why so many carbs ?

Ibettergetthisright

I have gather a lot of helpful info from everyone. Thank you so much....I will not cut back that far. You all have been very helpful !

Kevalicious99

I eat 200 - 300 carbs a day .. and have lost 5 inches of abdominal fat in 4 months (isn't that the toughest to lose ? .. and all while eating carbs. Imagine that).

Carbs are needed for energy .. and are not the devil.

But .. this is the internet and anything goes here, even something so insane as 20 carbs a day. My banana I had in my smoothie today had more than that. *shakes head*.

Go to YouTube and look up the girl that ate 51 bananas in a day ... 1549 carbs in one day (assuming medium bananas) . Hmm .. she must be really really overweight ? But interestingly she is actually very trim and fit. Hmm ..

duffypratt

Carbs are not needed for energy, but they are the quickest way to get energy. It's kind of pointless to talk about what's needed and what isn't. You can live without any carbs at all, but it would be tough to pull off in our society, and would not be a lot of fun.

There are two main attractions, for me at least, to a low carb diet. First, its simple. Eat meat, fat, and leafy green vegetables, and you are pretty much set. After some progress, start adding some berries. Second, and more importantly, it effectively wipes out cravings. One week on a low carb diet, and I lose my desire to eat sugar, starch and junk.

The big problem with the diet, as other people have noted, is that it is not sustainable. That's the problem with all diets. Strictly speaking, any caloric deficit program will not be sustainable. But with low carb, its very very difficult to reintroduce the carbs without also re-introducing the cravings.

As for the health problems. Low carb can be hard on the kidneys, and if there's any question of kidney function, you should either shy away from the diet or consult with a doctor first. But in my experience, it did not have a negative impact on lipid profiles. On the contrary, HDL went up, LDL went down, and triglycerides went way down. Blood pressure also normalized.

Finally, its possible to do fairly long exercise and remain completely low carb. I was riding my bicycle 150 miles + per week while limiting carbs to somewhere around 45-50/day. If a ride was for two hours or less, I didn't eat any extra carbs. For four hour rides, I would have a sports drink and maybe a banana for extra fuel. There are limits to what you can do before bonking, but with experience, they get to be much greater than you might imagine.

GlassslippersAndFairyDust

[/quote]
"That would be people on some sort of ketogenic diet.....
THink paleo....

people who eat only fats and protein....

You will lose weight and burn fat if you are at a caloric deficit....
The reason people lose weight doing low carbs is because they are cutting out a source of calories they are not making up elsewhere."
[/quote]


The Paleo diet is lower in carbs, but not necessarily low-carb

mungowungo

There are limits to what you can do before bonking, but with experience, they get to be much greater than you might imagine.

No disrespect intended but - PMSL - or is bonking purely Australian slang?

duffypratt

Here's the first link I've found that explains bonking (but not necessarily the best explanation):

http://tunedintocycling.com/2008/05/10/cycling-nutrition-the-bonk/

Basically, bonking is almost unique to cycling because with almost all other forms of exercise, other types of fatigue will set in before you completely run out of energy stores. Bonking happens to cyclists when they completely exhaust the available glucose in the body. The legs turn to lead and/or jelly. You get nausea. You become extremely lightheaded and can become fully disoriented (no fuel for the brain).

Compounded with this, when cycling, is that bonking typically occurs along with dehydration, though the two are different and feel different but maybe equally bad. It's not something that you ever want to do. I've done it twice. Once when I was eating normally, and then once again while on low carb.

In the cycling world, at least, it is not just Australian slang. But that may be where the word comes from. If you haven't bonked before, I don't recommend trying it out for the experience. If you don't deal with it correctly, it can be extremely dangerous and even fatal. (First time I bonked, before I realized what happened, I almost went through a red light at a busy intersection, simply because my brain wasn't registering what I was seeing. I slammed on the brakes too late and when headfirst over the handlebars, but was otherwise OK.)

mamadon

I keep to keto myself as far as nutrition (I aim for a net of under 50 per day), though I don't speak on it in the forums often because of the condescending attitudes of some people. My results have been great and I do not get hungry thanks to the protein intake.

People can feel free to eat my share of carbs and sugar.

I'll take your carbs and sugar!!!

KANGOOJUMPS

carbs are your fuel, you need them if you are a cardio queen like me,