Thread: Which Diet Is Better - Low Calorie Diet or Low Carb Diet?

There are a lot of diet plans out in the market and sometimes, it's hard to determine which one is best and effective. According to nutrition experts Low Calorie and Low Carb Diets both result in weight loss.

A 2-year study was conducted to compare both diets and it was participated by 300 obese people. half of the participants followed the low carb diet, consuming 20 grams of carbohydrates a day for 3 months, and gradually increased their carb intake. The other half followed the low-calorie, low-fat diet consumed around 1,200 - 1,800 calories a day.

Dieters started with 10 minutes a day of exercise (they mostly did walking) 4 days a week and worked up to 50 minutes a day, 4 days a week. As a result, :

- After one year, dieters in both plans lost an average of 11% of their starting weight, or 24 pounds.

- They lost and kept off 7%, or 15 pounds, at the end of 2 years.

- They also had similar changes in total blood pressure, cholesterol, percentage of bone density and body fat. However, the group in low-carb diet had 2x better improvements in their good cholesterol level compared to groups in low-fat diet.

You can read more of the article at Low-carb, low-calorie diets can both result in weight loss - USATODAY.com.


Source: USA Today - Health

Wow, I'm shocked that the low carb dieters had better cholesterol! I thought that was always one of the negatives to doing Atkins, I guess matbe of you eat the wrong kind of meats. And only consuming 20 g of carbs a day for 3 months is way way longer than the atkins diet calls for, so that was definately an extreme version. I've done atkins and lost weight, but I couldn't image only eating 20g of carbs for 3 months... I usually ate an average of 40g of carbs ands still lost 60 pounds in 4 months, but it all came back on when I started adding carbs back in. For me, my biggest downfall was being deprived from sugar for so long, that once I started taking it in again, it was hard to control! I can definately say that sugar was my addiction, and I was an addict.

That's true. Sugars are addictive.. I read an article about it that sugar addiction is similar to cocaine and heroine addiction, that's why once you've started, it's hard to stop. In my case, I have reduced my sugar intake. I use sugar substitute and consume sugar free products.. When it comes to dessert, I eat fresh fruits. I sometimes cook real desserts too but only once a month. I'm on a low calorie diet for 3 years now and I have lost a total of 52 pounds and kept it off until now

More benefits of low calorie diet.. I'm so glad I chose this plan.. It was the right decision.. Thanks mikaela..

I've mainly used sugar substitutes myself ever since I did atkins in the past....It is the candy bars (mainly reeses cups) and sugary cereal that got me. I have sugar-free jello with whip cream and fresh strawberries for dessert now, and I crave fresh fruit now. I've stopped drinking soda (I've always drank tons of diet soda)and caffienated beverages this time around, and with my low calorie diet, I've already lost a few pounds in the last few days. Now I drink crystal light and sparking flavored water and the difference I feel is amazing. I never realized how bad soda can be for you, even if it is diet.

I drink sparkling flavored water too and I sometime drink diet soda but not very often.. As for desserts, i don't even add any cheese, cream or anything.. I eat them raw. For fruit salads, I squeeze some lemon or orange to add some flavor..

20 grams of carbs is way too little.. I'm in a low calorie, low fat diet as well so I don't really count how many grams I eat a day..as long as I don't exceed 1500 calories.

When I was younger, I lost weight on a low carb diet and my cholesterol levels improved. I tried doing a low carb diet this last time but, to be honest, I didn't want to give up my fruits. Low carb can be healthy but too many people use it as an excuse to eat as much bacon as they want. The biggest problem with low carb is that it tends to be higher in protein and fats. Not a problem by itself, but if the person has a tendency to cheat, now they're combining a high fat way of eating with a high carb way and the two combined are guaranteed to create health problems.

As for which is best...they both can be although I'm sure mileage will vary. Some do better on low carb...some do better on low calorie.

For me, I am more comfortable with low calorie diet because I don't consume much fats and meat anyway. I mostly just eat fruits, vegetables, wheat bread, and fish. It has helped me lose a lot of weight and I think I can live with that

That's actually good stuff. Thanks for the info