Should I eliminate carbs from my diet?

When I first decided I needed to improve my health, I weighed in at 400 lbs. My father and his wife had experienced success with a low-carb diet and shared there experience with me. It seemed reasonable, after all, I was still going to be able to eat many of the foods I enjoy (namely bacon!)and lose weight. I had great success losing over 160 lbs. in a two-year span.Then I hit a rough patch.
I became depressed and no longer concerned myself with what was going into my body. As a result I gained nearly 30 lbs. The issue wasn't the low-carb diet, but my mental state. I knew in order to create a new me it would require a program that incorporated good nutrition and exercise. Although the low-carb diet helped me lose weight and improved my health, would it fit with my new goals?
the answer was a resounding NO.

Once I decided that Insanity was going to be the initial step with respect to exercise , I jumped right in, maintaining my low-carb eating habits. After a month of blood,sweat and tears, I lost 4 lbs. and  6.5 inches over my body. While these results were positive, they were hardly pleasing. I looked to the boards of Team Beachbody and to an ACTIVE coach for guidance. What I discovered is YOU MUST FUEL YOUR WORKOUTS!! I was only consuming about one-third of the amount of carbs that I should have been. I also discovered some valuable insight regarding macro-nutrients and their value  in an effective diet (more on this later). My lack of carbs was hindering my performance because I was lacking the energy to push harder, as well as my desire to lose weight because of my caloric intake and macro-nutrient ratios.

Now that I realized carbs were a necessary component I could just eat all the bread and donuts and refined sugars I could get my hands on right? Of course not. It was now important to know what type of carbs should be ingested. It should be noted that a thorough review of the low-carb diet would indicate that the type of carbs that should be ingested mirror the sentiments of most effective nutrition plans. The should be complex carbs (fruits,veggies and whole grains) low on the glycemic index in order to minimize the spike in blood sugar levels which would trigger the body's automatic response to increase insulin and create fat stores. This would allow the ingested carbs to be used as fuel instead.

If your goal is simply to lose weight without engaging in an intense exercise regimen then I look only to my own experience to indicate the low-carb diet is a way to go. But if you want to really bring it and develop a high fitness level, the right amount, and type of carbs are an essential component of any effective nutrition plan. Since my change in nutrition habits, along with adding Shakeology which will also be given a forum of its own, I nearly doubled my loss in month 2 (7 lbs. 8 inches) and as of today at the completion of my second round of month 1 I have lost an additional 8 lbs.

So after having said all of that, my thoughts on carbs are the following:

1. You must include carbs in an effective nutrition plan which includes rigorous exercise.
2. In any nutrition plan, whatever the amount, the carbs should be complex in nature and low on the glycemic index to promote weight loss.