How many carbs is too many? Not keto - just realistic

slossia

Thanks

Meelisv

It certainly is highly individual.
Anything less than 150 g is not enough to me, I'll lose ability to concentrate and think creatively. Bit more lower and i I'll lose my will to live also and find it's hard to drag myself out of bed.
Then again I usually keep my carb intake below 200 or so, since over that I would be over my daily calorie limit if other macros are on decent level.

ercompton85

AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution range) for carbohydrates is 45-65%. So, based on a 1400 kcal diet, you should shoot for around 155 - 230 grams of carbohydrates a day. If you are trying to follow a lower carbohydrate diet you could do 40% carbohydrate which translates to 140 grams (preferably from whole grains and vegetables so you can get enough fiber - the fiber recommendation is at 25-30 grams a day). Then you can make a goal of 30% kcal from protein and 30% kcal from fats (preferably from vegetable sources - canola oil, olive oil, avocados, etc. - to minimize saturated fat content). This would translate to 105 grams of protein and around 45 grams of fat based on your 1400 kcal diet.

I have been studying nutrition for the last 3 years and will be eligible to sit for the exam to become a registered dietitian in about a year. Ketogenic diets, while they do help you lose weight in the short term, are not sustainable for most people and most people gain back what they lost (sometimes more) when they stop following the diet. Good luck!

nvmomketo

ercompton85 wrote: »

AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution range) for carbohydrates is 45-65%. So, based on a 1400 kcal diet, you should shoot for around 155 - 230 grams of carbohydrates a day. If you are trying to follow a lower carbohydrate diet you could do 40% carbohydrate which translates to 140 grams (preferably from whole grains and vegetables so you can get enough fiber - the fiber recommendation is at 25-30 grams a day). Then you can make a goal of 30% kcal from protein and 30% kcal from fats (preferably from vegetable sources - canola oil, olive oil, avocados, etc. - to minimize saturated fat content). This would translate to 105 grams of protein and around 45 grams of fat based on your 1400 kcal diet.

I have been studying nutrition for the last 3 years and will be eligible to sit for the exam to become a registered dietitian in about a year. Ketogenic diets, while they do help you lose weight in the short term, are not sustainable for most people and most people gain back what they lost (sometimes more) when they stop following the diet. Good luck!

@ercompton85 As to the bolded, I was wondering why the AMDR for carbs is set so high and if you agree with the science (or lack of science) that it is based upon? Knowing that there are no essential carbohydrate levels, I am curious why dieticians are taught that that is a good macro goal for carbs. Why not raise fats or protein?

This question is coming from someone who has eaten 0-10% carbs for most of the last 3 years. Most of which was maintenance.

The AMDR for protein and fat are broad and start low: 10-35% for protein and 20-35% for fat. I can see why you start at 30% for protein instead of 10%. For someone on a 1200 kcal diet, 10% protein would only be 30g.

Meelisv

This is about optimal for me, of course not every day turns out like that:

Christine_72

nvmomketo wrote: »

ercompton85 wrote: »

AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution range) for carbohydrates is 45-65%. So, based on a 1400 kcal diet, you should shoot for around 155 - 230 grams of carbohydrates a day. If you are trying to follow a lower carbohydrate diet you could do 40% carbohydrate which translates to 140 grams (preferably from whole grains and vegetables so you can get enough fiber - the fiber recommendation is at 25-30 grams a day). Then you can make a goal of 30% kcal from protein and 30% kcal from fats (preferably from vegetable sources - canola oil, olive oil, avocados, etc. - to minimize saturated fat content). This would translate to 105 grams of protein and around 45 grams of fat based on your 1400 kcal diet.

I have been studying nutrition for the last 3 years and will be eligible to sit for the exam to become a registered dietitian in about a year. Ketogenic diets, while they do help you lose weight in the short term, are not sustainable for most people and most people gain back what they lost (sometimes more) when they stop following the diet. Good luck!

@ercompton85 As to the bolded, I was wondering why the AMDR for carbs is set so high and if you agree with the science (or lack of science) that it is based upon? Knowing that there are no essential carbohydrate levels, I am curious why dieticians are taught that that is a good macro goal for carbs. Why not raise fats or protein?

This question is coming from someone who has eaten 0-10% carbs for most of the last 3 years. Most of which was maintenance.

The AMDR for protein and fat are broad and start low: 10-35% for protein and 20-35% for fat. I can see why you start at 30% for protein instead of 10%. For someone on a 1200 kcal diet, 10% protein would only be 30g.

From what I've seen from dietitians, what they in learn in school is set in stone in their minds! And they don't like to veer far from the path/bubble of what they've been taught.

I know nutritionists don't get much respect here, but at least some of them can think outside of the box.

nvmomketo

Christine_72 wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

ercompton85 wrote: »

AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution range) for carbohydrates is 45-65%. So, based on a 1400 kcal diet, you should shoot for around 155 - 230 grams of carbohydrates a day. If you are trying to follow a lower carbohydrate diet you could do 40% carbohydrate which translates to 140 grams (preferably from whole grains and vegetables so you can get enough fiber - the fiber recommendation is at 25-30 grams a day). Then you can make a goal of 30% kcal from protein and 30% kcal from fats (preferably from vegetable sources - canola oil, olive oil, avocados, etc. - to minimize saturated fat content). This would translate to 105 grams of protein and around 45 grams of fat based on your 1400 kcal diet.

I have been studying nutrition for the last 3 years and will be eligible to sit for the exam to become a registered dietitian in about a year. Ketogenic diets, while they do help you lose weight in the short term, are not sustainable for most people and most people gain back what they lost (sometimes more) when they stop following the diet. Good luck!

@ercompton85 As to the bolded, I was wondering why the AMDR for carbs is set so high and if you agree with the science (or lack of science) that it is based upon? Knowing that there are no essential carbohydrate levels, I am curious why dieticians are taught that that is a good macro goal for carbs. Why not raise fats or protein?

This question is coming from someone who has eaten 0-10% carbs for most of the last 3 years. Most of which was maintenance.

The AMDR for protein and fat are broad and start low: 10-35% for protein and 20-35% for fat. I can see why you start at 30% for protein instead of 10%. For someone on a 1200 kcal diet, 10% protein would only be 30g.

From what I've seen from dietitians, what they in learn in school is set in stone in their minds! And they don't like to veer far from the path/bubble of what they've been taught.

I know nutritionists don't get much respect here, but at least some of them can think outside of the box.

That's probably true for most of us. I had that happen to me last year. I was teaching a small group of junior high kids some high school physics (homeschoolers) and one boy with a passion for physics showed me that some of the theories that had been thought true 13 years ago when I was still teaching were now no longer thought to be correct. LOL. That was a fun rabbit hole to go down with the kids.

It's actually very true for me when it comes to nutrition. I was fully on the low fat bandwagon. I remember not buttering my toast to avoid saturated fats, only putting skim milk on my Special K, and eating only the leanest meats with the majority of my calories coming from the bottom of the food pyramid... But I never looked into why eating that way was suggested. I just had the most basic understanding of artery clogging, solid saturated fats. I just hope dieticians are taught WHY something is recommended and then given the evidence to use. KWIM?

WinoGelato

OP why do you feel you need to set a particular carb limit? What are your goals?

broth8438

Having just visited a nutritionist and an endocrinologist who have helped me prepare for a totally remade lifestyle and food life, I was told 30 carbs per meal is more than sufficient. And no roll over if you don’t use them on breakfast for example.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

broth8438 wrote: »

Having just visited a nutritionist and an endocrinologist who have helped me prepare for a totally remade lifestyle and food life, I was told 30 carbs per meal is more than sufficient. And no roll over if you don’t use them on breakfast for example.

thats for someone with health issues though ,others can eat a lot more than that. or if you have an intolerance to carbs then keep them low .

lemurcat12

30 g carbs per meal IS sufficient. (Less is also sufficient.)

But that doesn't mean that more is bad or undesirable.

I also eat more protein and more fat than is "sufficient."

There are no "one size fits all" carb recommendations, and if my nutritionist suggested there was, that nutritionist would be fired by me (I also would make sure the person was a registered dietitian if taking dietary advice from him or her, although I'd agree with nvmomketo that over-focus on the AMDR percentages would be a problem for me too, as you don't need carbs that high if you don't want them there, and IMO percentages are a bad approach, especially for someone on a deficit).

TeaBea

diannethegeek wrote: »

emalemalie wrote: »

I’m trying to drop weight and maintain, and I was living a VERY high carb lifestyle prior to making some changes about a month ago. What is a reasonable carb goal daily? I shoot for 1400 calories (because I’m not very active) and I have no idea how many carbs I should strive for daily. HELP

If you're eating so many carbs that you can't reach your minimum protein and fat needs or are having a hard time getting certain nutrients in, then that's too many carbs.

This^

Work on meeting protein first. Get a decent amount of fat, second. Carbs will naturally come down (if you have been crowding these macros out).

AnvilHead

TeaBea wrote: »

diannethegeek wrote: »

emalemalie wrote: »

I’m trying to drop weight and maintain, and I was living a VERY high carb lifestyle prior to making some changes about a month ago. What is a reasonable carb goal daily? I shoot for 1400 calories (because I’m not very active) and I have no idea how many carbs I should strive for daily. HELP

If you're eating so many carbs that you can't reach your minimum protein and fat needs or are having a hard time getting certain nutrients in, then that's too many carbs.

This^

Work on meeting protein first. Get a decent amount of fat, second. Carbs will naturally come down (if you have been crowding these macros out).

^ That's exactly what I do. Strive to meet/exceed my protein goal and don't even worry about the others. I get plenty of fat in my diet, that's never a problem, so I just let fat and carbs fall where they fall.