Carbs
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We had this conversation about carbs 3 years ago on here. Was quite a long and extended thread. If i remember correctly, carbs are not needed to survive because doesn't the body create enough glucose for brain functionality? There's a Lyle McDonald article about it somewhere around here.
Here it is: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html/
Are Carbohydrates Essential?
Despite oft-heard claims to the contrary, there is no actual physiological requirement for dietary carbohydrate. Even the RDA handbook acknowledges this, right before recommending that a prudent diet should contain a lot of carbohydrates.
To understand why carbs aren’t essential, I need to discuss the concept of an essential nutrient briefly. And, in brief, an essential nutrient is defined as:
Any nutrient that is required for survival.
Can’t be made by the body.
Quoting from my own Rapid Fat Loss Handbook:
The second criterion is the reason that dietary carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient: the body is able to make as much glucose as the brain and the few other tissues need on a day-to-day basis from other sources. I should mention that the body is not able to provide sufficient carbohydrate to fuel high intensity exercise such as sprinting or weight training and carbs might be considered essential for individuals who want to do that type of exercise.0 -
I do not find lowering any macro too much helpful especially if you have any performance/training aspirations.
If anything it is better to have slightly higher protein and carb compared to fat to help recovery and adaption from workouts.
Personally I have been losing weight while training and racing which is tough to juggle, but have approximately 60-65% of my kcal from carbs and about 2g/kg of protein, which tends to leave a smaller chunk for fat. On a big training day I might have over 750g of carbs. Im not saying you need that much, but low carb stuff mixed with sport is hard. It is doable but its not easy and most of the time it does not end well.0 -
I do not find lowering any macro too much helpful especially if you have any performance/training aspirations.
If anything it is better to have slightly higher protein and carb compared to fat to help recovery and adaption from workouts.
Personally I have been losing weight while training and racing which is tough to juggle, but have approximately 60-65% of my kcal from carbs and about 2g/kg of protein, which tends to leave a smaller chunk for fat. On a big training day I might have over 750g of carbs. Im not saying you need that much, but low carb stuff mixed with sport is hard. It is doable but its not easy and most of the time it does not end well.
I remember going through refeed days .....mmmmm...the tubs of ice cream.
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I have never seen anyone grow lot's of muscle on zero carbs...DedRepublic wrote: »Does anyone else do a 25g daily carb intake and can you give me some suggestions/ideas to how I can get my carb count down?
Your working out twice a day, with weights, 5 days a week, so 10 weight training workouts...and at just 900-1000 calories? This is dangerous...
YOU NEED CARBS!! Your muscles love and prefer carbs to work, recover, and grow.
I load carbs up in the meal before weight traiing, drink a carb drink during the workout, and slam carbs after the workout.
Exactly what are your goals?
No..No one needs carbs. Sorry, not true. You had me with everything until you started with DANGER posts...
You don't think someone eating 900-1000 calories a day and exercising as much as her is dangerous? Also, why don't you cut out all carbs if you don't need them?
I totally agree with this. 900-1000 calories per day is too low for someone who sits on a couch all day. Now add Two-A-Days workouts with Weight Training...and no carbs? Yeah...I would not take advice from anyone ever recommending less than 1200 cal per day diet.
Even when I'm cutting I never take in less than 2200 calories...and that's me around 190 lbs.
Look...I'm not hating on Low Carb or Ketogenic people...you can shed lots of fat on those macros...but grow lot's of muscle? Well...I have never seen anyone get jacked on protein and fat.
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I eat low carb. I eat less than 20g a day I find it easier for me than low calorie, but everyone is different so if you want to go low carb, I would suggest trying it for two weeks and then deciding how you like it. The first two weeks you go through a bit a withdrawal and won't feel too great. It kind of felt like a mild hangover and I was exhausted the first two weeks. After that I felt great and had great success in losing weight. I have 18pounds to go until I hit a healthy bmi and I have lost 107 pounds since July 21. I want to lose another 30 pounds. My meals mostly consist of meat, cheese, and grean vegatables. For snack I'll eat sunflower seeds, nuts, fat bombs and chocolate redi whip (If I'm real desperate for chocolate.) Usually when people say they eat 25g of carbs they are meaning net carbs. To get the net carb total you substract the fiber and sugar alcohol from the total carb count. Sugar alcohol is found in sugar free candy/ice cream. I personally try not to eat much of it. My stomach can't handle much of it and some people think sugar alcohol stalls them so for me it isn't worth eating much unless on special occassion.0
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Also, when eating low carb, your cravings for carbs and sugar go away after the first couple weeks so it is really easy to make it your way of life. At least that is how it is for me0
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It was my old personal trainer. I saw him briefly on wednesday and I mentioned that I wasn't losing pounds around my stomach area (my main focus area) and he said that I should be consuming 25g carbs a day. Like I said, I really thought this was low and I looked it up online too. Only found this site yesterday so thought i'd ask everyone if
1. it was possible
2. sensible (I was very tentative when he told me)
3. harmful
Thanks
1. Yes
2. Absolutely not sensible with weight training Twice a Day eating 900 calories
3. Yes
Crawl, Walk, then Run.
