Do carbs make you fat?
Replies
-
NO, they do not. Everyone on this site chooses the % of Carbs, Fat, Protein and Sugars. You made a good point, the Paleo Fad. Before this, we have the low carb fad. Another big one was the Low Fat fad that swept the nation with the "Stop The Insanity" craze. Then of course South Beach, Jenny Craig, you name it, it has been a fad. Dieters love to say THEY HAVE THE ANSWER! And maybe for them they do. But one size does not fit all.
Your plan is working. March on!0 -
But, you can't sell books, run blogs, or make Netflix/Youtube documentaries to scare everyone if "something" doesn't make us fat.Carbs don't make you fat.
Sugar doesn't make you fat.
Protein doesn't make you fat.
Chocolate doesn't make you fat.
Eating more calories than you burn off makes you fat. Simple as that.
it would be a short book ..
chapter 1 - stop over eating.
eat in a calorie deficit
end book…
/thread0 -
This content has been removed.
-
I'm carb sensitive so I gain extremely easily if I have too many carbs i just limit my carbs to about 70g or less an spread it out an eat the healthier carbs.0
-
s0
-
no, but overeating does0
-
Carbs are magically delicious
0 -
0 -
^It depends on your metabolism, there is no hard and fast rule.
Over the last 60 years there has been an increased consumption of carbohydrates and a corresponding increase in metabolic syndrome problems (obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke). There has also been an increase in consumption of processed foods which are also high in carbohydrates.
If you want to dig into the science on this stuff read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It documents the science and history behind a bunch of the issues around macro nutrients and health. It is highly researched, and it is NOT a diet book, just a book on the history of nutrition and key health issues.
In terms of which "carbs" you eat it is largely irrelevant, all carbohydrates eaten in quantity cause insulin spikes. In some cases fruit (oranges for example) will cause you as hard an insulin spike as coke. Any time you get your blood sugar above a certain threshold you risk serious health complications (like comas) so your body uses insulin as an emergency valve to keep you alive. Insulin pushes all the nutrients out of your blood into fat, so eating carbs and insulin spiking causes you to gain and retain weight. Insulin also plays hob with your entire biochemistry because it is a biological panic hormone, and drowns out dozens of other hormones. Glycemic Index is a good basic indicator of how hard your insulin will spike eating a food.
Now the relative part is that some people can eat more carbohydrates without severe long or short term problems, it is entirely dependant on your metabolic reactions to carbohydrates. Some people will have insulin spiking at 20 grams of carbs a day, others can eat 300+ grams a day.
Anecdotally obesity has been treated with low carbohydrate diets very successfully, with no long term health issues. I for one eat low carb and sometimes ketogenic, I rarely go above 75g of carbohydrates a day, and try to keep it below 50g. I have been low carb for 3 years now, and my blood work is very good, so this works for me. What works for someone else will be different entirely, and you have to figure that out on your own.
^
This!
Nope.
Curious why you so no....this is exactly what my doctor and I have been discussing in regards to my insulin resistance and elevated A1C. Different people do respond to carbs differently.
To make long story short, let's assume everything said until the part where an insulin spike flushes all the macros out of your bloodstream and puts them into fat storages is true, since I don't know the specifics of that and the important part comes afterwards anyway.
That doesn't make your body stop needing energy to work. Since there's no nutrients in your blood anymore your body has to get them from somewhere else. Like the newly made fat storages from before.
The energy is needed, no way around it. If the energy is already in your blood or has to be taken from your stores, no (significant) difference.
Ok, I don't know specifically about the book. I was referring to the insulin spikes and how people's bodies respond to carbs differently. In general, I would agree that carbs don't make you fat. And, in general, I would agree that a calorie is a calorie. But I also know that people with known or unknown issues with blood sugar, insulin resistance, etc do not utilize the carbs eaten as efficiently. A person with an insulin resistance does not have the same sensitivity to insulin as a typical person. Excess sugar in the blood stream is then processed by the liver and is stored as fat. In addition, the insulin level is raised in the body because of the excess sugar which overwhelms insulin receptors in cells, creating a consistently high insulin level in the blood stream. When the body has a high level of insulin in the blood stream, it tells the body that energy is available and does not use energy from reserves (fat storage). So, not only is the body storing fat from excess sugar, it is not using the energy available. The result is weight gain if the problem isn't not controlled. So, for some people, yes, carbs CAN make you fat.
I am only pointing this out because after reading a lot of posts on here, there seems to be a lot of black and white ideas about how the body uses the food it takes in. This is only one of a lot of issues that affects some people trying to lose weight. I know that it isn't the norm, but it can't be forgotten either. If someone is watching what they are eating and doing what the science tells them to do and it isn't working, it is time to consider other things.....not trying to be argumentative, just sharing some thoughts.0 -
This content has been removed.
