Balancing calories and carbs

jameshaslam

Hi,
I have been finding that I can easily meet my calorie quota (1470) to lose 2lb per week, with or without cardio. But I struggle to not go over on my carbs if I hit all calories.

To not go over on my carbs, means finishing the day with about 250 unspent calories, and feeling hungry. If I do some cardio I will have even more unspent calories.

So is it OK to go over on my carbs as long as I'm OK on calories, or do I need to try and balance both (which means no starches at all, just meat and veggies).

thanks, James

SueInAz

At the beginning, just focus on the calories. As long as you are meeting your calorie goal, you will lose weight. Once you get more comfortable with the process you can start to worry about your macro distribution.

That said, MFP's carb goal is pretty high and the protein goal is pretty low. If you're going over on carbs each day which macro is lacking? Are you a vegetarian? I'm not seeing any meat in your diet, beyond fish, so I'm assuming that's the case. Vegetarians have a harder time meeting protein goals. It takes some figuring out. There are message board groups specific to vegetarians that you might find useful.

jameshaslam

My ideal is to eat fish twice a week and lay off meat because I have high cholesterol. Thanks for your tip, I will try to figure out how to increase my protein and not worry too much about carbs just yet

futuremanda

Your calorie goal is below the minimum healthy level recommended for males. Did MFP give it to you? I know it has had some bugs in the past where it goes below the minimum.

And there's nothing wrong with carbs. They're less filling than fat and protein, but they have no magical fat-storing powers or anything. So eat enough calories, whatever that looks like.

ihatetodietalways

futuremanda wrote: »

Your calorie goal is below the minimum healthy level recommended for males. Did MFP give it to you? I know it has had some bugs in the past where it goes below the minimum.

And there's nothing wrong with carbs. They're less filling than fat and protein, but they have no magical fat-storing powers or anything. So eat enough calories, whatever that looks like.

Carbs are the major macro that increase insulin which is an anabolic hormone. It drives sugar into muscles and liver and finally fat cells. If your glycogen is full in the liver, and your muscles are not prone to accept glucose (they need a receptor for accepting insulin) then you will store fat.
I really think you should increase your fat (can up it will olive oil, fish oil) and protein. Carbs from sugar and starch can be cut.

livingleanlivingclean

You shouldn't eat less than you need too - if you've got calories left, eat protein and fat if you don't want more carbs. If you plan meals around protein and fat first, then add your carbs, you may find that you meet your macro goals a bit better. Fwiw, vegies are carbs. I get most of my carb intake from vegies, and fruit - i pick them over other carb sources as they're generally less calorie dense and I get more volume.

futuremanda

ihatetodietalways wrote: »

futuremanda wrote: »

Your calorie goal is below the minimum healthy level recommended for males. Did MFP give it to you? I know it has had some bugs in the past where it goes below the minimum.

And there's nothing wrong with carbs. They're less filling than fat and protein, but they have no magical fat-storing powers or anything. So eat enough calories, whatever that looks like.

Carbs are the major macro that increase insulin which is an anabolic hormone. It drives sugar into muscles and liver and finally fat cells. If your glycogen is full in the liver, and your muscles are not prone to accept glucose (they need a receptor for accepting insulin) then you will store fat.
I really think you should increase your fat (can up it will olive oil, fish oil) and protein. Carbs from sugar and starch can be cut.

Nope, not in a calorie deficit you won't. Certainly not at 1470 for a male. In a whole day, his body will burn WAY more than 1470... anything stored after a meal will get burned off again and then some.

Your body simply cannot store energy you didn't give it. If his body takes 3000 calories to exist, it takes 3000 calories to exist. If he feeds it 1470, it'll have to get the rest from body tissues.

And in a calorie surplus, you'll store the energy whether it's carbs or not.

Unknown

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dksmith20110

James, the trouble is that gradually, and we often don't notice it happening, too high a percentage of carbs makes you start to crave more carbs. Our bodies are just wired that way. True, calorie intake is the key, but as someone pointed out, too many carbs can trigger sugar imbalances (spikes between high and low) which is really a huge problem for those of us who are diabetic or pre-diabetic. But it still creates those cravings in everyone then before you know it, the pounds gradually start coming back on. That is what caused me to become obese, and especially problematic are too many carbs in the evening hours. Try substituting in more lean proteins (fish, turkey, chicken, pork chops) for some of your carbs, or even a protein shake, but beware, many of those have lots of added carbs and sugar, so read the label. I prefer the Pure Protein or Atkins shakes. I do not use them as a meal substitute but rather to supplement a meal that is otherwise mostly carbs. Also make sure you are getting more good carbs. Lokk up and read an article about the glycemic index of different carbs. It is eye opening. The "empty" carbs (mostly sugar) are what we crave so we need to limit them. And read the food labels and check for the grams of dietary fiber. More dietary fiber is real important and usually means more "good" carbs. Of course the "bad" carbs taste the best. Balance and moderation is key, and it us hard to do, but I try to keep to the balance MFP recommends: for me it is 50% carbs, 20% protein, and 30% fat. Whatever your goal, logging and tracking everyday in MFP is what works for me; keeps me honest about my carb intake.

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jameshaslam

I am not diabetic, but my glucose is at the top end of normal so I don't want to tip it over the edge, and my doctor did give me a warning that I could become pre-diabetic very easily unless I eat healthier and exercise more (hence me starting my diet with MFP). I also have extremely high triglycerides.

Yes MFP did set my calorie goals based on selecting to lose 2lb per week. I'm also doing 30 mins of cardio and 45 mins weights most days which loses 350 extra for the cardio and unknown for the weights

MakePeasNotWar

What is your carb goal, if you don't mind me asking? At 1470 calories the MFP guidelines should leave you sufficient carbs to have fruit and starches in moderation as well as non-starchy veggies. Did your doctor prescribe a low carb diet?

Since your calorie total appears to be off, your carb target might be an error as well. I'd definitely go back through the set-up process again and see if the numbers come out differently if I were you.

StaciMarie1974

If you aim for perfection you might just drive yourself crazy. Its not like you need to hit x,xxx calories (or macro balance) perfectly each day. At least give yourself a +/-50 calorie leeway. Similar for macros, coming close is fine.

Though if you're way over on carbs - you're coming in under on fats or protein. Be careful not to eliminate too much fat, our bodies need some of it. And make an effort to get enough protein. I can't tell you what 'enough' means - there is no perfect answer for that unfortunately.

jameshaslam

My daily goals are 1470 calories, 184 carbs, 49 fat, 74 protein, 2300 sodium, 55 sugar.
But if I exercise and get myself more calories to spend, (like taking it up to 1700) I find it hard to use all my calories without going over on carbs.

MakePeasNotWar

jameshaslam wrote: »

My daily goals are 1470 calories, 184 carbs, 49 fat, 74 protein, 2300 sodium, 55 sugar.
But if I exercise and get myself more calories to spend, (like taking it up to 1700) I find it hard to use all my calories without going over on carbs.

Don't your macro targets increase when you log exercise? Mine do, and I believe that is how MFP is designed to work. If yours aren't changing when you log activity, you might be experiencing a bug. It seems like the last few months, nothing has been working the way it should. As mentioned by someone else earlier, the software isn't supposed to give (or even allow) a target of less than 1500 calories for a male.

If your carbs don't update with your activity, I guess you could just use your target macro ratio to calculate your extra carbohydrate goal as a percentage of exercise calories, though it's a pain in the butt.