[Aerynne]

I think basing meals on good carbs is the way to go. I'm not a vegetarian at the moment (I go back and forth) but to me meat is a condiment, not something to base a meal on. And vegetables, as great as they are, do not have enough calories to be the basis of your meal.

I second the recommendation to check out John McDougall's stuff.

You can lose weight on a low-carb diet, but it's not healthy weight loss. You get a "feeling of wellbeing" only because your body is in a crisis mode called ketosis.

I was obese in high school and got to a normal weight by eating a very high carb, low fat diet (think about 85% carbs, 10% protein, 5% fat). I kept it off, aside from pregnancy, for the last over 10 years.

Anyway, nothing wrong with basing meals on carbs. The reason people gain weight on carbs is not the high carb foods, but what you put on them (mashed potatoes, for instance, are super high in butter, and then people put gravy on them, etc). Fat is what makes people fat.