Why Cutting Carbs to Lose Weight Isn’t Working, and What You Need to Focus on Instead!

Why do Carbs get such a lousy Rep?

Many people think that carbs are their enemy in losing weight. Some lady down the street did a low carb diet or even KETO and lost 50lbs, so you think, “Carbs gotta go!”.

Immediately you start throwing away all your bread, rice, potatoes, and fruit. You begin eating eggs and bacon for breakfast and think, “This is GREAT! I love these foods; this is so easy”. 

After the first 2 weeks, you see the scale drop faster than ever, and you feel good!

Then after another week or 2, of eating super low-carb for weight loss, you realize that you haven’t had a bowel movement in a few days. You are tired, getting irritated with your kids or co-workers quickly, and start looking at pictures of pizza, pasta, and even an apple and don’t even realize you are drooling.

You know this low carb/KETO diet is “working,” but ultimately, you can’t keep up with it, so you give in a little by stealing a few french fries off your kids’ plate or indulge in that office bday cake party, and before you know it you are binging on any carb you can find within arms reach. Chips, candy, ordering pizza, it gets crazy.

You get on the scale, see the numbers increase, and immediately become even more frustrated. Even worse, you feel defeated.

Here’s the thing, it wasn’t the Carbs by themselves that reversed the numbers on the scale. Carbs are not evil, harmful, or the reason you are not in the body you want. 

Carbs are a part of a healthy (and IMO more FUN) diet that can help you maintain your weight loss or even lose more.

This blog aims to enlighten you about a world where weight loss and carbs can co-exist. One where you finally understand why Sally down the street or some influencer on Instagram lost so much weight on KETO or Low Carb diets. 

I am sharing everything you need to know about carbs. You’ll learn how to start repairing the broken relationship you currently have so you can eat carbs and lose weight. 

This is a world where you are happy, losing weight, reaching goals, and not stealing your kids’ meals or sneaking bites of ice cream standing in front of your freezer in the dark when no one is looking.
Today you will learn why Carbs are not your enemy when losing weight.

Why Carbs are Beneficial

When it comes to losing weight, there’s a lot of talk about what you should eat and what you shouldn’t. Lately, the conversation about weight loss is centered around low-carb diets or KETO. I want to set the record straight about why there is so much focus on cutting out carbohydrates. 

No one seems to be addressing that carbs are not just a singular unnecessary part of our diets. They play a massive role in our lifestyle, and better yet, what if I told you that carbs aren’t your problem? 

SHOCKER!

Carbs have many benefits and create a better balance in your overall diet. Let’s visit why carbs should be a part of your daily eating habits, especially when trying to lose weight.

BENEFITS:

• Carbs help regulate your blood sugar levels, which can be especially important if you have diabetes. This also helps with food cravings and satiety.

• Carbs keep your brain sharp and focused. While protein builds muscle tissue, carbohydrates give us the energy to exercise. You know, to lift the weights to build the muscle.

• Carbs also help our bodies burn fat more efficiently by increasing insulin production (which allows us to use more fat as fuel). 
  • Studies show that eating a high-carbohydrate meal after weightlifting can improve body composition by reducing fat mass while preserving muscle mass during calorie restriction (1).

• Carbs also contain B vitamins that help keep your metabolism working at its best. And if you are choosing the less processed variety, they typically have more nutrients and antioxidants. 

• Carbs help keep your brain functioning correctly and can also help to regulate your mood, aka not get HANGRY.

• Carbs provide fiber, which helps us maintain healthy digestive systems by speeding up digestion or slowing it down depending on what we need at the time!
  •  Fiber helps prevent constipation by bulking up stools, so they move through our guts more easily! 

Not to mention CARBS TASTE GREAT!

So, what happens when you go on a low-carb diet?

Cutting carbs can help you lose weight, sure. I am not disputing this, but WHY? And what kind of “weight” are we talking about?

Many studies have shown that people who cut back on carbohydrates lose more weight than those who eat a high-carbohydrate diet (2).

But again, you need to define what “weight” you are talking about.

Are you losing;

• Water weight?
• Lean tissue?
• Fat tissue?

If you are cutting back on carbs, you can typically see a weight loss of 2-14*lbs in just a couple of weeks (*depending on initial starting weight). 

But why?

I am gonna have to get a bit scientific, but stay with me; I will make this EASY to digest 😉

No matter where it comes from, every carbohydrate is either used for immediate energy as glucose or stored as glycogen in our Liver or Muscles. (3)

Let’s see an example of what I mean with a sample day of eating an average Standard American Diet.

• You are starting the day enjoying pancakes for breakfast with a delicious bowl of mixed strawberries and pineapple, and let’s not forget the crispy bacon.

• For lunch, you choose a grilled chicken sandwich and fries from Chick-fil-A while shopping and running errands, but not exerting a ton of energy. 

• You decide to catch a Matinee, and you can’t help but get a buttery salty box of popcorn and diet soda, of course. 

• Later at home, you make dinner, which you must make fast before the kids go to some sort of event. You decide to whip up pesto pasta with grilled salmon and a caesar salad.

This day wasn’t excessively active, and this day is mainly made up of Carbs and Fat, which, again, is not BAD AT ALL. 

But, the following day, you get on the scale and see the numbers shoot up, and immediately you are PISSED. But don’t be – here is why.

When we store glycogen for later use, it uses water as a buddy to keep it company. On average, your body stores ~1 pound of glycogen at any given time, which means at least 3 pounds of water is hanging with it. 

This is normal. 

But, your body can store more glycogen than that, which means more water and weight.

Then you pair higher salt foods (remember that popcorn at the movies?) which also creates higher water retention, and there are your 2-5lbs seemingly OVERNIGHT! (4)

Here is why a lower Carb diet works; the reverse is true.

If you are much more active and eat fewer carbs, you likely store less glycogen, and it’s buddy water. This is what “losing water weight” means.

Unfortunately, there’s no fat loss here, especially in the beginning, yet — I know, sorry. This results from glycogen and water is pressed out of your muscles and liver, not fat loss. (4)

Did you learn something so far? I hope so, but we’re not done!

Proof that Low Carb diets are not magical.

Ok, what have we learned so far- Not all “weight” is created equal, and it takes more than just cutting carbs to lose fat, not just weight. 

But I forgot to mention that if you are cutting back on carbs, guess what you are also cutting back on? CALORIES and OPTIONS! Actual fat loss takes time and consistency.

And what is the only way to lose fat, like for real? 

CALORIES In V.S CALORIES Out – I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. Let me prove it.

Let’s look at that same day I described above but using a LOW CARB version. I will spare you the story this time:

• Breakfast: Bacon

• Lunch: Grilled chicken

• Snack: — nope

• Dinner: Salmon, Caesar Salad

Can you SPOT the differences? Here is another way to look at it.

Do you see what I mean?

When you cut carbs, you are cutting out OPTIONS and calories, as well as the water combo I broke down above. All of which results in Weight Loss, but not necessarily Fat Loss.

And studies show that a Moderate Balanced diet that includes Carbs tend to work better and for LONGER when managed correctly, especially when the goal is fat loss. (2)

Wait, there’s more 😉

If you are still with me, congrats. You just received a real-life version of how I provide Common Sense, aka NO BULL SHIT, education to my clients about losing weight (fat) for good.

Now, if you love eating super low carb, higher fat, so you can stay full without too much protein (KETO), then go for it.

But also remember how weight loss works. If you lose “weight” fast (which can look different for everyone), say 2 or more pounds on the scale per week for multiple weeks, I can almost guarantee you lost water and lean mass OVER fat mass.

This also means that you are likely in a lower calorie deficit that can be hard to maintain for long periods. 

So you lose weight fast, mainly water and lean mass, and the scale goes down, maybe 10lbs in a month or so, but you don’t look all that different. That’s because you are only focusing on the scale numbers and not your body composition, most likely. 

The number on the scale is down, but you are tired, hungry, and maybe even grumpy. Do you ever think, “How long can I maintain this?”

Ultimately, you can’t. So you start eating like you used to, feeling guilty and lost and with no idea what you should be doing, and I used to be that way too, so I totally get it. 

It’s why I help women navigate through realistic weight loss inside of my Learn, Lose & Live 12-week weight loss program.

Let’s Find your Sweet Spot with Carbs to Lose Weight, er, Fat.

So now you know that fat loss is the goal, not just weight loss, and to do so effectively, it should be slower. However, if it’s slower, that means you will likely need to work at this a little longer than you thought.

Which is FINE if you are Not Depriving Yourself of foods you LOVE.

It’s NOT FINE if you are Depriving Yourself of foods you LOVE.

So I recommend starting with making some Swaps with some of your favorite carbs, and you can use my Healthy Snacks & Apps Download, where I provide ideas for lower calorie and lower carb swaps, portion control tips, and 12 reduced-calorie recipes that are NOT reduced in taste!

Remember to start with just a few changes, like using lower sugar versions of Syrups or dressings. Monitor your servings and portion sizes. I go over this in my blog “Help, I’m not losing weight! 5 Reasons why and how to turn it around.”

 Oh, and please work on increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables. You can eat the largest volume of foods with the least amount of carbs or calories to help you with your weight loss journey. 

Losing weight doesn’t have to be complicated. If you aren’t AWARE of what you are doing, and don’t create HABITS that stick so you can stack on them to make more, and look at each mishap as a failure rather than a learning opportunity, have a Curious Mindset. You will always be setting yourself up for failure instead of success! So what do you think?

If you are still feeling stuck or confused, I would love to chat with you about how to get un-stuck. I coach women to master weight loss in my Learn Lose and Live – Sustainable Weight Loss for Women Join the WAITLIST. 

Learn, Lose & Live takes you through 12 weeks of actionable steps to eliminate the guesswork of dieting on your own. Learn how to confidently eat foods you love without worrying about the scale going up and why sometimes MORE isn’t always better when it comes to exercise and weight loss.

Listen, my methods aren’t for everyone. I demand a BIG commitment and investment into yourself. 

If you want someone who can give you a list of Do’s & Don’t and is not going to account for you as an individual, then keep it moving. 

Go back to being miserable fearing carbs, and wondering why you can’t lose weight☹️.

References.

1. Willoughby D, Hewlings S, Kalman D. Body Composition Changes in Weight Loss: Strategies and Supplementation for Maintaining Lean Body Mass, a Brief Review. Nutrients. 2018 Dec 3;10(12):1876. DOI: 10.3390/nu10121876. PMID: 30513859; PMCID: PMC6315740.
2. Wachsmuth NB, Aberer F, Haupt S, Schierbauer JR, Zimmer RT, Eckstein ML, Zunner B, Schmidt W, Niedrist T, Sourij H, Moser O. The Impact of a High-Carbohydrate/Low Fat vs. Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Performance and Body Composition in Physically Active Adults: A Cross-Over Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2022 Jan 18;14(3):423. DOI: 10.3390/nu14030423. PMID: 35276780; PMCID: PMC8838503.
3. https://wellversed.in/blogs/articles/losing-water-weight-how-carbs-really-work#:~:text=On%20a%20moderate%2Dcarb%20diet,that%201.5%20pounds%20right%20away.
4. https://www.livestrong.com/article/309135-can-a-high-carb-diet-cause-you-to-retain-water/