Carbs!?

Samm471
Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
edited November 23 in Food and Nutrition
I want to go on a low carb diet not too low but about 150grams roughly. I was eating this but I've had to up my carbs due to trying to eat at maintenance had to up these to about 240grams ( now I feel major bloated) If I drop my carbs I need to up my fat or protein which I don't want to do , more so protein as I like to get the 1gram per lb but then that means I have to up my fat to which means more fat , I need set macros to 100% as you all know , I could just decide oh stuff it I'm not eating the whole 240grams carbs but then I'm
Not hitting my calorie goal making me in a deficit. Need some help? If I wanna go on a lower carb diet what's best to increase fat or protein? Well All know if you go over your goal on either macro it stores as fat. I'm stumped!!

Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    unless you have a medical need for lower carbs (ie: diabetic), there is no need to reduce them.
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    I just don't think I get the concept of the whole macros thing .. All I know is I've had to up my carbs macro to eat at maintenance because I didn't want to up protein or fat and now I feel major bloated. If I don't eat the whole carbs I need to make up the remainder of my calories from fat or protein but will going over these goals not make it store as fat? When I used the iifym calculator it gave me my macros so I'm assuming if I go over them it's gonna store as fat?
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    Your macros are the percentage composition of your total calories. Total calories is most important for weight gain, loss or maintenance. If you go over your total calories, you will store fat. If you stick to your calorie goal, your macros will not cause you to gain or lose extra weight.
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
    Fat won't make you gain fat just because it is fat. It is however much more calorie dense than protein or carbs, so it doesn't take much effort to rack up the calories. The concern is when you eat too many calories overall.

  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    So if I go over on fat or protein it doesn't matter as long as I hit my calorie goal? I just hate having to eat that much carbs I have felt bloated for the past week and it's horrible
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    unless you have a medical need for lower carbs (ie: diabetic), there is no need to reduce them.

    The reason I want to is because I just feel totally bloated eating that much going from 150 to 250 in a day just to hit calorie goal .. No medical issues I just feel better not eating that many
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
    Samm471 wrote: »
    So if I go over on fat or protein it doesn't matter as long as I hit my calorie goal? I just hate having to eat that much carbs I have felt bloated for the past week and it's horrible

    Overall calories is what matters most. That being said, carbs do tend to cause water retention for many.

    Personally I have my macros set to 40/30/30 C/F/P as a guideline, but often I am much lower on the carbs and much higher on the fat.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited September 2015
    Your body stores ANY extra calories, regardless if they were protein, fat, or carbs. All three macros serve a purpose in your body. In my experience, most people who focus on macros either do low carb by setting a carb limit and eating how ever much protein and fat they need to to get to their calorie goal, or they are not doing low carb, and they view their protein and fat goals as minimums and let carbs fall where they may.

    If you are over your calorie goal you will gain weight.
    If you are under your goal you will lose weight.
    Regardless of your macro %s
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    Okay thanks :) so the bloating is coming from the water in the carbs I'm guessing. It's a horrible feeling especially coming from a deficit to upping my calories too I feel like I'm gaining weight again But that's because of the bloating as I'm kinda hovering around the same weight , it's my middle section that annoys me most and the carbs are just making me feel bloated and bleh lol
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    150 grams/day is not really low carb. You need to get below 100 at least. I would suggest you read
    the book, "The Rosedale Diet" to learn about low carb dieting.
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    150 grams/day is not really low carb. You need to get below 100 at least. I would suggest you read
    the book, "The Rosedale Diet" to learn about low carb dieting.

    Yeah that's why I wrote not too low as I know below 100 is seen as low carb :)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Taking protein up to say 35% of calories might be one option.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i can tell you i dont pay any attention to my macros.

    i typically eat low carb but thats how ive always eaten. and its not always ;) LOL

    the only time i think about protein (in particular) is in regards to my workouts and making sure i have some before i head to the gym
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    The only reason I pay attention is because I'm lifting 5 days a week so I know I need to make sure I'm
    Getting enough protein I just wasn't sure about carbs and well the whole feeling bloated is totally putting me off but I know I need them for the energy
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited September 2015
    Samm471 wrote: »
    I want to go on a low carb diet not too low but about 150grams roughly. I was eating this but I've had to up my carbs due to trying to eat at maintenance had to up these to about 240grams ( now I feel major bloated) If I drop my carbs I need to up my fat or protein which I don't want to do , more so protein as I like to get the 1gram per lb but then that means I have to up my fat to which means more fat , I need set macros to 100% as you all know , I could just decide oh stuff it I'm not eating the whole 240grams carbs but then I'm
    Not hitting my calorie goal making me in a deficit. Need some help? If I wanna go on a lower carb diet what's best to increase fat or protein? Well All know if you go over your goal on either macro it stores as fat. I'm stumped!!

