What Defines Low Carb For You?
drmarctagon
Posts: 101 Member
We're all low carb but not everyone does low carb the same.
Do you strive to stay below a specific carb amount? If so, how much? Do you monitor all your macros or just carbs? Do you not follow numbers and just avoid certain food groups?
Me, personally. I follow a LCHF diet, not necessarily keto because I don't plan on measuring ketones. Also, I try to keep my carbs under 50g of NET carbs, maybe 75 on weekends.
Do you strive to stay below a specific carb amount? If so, how much? Do you monitor all your macros or just carbs? Do you not follow numbers and just avoid certain food groups?
Me, personally. I follow a LCHF diet, not necessarily keto because I don't plan on measuring ketones. Also, I try to keep my carbs under 50g of NET carbs, maybe 75 on weekends.
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I try to stay under 20 net carbs (carbs minus protein because MFP doesn't show sugar alchohols.) If I hit 30 carbs, I don't sweat it, and if I am at 15, I won't go out and eat a bite of an apple, either.4
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I aim for 0g, but would consider low carb to be anything at or below what we need for daily energy.*
*To expand on that... our skeletal muscles are capable of using glucose, ketones, and fat. Our brain and central nervous system can only use either glucose or ketones for energy. The average human needs about 120g-130g of glucose daily for our brain (less if ketones are available for use, by a factor of roughly 10% per 1.0 mmol/l of blood ketones). A 600 lb. person isn't much different than a 120 lb. person because brain size is not much different with total physical size. Then add that, depending upon exertion level, it may not be possible for muscles to use ketones or fat all the time. For that, let's just round up to 150g.
Therefore, my view is that anybody below 150g net carbs per day could be considered low carb.4 -
I aim for below 100 g of total carbs. On weekdays I'm often below 80.0
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storyjorie wrote: »I try to stay under 20 net carbs (carbs minus protein because MFP doesn't show sugar alchohols.) If I hit 30 carbs, I don't sweat it, and if I am at 15, I won't go out and eat a bite of an apple, either.
I'm sure this was a typo, but just in case...net carbs are carbs minus fiber, not protein.3 -
storyjorie wrote: »I try to stay under 20 net carbs (carbs minus protein because MFP doesn't show sugar alchohols.) If I hit 30 carbs, I don't sweat it, and if I am at 15, I won't go out and eat a bite of an apple, either.
I'm sure this was a typo, but just in case...net carbs are carbs minus fiber, not protein.
Oops, yes! I meant fiber. :-) If it were minus protein, I'd be at a pretty big negative number!!!3 -
storyjorie wrote: »storyjorie wrote: »I try to stay under 20 net carbs (carbs minus protein because MFP doesn't show sugar alchohols.) If I hit 30 carbs, I don't sweat it, and if I am at 15, I won't go out and eat a bite of an apple, either.
I'm sure this was a typo, but just in case...net carbs are carbs minus fiber, not protein.
Oops, yes! I meant fiber. :-) If it were minus protein, I'd be at a pretty big negative number!!!
Or hair-falling-out-of-your-head low on protein
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storyjorie wrote: »storyjorie wrote: »I try to stay under 20 net carbs (carbs minus protein because MFP doesn't show sugar alchohols.) If I hit 30 carbs, I don't sweat it, and if I am at 15, I won't go out and eat a bite of an apple, either.
I'm sure this was a typo, but just in case...net carbs are carbs minus fiber, not protein.
Oops, yes! I meant fiber. :-) If it were minus protein, I'd be at a pretty big negative number!!!
Or hair-falling-out-of-your-head low on protein
HA! I'd literally be living on lard!!!0 -
I’m keeping my net carbs between 5-10% of my total calories, but my understanding is I could eat plenty more and still be under the low-carb umbrella. I’ve heard “under 100” tossed around as a general benchmark, and that seems fair to me.2
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I just happened into the land of low carb when I decided to lose weight and my primary focus (combined with a calorie deficit) was to quit eating the #1 thing I over ate. Sweets. Sweet treats of any kind. For weight loss, I averaged 128 carbs/day losing 60+ pounds in 53 weeks. I ate vegetables, fruits, legumes, pasta (occasionally). Pasta was "hard" for me to fit into a calorie deficit. No candy, cookies, cake, pies, nutty buddies, ice cream.
The 4 maintenance years since, I've experimented with various levels of "low carb". I'll call it 130 total daily grams or less. 1 year was keto of less than 20 grams of carbs. That's not for me. During the last year I have averaged about 50 grams of (total) carbohydrates per day. It's not a hard rule. The last 7 days for me had a low of 23 and a high of 80. Average 46.1. That's typical for me. I never sweat it if I have a higher carb day unless it involved bingeing on pan of brownies (or something similar). Been there. Done that. No fun.3 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »I aim for 0g, but would consider low carb to be anything at or below what we need for daily energy.*
*To expand on that... our skeletal muscles are capable of using glucose, ketones, and fat. Our brain and central nervous system can only use either glucose or ketones for energy. The average human needs about 120g-130g of glucose daily for our brain (less if ketones are available for use, by a factor of roughly 10% per 1.0 mmol/l of blood ketones). A 600 lb. person isn't much different than a 120 lb. person because brain size is not much different with total physical size. Then add that, depending upon exertion level, it may not be possible for muscles to use ketones or fat all the time. For that, let's just round up to 150g.
