Carbs... friend or foe?

ExpressoLove11

Complex carbs are the friend I can rely on to support me and say nice things about me when I'm not around. Simple carbs are more like the nosy neighbour you can't always avoid and you know they're going to be a *kitten* about you when you leave.

janejellyroll

I get about 60% of my calories from carbohydrates, most of them in nutrient-dense foods . . . but I'm not worried about including some "fun" calories in the context of a varied diet. My weight management has always come down to calories consumed.

lemurcat2

ExpressoLove11 wrote: »

Complex carbs are the friend I can rely on to support me and say nice things about me when I'm not around. Simple carbs are more like the nosy neighbour you can't always avoid and you know they're going to be a *kitten* about you when you leave.

That's a mean thing to say about fruit!

Just because people often seem to think that simple vs complex has something to do with micronutrients, simple = sugar, including sugar in micronutrient rich foods like fruit, and complex = starch, including refined white flour.

ExpressoLove11

lemurcat2 wrote: »

ExpressoLove11 wrote: »

Complex carbs are the friend I can rely on to support me and say nice things about me when I'm not around. Simple carbs are more like the nosy neighbour you can't always avoid and you know they're going to be a *kitten* about you when you leave.

That's a mean thing to say about fruit!

Just because people often seem to think that simple vs complex has something to do with micronutrients, simple = sugar, including sugar in micronutrient rich foods like fruit, and complex = starch, including refined white flour.

I'm talking about my personal tolerance of the different types of carbs.

cwolfman13

realnurse26 wrote: »

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?

Carbohydrates are just carbohydrates...they're one of three macro-nutrients...nothing more and nothing less. There are many nutrient dense sources of carbohydrates as well. Weight management comes down to energy (calories). When you consume energy in excess of what your body needs, that excess energy is stored as bodyfat...basically your backup generator. When you consume less energy than your body requires, your backup generator kicks on to make up the difference and you burn bodyfat for fuel.

crmzn

Keto (not the bacon, lunch meat, and cheese version) is very effective. I’ve eaten a clean keto diet since last August and am able to maintain my physique, after losing 40lbs. Having worked out for almost 20 yrs, and trying multiple styles of eating, it’s been the most effective for me and is by far the one I’ve been able to stick to the longest.

Beverly2Hansen

Friend. To low carb makes me sick.