Low Carb High Protein Diet by Charles Clarke

[Mowbray]

I wouldlike to know if anyone has tried this diet and how much wait they lost.  Also are there any side effects from using this diet long term?

A colleague of mine has been on this diet and she's lost loads of weight and she feels great.

Thanks

[undercovers]

have you been feeling your colleagues again!!! shocking behaviour

[Mowbray]

ha, ha very funny!

[woofgang]

how does it differ from Atkins?

[Mowbray]

That wasn't what i was asking woofgang. I know it's similar to the Atkins but i don't know enough details:-)

[woofgang]

sorry, I thought you might know what the diff was, esp. if you have a colleague who has tried it

[Loosehead]

Well assuming it is similar to Atkins it works by encouraging your body to use fat as energy rather than Carbohydrate. This does work in the short term but as with any diet that unnaturally reduces one food group as soon as you come off it, it's payback time and with low carb diets the regain is dramatic and fast. Here's why. Carbs are the main source of energy but they need to be turned into glucose before they are usable. This Glucose is stored in water in the body and used as and when necessary. On any diet you lose weight quickly at first because all the stored glucose is used first this means that the initial weight loss is mainly water. On the low carb diet you do not replace the Glucose instead you body burns fat, great! Yes if you can keep it up! but followers of atkins et al have reported that after a couple of weeks you'll crawl over broken glass to get a bread roll! To summerise like any diet you cannot sustain, you'll soon gain it back!

[buchanan]

I did Atkins and lost 3 stone ... which went back on slowly but surely.  Thing is its really difficult to sustain low carb diets as they keep you away from good things like fruit.  Side effects can be pretty undesireable and range from headaches and feeling of not being quite with it (if you're not careful you can miss out on essential natural sugars which important to general "functioning"). Ones I didn't get but friends have experienced are bad breath and constipation - lovely.  Long term its supposed to be bad for your liver.  Soo, good for a short term shift of weight but potentially difficult to maintain.  People who seem to lose weight and keep it off seem to do it through groups like Weight Watchers or Slimmers World.  Good luck!

[Scarlett]

Diets don't work. None of them. You can't sustain eating strange combinations of food or food you don't like, or only certain food groups over a long period. Diets can work temporarily, but only a tiny percentage of people manage to keep the weight off. Healthy eating, listening to when your body is genuinely hungry and avoiding sugar are the only real rules, I would say.

[dirtyharriet]

Absolutely right.
I lost 5 stone by changing my eating habits on a long term basis. It took about 18 months but I kept it off for 12 yrs even after giving birth 3 times.
Incidently my healthy eating plan included baked potatoes, salad, fruit, veg and lots of wholemeal bread. All good filling healthy stuff. The Atkins get slim fast scheme is ok if you only want to lose weight in the short term or don't mind going without all the healthy foods and risking your long term health.