Carbs.... Do I really need that many?

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  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    @ndj1979 so do carbs = energy iyo?

    carbs = a macro nutrient that should not be demonized.

    there is no reason to avoid carbs unless has a medical condition to do so or some kind of food allergy

    I'm not avoiding at all. I just don't seem to ever eat enough to satisfy the macro goal.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited February 2016
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    If it were me: I'd eat some nutrient dense, high fiber carbs (vegetables, fruits) everyday and perhaps have some high quality bread (100% whole grain, high fiber, short ingredient list) and then I wouldn't fret about trying to get up to a carb level that didn't feel right to me. Eat a bit more protein, eat a bit more good fat.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Cynsonya wrote: »
    I'm finding it very hard most days to reach my carbs goal. A lot of days I don't even reach half. I'm not a big carb person and now that I've cut out soda and RedBull I usually don't come close. Even though I eat quite a bit of fresh fruit. I don't have much trouble with Protein and fat though, lol. My macros are set at default.

    Everyone is different. If you enjoy your food, have enough energy to do what you want to, and feel good, there is no reason to adjust your carb intake. You seem to have found your "sweet spot" with no effort so go with it. If you want to switch your macro goals to reflect what you prefer, you can customize them. If you find you are a bit sluggish at times, think about maybe adding a bit more fruit or have a sweet treat.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Like others have said, macro percentages is a personal decision, including whether to care about them at all. You should see where yours fall and then decide if they need to be adjusted or not -- the MFP default isn't magic and is probably more about balance for people who don't eat much protein or tempted to cut super low on fat because of the old notion of fat being bad for a diet. If you are hungry or feeling low energy, it's worth looking at macros to see if they should be adjusted, but otherwise, you are probably fine.

    Personally, I started by focusing on protein because of the research that eating .6-.8 g/lb of healthy body weight can be beneficial in retaining muscle mass and for athletic activity. Beyond that, I don't normally care much about how my fat and carbs fall (although I tend to eat pretty normal amounts of both, neither is especially high or low), but am more focused on choosing nutrient-dense sources -- basically on food choice, not macro amount. Lately I am trying to get my carbs up to 200 g (I tend to naturally eat more like 150 g or a little more), as I've read a lot about it helping with training and workouts and recovery even when people thought they were doing fine (based on studies).
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    Cynsonya wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    @ndj1979 so do carbs = energy iyo?

    carbs = a macro nutrient that should not be demonized.

    there is no reason to avoid carbs unless has a medical condition to do so or some kind of food allergy

    I'm not avoiding at all. I just don't seem to ever eat enough to satisfy the macro goal.

    Personally, I would concentrate on total calories and then protein (should be aiming for .6-.8g per lb of mass) and let the rest fall out. I wouldn't get caught up in the whole non essential vs over abundance discussion. You can do find on very low carb or even low fats.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Make sure you meet your protein and fat and do with carbs whatever best suits you and your health needs. As others said, you can even aim for zero carbs although achieving that is not possible in most cases.

    Some have associated low carbs with low energy, but it seems that is usually only true while you are adjusting to a lower carb intake. Once your body is used to a certain carb level it is a nonissue.

    I eat very low carb. For just over a month after lowering my carbs I noticed less energy while my body was adapting (to ketosis). It passed and now I am doing P90x again without any noticeable difference in energy that I had in the past.

    It sounds like you are naturally lower or low carb (considered to be below 100-150g of carbs per day ), like @lemurcat12, and are used to that level, so there is no issues with low energy. If you drop carbs you may notice a difference for a time.
  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
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    I do make sure I get 25g of fiber or more most every day.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Cynsonya wrote: »
    I do make sure I get 25g of fiber or more most every day.

    EXCELLENT
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    @ndj1979 so do carbs = energy iyo?

    carbs = a macro nutrient that should not be demonized.

    there is no reason to avoid carbs unless has a medical condition to do so or some kind of food allergy

    I'm not avoiding at all. I just don't seem to ever eat enough to satisfy the macro goal.

    Personally, I would concentrate on total calories and then protein (should be aiming for .6-.8g per lb of mass) and let the rest fall out. I wouldn't get caught up in the whole non essential vs over abundance discussion. You can do find on very low carb or even low fats.

    Wait... did someone just post a reasoned response?

    I've actually looked for studies on the high and low ends of carbs, and find that they are hard to find where it comes to at what points performance in certain sports might fall off. Though I've never done really low carb long term, the brief time I did I saw no changes in energy levels, and at the time I had a fairly physical job.

    Like yourself, I think there is a lot of wiggle room in the carb and fat percentages. I'm sure at some level the wiggle room would lessen for the elite athletes, but most of us don't fall into that segment.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about missing your carbs. I personally see protein and fat as minimums to meet and carbs are a maximum.

    Maybe fiddle around with the percentages to see what ratio keeps you the most satisfied and full. For me it's about equal percentages for all 3.

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