What makes Low Carb work?

[WaistNotWant]

Hello all, I'm a newby so please be patient with me as I have a lot to learn about low carb eating. I have a couple of questions to start.

Firstly, what made you all decide to go the low carb route? Was it the success stories of people you know, some new research, the combinations of foods appealed to you or had you "tried everything" and thought you'd give this a shot?

Secondly, and this is going to sound devils-advocate-ish, but I'm actually very curious about this... why is it that Asians, who by my reckoning have a fairly carb laden diet, tend to be slim (of course I'm generalising). Do they compensate some way? Is it about the types of carbs? Do they have a genetic predisposition to being able to process the carbs without the negative effects? Do many of them have diabetic issues? Your thoughts?

[janal]

Hello WaistNotWant,
I've tried a lot of different diets over many years and for me I have found that Low Carbs eating is the most satisfying of them all.
When you combine carbs and protein you're often left feeling hungry and it's the carbs that do this. (Every feel hungry a short time after eating pastries or cakes)
Our bodies use carbs as its 1st source of energy (easiest to convert to glucose) according to our lifestyle - we burn up what energy we need to fuel our bodies and the rest gets stored as fat for later use.
When we eat limited carbs and more protein our bodies are forced to call on our fat stores to convert to energy - thus we are using our fat stores.
LC high Protein diets are usually good for our muscles as well, your muscles don't waist on this kind of diet but I believe they can on calorie diets.
Protein & fats are very satisfying, so in the long run you end up eating less which causes a calorie deficit and encourages weight loss.
This is just a very brief explanation of how I understand the process, there's a lot more to it and if you choose to diet in this way you'll find lots of support and help in this forum.
My understanding of Asian diets is simply that they are eating quite a natural diet. They are not eating the super refined carbs that us "westerners" are eating.
If you were to look at countries or towns that have "Fast Food Outlets" you will see increased numbers of the population are getting fatter. Countries that are poorer that don't produce the highly refined foods have much more natural sources of food.
We to could choose to diet in this way and would be so much better off for it. If we could just go back to eating foods that are grown and produced simply, if we only went to the butchers and fruit & veges shop we would eat much more naturally. Imagine no supermarkets, convenience stores or fast food. :p
Now I'm not saying that Asian's don't have these luxuries, they do in the cities, but I believe they are also much more active than we are. Their whole life style is different. It all adds up.
Cheers

[wenever]

Janal, I thought that was very eloquently explained, and if I wasn't on a LC diet myself you would have converted me lol

Welcome waistnotwant, you have come to the right place, you will learn a whole lot by reading these forums, read through some memebrs diaries and read their sucess stories it will definately motivate you to try a Lo Cal way of eating

[Sherrie]

I have never been to an asian place or heck I haven't been overseas full stop!

But, from what I have read they generally have very small serves, they don't get a plate full of rice with whatever thrown on top but rather a small bowl of rice, and small bowls of other items. But then they also suffer the same problems when they start eating a western diet and from what I read just the other day have had very similar increases in obesity with the difference being that they start off from a lower point but the actual rise is similar.

[gemdris]

This is the only diet and am not starving on also - I never actually feel like I am on a diet - i have tried low calorie diets before and I end up feeling so deprived I end up eating 4 chocolate cakes and 15 packets of crisps in one sitting - no one can keep up that low level of eating for long!

I dont feel like it is a 'diet' just changing of eating habits - good luck with everything!

[donkeybrook]

well put Janal, i was watching a program on india the other night and they now have soaring rates of Type 2 diabetes in their young people and it's all due to the western fast food now there in the cities. i never saw a single fat person in the villages where they ate rice, dhal and chapatis made with wholewheat flour and very little greens as they believed greens were "goat food". so i believe it's definitely all the refining of food that has done the most damage. we should all be eating food that is as close to nature intended as we can. also waistnowantnot, i find this way of eating sustainable, enjoyable because u don't trim the fat off everything, weigh everything etc. enjoy your journey, whatever u decide.