Calories vs Carbs

KatieeM14

I'm curious on everyone's opinion on watching your calories vs watching your carbs. I've been doing Keto or the past 2 weeks and have lost a few pounds ( probably just water weight), however I don't know if I would be able to keep up with this long term.

Sorry I'm new to weightloss and I'm still trying to figure everything out, such as what works best. I'm afraid if I only focus on eating low calories that I'll end up eating too many carbs ( I'm a big carb lover).

Any help would be appreciated.

quiksylver296

I just posted this in a different thread...

There are three macro-nutrients. Carbohydrates, protein and fats. All food is made up of these three macros. Carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram. Fat is 9 calories per gram. The only thing that matter for weight loss is calories.

However, for nutrition and satiety, you may want to pay attention to what macros you eat.

estherdragonbat

I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian. There are carbs in most of my protein sources. In fact, carbs are about the only macro target I occasionally exceed. (I usually hit my 'base' protein, but not the increased target MFP gives me after exercising.)

I've dropped over 77 lbs in just over 9 months.

The best weight-loss plan is the one you can keep following when you reach goal and need to maintain. If you aren't willing to go as low-carb as keto requires, that probably isn't the best plan for you. If, on the other hand, you're debating whether it's 'not for you,' or just 'a difference you need to get used to', you can always change your mind later.

For weight-loss, as the poster above me (as I type this, there's only one), is correct: calories are all that matter. Macros count for nutrition and satiety, but satiety is different for just about everyone.

livingleanlivingclean

If you're paying attention to calories (which are what ultimately matter for weight loss), how will you overeat carbs?

You can eat too many calories by only tracking carbs....

KatieeM14

Thanks for everyone whose responded so far. I think I'll focus on calories for a while and see what happens.

Another question: MFP tells me to eat about 1200 calories a day, however I used several other resources I found online to try and figure out how many calories to eat daily and I keep getting different amounts. Anywhere from 1200-1600. I know there's no magic number of calories to eat a day, it's different for everyone. But is there maybe a good range to stay in?

quiksylver296

KatieM0514 wrote: »

Thanks for everyone whose responded so far. I think I'll focus on calories for a while and see what happens.

Another question: MFP tells me to eat about 1200 calories a day, however I used several other resources I found online to try and figure out how many calories to eat daily and I keep getting different amounts. Anywhere from 1200-1600. I know there's no magic number of calories to eat a day, it's different for everyone. But is there maybe a good range to stay in?

Depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level.

I'm female, 42, 5'9, 169 lbs and losing pretty steadily on ~2000 calories per day. I would freak out and eat the entire house if I tried to stick to 1200 calories.

deannalfisher

what is your current weight? goal weight? what did you set your activity level (non purposeful exercise) to? what did you set your rate of loss to?

cmriverside

How much weight do you need to lose? Unless you're very short and very sedentary, 1200 is probably too low.

Also, this site is the only one I know of that expects you to eat more on exercise days. Other sites factor in your exercise and spread the calories across the week. I did 1200 for about a week, until I started exercising and got lots more calories. Have you done any exercise and entered it into your Exercise page here?

janejellyroll

I don't limit carbohydrates, I just focus on getting sufficient protein and fat. If you're doing that and meeting your calorie goal, it's impossible to eat "too many" carbohydrates.

Outside of specific medical situations, carbohydrates (like any macronutrient) are only a problem if they are causing you to consume too many calories or if they are crowding out other nutrients that you need.

French_Peasant

I lost weight and have been maintaining at the middle of a healthy BMI for well over a year eating 200-400 g carbs a day.

Between lifting, cardio, and hours of hard-core gardening, I have a fairly high TDEE and can afford them. They super-charge my workouts and fuel 5-hour weeding marathons.

This would obviously not work for everyone, particularly people who might have emotional issues with moderating carbs (generally combined with fat), or people with particular health concerns who might benefit from reducing carbs.

Protein is the only macro that I care about nailing. 100-150 g a day is my ideal.

KatieeM14

Okay thank you everyone!

lemurcat12

Lots of people who do low carb ALSO watch calories. How low carb works is that it makes it easier for some people to eat fewer calories (or by cutting one part of your diet you end up cutting calories, at least at first). Some find that if carbs are quite low they don't need to watch calories to have a calorie deficit (or eventually, to maintain), but I think watching calories and logging can be a valuable experience, at least at first, to really understand how many calories are in the foods you eat. That's so however many carbs you eat.

I've eaten low carb and enjoyed it, but when I'm focusing on weight loss I count calories.

cwolfman13

Calories are the driver of weight management. All diets work on the same premise...calorie (energy) deficiency. Suffice it to say, with keto you're basically eliminating an entire macro-nutrient which also eliminates a whole lot of calories and in most cases results in a calorie deficit and thus weight loss.

nvmomketo

I watched both. Rather I watched my carbs first and that made it simpler to maintain a caloric deficit due to appetite suppression and a dip in cravings.

I did find that I lost slightly easier on a low carb diet. I lost 2-3 lbs per week, after a slightly larger initial dip, with a caloric deficit that was designed to give me a 1.5 lb/week loss. I also found that when I increased carbs during maintenance, I started gaining on what was previously a maintenance level of calories.

YMMV

Carlos_421

Satiation =\= appetite suppression.
Satiation = appetite satisfaction.

nvmomketo

Carlos_421 wrote: »

Satiation =\= appetite suppression.
Satiation = appetite satisfaction.

Okay.
My appetite is suppressed on keto. I feel less urges to eat so I eat less often, and when I do eat I am not as hungry.

joemac1988

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I just posted this in a different thread...

There are three macro-nutrients. Carbohydrates, protein and fats. All food is made up of these three macros. Carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram. Fat is 9 calories per gram. The only thing that matter for weight loss is calories.

However, for nutrition and satiety, you may want to pay attention to what macros you eat.

4 Actually. You forgot Alcohol.

livingleanlivingclean

joemac1988 wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I just posted this in a different thread...

There are three macro-nutrients. Carbohydrates, protein and fats. All food is made up of these three macros. Carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram. Fat is 9 calories per gram. The only thing that matter for weight loss is calories.

However, for nutrition and satiety, you may want to pay attention to what macros you eat.

4 Actually. You forgot Alcohol.

Alcohol is not a macronutrient

quiksylver296

joemac1988 wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I just posted this in a different thread...

There are three macro-nutrients. Carbohydrates, protein and fats. All food is made up of these three macros. Carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram. Fat is 9 calories per gram. The only thing that matter for weight loss is calories.

However, for nutrition and satiety, you may want to pay attention to what macros you eat.

4 Actually. You forgot Alcohol.

Edit: All right, I quick Googled. It said not technically a macro-nutrient, but as it does have 7 calories per gram which means it isn't a carb, protein or fat, but is it's own thing. I'll give you that one.

But that might be an over-technical discussion for someone who doesn't understand the basic macros.

earlnabby

I watch my carbs . . . sort of. I am T2Dm and have a maximum number I can eat in a day (160 grams). Most days that is not an issue, I just try and eat well balanced over the course of the day (my macro split is 35 p, 35 c, 30 f). Days where I earn a lot of extra calories are the days I have to be a bit more careful to make sure I don't overeat the carbs. Even a day here or there of carb loading does not adversely affect my A1C (the average blood glucose over a 3 month period).

Been losing steadily with minimal cravings and few binges (over 50 lb since the beginning of Feb. 80 lb lost overall). Watching carbs does not matter for weight loss. Whether you eat high, low, or moderate carbs is all a matter of what satisfies you and best fuels your day.