to carb or not to carb.....that is the question!

F00LofaT00K

I have found that the types of food do not matter for weight loss. A caloric deficit will cause weight loss. It's important to get the proper amounts of protein, fat and carbs for healthy body function and nutrition, but even if you were to eat only handfulls of sugar you would still lose weight if you were eating it at a caloric deficit. . . you would just feel pretty awful due to the lack of a balanced diet. So don't do that.

What has been working for me is eating a healthy amount of calories for my lifestyle, while striving to get enough protein (my biggest challenge). I make sure to work in all of the foods that I love, like chocolate bars (fat, carbs and sometimes a bit of protein) and pasta dishes (carbs and a tiny bit of protein) and all kinds of delicious cheesy recipes -I love cheese!- (fat and protein).

So what works for me is to focus on hitting the macros that I have set for myself each day. I don't look at foods as "good" or "bad" or "healthy" or "fattening" because foods are not those things. They are just foods that have varying macronutrient values and my diet utilizes ALL macronutrients because my body needs ALL of them.

And while I'm convinced (my opinion, I don't have science to back this up) an ideal diet has minimal artificial ingredients in it, it is unrealistic for me to restrict my diet that much. I could never stick to it and I know that. Reese's Cups forever!

I have lost about 40lbs so far since October with 20 to go. Demonizing a particular food group and cutting out or severely reducing certain foods is complicating things rather unnecessarily. Find something you can stick with for life and do that. For me, it was just reducing my portions and increasing protein while continuing to eat EVERY SINGLE FOOD I love.

ETA:: My diary is public, feel free to look around in there and see the amazing, delicious foods I am ENJOYING while losing weight at a steady pace. If I had known weight loss could be so enjoyable, I would have stopped being fat years ago.

skylark94

I get about 50% of my calories from carbs and have had no problems losing fat and keeping it off.

angelabennett62

I think the low carb way works for me. When I say low carb, meaning, I get my carbs from fruits and vegetables, yogurt...etc. I don't eat white flour or sugar, sugar products, pasta, rice...etc. If I want something sweet then I eat an atkins bar. They taste like candy bars , so I don't feel guilty.

tayloar

Low fat raw vegan (high carb) is great for you health-wise. You'll be able to eat a much greater volume of food and will have greater vitality. Read 80/10/10 if you like, I highly recommend it. If you want to lose water weight/cut weight fairly quickly, do a week or so of low carb. For every 1g of carbs consumed, your body stores 3-4g of water, so that's how that works. Models do it before shows, shoots, castings, etc just to get muscles and cheekbones a little more chiseled. The ketones will give you rancid breath though. It's not good for your health long term.

solarpower03

Going low carb makes sense to me because,if you think about it,most carbs are just processed junk. Pasta,bread,rice and cereals are all bleached,processed and full of salt and sugar. I get my carbohydrates from fruit and vegetables,in moderation,and always before 2pm.

Wait what's wrong with rice, bread, pasta, cereal, ice cream if you can eat them, lose weight and be healthy like I can?

^this. I eat my carbs from chocolates, ice creams dougnuts - still doing good. I go low carbs only for getting rid of stubborn fat and that too is carb cycling- not constantly low carbs or keto.

MrsLannister

Low fat raw vegan (high carb) is great for you health-wise. You'll be able to eat a much greater volume of food and will have greater vitality. Read 80/10/10 if you like, I highly recommend it. If you want to lose water weight/cut weight fairly quickly, do a week or so of low carb. For every 1g of carbs consumed, your body stores 3-4g of water, so that's how that works. Models do it before shows, shoots, castings, etc just to get muscles and cheekbones a little more chiseled. The ketones will give you rancid breath though. It's not good for your health long term.

Until you develop B 12 deficiency and can no longer repair nerves or make new red blood cells.

Sinisterly

Psh, I totally carb.

Keliandra

Carb sensitivity varies greatly from person to person. Experiment and see what works best for you.

^ This!

90 grams works well for me.

Yardtigress

I eat 15-30 carbs per meal, mostly veggies, brown rice(1/3 cup) or a 3 oz sweet potato and meat. I'm a diabetic and lower carb is the way I keep my blood sugar under control.

FlaxMilk

Well, quite a few of the topics and responses I see in the forums (outside of the LC groups) are posted by patrons who ask for "healthy" recipes (meaning recipes that restrict fat), but these patrons have no problem consuming copious amounts of Cheerios, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, & liquid sugar in all its forms, etc. ad nauseum.

I agree with you that dietary fat is vital, for many reasons.

I never think "low fat" when i see "healthy recipes." I assume they are aiming for lower calories. Most people here are all about promoting the fats. That said, if I'm going to be eating rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes, I am going to keep my fat low. It's not because I want to, it's because I have to sacrifice the calories somewhere, and the fat is the easiest to do (for me) for these dishes.

I like the full fat option as much as anyone, but it's not always realistic for me to eat the real deal if I want to be at a deficit and get to eat other things I want that day.

bounce813

It really depends on your metabolizm, age and genetics. Generally speaking, restricting carbs is a good idea (IN MY OPINION). I've lost 50lbs with Paleo. However, I do eat sweet potato a few times a week. I still get the carbs that I need in the foods that I eat, they are just low carb foods.

bounce813

I concur....

Capt_Apollo

if you want to be an endurance athlete, you're going to need carbs.

mostly lifting weights? not as much.