Therefore, my view is that anybody below 150g net carbs per day could be considered low carb.
I agree with all of this. Low carb is basically under 100-150g of carbs a day, depending on metabolic health. I consider keto to be under 20-50g a day, again depending on metabolic health - those with insulin resistance might not be in ketosis at 40 or 50g, but a healthy person who times their carbs around exercise can easily eat over a 100g of carbs and stay ketogenic.
I try to stay under 30g of carbs. The closer to zero I go the better I feel.3 -
What @nvmomketo said goes for me most days--except for today, which is "White Day" in Japan, when men give gifts of chocolates to the ladies who gave them some on Valentine's Day. Too much temptation for me to stay below 20 carbs today... (I am lucking out, as I didn't give any of my co-workers chocolates last month!)
If I don't eat dinner and start IF, I might average out under 100gr ok.... hmm.1 -
What @nvmomketo said goes for me most days--except for today, which is "White Day" in Japan, when men give gifts of chocolates to the ladies who gave them some on Valentine's Day. Too much temptation for me to stay below 20 carbs today... (I am lucking out, as I didn't give any of my co-workers chocolates last month!)
If I don't eat dinner and start IF, I might average out under 100gr ok.... hmm.
A chocolate holiday... that's brilliant. Why doesn't Canada have that one?! LOL
Have fun today! LOL 0 -
I squeaked by with under 80 total grams yesterday, but was sooo sleepy on the way home. Too much!0
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I stop eating all sweet( sugar, fruit, honey) starchy veggetables, grains(bread, rice, noodle, flour). But eat as much green veggies as I want. So this is what I consider as low carb for myself, no counting carbs necessary.
I will add fruits and some simple carbs back into my diet if I can ever get to 12% bodyfat, before and after exercise only.1 -
Was eating under 20 grams total carbs for my seizures, but after awhile I stopped tracking, but still eating the same way I always did so know my carbs are no higher than 30 grams total carbs per day.1
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As of right now I try to stay under 50 net carbs and 55 net being my max. After I had 2 miscarriages my doctor told me I could go up to 60 or 70 and still lose weight. I tried both and still lost weight. I have now worked my way back down to 50. I just track the net carbs and try to keep my calories low. I get way overwhelmed by tracking the macros. Good luck in your journey!0
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I remember my mom doing a low carb diet when I was young and her goal was to keep it under 60g per day. She lost 60lbs doing that. I aim for 25-30g a day, but if I have a day that I eat a little more, as long as I keep it under 60g I count it as a success. I also try to keep my calories down as well, but I know there's some controversy about calorie counting along with low carb...0
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I feel like it's very possible to lose weight with a higher carb limit, the issue I seem to run into is that if I don't keep my carbs down to a very keto limit then I'm dealing with hunger issues all day and I might be eating low carb items, but just too much all day long.1
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Under 30g usually, but I aim for under 20g0
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30-50 net carbs but that will change if I am working out on a regular basis. It's not a hard and fast goal sometimes I am below 30 net and other times above 50 net. I think it differs for everyone depending on your goals and how your body responds to LCHF. Some people have to stay 20g or below total carbs others not so much.1
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I aim to consume <20g net carbs daily, but don't sweat anything up to 30-35g net carbs.
When I do a "higher carb" day (special occasions or whatever, every couple of months), I might do 80-100g of carbs. Certainly still low carb compared to most standard diets.
I can see myself moving from keto to a more relaxed low carb diet one day (maybe even sooner than later). I can't imagine going back to processed sugar or any type of grains... but would consider incorporating fruit & potatoes back into my diet, in moderation.
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For me it depends on my activity level. Right now, I am doing a lot of running and working toward being able to complete a marathon in a month. Since I don't have metabolic issues, I am on the higher end most days lately (around 100g even more occasionally, but never over 150). The lower my activity level, the lower my carb intake. On rest days, my intake is around 50.1
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My low carb level is <20. I'm trying to lose the maximum amount of weight, so the macro calculator I used said to do 15g/day, but sometimes I don't even meet that. For example, today, my net carbs is 11g. And I'm fine with that so long as I hit my minimums for fat and protein. 0
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My doctor told me to just do it simple and that I will lose. He wants me to do 1200 calories and just stay under 100 carbs. a day. He told me that he thinks that I just won't feel good if I do a very low carbs a day. So far it has worked, I've lost between 2-3 lbs. a week. My weight is currently down to 332 from 355.
I'm sure that I will need to go lower as I lost more weight but as long as I'm losing I'm happy!2 -
I have played with my levels in the last 4 months. What I have learned is anything over 25 net and I have cravings. The lower I go the less I want to eat, that said you gotta eat! I did an egg fast and 1 day I didn't even get 5 grams of carb. I really like to keep mine pretty tightly controlled at 20 or less Net. I haven't been exercising much so that number may need changed as I start getting my garden in (I have a huge garden and grow most of our veggies for the year) biking and walking.
The crappy weather has let me play with the lower end of my macros so I can really see what makes me feel better or worse. Since I started logging I stick between 15-30 NC.1
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