Should I cut carbs?
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hamlet1222 wrote: »No, you should cut calories. We see this question almost every day here about cutting out bread and pasta. It seems to be a popular myth in the anglosphere that the only way to lose weight is by doing this. In reality some people get on better with a low carb diet (either because of some food intolerance, diabetes, or they love their cheese, cream and other fats more than bread and pasta). In your case I would simply cut back the calories slightly and see where you are in a few weeks, you can try cutting these calories by eating less bread and pasta if you like.
WHAT!?!?! Cut down further from 1100 calories per day? This is ridiculous, unsafe and it's suggestions like this from people like you which can encourage eating disordered thinking.
OP please, ignore Hamlets suggestion.
Up your calories a little with nutritious foods, add in some strength training (doesn't have to be a lot) and relax about that number on the scale. Don't think of your weight, think of looking and, more importantly, feeling and being healthy.
Also I imagine being a vegetarian you wouldn't eat eggs anyway right? Not entirely sure whether some people have actually read your original post.
Best of luck!0 -
hamlet1222 wrote: »No, you should cut calories. We see this question almost every day here about cutting out bread and pasta. It seems to be a popular myth in the anglosphere that the only way to lose weight is by doing this. In reality some people get on better with a low carb diet (either because of some food intolerance, diabetes, or they love their cheese, cream and other fats more than bread and pasta). In your case I would simply cut back the calories slightly and see where you are in a few weeks, you can try cutting these calories by eating less bread and pasta if you like.
WHAT!?!?! Cut down further from 1100 calories per day? This is ridiculous, unsafe and it's suggestions like this from people like you which can encourage eating disordered thinking.
OP please, ignore Hamlets suggestion.
Up your calories a little with nutritious foods, add in some strength training (doesn't have to be a lot) and relax about that number on the scale. Don't think of your weight, think of looking and, more importantly, feeling and being healthy.
Also I imagine being a vegetarian you wouldn't eat eggs anyway right? Not entirely sure whether some people have actually read your original post.
Best of luck!
Many vegetarians eat eggs, fwiw. Most vegans don't, but many vegetarians (lacto-ovo vegetarians) do.0 -
Very good point and often overlooked.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »ihaterocks wrote: »Hi. I'm 131 lbs and 5 foot 6. My goal weight is 120. I'm currently eating about 1,100 cals a day because I'm a college student and I'm not all too active. I've plateaued pretty hard the last few weeks and I wonder if it's because I consistently eat too many carbs. I know I do. I'm a vegetarian so I find it hard to hit my protein goal. Could cutting bread and pasta help me break free of the flat line?
Perhaps your body likes being at that nice healthy weight?
I worry when a young woman says she's eating a tiny amount of calories (less than I eat as a menopausal woman of the same height), is vegetarian, and now wants to cut carbs.
Again, solid point. Instead of thinking what you could remove, think about what you could add...Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Perhaps doing some weight training would be healthier than further restricting your weight to get to a very LOW vanity weight?
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Carbs - insulin and blood glucose rise, glucose stored. Protein - insulin and glucagon rise, blood glucose stays the same, no storage.
Dietary protein is necessary, dietary carbohydrate is optional. Ingestion of carbohydrates suppresses fat oxidation. Fat oxidation in excess of intake is required for fat loss. Conclusion - protein good (in moderation), carbs not so good.
Wouldn't go that far. Even with low levels of insulin you can still store fat.
In the end, one must find a balance between intake and expenditure regardless of their dietary preference.
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Unless I'm reading it wrong that link is nothing to do with eating a calorie controlled diet with the emphasis of meeting macro and micro nutrient goals but not restricting any particular food...which is the constant refrain from those MFPers who promote moderation
Instead it appears to be an analysis of food diversity with self-reporting of intake over a number of years
Interesting but ultimately unreliable research in terms of growing obesity I would have thought0 -
This point can not be stressed enough.Carbs - insulin and blood glucose rise, glucose stored. Protein - insulin and glucagon rise, blood glucose stays the same, no storage.
Dietary protein is necessary, dietary carbohydrate is optional. Ingestion of carbohydrates suppresses fat oxidation. Fat oxidation in excess of intake is required for fat loss. Conclusion - protein good (in moderation), carbs not so good.
Wouldn't go that far. Even with low levels of insulin you can still store fat.
