Carbs... friend or foe?

realnurse26
realnurse26 Posts: 560 Member
There is so much conflicting info out there on carbs. Some say Keto is the way to go, others say you must eat carbs in order to lose weight. Some say forget counting carbs all together and just watch your calories. Then there’s the whole “watching macros” deal that makes no sense to me whatsoever. Where do you get those percentages and how on earth do you track them? I understand how important protein is, but carbs are the wild card for me. What’s your opinion/experience with carbs?
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Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    I agree with those above, that calories determine weight loss in a direct sense, though what one eats (macronutrients like protein, fats, carbs, or even specific food choices) can affect feeling full (so make it easier to stick to a calorie goal) or may affect energy level (so may help one burn more calories, or lead one to burn fewer through fatigue). Those effects tend to be individual, so it can take experimentation.

    Protein and fats are 2 of the 3 macronutrients, and those 2 are "essential nutrients" in the sense that we need to eat a certain amount of them, because our bodies can't manufacture them out of anything else. Carbohydrates are the 3rd macronutrient, but they're not "essential" in that technical sense: Our body can manufacture them from protein/fats, though it prefers not to do so (will use the carbs for energy, by preference). A 4th thing, alcohol, behaves like a macronutrient, kinda, in that it has calories, but it isn't protein, fats, or carbs.

    Quite a few people seem to eat enough fat without focusing on it, so you'll see people here say they only worry about hitting protein goals. Carbohydrates are more flexible, theoretically. Some people must manage or limit carbs because of health conditions (such as diabetes). Some people find it helps them control appetite when they eat fewer carbs. Other people find it tanks their energy level when they don't eat enough carbs. That tends to be individual, too, so takes experimenting.

    So, for best health, you need a certain amount of protein and fats from the food you eat. You also need micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals (but there are others). Veggies/fruits/whole grains tend to have a lot of micronutrients, but many of them also have carbs. People who prefer to eat low carb or (especially) keto can get enough veggies/fruits to hit micronutrient needs, but they may have to be more strategic about choices in order to keep their carbs lower. If there are benefits to them from keeping carbs low (or low enough for keto), that's worth their time and attention. Otherwise, probably not worth it, IMO.

    One thing from experience: Eating low carb is not essential for weight loss for everyone. All it takes to say that is one person who lost weight without dramatically cutting carbs, and I'm one person. (There are others, too.) While losing 50+ pounds in less than a year, I was generally eating 150g+ of carbs daily (in contrast to keto, which IMU would be 20-50g for most, depending on the person). In maintenance for 5+ years now at a healthy weight, I eat 250g+ carbs most days, and do fine. So, repeating: Eating low carb is not universally essential for weight loss.

    Would low carb help you? I dunno. That's the experiment.

    If I were you, I'd start with the MFP default macro percents as described in a post above, try to come close (doesn't have to be exact), and see how things go, in terms of appetite and energy level. (Don't cut calories too low right off the bat, that just makes it more complicated to figure out whether appetite is from macro mix or from simply eating too little!). If you log your eating, and pay attention to how you feel, you'll figure out what works best for you. It does tend to be individual, and figuring it out definitely makes weight management easier.

    Wishing you success!
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    Keeping it simple to start is a good way to go. There's no need to overcomplicate this; just eat in a deficit and play around with foods until you find what keeps you full. Both for satiety and fitness goals, I personally prefer a 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein split, where I focus on hitting my protein and fat goals then let carbs fall where they may.

    If you want to know more about macros, this link is very detailed: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1
    Don't feel like you have to implement the recommendations, especially if you're just starting out and need to get your feet under you first - this is more of an FYI so you understand some of the things you see people talking about around here.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,742 Member
    Friend. A very dear friend :)

    Your friend and I are very happily married. :)
  • anna_lowe
    anna_lowe Posts: 39 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    Friend. A very dear friend :)

    Your friend and I are very happily married. :)

    uh...i got some bad news for you...
  • realnurse26
    realnurse26 Posts: 560 Member
    😂 y’all are cracking me up
  • AnnieUTT
    AnnieUTT Posts: 4 Member
    I love carbs but they don't love me. If I keep my calories low but eat lots of carbs, my weight drops at a glacial pace. If I keep both my calories and carbs low, my weight drops about a pound a week. I would never recommend keto though. I tried it for a while and my fiber intake was so low that I developed diverticulitis. Do what works for you, but get that fiber in!
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    I try to concentrate on what type of carb. I'm never going to give up on porridge for breakfast, fruit and veg, or lovely bread.

