Keeping your carbs down ??

Just started using the tracking and my carbs are way too high for the macro! The first few days I ended up just having a protein shake to balance it all out but I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not?

What do you all do to make it balanced? I'm thinking I should have one meal a day that is low carb and that would help ?

I usually buy food for my lunch and snacks while I'm at work and everything I usually get in finding is full of carbs. There's loads of shops close by to me, Tesco, asda, m and s, subway, Gregg, chip shop, sandwich shops... what's the best kind of things I can buy?

Also... snacks!!!! I was just eating loads of fruit, but they all have carbs in too!!!

Feel like I need to rethink my entire eating to get this right...

Replies

  • chrisredmayne
    chrisredmayne Posts: 28 Member
    Do you have any medical reason to watch carbs? If not, don't worry about it. Carbs aren't bad.

    I just want to get them down to 50 on the macro really I don't wanna cut them out
  • chrisredmayne
    chrisredmayne Posts: 28 Member
    In my humble experience - most of those kind of shops don't sell 'weight-loss' friendly snacks.

    I highly recommend you make your own lunch then you know exactly what's in it and can log it to the gram. You add more protein to it if you need it etc.

    Takes less time that walking to the shops, searching, queuing and walking back - plus it's cheaper once you're in the habit.

    Best of luck.


    The only thing I've found that's good is the m and s super foods salad, I might go around and scan stuff in to see how bad or good they are!
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited April 2019
    Carbs don't make you fat. eating at a calorie surplus does. if you are eating at a calorie deficit then you will lose weight regardless of WHAT you eat.

    honestly making your lunch is the best way to accurately know what you are eating. While salads are considered healthier options, if you add a lot of nuts and multiple protein (chicken, cheese, egg, bacon) and lots of dressing they can easily (and often) be worse than a sandwich.

    start small, logging, sticking to your calorie goal. then make slow swaps over time if you want to reduce your carbs. smaller portions of starches (pasta, bread, etc). Make you snacks more vegetable/fruit/protein based.

    if you open your diary for awhile we can maybe more easily offer swaps.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    How many carbs to you is "way too many carbs"? The default MFP Marcos say 50% of your calories for carbs. You could even do more than that. It's ideal to make sure you are getting enough protein with some fat. But there is nothing wrong with having carbs as part of your macro mix. There is also nothing wrong with having a protein shake it you want to have more protein.

    Honestly it sounds like you may be trying to over think things, and that's just going to sabotage you. Focus on your calorie goal first. You have a lot of flexibility to tweak your macros within that goal based on personal preference and what makes you feel full.



    I was 70 percent carbs yesterday tho, is that gonna just put fat on me ? Is it more a case of cooking the same meals but changing the portion sizes ? Like a chicken pasta cook less pasta and more chicken ?

    Exactly! It just takes practice. When I first started my weight loss I was eating mostly carbs too. I still lost weight by keeping calories in line.

    The macros thing is a bit of a puzzle and it does take a while to get them figured out and to be consistently close to goals. I focus on protein every day and I still sometimes don't quite get there.

    It's fine, it's about calories for weight management. Protein is important, so is fat. Keep moving in the direction of balance, but be gentle with yourself as you do it.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    Just echoing what's already been said - carbs are not the devil. Calorie surplus is.

    When I started I had similar questions due to the massive amount of bad info out there and someone here suggested that for a few weeks/months, just try counting calories accurately and don't even worry about the macros, and that worked.

    Relax, enjoy and track your food. If you have an overage one day don't sweat it, there's always tomorrow. You'll refine what you eat over time.
  • nocgirl72
    nocgirl72 Posts: 139 Member
    edited April 2019
    I agree with everyone. Try to avoid added sugar and avoid foods with super high carbs. Fiber is a free carb so make sure you are getting 25g of fiber a day and subtract those.

    I plan my daily meals that help manage macros a little better. If I’m going to have carbs 1 meal I try to limit my other 2 meals but lately Ive been at 80-90g carbs per day not subtracting fiber. I’ve Ben focusing more on calories, protein, fiber and sugar. Getting under 50 carbs per day is difficult
  • OGingerBeardMan
    OGingerBeardMan Posts: 157 Member
    Keeping carbs down is usually pretty simple if you avoid sugars, breads, pasta, and fruit. I am on a relatively low carb diet right now. I eat a lot of protein and fat, though. Feel free to take a look at my diary if you'd like some inspiration.
  • awolf2011
    awolf2011 Posts: 265 Member
    I was worried about my carb intake as well, but I eat a ton of fruits & veges, so the carbs I watched the most are pastas, breads, rice, etc. I'm always over mine, but in a reasonable amount once I consider how many fruits/veges I ate for the day. I focus more on my calories, sugar, fat & proteins. Those are the numbers that I look at.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    anniecave1 wrote: »
    We have a qualified nutritionist who does sessions at our workplace. Her advice is to avoid too many refined sugars due to diabetes risk. There are also studies to show too much refined sugar can exacerbate depression and lead to earlier risk of Alzheimer's dementia.
    She also suggests swapping wholegrain for white where possible.
    She suggests avoiding too much processed food (including processed meats).
    Her advice is also to not blindly choose "low fat" products, as sometimes lower fat just means higher added sugar.
    She also says exercise is good, but avoid being a "weekend warrior" doing loads at the weekend and nothing during the week if possible.
    Her suggestion is to try to make small changes over time and try to make eating well a good habit.

    Why do you consider her to be a "qualified" nutritionist?