Should i eat less carbs or burn more calories?

FitBun9

I was given a menu that is really good for me and i lost 1kg every week (i think it's 2.2lbs)
but one week i didn't lose weight so i was told to cut half the amount of carbs in my menu.
(instead of 2 cups of cooked carbs a day, only 1 cup)

I did lose weight again the next week but it's way too hard for me to only eat 1 cup of carbs a day, i don't want to feel hungry =\

i'm supposed to walk+run 150 minutes a week, so what if i add more minutes and burn more calories instead of cutting the carbs? will i be able to lose weight that way as well?

SideSteel

Who told you this and why are you listening to this person?

MarKayDee

Who told you this and why are you listening to this person?

^this.

You don't need to cut carbs to lose weight, you only need to eat accurately at a deficit. I'm assuming this is some kind of weightloss program you signed up for which isn't customized for you at all? If so I would recommend switching programs or simply cooking your own foods and tracking calories.

FitBun9

Yeah it was some kind of a program, but the menu is actually good for me (they just told me how much Fats, Carbs and Protein to eat)
it was ok until they told me to cut on carbs because one week i didn't lose anything at all..
so what am i supposed to do? if i don't cut on carbs and won't see resault does it mean i should walk/run more to burn more calories?

DemoraFairy

I tried low carb once. The only difference I noticed was how much I missed having sandwiches for lunch while I sat there eating my salad.

By all means try low carb if you want, but it's not really necessary. Especially if you're only trying it because you didn't lose weight for one week. Weight loss isn't linear - some weeks we lose, some we stay the same, some we gain. One week of no weight loss means nothing. After 3 or 4 weeks you might want to start thinking about changing things up.

Also if you're only weighing once a week, there's a chance you did lose weight but just fluctuated on the day you weighed. This happens all the time, some days I'll be 2lbs heavier one day than I am the day before and after. So yeah, don't worry about one week of not losing weight.

JesterMFP

1 kg a week is a really good rate of loss (in fact it might be a bit too fast if you're already a healthy weight). Weight loss isn't linear though, so it's not unusual to have a week where you don't see any change on the scale. That doesn't mean you have to change what you're doing. Just carry on and you'll probably lose a bit the next week. You don't need to cut carbs anyway, as you've already proved with your previous loss.

MarKayDee

I would figure out how many calories all of their meals add up to, if they are below the deficit you need to lose weight don't change a thing. Drink plenty of water and understand your body is not a math problem, but a living and fluctuating organism. If your meals have too many calories in them to be a deficit at your current weight then sure you can cut carbs or up your walking, or just accept a less than 1000 calorie deficit which is what it takes to lose two pounds in a week.

tserine

I am having the same problem, my weight fluctuates so much despite vigorous workout and healthy diet which is very discouraging. Did you see any difference in your weight after a month? I haven't but i think i have gotten a slender calves . i don't know what to do to loose those stubborn lbs.

dpwellman

The only reason to cut something is if you're having to much of it. Over the last 25-30 years or so, consensus is that we as a population are consuming less fat and more carbohydrates (mostly simple).

Carbohydrates? You need. Them.

I recommend worry about exercising and getting active and diet later. What you eat matters, but not as much as getting strong enough to do meaningful workouts.

abbyolurin1

By all means try low carb if you want, but it's not really necessary. Especially if you're only trying it because you didn't lose weight for one week. Weight loss isn't linear - some weeks we lose, some we stay the same, some we gain. One week of no weight loss means nothing. After 3 or 4 weeks you might want to start thinking about changing things up.

Also if you're only weighing once a week, there's a chance you did lose weight but just fluctuated on the day you weighed. This happens all the time, some days I'll be 2lbs heavier one day than I am the day before and after. So yeah, don't worry about one week of not losing weight.

^^^ THIS!

CodeMonkey78

Who told you this and why are you listening to this person?

^ This.

FitBun9

A menu was built for me after i told my height and weight so it's supposed to fit me.
Thanks i will worry less about the scale.. (i still don't do strength training so i know it's not muscles.)

