Do Women actually lose weight on slow carb?
This is a question that’s come through to us, loud and clear, from many, many people. It’s time to finally talk about this, in the open, so that no one feels guilty anymore, and so that there’s no disappointment with results.
I have recently heard from women who have made comments similar to ’6lbs lost in the first 2 weeks isn’t very good’, ‘I reached my goal but now I’m putting weight back on’, ‘my husband has lost more than me in the first month’, ‘after 2 months I’ve only lost 10lbs’, ‘I haven’t lost anything like 24lbs in the first month’.
If any of these sound like you, then please, I want to let you know you’re not alone. And not just in your journey to being healthier and losing fat, but also in wondering about what kind of results it’s reasonable to expect.
I think it’s a pity that the book was promoted with such wild claims, such as 20lbs fat loss in a month, and similar ideas. It also didn’t help when there was publicity around people losing 8lbs or so in the first week. Plus, you’ve probably read online about some guys out there dropping 12lbs in their first 2 weeks, etc.
So, what’s really up with this?
Do women even lose fat with slow carb?
If you check the extra info in the back of the book, you’ll see that average weight loss for women was around 12 lbs. I think that’s over an 8 week period, but I’m not certain. For guys, the number is more like 20 lbs, or slightly more.
So what gives? Well, for starters, estrogen. But more than that, there’s other factors involved in women’s fat loss that don’t come into play for most men. Firstly, most men have greater muscle mass, and are taller, thanks to growth hormone and testosterone when they were younger. These two factors mean that men may carry a lot more weight in total than women, and still not look too back for it. So, when a guy talks about losing 12 lbs in 2 weeks, perhaps it’s because he has 40 or 50 lbs to lose. Though 40lbs would be very obvious on most women, it might not be so much so on a 6 foot tall man.
The next consideration is that of the diet’s characteristics. Higher protein, lower fat and lower carbohydrate suits guys better than women, and I believe this comes back to muscle mass again. It also doesn’t help that as a woman, you’re sent in to a hormonal rollercoaster, every month. The food cravings for many women can be almost too much to handle. Let alone the water retention and bizarre results on the scales.
So, who out there has lost weight? I know I’ve read plenty about women losing and making good on their goals, so there are some around. Clients that we have coached definitely lost weight, though it was less rapidly than their male partners.
So what’s fair? Expect nothing and be happy with anything?
Not exactly. I’m not big on that, but I do prefer to have reasonable expectations, rather than inflated ones. And it’s not your fault if your’s are inflated at the moment. Most likely its all based on what you’ve seen, read or heard about the slow carb diet. And some people have a tendency to sing the praises of any new diet as a ‘miracle’ or a ‘secret answer’ to weight problems.
Slow carb works steadily, over time. The other bonus that comes with slow carb, which you don’t get with many other diet plans, is some muscle gain, and other health benefits like blood pressure lowering, blood work having better numbers in good and bad cholesterol, plus changes in pain from inflammatory diseases, ailments and injuries. These are all great things!
So to answer the question,
Yes.
Women do lose weight on slow carb. More specifically, women lose fat on slow carb, which is more than can be said for any low-fat or calorie controlled diet, where generally it’s muscle and fat that is lost on the scale.
It just might not happen as fast as the ‘advertising’ would have you believe.
All the best! Keep at it for a few months and you’ll see the scale, and the tape measure trending the way you want it to.
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20 Responses to Do Women actually lose weight on slow carb?
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As a 37 year old woman, I felt I needed to comment on this post. My husband and I started Tim’s slow carb diet after having read the book last December. We started the diet in January of this year, and we’ve both seen great results. I’ve lost about 70 pounds and have gone from 47% body fat to 30% body fat. My husband’s results are lower, but he had less to lose. We both continue to follow the diet – him more or less in maintenance mode and I am still losing, though the rate has slowed. I was skeptical about this diet at first, but I am so glad I did it. I feel great and have definitely made a healthy lifestyle change! Thanks for writing this blog. I follow it regularly and find the posts helpful and informative.
Hi Sami thankyou very much for leaving your thoughts on this.
Reading your story is truly inspirational. That is an incredible result, and one that anyone can look to to feel motivated and keep on track to their own goals!
All the best to you and your husband.
Cheers,
Luke
I think Sami has an excellent point about how it’s really all relative. GENERALLY the guys do better, but she’s got a great example of how she’s got more to go than her husband and is rocking it while he isn’t as much.
