low bad carb ?

wilsoncl6

Like most have said, there really are no "bad" carbs, just carbs that don't fit into your caloric/macronutrient goals. I tend to cut out refined sugars and sugars in general, some of which come from certain fruits (bananas, pineapple, oranges and the like) and focus most of my carbs as complex carbs (vegetables and roots like potatoes). Doing a low carb diet may not be the best as it facilitates carb cravings if you're not used to it, especially if you're trying to exercise at the same time. It is very tough to do a lot of intense exercise while on a low carb eating routine. In general, most of your calories should come from carbs unless you're trying to do something like a recomp where you have to shift a lot of your caloric intake to proteins and fats to retain or grow muscle.

nvmomketo

I eat a very low carb diet and so I disagree with much of what has been previously said based on my own personal experiences and those of others who have been low car for many months or years.

• Eating low carb does not facilitate cravings, it eliminated it.
• Low carb does not affect the average, or even above average, athlete's performance by much. Endurance may improve but explosive movements may e a bit weaker. Athletic performance DOES suffer during the first month or so of low carb while your body adjusts to not using glucose as it's primary energy source. It's a transient situation which will pass.
• Eating low carb cut my appetite, although this could go hand in hand with cravings. I used to need to eat every couple of hours or I was getting headaches and shakes. Now I can eat every six hours and feel fine.
• In my mind, there are inferior carbs. If they negatively impact my health (high GI foods) by spiking my blood glucose, then it is an inferior (bad) carb. Those foods tend to be baked goods, root veggies, grains and tropical fruits. The carbs I eat tend to be veggies - my "good" carbs.

I eat a lot of fat. About 70% of my diet is fat; maybe 110-120g per day. I eat a fair bit of whipping cream, cheese, nutes, avocado, oils, coconut, avocado and butter. My protein is a moderate 20% (under 80g), and carbs are at about 5% which is usually less than 25g per day. This puts me in ketosis so I am mainly burning fats for fuel. That seems to improve my health and facilitate easier weight loss for me.

If you are still intetested in low carb, try the Low Carber Daily group for more info and support. A LCHF diet is not well supportd or understood on the main boards so not many low carbers post here.

Good luck!

NewTnme

nvmomketo wrote: »

I eat a very low carb diet and so I disagree with much of what has been previously said based on my own personal experiences and those of others who have been low car for many months or years.

• Eating low carb does not facilitate cravings, it eliminated it.
• Low carb does not affect the average, or even above average, athlete's performance by much. Endurance may improve but explosive movements may e a bit weaker. Athletic performance DOES suffer during the first month or so of low carb while your body adjusts to not using glucose as it's primary energy source. It's a transient situation which will pass.
• Eating low carb cut my appetite, although this could go hand in hand with cravings. I used to need to eat every couple of hours or I was getting headaches and shakes. Now I can eat every six hours and feel fine.
• In my mind, there are inferior carbs. If they negatively impact my health (high GI foods) by spiking my blood glucose, then it is an inferior (bad) carb. Those foods tend to be baked goods, root veggies, grains and tropical fruits. The carbs I eat tend to be veggies - my "good" carbs.

I eat a lot of fat. About 70% of my diet is fat; maybe 110-120g per day. I eat a fair bit of whipping cream, cheese, nutes, avocado, oils, coconut, avocado and butter. My protein is a moderate 20% (under 80g), and carbs are at about 5% which is usually less than 25g per day. This puts me in ketosis so I am mainly burning fats for fuel. That seems to improve my health and facilitate easier weight loss for me.

If you are still intetested in low carb, try the Low Carber Daily group for more info and support. A LCHF diet is not well supportd or understood on the main boards so not many low carbers post here.

Good luck!

I LOVE this. Than you so much nvmomketo!!

lorrpb

I think it's great that you're cutting back on junk food and excessive sugars that don't contribute much to your nutrition. It can be challenging enough to stay within calorie goals, why waste precious calories on nutritionally void food?

Carbs + fat + protein = 100% of your macro cals (not counting alcohol in this statement). So when one goes down the others will go up. However, you can eat low "bad carb" but fill up your carb cals with "good carbs" and still get variety & nutrition. I eat low "bad carbs" but still eat about 50% carbs overall. It has been a key strategy to losing 125 lbs and , yes, I plan to eat like this the rest of my life.

It's too bad that some people like to pick on your word choice when they know perfectly well what you mean. There's lots of articles from the medical community using the terms good & bad carbs. If a food is nutritionally void, causes cravings, and messes with your glucose/insulin production, then it qualifies as "bad" in my book. It's just a shorthand way of communicating.

Christine_72

I have my macros set at % 25/55/20, carbs/fat/protein. Works great for me.

Op here's the link to our low carb group

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

WinoGelato

lorrpb wrote: »

I think it's great that you're cutting back on junk food and excessive sugars that don't contribute much to your nutrition. It can be challenging enough to stay within calorie goals, why waste precious calories on nutritionally void food?

It's too bad that some people like to pick on your word choice when they know perfectly well what you mean. There's lots of articles from the medical community using the terms good & bad carbs. If a food is nutritionally void, causes cravings, and messes with your glucose/insulin production, then it qualifies as "bad" in my book. It's just a shorthand way of communicating.

OP is cutting out apples, oranges, bananas, some vegetables and grains. I would hardly call those nutritionally void foods...

I have no issues with someone who chooses to go LC for medical reasons or because they find it a good way to create a calorie deficit for themselves. This OP sounded like she had a lot of misconceptions about carbs and losing weight so I don't think it is inappropriate to help her understand that there is nothing inherently bad about any particular food or type of food and that she may not need to restrict carbs in order to achieve her weight loss goals.

yarwell

WinoGelato wrote: »

OP is cutting out apples, oranges, bananas, some vegetables and grains. I would hardly call those nutritionally void foods...

perhaps not the best nutrition per calorie or per gram of carbohydrate either. Fruit compares badly to say broccoli and banana carries a load of excess sugar over even an apple.

lemurcat12

WinoGelato wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

I think it's great that you're cutting back on junk food and excessive sugars that don't contribute much to your nutrition. It can be challenging enough to stay within calorie goals, why waste precious calories on nutritionally void food?

It's too bad that some people like to pick on your word choice when they know perfectly well what you mean. There's lots of articles from the medical community using the terms good & bad carbs. If a food is nutritionally void, causes cravings, and messes with your glucose/insulin production, then it qualifies as "bad" in my book. It's just a shorthand way of communicating.

OP is cutting out apples, oranges, bananas, some vegetables and grains. I would hardly call those nutritionally void foods...

I have no issues with someone who chooses to go LC for medical reasons or because they find it a good way to create a calorie deficit for themselves. This OP sounded like she had a lot of misconceptions about carbs and losing weight so I don't think it is inappropriate to help her understand that there is nothing inherently bad about any particular food or type of food and that she may not need to restrict carbs in order to achieve her weight loss goals.

This. Among other things, it sounds like she was cutting all all vegetables but greens (which to me means leafy stuff) plus yellow squash, so even broccoli and cauliflower and tomatoes and zucchini and winter squash and carrots and so on are a no, no. And while one might cut out fruit and grains to lower carbs, they are hardly nutritionally void, especially when replaced by sat fat (which I'm not against, but the idea that bacon and cheese and mayo=health food, oats and potatoes and apples=nutritionally void is just such a bizarre claim, yet increasingly popular on this forum).