    Fat is NOT more likely to be stored as fat, nor is protein, if you eat over in these macros to make up for under eating a carb macro. I've been eating 70-75% fat for two months and I'm losing about 2 lbs per week. High fat macros won't slow you down as long as you are eating at a deficit.

    If your protein is at a good level, it's probably simplest to add some fat to your diet. Most low carbers are low carb, high fat (LCHF). I'm at the low end of low carbs so my fat is pretty high.
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    150 grams/day is not really low carb. You need to get below 100 at least. I would suggest you read
    the book, "The Rosedale Diet" to learn about low carb dieting.

    I disagree with this. 150g of carbs per day is often considered low carb, and I know of one man who go higher (200+g of carbs) but they use carbs as a performance enhancing tool - he still stays in ketosis.

    There are various levels of low carb. No one level is right. Some eat almost zero carbs, some are low to stay in ketosis, and some go a bit higher (100 something).
    Samm471 wrote: »
    The only reason I pay attention is because I'm lifting 5 days a week so I know I need to make sure I'm
    Getting enough protein I just wasn't sure about carbs and well the whole feeling bloated is totally putting me off but I know I need them for the energy

    Technically you don't. I eat less than 30g of carbs per day and I have rarely felt better. Fat burning can give you energy and your body can make the glucose it needs from protein in your diet.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    When you dont have any medical issues with carbs
    Just do CICO

    So calories in versus calories out
    Dont make it hard on yourself...keep it simple
    Eat what you want but in your calorie allowance ( so weigh all your food on a food scale in grams)

    A balanced intake is the best. There is no bad or good foods only TOO MUCH food for weight loss

    95069916.png
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member

    Dont make it hard on yourself...keep it simple

    weigh all your food on a food scale in grams

    LOL
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Samm471 wrote: »
    I want to go on a low carb diet not too low but about 150grams roughly. I was eating this but I've had to up my carbs due to trying to eat at maintenance had to up these to about 240grams ( now I feel major bloated) If I drop my carbs I need to up my fat or protein which I don't want to do , more so protein as I like to get the 1gram per lb but then that means I have to up my fat to which means more fat , I need set macros to 100% as you all know , I could just decide oh stuff it I'm not eating the whole 240grams carbs but then I'm
    Not hitting my calorie goal making me in a deficit. Need some help? If I wanna go on a lower carb diet what's best to increase fat or protein? Well All know if you go over your goal on either macro it stores as fat. I'm stumped!!

    Fat is NOT more likely to be stored as fat, nor is protein, if you eat over in these macros to make up for under eating a carb macro. I've been eating 70-75% fat for two months and I'm losing about 2 lbs per week. High fat macros won't slow you down as long as you are eating at a deficit.

    If your protein is at a good level, it's probably simplest to add some fat to your diet. Most low carbers are low carb, high fat (LCHF). I'm at the low end of low carbs so my fat is pretty high.
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    150 grams/day is not really low carb. You need to get below 100 at least. I would suggest you read
    the book, "The Rosedale Diet" to learn about low carb dieting.

    I disagree with this. 150g of carbs per day is often considered low carb, and I know of one man who go higher (200+g of carbs) but they use carbs as a performance enhancing tool - he still stays in ketosis.

    There are various levels of low carb. No one level is right. Some eat almost zero carbs, some are low to stay in ketosis, and some go a bit higher (100 something).
    Samm471 wrote: »
    The only reason I pay attention is because I'm lifting 5 days a week so I know I need to make sure I'm
    Getting enough protein I just wasn't sure about carbs and well the whole feeling bloated is totally putting me off but I know I need them for the energy

    Technically you don't. I eat less than 30g of carbs per day and I have rarely felt better. Fat burning can give you energy and your body can make the glucose it needs from protein in your diet.

    Wow that's pretty good info right there , I've still got a lot to learn! So if I weigh 124lbs and my protein is set to 124grams it's perfectly fine to go over this as long as I stay within my calorie goal? So I could lower my carbs and up my protein or lower my carbs and up my fat if I liked? It's crazy because I always thought whatever the iifym calculator or whateve calculator you used that was your ideal macros and to go over this would hinder weight loss or whatever.
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    When you dont have any medical issues with carbs
    Just do CICO

    So calories in versus calories out
    Dont make it hard on yourself...keep it simple
    Eat what you want but in your calorie allowance ( so weigh all your food on a food scale in grams)

    A balanced intake is the best. There is no bad or good foods only TOO MUCH food for weight loss

    95069916.png

    That makes it easier I get so hung up on my macros always stress when I go over on fat or protein and still have calories left over
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    Samm471 wrote: »
    When you dont have any medical issues with carbs
    Just do CICO

    So calories in versus calories out
    Dont make it hard on yourself...keep it simple
    Eat what you want but in your calorie allowance ( so weigh all your food on a food scale in grams)

    A balanced intake is the best. There is no bad or good foods only TOO MUCH food for weight loss

    95069916.png

    That makes it easier I get so hung up on my macros always stress when I go over on fat or protein and still have calories left over

    Just watch your calories
    You can always tweak later on

    You learn all the way
    I have days that i need more protein or sugar I recognize that now
    So i eat a bit more like yogurt or banana for my exercise

    But when you start off...Just weigh your food so you know as accurate as possible what your calorie intake is and log it.


  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Take the reduction in carbs and split it evenly between protein and fat.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Samm471 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Samm471 wrote: »
    I want to go on a low carb diet not too low but about 150grams roughly. I was eating this but I've had to up my carbs due to trying to eat at maintenance had to up these to about 240grams ( now I feel major bloated) If I drop my carbs I need to up my fat or protein which I don't want to do , more so protein as I like to get the 1gram per lb but then that means I have to up my fat to which means more fat , I need set macros to 100% as you all know , I could just decide oh stuff it I'm not eating the whole 240grams carbs but then I'm
    Not hitting my calorie goal making me in a deficit. Need some help? If I wanna go on a lower carb diet what's best to increase fat or protein? Well All know if you go over your goal on either macro it stores as fat. I'm stumped!!

    Fat is NOT more likely to be stored as fat, nor is protein, if you eat over in these macros to make up for under eating a carb macro. I've been eating 70-75% fat for two months and I'm losing about 2 lbs per week. High fat macros won't slow you down as long as you are eating at a deficit.

    If your protein is at a good level, it's probably simplest to add some fat to your diet. Most low carbers are low carb, high fat (LCHF). I'm at the low end of low carbs so my fat is pretty high.
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    150 grams/day is not really low carb. You need to get below 100 at least. I would suggest you read
    the book, "The Rosedale Diet" to learn about low carb dieting.

    I disagree with this. 150g of carbs per day is often considered low carb, and I know of one man who go higher (200+g of carbs) but they use carbs as a performance enhancing tool - he still stays in ketosis.

    There are various levels of low carb. No one level is right. Some eat almost zero carbs, some are low to stay in ketosis, and some go a bit higher (100 something).
    Samm471 wrote: »
    The only reason I pay attention is because I'm lifting 5 days a week so I know I need to make sure I'm
    Getting enough protein I just wasn't sure about carbs and well the whole feeling bloated is totally putting me off but I know I need them for the energy

    Technically you don't. I eat less than 30g of carbs per day and I have rarely felt better. Fat burning can give you energy and your body can make the glucose it needs from protein in your diet.

    Wow that's pretty good info right there , I've still got a lot to learn! So if I weigh 124lbs and my protein is set to 124grams it's perfectly fine to go over this as long as I stay within my calorie goal? So I could lower my carbs and up my protein or lower my carbs and up my fat if I liked? It's crazy because I always thought whatever the iifym calculator or whateve calculator you used that was your ideal macros and to go over this would hinder weight loss or whatever.

    No that's not entirely true. I do think that if you find a really good macro fit for yourself (whether it is 60% or 30% or 5% carbs) it can help you lose weight (while eating at a deficit).

    My macros are 5% carbs, 25% protein, and 70% fat right now. My caloric goal is set at 1400 something but I usually eat 1500-1600 kcals. This works out to about 30g carbs, 90g protein, and 120g fat. Approximately. That works well for me.

    Others may eat 65% carbs, 20% protein and 15% fat. I would say the most common macros are pretty close together like a 40/30/30 split.

    The Low Carber Daily is a group with all low carb dieters. You'll find more info there if you are interested. Good luck.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    If you're currently in maintenance and you know what your calorie goal is, for maintenance, then maybe it's time to stop focusing so much on the minutiae of macros and just focus on eating a variety of healthy foods within your calorie limit. Lots of people who have stable and healthy weight, do so without food scales and plugging everything into MFP and worrying about 150 or 240g of carbs etc.

    The idea is that you now know what healthy food choices are, so enjoy eating food without all the fuss. All you need is to have a good variety of whole, healthy whole foods. After several months of calorie counting, I don't really do it any more and I'm still losing. Now I just focus on experimenting with different healthy foods to add variety. Losing weight is even more enjoyable now because it's become intuitive.

