How to increase calories while lowering carbs
Jumpropegirl5467
Posts: 98 Member
I recently cut out all white bread, flour, sugar, and rice. But now I find myself struggling to fill my calories Which are 1,400 since I am eating mostly veggies and chicken. Any suggestions ? Or should I let a few carbs back into my life ?
0
Replies
-
Why did you cut out carbs?3
-
As long as you're meeting your need for protein and fat, there's no need to set a limit on carbohydrates (especially if it is keeping you from meeting your calorie needs).
That said, if you prefer to limit carbohydrates, your options are to add more protein or fat to your diet. Eating mostly vegetables and chicken sounds like a pretty low fat diet. Things like nuts, plant oils, full fat salad dressings, avocado, and coconut are all pretty calorie dense with relatively limited carbohydrates.8 -
-
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »
Weight loss is created by a calorie deficit, you can do that on a low, moderate, or even high carbohydrate diet. Many people do find limiting carbohydrates makes it easier for them to hit their calorie goals, but it's not required. And failing to eat enough is going to be harmful to you sooner or later, so you want to make sure you replace the calories from carbohydrates with *something*.5 -
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »
Weight loss is caused by being in a calorie deficit. Cutting them might help cut your calories, but it's not what's best for weight loss. You'll likely see a jump in the scale when you start eating them again.2 -
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »Why did you cut out carbs?
I didn’t cut out all carbs mostly just white rice, flour and bread. But I mainly cut them because they were best for weight loss ? I’ve lost 18 pounds since cutting out these items.
[/quo
Weight loss is caused by being in a calorie deficit. Cutting them might help cut your calories, but it's not what's best for weight loss. You'll likely see a jump in the scale when you start eating them again.
Does this mean I should refrain from them for good ? So focusing on limiting carbs shouldn’t be my main goal ?0 -
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »
These items (by themselves) have no effect on weight loss/gain. You are losing weight because you are in a calorie deficit after cutting them out. You can eat them (in moderation) and still lose weight.
Question for you - how long has it taken to lose the 18 pounds that you have lost?4 -
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »
These items (by themselves) have no effect on weight loss/gain. You are losing weight because you are in a calorie deficit after cutting them out. You can eat them (in moderation) and still lose weight.
Question for you - how long has it taken to lose the 18 pounds that you have lost?
Took me approximately 2 months
0 -
That's a pretty aggressive lose rate (almost 2 lbs a week). How much more weight do you have to lose? I ask because you could probably add back small amounts of the rice/bread/etc if you wanted to - it might decrease your deficit and your weight loss might slow a bit but it will not stop you completely. As long as you manage total calories and stay in a deficit, you will continue to lose weight.4
-
As someone has said already, eating 'mostly veggies and chicken' sounds like it's very low on (healthy) fats. Your body needs dietary fat to function.
And fats are an easy way to add calories too.4 -
That's a pretty aggressive lose rate (almost 2 lbs a week). How much more weight do you have to lose? I ask because you could probably add back small amounts of the rice/bread/etc if you wanted to - it might decrease your deficit and your weight loss might slow a bit but it will not stop you completely. As long as you manage total calories and stay in a deficit, you will continue to lose weight.
I have about 33 more to loose. As long as adding carbs back in does not bring me weight gain in the long run I could consider putting them back in.
0 -
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »That's a pretty aggressive lose rate (almost 2 lbs a week). How much more weight do you have to lose? I ask because you could probably add back small amounts of the rice/bread/etc if you wanted to - it might decrease your deficit and your weight loss might slow a bit but it will not stop you completely. As long as you manage total calories and stay in a deficit, you will continue to lose weight.
I have about 33 more to loose. As long as adding carbs back in does not bring me weight gain in the long run I could consider putting them back in.
Carbs in and of themselves have no bearing on weight management other than some water weight. Fat loss and weight management is about calorie (energy) balance...not carbs. Low carb diets work the same as any other approach in that when you cut those things out, you create a calorie deficit.4 -
Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »That's a pretty aggressive lose rate (almost 2 lbs a week). How much more weight do you have to lose? I ask because you could probably add back small amounts of the rice/bread/etc if you wanted to - it might decrease your deficit and your weight loss might slow a bit but it will not stop you completely. As long as you manage total calories and stay in a deficit, you will continue to lose weight.
I have about 33 more to loose. As long as adding carbs back in does not bring me weight gain in the long run I could consider putting them back in.
Are you planning to cut out the carbs you listed for the rest of your life?
And, again weight loss is caused by being in a calorie deficit. If you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight. If you are wanting to lose about 30 lbs healthy weight loss is 1 lb a week.4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Jumpropegirl5467 wrote: »That's a pretty aggressive lose rate (almost 2 lbs a week). How much more weight do you have to lose? I ask because you could probably add back small amounts of the rice/bread/etc if you wanted to - it might decrease your deficit and your weight loss might slow a bit but it will not stop you completely. As long as you manage total calories and stay in a deficit, you will continue to lose weight.
I have about 33 more to loose. As long as adding carbs back in does not bring me weight gain in the long run I could consider putting them back in.
Carbs in and of themselves have no bearing on weight management other than some water weight. Fat loss and weight management is about calorie (energy) balance...not carbs. Low carb diets work the same as any other approach in that when you cut those things out, you create a calorie deficit.
Agree. With that said, the OP is currently successful so I would stick with the plan.
OP, if you want to increase fats, nuts, cheese, fatty fish, olives, fatty cuts of meat and oils are a good way to do it.2 -
Other than how satiated you feel, it doesn't matter how you make up those calories as long as you eat that number and aren't consistently under-eating, so if you're happy not eating any white bread, rice, flour etc and it's working for you, that's great. But think ahead to what you plan to do once you've got to your goal weight. Unless you plan to cut them out for good, you may find it easier to add some back in (and some fats) now and figure out how your meals will look long term. Unless you mean you've substituted white for brown or wholemeal, consider wholegrain breads and brown rice though, as they have more fibre.
If you change your weight loss rate, in the MFP set up, to 1lb a week, which is a more sensible target now that you've lost some weight, MFP will give you a different number of calories to play with. As long as you're eating that number of calories (and are logging accurately), you'll continue to lose, at a rate of 1lb a week.
As you get closer to your goal (maybe about 15-20lb to go), drop the weight loss rate to 0.5lb a week.1
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions