Carby carbs carbssss, bleh

TavistockToad

With what I've read so far, I know going over 150 would make me gain. I'm just not active enough.

Eating a calorie surplus will make you gain weight...eating 150g of carbs while in a deficit will not.

EvgeniZyntx

Depends on your goals. Right now I'm averaging about 200 carbs per day because I'm on limited exercise. Before I got hurt I was averaging closer to 300, because I needed the energy for workouts.

The important thing to ask yourself is whether you're getting the right number of calories and enough fat/protein.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Very true.

With what I've read so far, I know going over 150 would make me gain. I'm just not active enough. I'm female, and I normally spend most my days writing or drawing, which takes very little movement. =A=" (tho I am adding walks to my routine which will eventually turn into jogs)

Anyways thanks for the advice

See TavistockToad's and I LiftHeavyAcrylics posts.

It isn't likely that carbs alone is making you gain weight but total cals.
Consider:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1277843-low-vs-high-carb-mindful-eating-and-hawthorne-effect

neandermagnon

How much carbohydrate you need depends on your activity levels. Active people need loads more carbohydrate than sedentary people.

Signs you're not getting enough carbs:
- getting "hangry" (i.e. grumpy due to being hungry)
- feeling tired
- cravings for high carb foods
- your workouts suck - although people on low carb diets who judge the effectiveness of their workout by how tired they feel may believe that they're getting in really good workouts, but if you measure your workout success in terms of how far and/or fast you can run, how much weight you can lift, how long you can keep going etc, you'll find your performance declines dramatically and you get tired much more quickly if you're lacking carbohydrate
- feeling dizzy and other symptoms of low blood sugar

If you're eating too many carbs while hitting your calorie goal then you won't be getting enough fat or protein which can have a knock-on effect on your progress, you're likely to still feel hungry even when you meet your calorie target (carbs are less filling than fat or protein). Generally the advice is to first make sure you're getting enough protein, then make sure you're getting enough fat and then get the rest of your calories from carbs. This is where macronutrient ratios come in - aim to hit your calorie goal and your macronutrient goals.

ETA: eating more carbs won't make you gain weight if you stick to your calorie goal... eating too many carbs while not tracking can lead to weight gain only because they're not very filling so you end up eating too much food, i.e. eating more calories than your body's burning off. low carb diets work because fat and protein are more filling so it's much harder to overeat on these diets... but if you're tracking and logging calories carefully you don't need to eat low carb to succeed. You can eat all three macronutrients (fat, protein, carbs) in balanced amounts.