Maybe set your calorie target to lose 1 or 2 lbs per week if that is your goal taking into account what you burn in one gym session per day not two, and I recommend eating a balanced macro that give you the energy to workout. You will feel better this way and be more motivated to continue. If you remain at a deficit the weight will come off...just give it time and be absolutely honest with yourself and what you are putting in to your body...that is...track everything. Take weekly measurements and weigh your self to make sure you are on track and make adjustments as necessary.
As you become more advance in nutrition and weight training maybe shift the macro around to prefer fat loss...but if you are new or just starting out...I recommend balanced macro getting in your carbs around the workout time.
Eat and Train...don't diet and exercise. 0 -
Courtney81814 wrote: »Courtney81814 wrote: »Courtney81814 wrote: »
A beach body coach and starvation mode all in one post. Sorry but you're wrong.311snowwhite wrote: »Becky,
A few things. First, let me tell you a little about me so you will know that I know what I am talking about. I am 34, currently 110 lbs, a coach with Beachbody and fitness fanatic. However, 6 years ago I was 170 lbs and couldn't run to the end of the block.
Here are my thoughts, take them for what they are worth.
The most important thing I have to say is that if you aren't eating ENOUGH you will NOT lose weight. Your body will go in to starvation mode and hold on to any carbs/calories you put in to your body. You will retain not lose. 900/1000 calories a day? That is not enough. Honestly, I never recommend anything less that 1200.
Next, a low carb diet coupled with exercise is surely the quickest way to lose weight. You also need to think about if that is going to be easy for you to maintain and not yo-yo. Like in the beginning of my weight loss journey I would go low carb and do really well for a while, but then my self control would weaken and my hunger would get the best of me and I would go "off the rails" for a couple of weeks (if not more) and gain a bunch of weight back. Trying to find balance in your diet is KEY. It is also better to eat your carbs earlier in the day and try to keep your dinners to just veggies and protein.
I also found that in the beginning I always trusted the calorie calculators on the machines at the gym to tell me how many calories I was burning and some of my eating was based on that. It wasn't for a couple of years that I realized the machines can WAY overestimate, and invested in a heart rate monitor to track my calorie burn. Polar has some cheaper ones that work GREAT.
I hope this helps.
ErinCourtney81814 wrote: »Hey everyone!
You're all being really helpful, thank you so much.
I have to admit, the personal trainer that told me to eat 25g only told me this on Wednesday and it's been playing on my mind a bit because i've always though it's healthier to eat around 100g
it got me really confused, hence why I asked what other people do actually manage the 25g intake - because I couldn't think of any way around it without passing out.
In terms of the 900-1000 daily calorie intake; i'm definitely not doing it as a starvation diet because I want to create a more healthy lifestyle for myself and make this a permanent lifestyle change rather than a quick fix you know? At the moment i'm consuming 900-1000 (over the past week) without really realising. A lot of fruits and healthy veg goes in to my day as well...but since being on this site i've realised what i'm actually consuming may not be the right amount. So in a way, it's really good that i've started counting my calories because I didn't realise I was so low if i'm honest.
MFP says I should be losing around 2lbs a week with my activity. I'm 5'2 and pear shaped.
Thanks for your guidance and advice everyone, I really do appreciate. Especially pointing out that this guy was being silly about 25g carbs. I really appreciate your help.
1. your trainer is an idiot and I suggest finding a new one.
2. you need to net at least 1200 calories a day
I love how people say "you need to at least 1200 calories a day" this is not a one size fits all number. Most people generally eat too little when trying to lose weight. If you are working out that much you do need to eat a lot more calories, even to lose weight. You need to figure out your TDEE and create a deficit from there to lose weight. You need more calories than you think and you will still lose weight. When I first attempted to lose weight I fell for the 1200 calorie a day BS and ended up soo extremely exhausted and just drained. It took me a while to figure out that I wasn't eating enough to sustain myself during and after my workouts, which took away from what I could do during my workouts as well. Also, carbs are not your enemy. Get your carbs from veggies, fruits, rice, oats, quinoa, sweet potatoes, etc..complex carbohydrates. NOT candy, cakes, donuts, etc.