    That packet of chocolate biscuits though, that's off. I appreciate that many people could have one, log it and put them away. I am not that person. 😆
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    Friend. A very dear friend :)

    Your friend and I are very happily married. :)

    Wait... I thought we were...
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,742 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    anna_lowe wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    Friend. A very dear friend :)

    Your friend and I are very happily married. :)

    uh...i got some bad news for you...

    FTR: @glassyo did not say that it was not an "open marriage".

    Well, it wasn't SUPPOSED to be!

    Damned carbs.
  • bebeisfit
    bebeisfit Posts: 951 Member
    Complex carbs are my friends. Oatmeal and I have been best buds since childhood.

    Simple carbs are the devil (for me at least). Once I start..I never want to stop.. looking at you ritz crackers and haagen daz ice cream.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited May 2021
    bebeisfit wrote: »
    Complex carbs are my friends. Oatmeal and I have been best buds since childhood.

    Simple carbs are the devil (for me at least). Once I start..I never want to stop.. looking at you ritz crackers and haagen daz ice cream.

    Technically, crackers involve complex carbs. Starch vs sugar.

    Personally, I find some carbs indispensable (veg and fruit) and feel I should probably eat more of others than I do (beans and lentils) otherwise find a lot of carbs kind of not that exciting (starches). I'll eat more of them when I have more cals and they are prepared well (I enjoy potatoes and pasta and oats), but I also don't find them particularly desirable such that I mind cutting down on them. So certainly not a foe, but much more eh, take or leave, than "a friend."

    I don't have that much of a sweet tooth but do enjoy occasional ice cream, but note that like many dessert foods it is as much a fat as a carb.
  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
    Friend.

    My friend and foe 😊

  • kj1ca
    kj1ca Posts: 7 Member
    To low carbs you gain fa,t to many carbs you gain fat. A dietician would really help if you cant tell with your body.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    Carbs - if you mean the traditional starchy carbs (potato, rice, pasta, bread etc) are not my friends - they’re more like that guy or girl who is a friend of a friend who is always around when we spend time together.

    They just make my real friends (vegetables and protein) a bit more fun to spend time with. 😊
  • LazyBlondeChef
    LazyBlondeChef Posts: 2,809 Member
    edited May 2021
    Friend with limitations.

    I'm set up as a 40/30/30 mix but end up exceeding the fat a lot of the time. Probably because I eat meat at most meals otherwise I feel weak. Sometimes I eat beans but they make me bloat. Same with pasta and bread. I like pasta but minimize it. I eat small amounts of whole grains but the bulk of my carbs are from vegetables and a little bit of fruit. About half of the fat I eat is from olive oil.

    Using the default range is a good place to start. Then experiment and adjust to what makes you feel the best. I tried low fat back in the 90s and it made me feel like *kitten*. Bad moods and headaches. Since then I embrace the fat. I don't much care if I live to be 100. At what cost?
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,841 Member
    I focus on my calories and on a sufficient amount of protein (minimum 100gr). I don't watch my carbs at all, but I generally end up a bit lower than MFP's standard macros. Still 170-250gr of carbs per day though, on average. Hasn't stopped me from losing 60+ lbs so far.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    Friend...

    And keep in mind that a lot of the things people categorize as "carbs" are actually equal parts, if not more, "fats" (cake, for instance...or ice cream.) Most foods aren't just composed of one macro only.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    CARBS ARE A NECESSARY PART OF YOUR DIET.

    Just like fat, it's a nutrient that you absolutely need. Just like fat, there are different types--pineapple, garlic bread, beans, carrots and chocolate chip cookies all are high in carbs but obviously very different nutritionally. Just like fat, in the modern diet we tend to get too much and too much of certain kinds and that's where we run into trouble.

    I realize most people here understand that, but a fair amount come here with the overly simplistic understanding of "carbs bad" when there's a big difference between eating a bagel with cream cheese for lunch versus vegetable sushi with brown rice and avocado.