A lot of the women I’ve talked to via forums or on my blog have had the same complaint that Luke is talking about, but they only have 10, 15, or 20 lbs to lose. Especially those last several come off pretty slow, even for guys (unless you get really extreme and tighten things down a lot).
Keep at it, y’all!
-j
Jason thanks for your thoughts!
I think you’re right, that some big guys are storing a lot more than female partners, friends or colleagues, and so their results look more impressive in numbers alone.
But if we look at inches lost, especially as a percentage of total inches to start with, I expect results may be a lot more similar.
Cheers!
Luke
I’m a 25 year old female who started at 171 lbs. and I’ve lost 19.6 lbs and 2 pant sizes during my first three months of slow carb. My results might seem slow compared to the book’s claims, but they are results and I feel great! My energy level improved within days and I never feel hungry. I take it one week at a time and see it as a journey instead of a quick fix. For me, it has been worth the time and effort. I’m looking forward to getting a second DEXA scan next week to see how my body composition has changed.
Hey Melissa, these are great results!! 20 lbs and 2 pant sizes is a real achievement – congratulations on achieving this!
I think your perspective on it as a journey, and not a quick fix is a great one. Your DEXA scan should be very revealing!
All the best,
Luke
Great post guys, and the site looks great too =)
Hey Gaby,
Thanks for your comment! It was a very long week, getting the site work done, but we’re really proud of the result!
Cheers,
Luke
I’m a 51 year old female and had basically given up on losing weight. i’ve tried everything …but i always failed because the prospect of forever living my life on a diet always took me off the path of weight loss. I’d lose some, gain some. never happy. I finally cleaned out my closet and threw away all my skinny clothes and accepted that i was a fat lady and would forever remain fat. Then over the summer i happened upon tim’s book on my kindle book list . . . and read it while vacationing on Cape Cod. I kept reading aloud parts of the book to my husband and daughters. . . and they were amused with me because I started a notebook about important points from the book and made a definitive plan to try it out. But the more I talked about it, the more my family started talking and buying into the theories and approaches. By the time we arrived home from vacation my husband said “Let’s follow this plan together”. I was floored . . . my husband has never been a part of any healthy eating plan and usually instead part of my downfall with eating. But on August 1st of this year (2011) we dove into Tim’s book and started the plan. It was six Days of healthy eating, minimal exercise, and one day off . . . and we absolutely loved it. In particular, the “Cheat day” on Saturday has been our savior because no matter how low you feel or how bad the cravings are, there is always the promise of a saturday around the corner. It totally kept us on track. And in fact, after a few months of the plan we started to realize that eating a bunch of crap on saturday made us feel really terrible and that our bodies really wanted healthy, good food. Saturdays have slowly become less of of an eat-a-thon and more of a time to reflect on what food does to our bodies. The low down: I have lost 42 pounds in 4 months and my husband has lost about 35! This is even more significant than it sounds because I could never lose weight. It just refused to come off . . . and if a little of it did come off, I would quickly gain it back (and a few extra pounds as well). I just could never lose weight enough to keep me positive and hopeful. So I want to lose 20 more pounds to be healthy, and I will officially never consider myself a fat lady again. For some people like me, this way of living truly is a “miracle”. It’s really the first time in a very, very long time that i’ve felt like a regular person ! If I could ever thank tim personally, I would say “thank you for figuring this out and sharing it with all of us”. I am forever grateful.
Hi Jolene, your comment should serve to encourage many, many people to take this up, or keep at it!
How fantastic to be able to follow this lifestyle, with your husband, and you both see such great results.
Slowing as you approach your goal weight is in fact the healthiest, most effective way to get to a maintenance phase, as you learn perfectly just how your body responds to food, you will be set for the rest of your life.
Thanks for sharing with us all,
Luke
I started slow carb 6 months ago. My goal was not to loose weight, but gain muscle. It seemed that I was working out 2 or more hours almost everyday, with hardly any muscle definition. Well, this diet has totally worked for me, my goal was to have definition in my arms, and see my ab muscles for my 50th birthday, and I got it. I now save so much time, because I work out maybe 3 days a week, with just leisurly workouts in between. I realize now that my body was protein starved (oh, and I am a vegan…) I have not lost any wieght at all, but that was not my goal.
