Am I doing this right? (Low carb)

jenmarie8784

I am in need of some advice/encouragement. Warning ya this is gonna be a long one. Lol. I'm 30 years old and been overweight my whole life. In 2011 I found out I'm borderline diabetic and in 2015 I was diagnosed with PCOS. In 2011/2012 I started dieting and lost 110 lbs and took my A1C from 6.7 to 5.6. I wasn't following any specific diet. Just counting calories. In the last couple years I've gained back about 40 lbs and so now I'm trying to lose the 40 plus about 60 more. I want to go low carb and I'm lost because I'm a major carb lover so it's a big change for me and I dont know if I'm doing this right. At first im just focusing on lowering but not completely cutting them out. My normal is probably 300-500 carbs per day so the last few days I've been trying to keep it at 75-100 and idk if that's truly considered low carb but it is for me lol. I've been trying to get most of my carbs and sugar from fruit and veggies instead of junk food which I think is a good start. Yesterday my carb total was 96. Im at 50 so far today. Thoughts?

Ws2016

Are you exercising? If so, you need carbs to build muscle. If yiur fat consumption is high that’is what I would focus on reducing, BUT you need a balance of protein, fats and carbs, so make sure your macros are in line.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

Ws2016 wrote: »

Are you exercising? If so, you need carbs to build muscle. If yiur fat consumption is high that’is what I would focus on reducing, BUT you need a balance of protein, fats and carbs, so make sure your macros are in line.

Protein builds muscle. Carbs provide energ and are converted to glucose for fuel.

kshama2001

Anything less than 45% carbs is technically low carb, so yes, you're low carb. But your goal is to lose weight, yes? All you need for that is a calorie deficit.

Reducing carbs and upping protein keeps me fuller longer, helping me to stay in a calorie deficit.

If you wanted, you could swap out higher carb fruits like grapes for lower carb fruits like berries. But again, being satiated by what you eat and maintaining a calorie deficit is key.

stfpa

Do you want to eat low carb to limit the amount of glucose in your body or are you doing it just to lose weight? If it’s just to lose weight, it seems like extra work. You seem to have had a really good result from just counting calories, I think you should keep doing what you did to lose that weight before! :-)

nvmomketo

You might want to join the Low Carber Daily MFP group. They can help with more advice and support.

Low carb is typically thought to be under 100-150 g, with keto being under 50 g a day. You are definitely low carb with those goals.

Make sure you increase sodium to replace the electrolytes you'll be losing by cutting your carbs by so much. You'll need at least 3000-5000 mg of sodium a day to avoid feeling poorly. For reference, there's 2300 mg sodium in 1 tsp salt.

It sounds like you are choosing nutritious and fibrous carbs. That's often helpful for controlling BG, and the fibre might help with satiety.

Good luck. I hope you experience the appetite suppressing effects that many get on a Lchf diet - it makes weight loss easier.

nvmomketo

Ws2016 wrote: »

Are you exercising? If so, you need carbs to build muscle. If yiur fat consumption is high that’is what I would focus on reducing, BUT you need a balance of protein, fats and carbs, so make sure your macros are in line.

Protein is used for muscle building. Fat or carbs can be used for energy, depending on needs or goals.

kommodevaran

I think you are doing fine. (And I almost never say that.) Changing your eating habits from something extreme to something moderate, is always the right way.