-
Everyone knows insulin defies law. It's magic.Well. It only took 3 pages for this thread to become a full blown insulin resistance thread. Not surprised it did, am surprised it took so long.0 -
It's funny how since I've switched to 50% carbs for tri training season I've found that I'm now losing weight at maintenance (and I've got my exercise numbers perfectly down so it's not that). So all I can think is that my basal metabolic rate is now higher.
My abs are beginning to pop out so it's fat loss. I'm having to eat over maintenance because I don't want to lose my girls, drop any more bf, and I'm at my racing weight. In fact that's why I'm here at 1am, midnight snacking!
The other thing is, HUNGER IS OK AND NORMAL!
I don't know why it freaks us all out so much. On maintenance I expect to spend an hour or so leading up to my meals being well...you know...hungry!! It's not cravings, addictions,starvation or neediness!
It's hunger and it's ok. I never used to tolerate it when I comfort ate and was out of shape. Keto and low carb got rid of the hunger but made me miserable and terrible at sports.0 -
someone told me paleo is not really for vegetarians, as a lot of protein comes from meat.0
-
I'm carb sensitive so I gain extremely easily if I have too many carbs i just limit my carbs to about 70g or less an spread it out an eat the healthier carbs.
Are you sure?
I think you should challenge yourself here.
Probably what happens is you eat them and your muscles fill up with glycogen and water which is a mighty good thing and perfectly normal.
You weigh more and freak out that you've gained weight, but it's not fat weight.
I used to be like this.
I bet if you ate at maintenance you would gain 3/5 pounds then if you carried on eating lots of carbs and cut again you'd lose weight just as planned. Difference is you wouldn't be depleted, and have loads of energy to do the things you need to do to become fitter ie build muscle (energy engines) and burn body fat. All the while eating like a teenager.0 -
I love Moss, great topic and better post! Seldom see IT crowd references.0 -
This.
The other thing is, HUNGER IS OK AND NORMAL!0 -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-05/low-carb-diet-may-shorten-your-life-study-finds/5299284
A new Australian 3 year study on the effects of low carb vs high carb diets on mice.
<snip>
"What we did find is in late mid-life, when we analysed their health, the animals on the best diet, the low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets, had better blood pressure, had better LDL cholesterol, had better glucose tolerance, less diabetes and so on," he said.
/<snip>
hmmm...0 -
This.
The other thing is, HUNGER IS OK AND NORMAL!
Yeah baby!
Not being hungry is so 1995!0 -
Even if they did..I don't care.. I need 3000 calories just to maintain.. It's next to impossible for me to be on a low carb diet0
-
No.
Excess calories do.
This is the only post you need to listen to. All other answers are pointless0 -
0 -
No.
Excess calories do.
DITTO0 -
In reply to the post above. But we are not mice!
Im not a follower of low carb diets as such, but I did notice today that I was not a bit peckish till midday, and the last thing I ate yesterday was roast veg. So I concur that adding fat keeps you fuller longer. Plus I do keep coming across articles which suggest "unused" carbs are stored as fat and the fat you eat is not. That said I still believe if you burn ALL the carbs you eat each day there can be no surplus to turn into fat.0 -
No....I eat carbs daily. Love pasta and rice, I just pair it with my meat/poultry, with a side of veggies and fruit. I have lost 82 lbs and 7 jean sizes.0
-
[q0
-
No, eating too much makes you fat.0
-
bump!0
-
This thread has too much focus on weight and not enough on health. Too much of any food or food type puts pressures on your body's internal organs in one way or another.
And I will say for the record that I'm anti-vegan purely for health reasons, too little of some foods also coming with problems. As long as you are getting your vitamin levels checked on a regular basis and supplementing those that are impossible to get on a vegan diet (B12) you should be able to avoid most of the worst health problems.
But getting enough protein without overdoing the calories is more difficult. Nuts are a great source, but are high in calories. Beans another, but then you get back into the carbs. Many of the soy sources of protein are made from unfermented soy which is an endocrine disruptor (messes up your hormones). Fermented soy should be fine. If you could find a source of eggs that meets your criteria for humane treatment of animals (raise your own), you might be able to get around most of the issues.
Avocado, broccoli, spinach, peas, artichoke, and asparagus might be your best sources of protein.
But you could also modify your workout routine to include more stamina training that doesn't require as much protein to build and repair muscle, ie. go for a walk rather than do cross fit training. It would take longer, but it may just work better for your nutritional constraints.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions