CARBS aren't bad folks.

erikkmcvay

I see people post (or talk etc) all the time about 'not eating carbs' or 'carbs are bad' etc etc....NONSENSE!

While I agree that SIMPLE Carbs 'MAY' be bad for you the real problem is processed foods, refined sugars and abuse of simple carbs (overeating simple carbs).

Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or nutritional expert.

In my opinion refined sugars are the problem as well as processed foods so stay away from adding white sugar, store bought milk (yes) and eating Honey Nut Cheerios or whatever the flavor of the day is and stick to whole grains which contain complex carbohydrates which can actually have a POSITIVE impact on your diet (lower blood glucose levels, increase fiber which improves digestive tract etc etc). The complex carbs add energy to your diet and help fill you up (or make you feel full) which improves the chance that you won't overeat.

When I started my quest to lose nearly 100 lbs (95) I was eating eggs, meat, cheese, butter and bread for breakfast. I ate real cheese, farm eggs, cooked meats (not processed stuff) andd home made 100% wheat bread made from my own home milled flour -- I thought I ate well. I walked almost every day and kept my food intake down. I lost a few pounds but gained some back. I was stuck around 270lbs and thought maybe my approach was wrong. I watched movies like 'Fat Sick and Nearly Dead' and 'Forks over knives' and decided that maybe I ought to try 'cooked wheat berries' instead of eggs. A complete change for me.

And the weight began to drop. 265, 263, 260, 259, 255, 253 -- each week I saw my weight drop! I was stoked! I ate CEREAL!

Now to be fair my diet wasn't just cereal but that's what I ate for breakfast and at lunch I ate rice (not the processed crap known as 'White Rice' but rather the good for you whole grain rices like brown, black etc and with wild rice and quinoa tossed in to mix it up) with wheat, lentils, quinoa etc -- I reserved meat and dairy for dinner only and didn't worry so much about it.

I joined MFP around 260lbs to better track those cals and it has helped a bunch but right away I noticed that it was important to set your own levels for things like carbs (I set mine at 55%), protein (mines at 25%) and fats (20%) based on your own research -- just don't cut the carbs out completely or you won't be getting enough fiber (Dietary Fiber comes from plants -- plants contain mostly carbohydrates -- heck even Quinoa known as a 'complete protein' only contains a very small amount of protein!).

I've seen a lot on 'Paleo diets' etc but true Paleo peoples often did not eat nearly as much protein as prescribed by Paleo'ers today and often went periods of starvation -- are Paleo Dieters today doing that? Man thrived AFTER the advent of growing wheat / farming for a reason.

So, while I do agree that LOTS of protein is required when trying to add lean muscle mass (I used to lift a lot of weight) and I agree that lean muscle burns more calories and therefore adding lean muscle will most often reduce fat I'm not in favor of dropping 'carbs' at all. In fact, I support a high carb diet (high meaning 50% or more of your daily caloric needs).

Doesn't mean I'm right but don't just take any old Fad supporters view that carbs are bad and you should eat only protein and fat! At least not without measured consideration. After all, without carbs how will you get 38 grams of dietary fiber per day (men)?

As for Fat -- EAT IT! You need a minimum of 20% of your daily calories in fats for many reasons but stick to natural healthy fats like Olive Oil for example.

The majority of my 45lbs of weight loss came from cardio and carbs

Just my 2c

erikkmcvay

For clarity by cereal I mean 'Cereal Grains' like Oatmeal, Wheat Berries, Chia etc.