How low is low carb?

jenb8529

What do you consider low carb? I know there's different diets out there from keto to atkins to paelo, but I'm wondering how many grams do you try to stay under to lose weight?

ptrcmcc6

I try to stay around or under 60g "net" carbs and I'm losing weight.

squeeeyk

I'm on keto but with the higher end of 50g per day. I'm doing total carbs, not net carbs. I'll likely lower this once I stop breastfeeding.

kpk54

I lost all of my extra adipose and pounds (63) at ~100 average which is an estimate glancing though my food diary of years ago. I didn't really know about "low carb dieting". I just had a burning desire to quit eating sweet crap all the time so did the "eat less thing" by cutting out sweets and snacks. 3 squares a day.

Now I eat about 50 total carb grams per day for hunger suppression. My 1st couple years of maintenance were darn hard with higher carbs and lower fat. I flex it on rare occasion and eat a little higher carb but not at home which is where I do 90-95% of my eating.

ladipoet

I usually cap my carbs out at 40g total (not counting erythritol) per day.

tcunbeliever

generally anything 150g/day or less is classified as 'low carb'

I aim for 25g/day on my low days, and 112g/day on strength-training days

nvmomketo

Ditto. Low carb is usually thought to be under about 150g a day and keto is under about 50g...but I still remember one member who managed to stay in ketosis by timing his carbs around 6 hour bike rides and he ate over 200g of carbs a day.

For me, I stopped losing when carbs were over 40g. I guess I eat too much when carbs are higher

donharkrn

If ketosis is your goal, it just depends on the person I think. I personally avoid carbs altogether if possible 6 days a week, then cycle a high carb, low fat day in for glycogen restoration to fuel my workouts. My typical carb intake is about 10g per day on those 6 days, which puts me back in ketosis on day 2.

randomgyrl

I try to keep myself below 40 net carbs.

mwillder1

I shoot for about 30g / day and have been losing weight consistently.

goatlady6

SO when you're talking 20 to 60g of carbs per day...does this include your veggies too? Some places say eat all the veggies you want that dont grow underground? It seems the more I read the more confused I get!

__Roxy__

goatlady6 wrote: »

SO when you're talking 20 to 60g of carbs per day...does this include your veggies too? Some places say eat all the veggies you want that dont grow underground? It seems the more I read the more confused I get!

You can choose to count net carbs or total carbs. For example, I eat 20 net carbs per day, which once you factor in fiber from veggies is probably around 30-40 total carbs.

If your going with a higher number like 50+ carbs/day, counting total seems best. If your going with a strict number like 20, it's easier to do net (if you want veggies in any meaningful amount, that is!)

I think most people in the thread are referring to total carbs. Since a standard western diet is so carb-heavy, even 100-150 total carbs could be considered "low carb" to some.

MissyCHF

From what I plan to eat today, I will have 76 grams of carbs. It surprises me that this amount seems to be OK. Until I read this thread I was trying to work out how to trim them..

What's a net carb please?

Sunny_Bunny_

In the FAQ’s in the Launch Pad there’s a whole detailed discussion explaining that low carb is generally considered less than 150g a day and there are other specific carb goal ranges within that.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10039486/what-is-low-carb-an-overview-and-guide

Shron123

FYI Net carb is total carbs less any fibre. Fibre cannot be absorbed by the body so it travels right through the digestive tract without breaking down eg vegetables therefore it is subtracted.

MissyCHF

Thank you Sunny_Bunny_ My goals are Carbohydrates 150 g
50 %
Fat 40 g
30 %
Protein 60 g
20 %
I think I will leave them there until I settle in. However, I see today I have overrun my fat planning and will eat fewer than my goal figures for protein and carbs......... Hmm.

sense_and_sarcasm

Shron123 wrote: »

FYI Net carb is total carbs less any fibre. Fibre cannot be absorbed by the body so it travels right through the digestive tract without breaking down eg vegetables therefore it is subtracted.

When looking at food labels, it should be noted that in the U.S. you have to take the total carb figure and minus the fiber to get the "net carb" figure.

I am pretty sure that in the UK, Europe and Australia, etc., the "total carb" figure listed on food labels IS the net carb figure. They already minus the fiber from that total.

