I returned to weight training five months a go, after a four year break.
Those four years were spent working long hours at the office, fueled by
pizza, burgers and beer after the work. No wonder my weight shot up 25
pounds. I looked absolutely horrible. I did not only gain fat, I also
lost a lot of muscle tissue due to inactivity. So the change in my
appearance was dramatic.

The first two months I was on a regular diet with high protein, low fat
and high carbs. I ate when I was hungry, without limiting calories. I
was getting stronger and fitter very fast, but I did not lose any
weight. I figured I was gaining muscle tissue at the same pace as I was
losing fat. The pace of change was painfully slow. Too slow. I had
suffered from a negative body image for years and wanted to look good
again, asap.

For an experiment, I went on a low-carb diet while continuing intensive
weight training. After the two initial zero-carb days, I was in the
fat-burning mode. The first difference I noticed were the steady energy
levels. No more up-and-downs due to blood sugar fluctuations. I was also
able to control my diet with remarkable ease. I was never hungry, I only
ate when I was supposed to.

I did not lose any strength and actually kept making gains at a decent
pace. I set my diet to 1200-1500 calories a day, down from my regular
2000-2500 calories a day. I ate about 1 gram of protein per pound of
bodyweight and less than 50g of carbs per day. The rest of the calories
were from fat. I started to lose bodyweight fast, about a pound per
week. In the three months on the training and diet combination, I have
lost about 15 pounds of bodyweight while making overall strength gains
of 20-30%.

I still have about 10 pounds I want to lose, but I am looking athletic
again and feeling great. I know that I could do this on a regular, low
calories, high carbs-diet, but the low-carb diet does work and is easy
to maintain. No hunger, no weakness, no lack of energy that accompany
regular dieting. I am a happy customer (not that I paid anything).

This was my experiment and experience from it. Just wanted to share.