I am having the same problem, my weight fluctuates so much despite vigorous workout and healthy diet which is very discouraging. Did you see any difference in your weight after a month? I haven't but i think i have gotten a slender calves . i don't know what to do to loose those stubborn lbs.

I lost 4kg in one month but it stopped there and i'ts been 1 month and a couple of weeks
i guess i'll just keep doing what i did, now i won't cut anything, maybe just add more walks/runs. maybe we just need to be patient.

ladymiseryali

That's up to you. Some people do well on low carb, while others struggle. I personally found that I got better results when I went from high carb and low fat to low carb and high fat. Here's a site on keto if you're interested in going down that path.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aiHSPoto_YqsNTDvL-g60nytMnyH-CJcCbiAx1IEUYM/mobilebasic?pli=1

Beware that you will get people jumping on you for even thinking about going low carb. It's inevitable.

Azchange

So, I didnt read ALL of the comments, but here is what I see:

You cut carbs by 1/2. Low and behold, you also cut the CALORIES from those carbs in half.

All that did was increase your deficit.

Are you still losing inches if not weight?

Andrew

FitBun9

That's up to you. Some people do well on low carb, while others struggle. I personally found that I got better results when I went from high carb and low fat to low carb and high fat. Here's a site on keto if you're interested in going down that path.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aiHSPoto_YqsNTDvL-g60nytMnyH-CJcCbiAx1IEUYM/mobilebasic?pli=1

Beware that you will get people jumping on you for even thinking about going low carb. It's inevitable.

Thanks, but i'm ABSOLUTELY sure i can't survive with that :laugh: i think low carb isn't for me.
I don't want to feel like i'm depriving myself cuz it makes me feel bad.

So, I didnt read ALL of the comments, but here is what I see:

You cut carbs by 1/2. Low and behold, you also cut the CALORIES from those carbs in half.

All that did was increase your deficit.

Are you still losing inches if not weight?

Andrew

Wow... i actually didn't think about it like that. after cutting half the carbs i did lose 1kg but for a couple of weeks i'm just stuck at the same weight. i'm starting to wonder if i didn't lose anything because i cut calories.

MarKayDee

A lot of these programs give you a "custom diet" that is really the same as it is for all customized with very minimal variations. I know it's easy to get discouraged when you started losing just fine but then had a stall. The real problem is that if you're paying for a service to help you lose weight like preplanned meals, they need you to keep paying them.
Also if you add in extra exercise you don't normally partake in your muscles will hold onto extra water weight, I gained six pounds one week from a very vigorous workout I wasn't ready for, and trying to continue to do my normal workouts after, once I stopped feeling sore the weight all dropped back off to where it belonged.

ell_v131

1 kg a week is a really good rate of loss (in fact it might be a bit too fast if you're already a healthy weight). Weight loss isn't linear though, so it's not unusual to have a week where you don't see any change on the scale. That doesn't mean you have to change what you're doing. Just carry on and you'll probably lose a bit the next week. You don't need to cut carbs anyway, as you've already proved with your previous loss.

this.

when you cut carbs you can trick your body into losing, as your glycogen stores that also hold water will diminish a bit, so the water weight in your body is lower. As soon as you up your carbs, weight (water in glycogen stores) typically goes up. So smartly they told you to do this and you saw scale results, but it was not all fat.

You need about 4 weeks to be able to tell whether something is working for you. If your program is stalling you for 4 weeks or more it's time to look at where might be a problem, otherwise stick to it and you will see a loss the week or two after.

AmyRhubarb

but one week i didn't lose weight so i was told to cut half the amount of carbs in my menu.

One week is nothing - weight loss isn't linear - some weeks we lose some, some weeks we lose more, some weeks we may not lose anything, or even gain a bit.

I agree with the poster above me - 1 week is not enough time to determine that something isn't working. Track weight AND measurements over time - at least 4-6 weeks before making any adjustments. Patience!