And, of course, this gets even more confusing when looking online at nutritional stats and needing to be aware of whether it is a U.S. site and U.S. information or not when figuring that total.

MissyCHF

So being English and eating and counting Brit calories, I'm already counting my carbs net?

chinatowninchina

MissyCHF wrote: »

So being English and eating and counting Brit calories, I'm already counting my carbs net?

All the manufacturer labels in the UK are in Net not Total carbs so don't take the fiber off again, that way high carb lurks! You just need to check the labels of your frequent foods and be aware that lots of the foods on the MFP data base aren't correct especially if you are from the UK. I've found it easier to develop my own data base for my frequent foods based on what the UK labels say. Good luck!

MissyCHF

Thanks chinatowninchina, There is a lot of UK brands on mfp but many are out of date. I do tend to check what mfp says, if I'm buying, say - from Tesco, I usually go onto the Tesco site to compare data, if I can't find what I'm using with the correct data on mfp, I update one that is there and date it. Tedious but worth it & being an old bod' I have the time.

Princesstri

So, you don’t eat any veggies all week? A cup of kale has 6 grams of carbs5 net. And what kind of workouts do you do during the week? I’m just curious as my problem is balancing carbs/hunger/cravings and some of my training fitness goals. I’m a mountain biker and I never got the nutrition right to do some of the long distance races I tried to do. Bonked, felt sick, etc.

cedarsidefarm

I started at total carbs but when I went to 30 carbs, I got, well ahm, to put it bluntly, constipated. So, I count net carbs now at 20 grams a day and things go fine. I know some people here don't eat vegetables but I can't. I have to have at least one serving of raw vegetables and 2 servings of another vegetable just to keep things, well, moving.

kpk54

Princesstri wrote: »

So, you don’t eat any veggies all week? A cup of kale has 6 grams of carbs5 net. And what kind of workouts do you do during the week? I’m just curious as my problem is balancing carbs/hunger/cravings and some of my training fitness goals. I’m a mountain biker and I never got the nutrition right to do some of the long distance races I tried to do. Bonked, felt sick, etc.

I'll tag this to @donharkrn since I think that was who you were asking since he mentioned he avoids all carbs during the week then carbs up for his workouts. That was it is less likely to get unnoticed in pages of threads.

lindatcross1949

For those of you with carb grams around 50, what are fat and protein proportions?

kpk54

lindatcross1949 wrote: »

For those of you with carb grams around 50, what are fat and protein proportions?

I eat about 50 grams of carbs per day. And about 100 grams each of protein and fat.

My percentages in MFP for my 1500 calories per day are CURRENTLY 15% carbs (56 grams), 30% protein (113 grams, 55% fat (92 grams). I've been at goal/maintenance for a few years.

All I really focus on is
1) not eating what I consider junk
2) keeping carbs around 50 and
3) calories around 1500.

The protein and fat work themselves out because of the way I naturally eat, I suppose. I've not been tracking since January 1, 2018 though I'll probably start up again because I like to track. Throughout 2017 when I did track, the weekly nutrition page on the app reflects I was about 10-15% carbs, 20-30% protein, 50-70% fat in any given week.

I eat all things that most people would consider "whole foods". I didn't get fat eating broccoli or even sweet potatoes. I got fat overeating all the highly palatable sweet/salty/fatty combo things...and sitting on my butt too much. I don't do well with sweet/salty/fatty combos of even the keto friendly stuff be it pork rinds or keto cheesecake.

May not apply to anyone else.

retirehappy

I'm in maintenance now so I keep the total carbs in the 40-60 gram range. When I was trying to lose, I stayed in the 20-30 net grams range. I always counted the veggies' net carbs. I aim for nutritional ketosis even in maintenance.

physio52

MissyCHF wrote: »

Thanks chinatowninchina, There is a lot of UK brands on mfp but many are out of date. I do tend to check what mfp says, if I'm buying, say - from Tesco, I usually go onto the Tesco site to compare data, if I can't find what I'm using with the correct data on mfp, I update one that is there and date it. Tedious but worth it & being an old bod' I have the time.

I have found it useful to use the barcode reader in the food diary. I had to have it pointed out to me by my son in law! It saves having to input values individually

MissyCHF

physio52, I'm afraid you've lost me there, I can't see a barcode reader.