder that. Still, if it has worked for you then it gives me hope

 

[Cambiel]

Congratulations on giving up the ciggies, I wish I could. Glad to see you are already seeing an improvement in your bg levels.
Just as an added incentive, smoking has been shown to raise bg in some people so carry on the great work.

Thanks Guzzler. It's going well so far..... just got to keep at it

 

[Cambiel]

Just want to thank you all for the helpful replies. I am, for the first time, looking at my new dietary intake as a lifestyle change not a short term diet. Blood Glucose down from high teens to 8 so I am very happy with the way things are going in week 1! I have also been walking a fair bit which has helped I am sure.

 

[zand]

Thanks for this Daisy. I too have a fatty liver and hope I will be able to improve it but unsure if the amount of fat I am eating on my new dietary intake will hinder that. Still, if it has worked for you then it gives me hope

Most of us find that carbs are the thing that makes fatty liver worse, particularly fructose. Dietary Fat has been demonised for no good reason. We need at least some fat in our diets but we don't need carbs at all. Good luck

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have to go against the tide here. I counted both carbs and calories for the first 12 months of my journey. I started with 120g carbs and 1200 calories but that was far too many carbs so I gradually reduced the carbs until arriving at about 30g but still stuck to 1200 calories by increasing fats and protein (I don't do a great deal of exercise). After losing 33% of my weight and reaching my goal I had to increase my calories because I just kept losing weight. I added extra fats and protein from eggs and cheese mainly plus a glass of wine daily, all trial and error, using my meter and my bathroom scales until I stabilised. From then on I haven't needed to count anything. I personally felt I needed to calorie count, both in losing weight and then stabilising. Just counting carbs wouldn't have done it for me I don't think. It was a hassle, but in my case worth it.

 

[sarahm723]

I had spent a lifetime on low calorie low fat diets and just got fatter and fatter.
3 years on LCHF.. I've lost nearly 3 stones. reversed my fatty liver and can easily maintain my weight without counting a calorie at all. I'm hardly ever hungry and feel better than I've done in years.
It works for lots of us.
Concentrate on improving your BG and weight loss will be a bonus.

Hi can you tell me Orr msg me your food plan roughly I’m so interested but clueless

 

[lucylocket61]

Hello

Have just begun the low carb program and filled in my first food diary. Carbs are good at 66 but calories are at 1637 which is way more than I would need in the normal course of events. If carbs are good do the calories matter?

My own personal experience, after 6+ years of being a type 2 diet controlled diabetic, is that, for me, calories matter to avoid putting weight on.

 

[daisyduck]

Hi can you tell me Orr msg me your food plan roughly I’m so interested but clueless

A typical day would be a bulletproof coffee for "breakfast" That's coffee with double cream and coconut oil
Lunch . Salad bowl with anchovies and boiled eggs, or maybe egg bacon mushrooms fried in butter.
Dinner. Steak , salad and creamy pepper mushrooms. Another favourite is skate wing fried in butter with black pepper and capers.
Followed by homemade low carb rhubarb fool
There are some great meal ideas on the low carb forum here. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/

 

[Tophat1900]

Calories don't matter to me, I'm not going to waste my time tediously counting them. I eat till I'm full, LCHF, which results in me not snacking between meals.

 

[Guzzler]

Aseem Malhotra on calories. About eight minutes.

 

[timat22]

I have been on the low carb for almost a year now. I try to keep the carbs to between 20 and 30 grams per day. My weight at the start was 103.8kg.
As of 6 days ago (my last weigh in) it was 82.1.
I have never counted calories and I still have one evening out a week for a few beers and a no carb counting meal.
So special thanks to Tom Kerridge, who introduced me to low carb food and to Diet Doctor for the fantastic recipes.

 

[dbr10]

Aseem Malhotra on calories. About eight minutes.

Thanks for posting.