Hi Theresa,
What a great result! Abs and arms at 50!! Wooo! Working out 2 to 3 times a week is definitely adequate for anyone to gain the results they want. And much healthier too.
Being a vegan can present some unique challenges, so the fact that you’ve achieved your goals with slow carb is very impressive. Congratulations!
Luke
I’ve lost a little over 30 pounds in 4 months. Still have a long way to go, but sticking to a way of eating (not diet) is always hard for me. Not this time. Just not hungry in between meals. Cholesterol is down, blood sugar is down. It is definitely coming off more slowly now, but if I can even maintain during this time of year, I consider that a success!
Hey Deb,
The difference between hungry, and not hungry between meals makes slow carb a real winner for a lot of people.
And from your great fat loss comes the other positive health effects you mentioned – cholesterol, blood sugar – and you’re right about maintaining around the holidays! Great job.
Luke
Luke
When I first started the 4 hour body, I had been following a low carb/low suar diet which excluded legumes. when I changed over i read somewhere that if you were a woman over 40 which i am it would most likely be about 5 weeks before you would see change. my trainer also told me this, and my body would need to adjust to those slower carbs. i will say i did limit my legumes to only the a.m. and low and behold at 5 weeks I started to move. i love the legumes in my diet it takes the hunger out and instead of starving; I find myself having to remember to eat enough. thank you for addressing this problem! i hope this helps other women see the light at the end of the tunnel. its hard to wait…but believe me it is worth the weight (ha ha). Happy holidays. Julie
Hi Julie, thanks for your comment!
Its very interesting to hear that it did take over a month for your body to respond to this change, but once it did, you saw the results, and kept at it. The beans really do make a great difference to hunger levels, and I think they make it quite easy to stick with, because you’re not constantly thinking about food, like most people do on a calorie restricted, or low fat diet.
Thanks for your words of encouragement for all the women out there who are wondering if this is for them, or if they should keep at it – this I’m sure will be a huge help!
Luke
Hi Luke,
My husband and I have both been following this diet for about a couple of months and have loved it. Personally I have lost 7 kilos and am down to the weight I was in high school. I’m not losing any more weight though this isn’t an issue as I feel I’m down to my ideal weight. However despite no real change on the scales I still feel and see my body getting leaner which is great. One real bonus red eliminating sugar has rid me of the cravings I always used to suffer from. I find On a slow carb day I always feel satisfied and full.
One question, how important is it to have four meals?I find three slow carb meals is enough to get me through the day. I do have some nuts in
the afternoon. I know Tim says this is a domino food but I am one of those rare people
who can have only a few.
The only thing I have found difficult is dropping my morning skim latte.
Thanks
Suzanne, Sydney australia
Hey Suzanne, great to hear from you, from Sydney!
That’s a substantial change you’ve enjoyed, congratulations – and to see things still changing is awesome! A lot of the time change can continue, despite no obvious change on the scale – muscle is much more condensed, so its weight it hard to see, but obvious on the scales. Fat is the opposite.
If you find yourself satisfied with 3 meals a day, and a small snack, then I’d say keep it up. It sounds like you’ve found what works for you!
All the best,
Luke
Hi luke
These are all refreshing to read. I’m vegetarian and have been following the programme, to the letter, without fail for the last 5 weeks. My husband has managed to lose 18lbs and I’ve struggled to come down 5lbs. I find it so disheartening and am pleased to read that if I just hang on in there the change will happen from now on.
Here’s hoping the abs and arms will come for me too!
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for your comment.
Though it can be frustrating, please remember that you’re not struggling at all – you have made losses as a result of your actions. And there’s every chance your body is changing more than you could ever know from a number of a scale. Weight is incredibly inaccurate as a predictor of health, body composition or attractiveness. Importantly though, as much as pop media would have us believe, we have very little control over our weight specifically – there’s so much unconscious processing happening in our body every second of every day. So aim to have success at things you can control – you have been incredibly successful at following the guidelines of slow carb, and that’s your real achievement. Focus on that as your success, because it’s within your control, and the results should come, as they do for most people. Try to disconnect from a specific number on the scales though, because there are all kinds of other benefits that come with making positive lifestyle changes (consider overall health indicators and measurements). Even your goal of seeing abs and shapely arms has very little to do with weight – it’s about muscle vs bodyfat. Add muscle, and you add weight, and relative to fat, barely-visible amounts of muscle weigh quite a bit.
All the best,
Luke