How many carbs per day to lose weight?

He1loKitty

Hi everyone!

I'm in my first week of eating low carb. I got inspired last Saturday watching the Pioneer Woman on Food Network (not usually the poster child for healthy eating), who was making a "low carb burger" and saying how she lost 10 pounds in six weeks by cutting her carbohydrate intake. Well anyway, without much planning or thought, I just sort of started limiting my carb intake this week. My usual oatmeal packets, granola bars, pasta and rice have been replaced with eggs, string cheese, non-fat plain greek yogurt, salad, chicken and fish.

I can't believe it, but I made it through four days eating around 50-60 grams of carbohydrates each day. I thought I'd be so sluggish, tired and irritable (shouldn't I be?), and now I'm actually starting to think that I could eat this way long-term and lose weight. So, first and foremost, I am wondering how many grams of carbohydrates per day you recommend eating for weight loss? I don't want to restrict myself too much because I tend not to do well on severe diets, but I am motivated and can be disciplined (for example, for the last several months I have been able to limit myself to dessert and alcohol only on the weekends!).

Also, any tips, general advice, encouragement, etc. from those who have successfully lost weight on low-carb diets is welcomed! How do you embrace this lifestyle?! Thanks!

camtosh

Find your personal settings here: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

Good luck! I never have done induction, but generally lower than 80gr per day for carbs. Have lost slowly over the past 8 months. YMMV!

GLH2576

If you go over to Marks Daily Apple, you'll see that he recommends between 50-100 grams per day for on-going weight loss - the slow but sure level. Less than 50 is OK for a short period of time or if you have a LOT to lose but most people will not be able to stick to less than 50 for an extended period. Some people can or have medical reasons to do so. For myself, I find about 80 to be reasonable but if might vary from 50 to 100 depending on the day. You have to find what works for you and depending on your general fitness, weight, amount of activity... it will vary.

BTW, the easiest way for me to cut back on carbs was to cut way back on grain products (especially bread), starchy foods (no potatoes, french fries, rice...), most, but not all, dairy, and sugar. Almost everything else is fair game.

FIT_Goat

I think anything under 100g is probably beneficial. I, personally, stick under 25g of net carbs per day. The best thing to do is to track both your weight and your carb intake and see what works for you. If you stop losing weight when you eat 80g a day, eat fewer carbs. If you're losing weight at a good pace when eating 50g a day, keep eating 50g a day.

He1loKitty

Thanks for the advice! I read that it's possible to eat too much protein on a low-carb diet, which will force yourself out of ketosis. Is this possible? What do you eat on a low-carb diet that isn't high-protein?

FIT_Goat

Thanks for the advice! I read that it's possible to eat too much protein on a low-carb diet, which will force yourself out of ketosis. Is this possible? What do you eat on a low-carb diet that isn't high-protein?

The amount of pure protein you would have to eat, for negative effects, is staggering. We're talking over 300g a day. There are people who report eating over 200g without noticeable impact on their blood glucose levels.

That said, most people aim for under 1.8g of protein per kg of lean body mass. (0.8g per lb of lean body mass). I would use your goal weigh * 0.85 (assuming you're a woman) as an approximation of your lean body mass.

Shortcut: Multiply your goal weight (in pounds) by 0.7 to get your upper limit on protein in a day. If you want to weight 135, you should aim to eat under 94g of protein daily. Multiply your goal weight by 0.5 to get a lower limit. That would be 68g for your minimum. So, you would aim to eat between 68-94g of protein a day. It's not an exact science. Sometimes you'll be over, or under, by a little.

What do we eat? FAT... delicious, yummy, filling fat! Make a sauce with heavy cream to have with your steak. Add some butter to your vegetables. No, more butter than that. There you go. Don't fear the fat.

So, start with your goal calories from carbs and protein (just multiply the grams by 4 to get the calories). Then add fats to get the rest of your calories where they need to be.

Also: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ This website will do all the calculations for you. That's probably simpler.

He1loKitty

Thanks frob23, that is really helpful! Good thing I love butter and coconut oil.