In the end, one must find a balance between intake and expenditure regardless of their dietary preference.
You could be oxidizing fat all day long (from ingested food) and not lose weight, if you are not in a deficit.
You want that fat to come from fat stores, and that can only happen when you are in a deficit.0 -
ihaterocks wrote: »Hi. I'm 131 lbs and 5 foot 6. My goal weight is 120. I'm currently eating about 1,100 cals a day because I'm a college student and I'm not all too active. I've plateaued pretty hard the last few weeks and I wonder if it's because I consistently eat too many carbs. I know I do. I'm a vegetarian so I find it hard to hit my protein goal. Could cutting bread and pasta help me break free of the flat line?
@ihaterocks keep us posted what works out best diet wise in your case. When we are young it seems our carb, protein and fats ratios are not so critical.
It seems our production of systemic enzymes really starts dropping at around 27-30 years of age and after that point our macros will become more important to what BMI we will have later in life. It is when we get to 40 and above and still are eating like we did when we were 20 that obesity can be an issue for many of us.
I am learning when our number of systemic enzymes start to fall at around age 27 the age of our death can be related to how fast we burn through our limited system enzymes. That is why our lifestyles may determine our life spans.
The link below can be used for points to Google for more info where you agree with the doctor or not about metabolic enzymes.
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/21/enzymes-special-report.aspx0 -
OP, while 1100 seems like it could be a bit low for someone of your age and height, you could, actually maybe be eating a bit more than that. Here's one humble poster's suggestion, keep logging the way you are but eat fewer calories, then, if you have been maybe, accidentally eating more (at maintenance say) you start eating at a deficit again and see some progress. Carbs could be something you cut out to move you into that deficit. So instead of eating 1100 calories (possibly actually 1600), you could say you're now eating 800 (probably actually 1300).
Just a suggestion. I hope you find what works for you! Good luck!0 -
Carbs - insulin and blood glucose rise, glucose stored. Protein - insulin and glucagon rise, blood glucose stays the same, no storage.
Dietary protein is necessary, dietary carbohydrate is optional. Ingestion of carbohydrates suppresses fat oxidation. Fat oxidation in excess of intake is required for fat loss. Conclusion - protein good (in moderation), carbs not so good.
Wouldn't go that far. Even with low levels of insulin you can still store fat.
In the end, one must find a balance between intake and expenditure regardless of their dietary preference.
Well insulin appears to be universally recognised as the fat storage hormone but I know you like your carbs.
"Insulin promotes synthesis of fatty acids in the liver."
"Insulin inhibits breakdown of fat in adipose tissue"
"From a whole body perspective, insulin has a fat-sparing effect. Not only does it drive most cells to preferentially oxidize carbohydrates instead of fatty acids for energy, insulin indirectly stimulates accumulation of fat in adipose tissue. "
Achieving an excess of fat oxidation over intake facilitates weight loss ;-)0 -
"Insulin promotes synthesis of fatty acids in the liver."
"Insulin inhibits breakdown of fat in adipose tissue"
"From a whole body perspective, insulin has a fat-sparing effect. Not only does it drive most cells to preferentially oxidize carbohydrates instead of fatty acids for energy, insulin indirectly stimulates accumulation of fat in adipose tissue. "
Even in an energy deficit?
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"Insulin promotes synthesis of fatty acids in the liver."
"Insulin inhibits breakdown of fat in adipose tissue"
"From a whole body perspective, insulin has a fat-sparing effect. Not only does it drive most cells to preferentially oxidize carbohydrates instead of fatty acids for energy, insulin indirectly stimulates accumulation of fat in adipose tissue. "
Even in an energy deficit?
I think yes, but to a lesser degree. Insulin is needed to move glucose into cells. No inulin only occurs in type 1 diabetics.0 -
While insulin may be anti-catabolic, there is always alternative ways of achieve our bodies goal of storing energy.... not different than switching energy systems...weightology wrote:One of the biggest misconceptions regarding insulin is that it's needed for fat storage. It isn't. Your body has ways to store and retain fat even when insulin is low. For example, there is an enzyme in your fat cells called hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). HSL helps break down fat. Insulin suppresses the activity of HSL, and thus suppresses the breakdown of fat. This has caused people to point fingers at carbohydrate for causing fat gain.0
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