Why do you Low-Carb?

[Grrl]

Yes, it's a poll....(and I have insomina).

I LC primarily for health reasons (autoimmune illnesses), but also to drop that last 5 lbs off my tummy. :wiggle:

[etoiles]

I would probably add an 'all of the above' to that list! I would definitely choose all of them but the main reason for me is to lose weight. As a vegetarian I became so addicted to carbs when I heard about Dr. Atkins even way back when he was on a wacko talk show like heraldo I knew it was for me!

And also, doing this to show everyone that low carb CAN be done vegetarian!!

[Kristine]

It's a tie between health reasons and weight loss, but "weight gain" is a symptom of the health problem I'm treating (messed-up hormones a la PCOS) so I guess "health reasons" covers all the bases. ;)

[mem2]

I am low carbing the vegetarian way, primarily to control my cravings, maintain a weight where I feel and look good, and am healthy. I was committed to vegetarianism long ago. In the last year I have developed a commitment to low carbing too, because it works, and it's delicious.

[Paleoanth]

I started in order to lose weight. I had gained about 40 pounds due to a slow thryoid. Now, I like it and have found that vegetarian low carbing makes me feel better as well as look better.

[UrbanGypsy]

I started absolutely 100% because of health reasons. I've had chronic ME for over five years and my fiance (who'd tried the diet before and is about to go back on it) suggested it might help...

Oh it helped alright! I still have ME, but to a miraculously reduced degree! So long as I don't do too much in a day I can feel almost normal... its such a relief.

Of course, it means I have energy to focus on other things now... like my weight! :rolleyes: Which is now as much the reason I'm on this as my health...

Though frankly if I never lose another pound, I'd still stay on this diet for good. Everything about it seems to suit me down to the ground!

[Scarlet]

I have PCOS so it's for both health and weight reasons.

[joycelyn]

I am insulin resistant...I come from a family full of diabetics. Even though I am not diabetic my metabolism cannot handle a lot of carbs - it's real simple - I feel awful when I eat too many of them and feel great when I restrict them.

I am on the Insulin Resistance Diet - modified to ignore the low fat recommendations.

I just love eating this way. I still get to eat carbs, but they are limited, though not as limited as some other eating plans.

[acrosstyck]

I just recently (within the last month) became a vegetarian.
In the last few weeks, I have cut out all dairy products, and all meat products. I am still eating eggs (the hold out to becoming a a complete Vegan I guess.)
Right now, I FEEL better than I ever have in my life.

I'm walking at least 30 minutes per day on the Treadmill, Lifting Weights 2 nights a week, and eating primarily raw salad veggies, although I am still eating some cooked veggies, eggs, and Morningstar Soy Sausage breakfast patties.

I almost never drank milk - so that wasn't a problem, but I consumed enormous amounts of cheese - and on Atkins it was killing my sinuses. Right now my sinuses are totally cleared....indicating that I definitely have a dairy allergy of some type.

Tonight for dinner I had a cup of cooked Broccoli, and I melted a couple of cheddar "Veggie Slices" (soy cheese) and it was so good it wasn't funny.

Here's what hooked me on Vegetarianism.

If we were supposed to eat meat - then why do we have to COOK it?

For years, all I've ever heard weight lifters talk about is getting enough animal-based protein.

Yet whenever someone is described as being strong, they are "as stong as a Bull" or "as strong as an Ox" - two animals that do not eat Animal-based proteins.
So, from this moment on, I have sworn off eating meat or dairy.
You can not believe how amazed I am at how I feel!
I mean, I feel like I can do ANYTHING!
I felt good on Atkins, but I feel GREAT doing this....so, I'm just incorporating an LC diet with vegetarianism.

So, we will see how this works out for me.
On my non-lifting nights, I'm going to start incorporating Yoga.


Tim

[JudyMH]

I have these mood swings when I eat carbs, it's like I'm either really jazzed or depressed. I have my grandchildren with me alot so I cannot afford to be unstable. I also cannot lose weight any other way. Judy

[jennifer28]

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I would have to say i would pick all of them myself if i could. :D I like the weightloss and how i feel and loseing the weight will help my health. :hyper:
So many reasons..............

[erinleigh]

My reason is plain and simple I am fat and I need it!!!

[freedom25]

To lose some of this weight. That's my main reason.

[addictmeHM]

I started for a better body image, not for health, not for anything else, just for the reason I am unhappy with what I see in the mirror.