  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    Thanks guys. I weigh all my food I was just getting really stressed over the macros thing but now I know I can let go a little now :) I think my macros are 50c / 25p / 25f I don't even know if that's any good but I wanna lower my carbs so maybe tweak it a little and see how that goes :)
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Samm471 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Samm471 wrote: »
    I want to go on a low carb diet not too low but about 150grams roughly. I was eating this but I've had to up my carbs due to trying to eat at maintenance had to up these to about 240grams ( now I feel major bloated) If I drop my carbs I need to up my fat or protein which I don't want to do , more so protein as I like to get the 1gram per lb but then that means I have to up my fat to which means more fat , I need set macros to 100% as you all know , I could just decide oh stuff it I'm not eating the whole 240grams carbs but then I'm
    Not hitting my calorie goal making me in a deficit. Need some help? If I wanna go on a lower carb diet what's best to increase fat or protein? Well All know if you go over your goal on either macro it stores as fat. I'm stumped!!

    Fat is NOT more likely to be stored as fat, nor is protein, if you eat over in these macros to make up for under eating a carb macro. I've been eating 70-75% fat for two months and I'm losing about 2 lbs per week. High fat macros won't slow you down as long as you are eating at a deficit.

    If your protein is at a good level, it's probably simplest to add some fat to your diet. Most low carbers are low carb, high fat (LCHF). I'm at the low end of low carbs so my fat is pretty high.
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    150 grams/day is not really low carb. You need to get below 100 at least. I would suggest you read
    the book, "The Rosedale Diet" to learn about low carb dieting.

    I disagree with this. 150g of carbs per day is often considered low carb, and I know of one man who go higher (200+g of carbs) but they use carbs as a performance enhancing tool - he still stays in ketosis.

    There are various levels of low carb. No one level is right. Some eat almost zero carbs, some are low to stay in ketosis, and some go a bit higher (100 something).
    Samm471 wrote: »
    The only reason I pay attention is because I'm lifting 5 days a week so I know I need to make sure I'm
    Getting enough protein I just wasn't sure about carbs and well the whole feeling bloated is totally putting me off but I know I need them for the energy

    Technically you don't. I eat less than 30g of carbs per day and I have rarely felt better. Fat burning can give you energy and your body can make the glucose it needs from protein in your diet.

    Wow that's pretty good info right there , I've still got a lot to learn! So if I weigh 124lbs and my protein is set to 124grams it's perfectly fine to go over this as long as I stay within my calorie goal? So I could lower my carbs and up my protein or lower my carbs and up my fat if I liked? It's crazy because I always thought whatever the iifym calculator or whateve calculator you used that was your ideal macros and to go over this would hinder weight loss or whatever.

    No that's not entirely true. I do think that if you find a really good macro fit for yourself (whether it is 60% or 30% or 5% carbs) it can help you lose weight (while eating at a deficit).

    My macros are 5% carbs, 25% protein, and 70% fat right now. My caloric goal is set at 1400 something but I usually eat 1500-1600 kcals. This works out to about 30g carbs, 90g protein, and 120g fat. Approximately. That works well for me.

    Others may eat 65% carbs, 20% protein and 15% fat. I would say the most common macros are pretty close together like a 40/30/30 split.

    The Low Carber Daily is a group with all low carb dieters. You'll find more info there if you are interested. Good luck.

    How do I find this group is it on here?
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
    If you're currently in maintenance and you know what your calorie goal is, for maintenance, then maybe it's time to stop focusing so much on the minutiae of macros and just focus on eating a variety of healthy foods within your calorie limit. Lots of people who have stable and healthy weight, do so without food scales and plugging everything into MFP and worrying about 150 or 240g of carbs etc.

    The idea is that you now know what healthy food choices are, so enjoy eating food without all the fuss. All you need is to have a good variety of whole, healthy whole foods. After several months of calorie counting, I don't really do it any more and I'm still losing. Now I just focus on experimenting with different healthy foods to add variety. Losing weight is even more enjoyable now because it's become intuitive.

    I would like to be able to not have to weigh all my food or make sure I'm eating enough cals but I always worry that if I stop tracking everything then what if I'm not eating enough? My main goal is to eat just slightly under maintenance to drop body fat but how will I know if I don't know how much cals I'm eating. I'm good with my food like I know what's pretty healthy etc but I wish I could do that and not have to log all the time I guess it's gonna be a while before I can start eyeballing my food and not logging it
This discussion has been closed.