So confused about carbs...

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Replies

  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,787 Member
    OP, this isn't rocket science. Many people in these forums overthink things. Stick to what you're doing and you'll get where you want to go.
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    melonaulait wrote: »
    Eat as many carbs as you like. I always do over 60% and it's not slowing down my weight loss. The only thing that affects weight loss/gain is calories.

    We're all different. "Eat as many carbs as you like" will have many people on insulin in short order.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    RalfLott wrote: »
    melonaulait wrote: »
    Eat as many carbs as you like. I always do over 60% and it's not slowing down my weight loss. The only thing that affects weight loss/gain is calories.

    We're all different. "Eat as many carbs as you like" will have many people on insulin in short order.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html/
  • Unknown
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  • cairnsmom
    cairnsmom Posts: 93 Member
    Reducing one's carb intake is a personal choice, perhaps a medical necessity. If you enjoy breads, pasta, rice, sweets, etc, they fit your goals, and you are pleased with your success, then continue to enjoy them. If you choose to reduce the amount or kinds of carbs you eat, then that's okay, too. Whatever you decide should be sustainable and keep you happy and healthy. It's easy to overthink "dieting" with so many believing their way is the only way and attacking others' choices. So if you want to have your cake and eat it, too...Go for it!
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    I find that if I don't eat carbs that I don't have energy and stay hungry....

    I aim for 50 percent carbs and am usually 45-50 percent. I make a pot of red quinoa or brown rice and will eat a cup or so for lunch every day....I also have an English muffin every day....and lots of fruit.

    It works for me...I am down 40 plus pounds vet the past 4 months.
  • loldiz
    loldiz Posts: 33 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    loldiz wrote: »
    Thanks everybody for your responses. I really appreciate hearing different opinions - especially when people disagree! It makes me think about all my options.
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    1200 is already a low allowance by the way. If you don't want to increase it, at least make sure to eat back all of your exercise calories.

    My BMR is only around 1300 calories. I'm short ;) When I'm more active, I do tend to increase my calories.

    Oh there's plenty of disagreement here, don't worry!

    Just to make sure we are on the same page, your BMR is the amount of calories you would need to stay alive if you were bedridden. A more accurate number to base your goal off of would be your TDEE which would include all your day to day activity as well as your exercise.

    MFP uses NEAT which is your BMR plus your. On exercise activity, which is why if you're working out you would eat back some of those calories.

    For what it's worth, I'm also petite and lost my weight eating 1600-1900 cals a day.

    Oh if her BMR is 1300, her sedentary maintenance is under 1600. 1200 makes sense in this case.

    Yeah I think so too, she just seems interested in understanding how this all works so I thought I would make sure she understood what BMR was and didn't think you had to eat below that in order to lose.

    This OP seems like she's got it together though! Add in some extra protein and I think you'll be golden!

    Thanks! I think that's the nicest thing I've heard all day! In fact, I'm not sure 'got it together' is a way in which I've ever been described! :*



  • loldiz
    loldiz Posts: 33 Member
    stevencloser wrote: »
    RalfLott wrote: »
    melonaulait wrote: »
    Eat as many carbs as you like. I always do over 60% and it's not slowing down my weight loss. The only thing that affects weight loss/gain is calories.

    We're all different. "Eat as many carbs as you like" will have many people on insulin in short order.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html/

    This was a great read, thanks.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,111 Member
    loldiz wrote: »
    thorsmom01 wrote: »
    melonaulait wrote: »
    Eat as many carbs as you like. I always do over 60% and it's not slowing down my weight loss. The only thing that affects weight loss/gain is calories.

    This 100%

    Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Calories in - calories out.

    Carbs don't cause people to gain. A calorie surplus would.

    Calorie deficit- weight loss

    Thank you both!

    I understand that weight loss is CICO - I guess I'm more concerned about making sure I'm also nutritionally balanced. As well as weight loss, I'm thinking about the long-term - I guess it less about 'do I eat too many carbs?' than 'do i eat enough protein/fat?'. Does that make sense?


    If you stop and think about it, does it make sense to think that your overall diet would be more nutritionally balanced if you cut your carbs so much that you had to worry that you were eating too much fruit, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains?

    I agree that it's more helpful to think about whether you're getting enough protein and fat. It's usually not necessary to reduce carbs to 10% or 20% to be able to meet your protein and fat needs, but the bigger your calorie deficit, and hence the lower your calorie budget, the less protein and fat you're going to be getting when you base it on a % of overall calories. I believe it's better to set a goal in grams than in %.

    24% (your recent actual %, not your goal) of 1200 calories from protein is 72 g of protein. People who believe you need 1 g per pound of BW or more per day are going to say that's far too low (unless you weigh 72 pounds or less). Personally, I go by the recommendation of the U.S. government (National Academies of Science), .8 g per kg of BW per day (although I tend to treat it as a minimum, and usually get more like 1 g/kg/d).

  • loldiz
    loldiz Posts: 33 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    loldiz wrote: »
    thorsmom01 wrote: »
    melonaulait wrote: »
    Eat as many carbs as you like. I always do over 60% and it's not slowing down my weight loss. The only thing that affects weight loss/gain is calories.

    This 100%

    Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Calories in - calories out.

    Carbs don't cause people to gain. A calorie surplus would.

    Calorie deficit- weight loss

    Thank you both!

    I understand that weight loss is CICO - I guess I'm more concerned about making sure I'm also nutritionally balanced. As well as weight loss, I'm thinking about the long-term - I guess it less about 'do I eat too many carbs?' than 'do i eat enough protein/fat?'. Does that make sense?


    If you stop and think about it, does it make sense to think that your overall diet would be more nutritionally balanced if you cut your carbs so much that you had to worry that you were eating too much fruit, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains?

    No it doesn't. At all. But it never hurts to check ;)

    24% (your recent actual %, not your goal) of 1200 calories from protein is 72 g of protein. People who believe you need 1 g per pound of BW or more per day are going to say that's far too low (unless you weigh 72 pounds or less). Personally, I go by the recommendation of the U.S. government (National Academies of Science), .8 g per kg of BW per day (although I tend to treat it as a minimum, and usually get more like 1 g/kg/d).

    Now this is interesting. Thank you.

  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    RalfLott wrote: »
    melonaulait wrote: »
    Eat as many carbs as you like. I always do over 60% and it's not slowing down my weight loss. The only thing that affects weight loss/gain is calories.

    We're all different. "Eat as many carbs as you like" will have many people on insulin in short order.

    Maybe diabetics. Carbs =/= diabetes
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    Some people just don't care for carbs that much. I have a child that doesn't. I have to be careful or I will go overboard on them. I say eat what you do like and don't stress over the rest. Do what works for you. :)
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I'm going to leave the correcting of completely false information to those already in the fight, but since the OP does keep coming back:

    Personally, I focus on hitting my protein goals and fat (I'm actually not that good at hitting my fat goals; I need to work on that), which I view as minimums. I look at carbs as a sliding scale as there is no physical minimum for people as a whole. That said, many people react differently to carbs, so they should experiment and find a carb level that keeps them feeling satiated, helps them stay within their calorie goal, and gives them enough energy to get through their day. These levels will be drastically different for different individuals, so there just isn't a one-size fits all recommendation.

    TL;DR: You eat too many carbs if they prohibit you from getting enough of your other macros, if you're feeling too hungry, or if you feel bad after eating them (physically).
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