[Amarylis]

I'm doing this to lose weight, and when i ever lose it, i'll also do away with my health problems associated with the extra weight: high-blood pressure, aching body from carrying too much weight(mainly my poor feet and knees).
I'm doing a combo of low carb vegetarian and south beach. But veering more towards veg. My new doctor couldn't believe i didn't want to chow down on all that meat, it's just not for me. Although it tastes good.(i have a hard time digesting it) Cheese though is my biggest problem. What's with that stuff anyway? My fav was always the extra sharp cheddar. :yum:

[kiesa]

I'm doing it because two of my doctors told me to lose weight within 1 month! What a moral killer.
One was because I have PCOS and the doctor told me I need to get back to my old weight of 130 to help lessen my symptoms (symptoms like insulin resistance). The second doctor was my orthopaedic surgeon who told me that I needed to lose weight to help my knee recover from my multiple injuries and surgery.

[Faithnj]

I've been a lacto/ovo vegetarian for 21 years. My diet had always been super high carb, and I just didn't feel healthy. I was overweight, I had high blood pressure and fibromyalgia. I felt sluggish all the time. I knew I wasn't getting much protein, although medical tests always showed I had no vitamin deficiencies whatsoever. When I read last summer on a fibro support board that some people were getting some relief from fibro by doing low carb-- I was willing to try Atkins-- because I was often bed ridden at that time. The fibro eased up some-- but what was most surprising was that my blood pressure dropped within 3-4 days of switching to Atkins! I combined my diet with doing exercise videos, and I dropped 21 pounds last summer. I felt healthy enough to go back to work. Unfortunatly, I found it a bit hard to be a vegetarian low carber with a job. (I'm not one for cooking a lot! LOL!) But it can be done. Still-- I let my lc diet go, then I went into the hospital and really scarfed up the high carb vegetarian menu they served there-- and I put 10 lbs back on (but not the whole 21!)

Today, it's all about health, not weight loss:
Now, I'm pregnant and doing my best to watch my carbs for the health of myself and my baby. (My hbp came roaring back when I went back to eating super high carbs, and that very seriously endangers both my life and the life of the baby-- because if my life is endangered, then the doctor's will want to terminate the pregnancy.) One of my doctor's has given me his blessing for controlling my bp this way. He says American's eat too many carbs anyway. And I've got lot's of support from other mom's and mom's to be who are controlling either hbp, diabetes the low carb way. (Most are doing Atkins maintanence during the pregnancy.) Since this is my first pregnancy, I wasn't sure this was the right way to go. (I haven't gained as much weight as you usually associate with pregnant women.) But my latest ultrasound showed the baby is growing just fine, and is healthy. It has thus far amazed me-- I was totally prepared to eat like a cow during pregnancy, because I've always been told it's the time to eat anything you like, to eat for two, and not to worry about your weight at all. Low carbing is the last thing I thought I'd be doing right now. But instead, health problems derailed my "eat whatever you want diet." And it looks like if I have a healthy pregnancy, it will be due to watching my carbs. A healthy baby and a healthy mom will be the biggest rewards. The lack of excessive weight gain will simply be icing on the cake.

Faith

[njveggie]

Here's my story.
My cholesterol was 320. I lost 70 lbs. last year doing Weight Watchers. My cholesterol was still high...262. My doctor told me if I didn't get it down, we were treating it aggressively (familyhistory of early heart disease). So, since the only thing that has cholesterol is animal product, I decided to give up meat. I still eat eggs and dairy.
Since I became a vegetarian in January, my insides feel good...everything "works" good and my cholesterol dropped to 208. even though I was living on carbs and sugar. Needless to say, I gained about 30 lbs. back.

So, to make a long story short, it's to take off the 30 lbs. I gained and help me get back on the losing track and make goal.

[Car0l]

My mom suggested it and I said no way. Then she opted to buy me groceries and sort of explained the process. At the grocery store absolutely everything that I usually buy was a no-go and I was pretty upset (I live on spaghetti!) I haven't read any of the books- mainly because I know it's meat heavy and even though I know I can make substitutions it will hit a nerve and turn me off (yeah I know that's ridiculous). I've been trying to consume 20 carbs or less a day for little less than a week and I've lost 7 lbs! So eventually soon I'll reasearch more about Atkins.

The diet doesn't seem to be as ridiculous as I originally thought it was. Now I'm kind of appauled at how many carbs I used to consume. No wonder I'm fat, and no wonder I've gained weight since I became veg.