I'm still a strong advocate for a mix of carbs and protein, with lots of vegetables and some fruit. I really don't believe a low carb diet is healthy. I make sure I have both complex carbs and protein with every meal. I do avoid bread though, because I know it makes me really lethargic if I have too much. I have it maybe 1-2 times a week, and am careful not to have toast for breakfast followed by soup with toast for lunch, because I know I will need a nap in the afternoon! I mostly eat brown rice and potatoes for dinner, and some wholegrain pasta 1-2 times a week. And whatever I have for dinner is lunch the next day - unless I'm reaching for that soup back-up for whatever reason.

I also used to believe I was someone who needed morning and afternoon snacks as well, but I can actually quite easily get through the day with three meals - now that I have the right mix of carbs and protein to keep me going - though I do still have a yoghurt and/or piece of fruit most afternoons, partly out of habit and partly because I used to need the energy boost to get me through the uphill walk home (which I don't have anymore).

Interesting topic to me, as I've recently figured this for myself. I have the body type that can bulk quite quickly. In other words, by exercising I can get fast deceptive gains in physique that actually, when measured, have a disappointingly high fat percentage (given how hard I train). I gain muscle and fat easily. So my training and diet now is geared towards reducing fat percentage while gaining dense muscle and strength.

But no matter what I did I noticed sudden jumps in weight by 2 or 3 kilos that could not in that short length of time be good. And I began to realise it was when I'd eaten large portions of say rice or pasta a couple of days in a row. My trainer immediately said, "Looking at your physique you are a protein person." Since I cut large portions of carbs out of my diet and gone for (e.g.) lots of lean meat and veges those fluctuations have stopped and my weight has stablilised at the low end of that range. Visisibly, and also in how I feel, it is working.

As a general rule, in a gym the difference between the two types is obvious. "Carb" people tend to easily lose fat, have strong lean builds, but bemoan their inability to e.g. add size to their shoulders. A "protein" person will easily get a pumped look but become frustrated by their inability to get a more lean "cut" look.

The answer to why you struggled with your weight and your siblings didn't with the same amount of healthy food and exercise is that most of the energy we burn is done unconciously, even things like fidgeting and toe tapping burn significant amounts of calories without giving it any thought at all.

Many studies have shown over the years that if you standardise people's eating and exercise, you will get results all over the place. We all respond to exercise and eating in (sometimes dramatically) different ways. This is why making assumptions about fat people and how much or how little they're exercising and eating is just wrong. You can't tell just by looking at someone who is making an effort to control their weight and who isn't.

When it comes to weight there is no such thing as an even playing field. Some people will have to work very very very much harder than others to maintain a "normal" weight.

The truth of the matter is that for most people all you can realistically expect is very modest concious control of your long term body weight.

Once I did a weird test and it turned out I was a carbohydrate addict, according to these 2 PhD medical researchers, all because I can out eat most people when it comes to pasta and bread. So I tried the diet and found myself vomitting by the end of day 1.

The difference is I could eat 400grm packet of pasta on my own but give me a medium potato and I am full for hours. Same goes for protein, I can eat 4 eggs in a sitting and be hungry 2 hours later. So logically, I avoid the easy unfilling foods as it has the potential to make me gain weight and it costs way too much to feed me.

I now eat a well balanced diet and my weight has balanced off as has my bank account. The key is to eat whats feels right to eat for your body.

@ Nicloa #1 "I really don't believe a low carb diet is healthy."

This made me think about my earlier comment about me needing low carbs. I must add.. I do eat carbs, we need them. But my body type needs relatively less and relatively more protein, especially in main meals. I don't burn carbs easily.

There is an important note here that Nicola has perhaps highlighted. Something that I think is a is to eat say all of one's carbs in one's breakfast and then eat none. Especially if one has a tendency to some level of diabetes (surprisingly common in older people). And I pay special attention to the glycemic indexes of the particular carbs I eat (my opinion, white processed food is crap and always has a much much higher glycemic index).

People who don't need high amounts of carbs should try to graze in a way that means they are still getting a little consistently through the day, so that blood sugar and insulin levels aren't going all over the place. But when I said I am a "protein" person, I mean I tend to avoid large portions in meals. Relatively speaking I need more protein.

Nicola @ 1

Very sensible, particularly the "I really don't believe a low carb diet is healthy".

With reference to this bit "am careful not to have toast for breakfast followed by soup with toast for lunch, because I know I will need a nap in the afternoon!" You may find that it's not the carbs that are causing it but the lack of protein in either/both meals.

This is my general thoughts on low carbing and certainly not directed at Nicola who sounds eminently sensible.

Low carbing is an irresponsible regimen which has been spread by irresponsible health & fitness people who want quick results at the expense of long term health because it is financially rewarding.

The reason that there is weight loss is that each gram of carbs hold a gram of water.There has never been an independent peer-reviewed diet study that shows that low-carbing is effective over any period of time.

What low carbers are doing to their bodies is the same as body-builders do pre-competition but the body-builders do it for a short time.

Here is an interesting article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-yager/atkins-diet-why-the-new-a_b_588832.html

Different people like different things and that's fine as long as overall you are getting enough nutrition. If your diet means that you have to take supplements then there's something wrong with it.

You should be fit which means that you have enough energy to get through your day.

After all, isn't this whole blog about what your body can do, not what it looks like?

It pays to remember the human body did not evovle to eat large amounts of high quality carbohydrates. For most of our history we tended to eat mostly meat, fruit and vegetable matter. When we did eat carb it was in the form of roots, tubers and seed but they were not the large energy packed forms we have selectively bred today-instead they were small, fiborous and involved a lot of effort to obtain. With the advent of agriculture we selectively bred enlarged, good tasting and energy laiden cereals and root crops which were not part of our 'natural diet'.

The food pyramid is at least partly a political creation, designed by the USDA to use up the huge stock piles of cereals (corn and wheat) that devolped with the onset of industrial agriculture. I think a lower percentage of carbs in the diet would be healthier for most people.

so loving the comments today- thank you all so far- I'm learning alot too!

I think you NEED carbs- it's what sort of carbs- and yes- I think it's about what foods make you feel satisfied and your body work best- which may not be the same as the next person

thanks for all the comments (I'm learning too!)

@David #5 Steady blood sugar levels is exactly why my approach works for me! And aside from (hopefully) avoiding diabetes in the long term (something which is in the family), it also keeps me level-headed on a day to day basis. Having eaten out a lot lately, a whole bunch of that awful white processed stuff has crept back in, and my stress and tolerance/patience levels are extremely low right now!

@David #6 I still think it is largely the bread (it is most likely 'too white'/not grainy enough). As I said, I have carbs AND protein with every meal. If it's toast, then I'm eating it with peanut butter (though obviously not as protein rich as other breakfast options) and my soups always have beans/chickpeas/lentils in them. We're not talking watery vegetable or plain old pumpkin soup.

And there are of course carbs in veges, but I never factor them in. Veges are non-optional and I wouldn't bother working out which ones are high/low or adjust which ones I eat based on any further information. My personal focus is on reducing (over)processed white food and my comments on carbs are therefore largely referring to the bread/pasta/rice kind.

Re "@David #6 I still think it is largely the bread (it is most likely 'too white'/not grainy enough). As I said, I have carbs AND protein with every meal. If it's toast, then I'm eating it with peanut butter (though obviously not as protein rich as other breakfast options) and my soups always have beans/chickpeas/lentils in them. We're not talking watery vegetable or plain old pumpkin soup. "

Okay, that makes it clearer. The type of protein is important, too. When do you have animal protein?