CLFrancois

if you think about it,most carbs are just processed junk.

Nope. Processed carbs = processed junk.
Carbs can be anywhere from an apple or broccoli to beans, oatmeal, honey, etc.
I just ate a vegan salad that was made up of 36g. of carbs. All veggies and beans. No processed junk in it.
Fuel for my work out.


I am still unclear as to how a person that eats incredibly low carb, say this ketosis deal, gets the nutrition they need? Ya know, green veggies and fruits and stuff.
I get cutting out the nasty stuff.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

SuperShell0812

I've had weight loss sucess with low carb, paleo, vegetarian, and the no diet diet lol. They were all successful because I was eating at a calorie deficet. Eat whatever which way is sustainable and enjoyable for you and that will work. There are no magic foods but you may feel better eating a certain way than another.

Rocbola

There are no magic foods but you may feel better eating a certain way than another.

Except fruit. And vegetables.

chelstakencharge

Carbs are not the enemy! No one food group should be off limits unless there is a medical reason. Everything in moderation

bethwr1

I've tried all sorts of low carb diets, and they work as long as you're going to eat that way forever. For me personally, I have to have a variety of foods, and just learn to eat less. Again, for me personally, the elimination of an entire food group just makes me feel lousy and deprived.

robabob3

Carbs taste delicious therefore I eat them, why limit yourself unless its a necessity to do so.

MichaelRobinson1994

I restricted carbs for a little while (Less than 80g a day) and lasted about two weeks, I was always tired, and couldn't get to sleep restricting them! - I've found keeping sugar low (I don't have a number in g) with only a banana, apple and as little refined sugar as possible helps me best lose weight!

geebusuk

Nope. Processed carbs = processed junk.
Carbs can be anywhere from an apple ....honey, etc.

I don't know where you live, but in the UK 'added sugar' tends to be sucrose. Often glucose is used too.
However other 'processed carbs' are relevant here.
Fructose is generally associated with the sugar in fruits and I believe is high in honey too.
Fructose is has been shown to be about half as good at adding to muscular glycogen levels.

So, to be clear, if your goal is 'fueling a workout', the "junk" would seem to be the fruit and honey - better to reach for sweets (candy) or similar.

Finally:
http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-science-of-nutrition-is-a-carb-a-carb.html

CMB1979

I lost most of my weight with low-carb and have maintained and lost a few more lbs with high carb. It's just calories...calories...calories.

MelodyandBarbells

Well, quite a few of the topics and responses I see in the forums (outside of the LC groups) are posted by patrons who ask for "healthy" recipes (meaning recipes that restrict fat), but these patrons have no problem consuming copious amounts of Cheerios, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, & liquid sugar in all its forms, etc. ad nauseum.

I agree with you that dietary fat is vital, for many reasons.

I never think "low fat" when i see "healthy recipes." I assume they are aiming for lower calories. Most people here are all about promoting the fats. That said, if I'm going to be eating rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes, I am going to keep my fat low. It's not because I want to, it's because I have to sacrifice the calories somewhere, and the fat is the easiest to do (for me) for these dishes.

I like the full fat option as much as anyone, but it's not always realistic for me to eat the real deal if I want to be at a deficit and get to eat other things I want that day.

That's exactly what I was thinking about the "healthy" recipes questions. If I would have asked that several months or years back, I would have been looking for an alternative to eating [too much] fast food, or ordering a pizza and wings and eating the whole thing myself over a day or three max. If healthy wasn't defined by the inquirer as low fat, I wouldn't assume

MelodyandBarbells

I don't get it?Is the purpose of this app to eat as few calories as possible ,and making a change by having a better net score from before ?

You provide your goals/stats to the website or app and it gives you a number of calories to eat per day, which should help you lose a certain amount of weight per week. If you give it a very aggressive goal, it'll give you the lowest number of calories the app can calculate for you - 1200 calories. However, indeed the goal should be to eat as much as you can and still lose weight at a reasonable rate. So if you had just the 10lbs to lose you could set the app at 0.5lbs a week and eat calories based on that.

be_patient

I've tried but as soon as I said low carb all I wanted was carbs. I could never avoid eating fruit for the life of me. DIfferent body types will respond differently. It is said ectomorphs generally respond better to higher carb in their macros, so I'm going with that. Have a bit of a look, and good luck!

Francl27

The only people who truly have to "worry" about carbs are diabetics. All in moderation for the rest of us.

This sums it up. For me the only reason to limit carbs is that most of them don't fill me up as much as something else would (bread for example - I'd feel fuller with 140 calories of veggies, for example. Same with fruit, it doesn't fill me up at all unless it comes with some protein).

ndj1979

Going low carb makes sense to me because,if you think about it,most carbs are just processed junk. Pasta,bread,rice and cereals are all bleached,processed and full of salt and sugar. I get my carbohydrates from fruit and vegetables,in moderation,and always before 2pm.

let the broscience flow from you ….

wow...

ndj1979

Going low carb makes sense to me because,if you think about it,most carbs are just processed junk. Pasta,bread,rice and cereals are all bleached,processed and full of salt and sugar. I get my carbohydrates from fruit and vegetables,in moderation,and always before 2pm.

Wait what's wrong with rice, bread, pasta, cereal, ice cream if you can eat them, lose weight and be healthy like I can?

you are doing it wrong.

Snow3y

I've yet to witness a single person who eats carbs and been under their caloric allowance(measured), and said they didn't lose weight.