If you don't know what your TDEE or BMR is there are lots of posts on MFP and just the internet about it. Your TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or basically how many calories you burn on an average day including working out. This isn't exact science, of course, but it's a good starting point. If after a few weeks you aren't getting the results you want, make minor adjustments until you find something that works for you, but I don't think you should continue eating 900-1000 calories a day, especially working out as much as you say you are.
It actually is science. And math.
Yes...but it is an estimate of the number of calories someone burns. If I put my activity level as moderate, it is estimating the number of calories I am burning based on my weight, height, etc. It is not EXACT, which is what I meant when I said "not exact science"...meaning it involves a certain amount of guessing. I didn't mean it didn't involve science or math..
It will never be 100% exact but it's your job to mitigate the margin of error by eliminating as many variables as possible, having consistency and being able to properly analyze the trends. The problem is many people can't do that. At the end of the day it is straight math and science. No other way around that.
Again, not arguing that its not science or math. Why are you arguing with me about this? I'm simply telling the OP that using the online calculators won't give you an exact number, but its a good starting point. I never said these numbers weren't based off of science or math.
ummm you were the one who started the whole argument thing when you nit picked my post and did not comprehend the whole thing..
the thread was moving along fine until that point...
I commented on ONE part of your post. Telling someone to eat 1200 calories is ridiculous. Calories are based on weight, height, activity level, etc. Not a generic number. That is the only thing I said about your post. He was referring my comment about TDEE, which has nothing to do with your post at all...soo...your point is?
When did he say that?0 -
DedRepublic wrote: »Does anyone else do a 25g daily carb intake and can you give me some suggestions/ideas to how I can get my carb count down?
Your working out twice a day, with weights, 5 days a week, so 10 weight training workouts...and at just 900-1000 calories? This is dangerous...
YOU NEED CARBS!! Your muscles love and prefer carbs to work, recover, and grow.
I load carbs up in the meal before weight traiing, drink a carb drink during the workout, and slam carbs after the workout.
Exactly what are your goals?
No..No one needs carbs. Sorry, not true. You had me with everything until you started with DANGER posts...
What about fiber? We don't need fiber?
Can your brain get enough through ketones and gluconeogensis to function properly that we can have 0g of carbs a day?
Think we've had this dance before
http://zerocarbzen.com/2015/03/09/zero-carb-interview-the-andersen-family/
Yes, people do zero carb. No, they don't die or suffer brain damage. It's extreme, but extreme != impossible.0 -
DedRepublic wrote: »Does anyone else do a 25g daily carb intake and can you give me some suggestions/ideas to how I can get my carb count down?
Your working out twice a day, with weights, 5 days a week, so 10 weight training workouts...and at just 900-1000 calories? This is dangerous...
YOU NEED CARBS!! Your muscles love and prefer carbs to work, recover, and grow.
I load carbs up in the meal before weight traiing, drink a carb drink during the workout, and slam carbs after the workout.
Exactly what are your goals?
No..No one needs carbs. Sorry, not true. You had me with everything until you started with DANGER posts...
What about fiber? We don't need fiber?
Can your brain get enough through ketones and gluconeogensis to function properly that we can have 0g of carbs a day?
A lot of people do 0 carbs and they do great. I personally don't think I can stick to 0 carbs for life so that is why I do 20g or less a day, because I know I can stick to that. It's easy and I can have my salads, but there isn't a real need for carbs. If your body doesn't have carbs to burn, your body will use fat instead, which is why the weight loss on low carb, high fat diets are usually pretty quick when there is a lot of fat to lose.0 -
Okay...the conflicting voices and opinions in this thread have left those (including myself) who are not up on the latest metabolic physiology totally confused. Is there any way to assess whether your nutritional state is okay by the way you FEEL and how well you FUNCTION; i.e. by listening to your own body??0
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Yes we did but I don't recall getting an answer if zero carb means we get everything the brain needs, maybe I'm wrong.
The minimum requirement for the brain seems to be around 30g/d of glucose. You'll make the glucose from protein and glycerol if you don't eat it via carbs. Not something I'm personally interested in trying, but we're adapted for it.
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Okay...the conflicting voices and opinions in this thread have left those (including myself) who are not up on the latest metabolic physiology totally confused. Is there any way to assess whether your nutritional state is okay by the way you FEEL and how well you FUNCTION; i.e. by listening to your own body??
To a point. It also depends on what you were eating before. If you're loading up on 3 bottles of Mt Dew and a bag of Doritos a day, then stop having them, you're going to feel like crap for a week, but your nutritional state is better than when you were riding the gamer train.0 -
Okay...the conflicting voices and opinions in this thread have left those (including myself) who are not up on the latest metabolic physiology totally confused. Is there any way to assess whether your nutritional state is okay by the way you FEEL and how well you FUNCTION; i.e. by listening to your own body??
Yes your body will tell you if you are hungry and give you clues to how you feel, but no matter what way of eating you choose, you have to give your body time to realize it is ok. I always say to give it 2 weeks before you decide you do or do not like the new way of life. Personally, I decided I like low carb, others like low calorie. I was a big sugar and carb eater. My drink of choice was mountain dew. Honestly, besides when I brushed my teeth, I only drank mountain dew. Every meal consisted of carbs. So, for the first 2 weeks I felt pretty bad. It was like taking a drug addict off drugs. Your body will need to adjust. After the first 2 weeks, I felt better than I ever did before. The weight came off, I had my energy back and the energy lasted all day. Everything seemed better, aches and pains went away, My head seemed to clear, my teeth even felt better without all the sugar all day everyday.
Low calorie would have somewhat the same effect, maybe not as extreme but I'm sure the first couple weeks are not as easy as the rest. I personally, can't stick to low calorie. I realized any amount of carbs makes me crave more so I want to eat more. So I constantly have to fight off cravings, and I'm just not strong enough for that. Now I don't even miss any of the old foods I ate before. I get so obsessed while doing low calorie, I pretty much starve myself for a couple weeks and then give up. Now this is me, not everyone is the same. I see a lot of people on here that do great low calorie. If you read the success stories you'll be amazed how well people have done with both ways of life.0 -
Okay...the conflicting voices and opinions in this thread have left those (including myself) who are not up on the latest metabolic physiology totally confused. Is there any way to assess whether your nutritional state is okay by the way you FEEL and how well you FUNCTION; i.e. by listening to your own body??
Yes your body will tell you if you are hungry and give you clues to how you feel, but no matter what way of eating you choose, you have to give your body time to realize it is ok. I always say to give it 2 weeks before you decide you do or do not like the new way of life. Personally, I decided I like low carb, others like low calorie. I was a big sugar and carb eater. My drink of choice was mountain dew. Honestly, besides when I brushed my teeth, I only drank mountain dew. Every meal consisted of carbs. So, for the first 2 weeks I felt pretty bad. It was like taking a drug addict off drugs. Your body will need to adjust. After the first 2 weeks, I felt better than I ever did before. The weight came off, I had my energy back and the energy lasted all day. Everything seemed better, aches and pains went away, My head seemed to clear, my teeth even felt better without all the sugar all day everyday.
Low calorie would have somewhat the same effect, maybe not as extreme but I'm sure the first couple weeks are not as easy as the rest. I personally, can't stick to low calorie. I realized any amount of carbs makes me crave more so I want to eat more. So I constantly have to fight off cravings, and I'm just not strong enough for that. Now I don't even miss any of the old foods I ate before. I get so obsessed while doing low calorie, I pretty much starve myself for a couple weeks and then give up. Now this is me, not everyone is the same. I see a lot of people on here that do great low calorie. If you read the success stories you'll be amazed how well people have done with both ways of life.0 -
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I used to be in about the same place as you are right now about 2 years ago. I lost a lot of weight (10kg) but it was mostly from muscle. I was skinny,but not tonned. You are simply starving yourself with a low calorie intake. I lost a lot of hair and felt weak and had severe cramps when my period came. This was probably for 1 1/2 years. About 6 months ago I came across freelee the banana girl and I've learned to eat over 2,500 calories a day and maintain a healthy weight. Its not about the calories, its about what you eat! I recommend checking her out. She saved my life. Now I'm healthy, no cramps, growing my hair back and am healthy on a low fat HIGH CARB plant based diet! Something that will keep me feeling satisfied and long term! I really hate seeing other girls doing what I did!!! Best of luck0
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juliamclennan wrote: »I used to be in about the same place as you are right now about 2 years ago. I lost a lot of weight (10kg) but it was mostly from muscle. I was skinny,but not tonned. You are simply starving yourself with a low calorie intake. I lost a lot of hair and felt weak and had severe cramps when my period came. This was probably for 1 1/2 years. About 6 months ago I came across freelee the banana girl and I've learned to eat over 2,500 calories a day and maintain a healthy weight. Its not about the calories, its about what you eat! I recommend checking her out. She saved my life. Now I'm healthy, no cramps, growing my hair back and am healthy on a low fat HIGH CARB plant based diet! Something that will keep me feeling satisfied and long term! I really hate seeing other girls doing what I did!!! Best of luck
Hey, thanks for this. I will definitely check her out.
Glad to hear you are feeling much better. 0
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