Carbs, are they good or bad?

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rsclause
rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am supposed to be maintaining but decided that there is a touch of belly fat left between me and my first "sixpack" Anyway I looked at my diet and decided to keep my active exercise routines (run about 25 mi/wk, lift 3 x week, abs daily) but also up my protein intake and lower carbs. I still eat a lot of fruit but have stopped eating the bun in a chicken sandwich. I have also given up Scotch and beer and limited my wine intake. Does it sound like I am on the right track? Not trying to lose more weight and also not trying to bulk up, just be fit and trim.
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Replies

  • markja
    markja Posts: 270 Member
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    Sounds right to me but, I'm the guy who should be asking you!
  • mlk0812
    mlk0812 Posts: 19
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    The general consensus will probably be calories in calories out is all that matters, eat whatever you want as long as it fits in your calorie budget, but I disagree. From my experience it's easiest for me to get very lean when I eat lower carb.

    Maybe it all comes down to the fact that I'm eating less, but lower carb makes it so easy to stick to a diet because I'm not starving, or battling with cravings. That is a major plus in my opinion.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I am supposed to be maintaining but decided that there is a touch of belly fat left between me and my first "sixpack" Anyway I looked at my diet and decided to keep my active exercise routines (run about 25 mi/wk, lift 3 x week, abs daily) but also up my protein intake and lower carbs. I still eat a lot of fruit but have stopped eating the bun in a chicken sandwich. I have also given up Scotch and beer and limited my wine intake. Does it sound like I am on the right track? Not trying to lose more weight and also not trying to bulk up, just be fit and trim.

    Carbs are essential to human life. And no giving up scotch and beer and limited wine, I don't think you're going about it the right way
  • bobbyguns
    bobbyguns Posts: 33
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    Would need more specfics to advise. Current weight, estimated bodyfat %, current macros and type of weight training. Abs every day? That would be the first thing to go. I wouldn't advise cutting carbs if you're doing that much activity. I train abs once per week (if that), do a very moderate amount of cardio, eat at least 175-200g carbs per day (350-450g on refeed day), and I'm losing fat consistently. And I'm almost 50....
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Height 6'2"
    weight 178 lbs.
    Aria scale has me at 17% FWIW
    MWF one easy set of 12 reps Nautilus machines
    Run 4 miles MWF, Run 6 miles Tue Thurs
    Runtastic Sixpack ab workout weekdays
    I logged 179 g carbs yesterday and usually hit 200 g to 250 g

    Still eating at a slight deficit with a little less calories this week since I went hog wild with Hot wings and ribs over the holiday weekend. I am just playing around to see what affects what. Slight belly fat to trim, very slight. Don't want to really lose weight and don't want to bulk big. Just hoping to burn some fat.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    Good :heart:
  • TKhamvongsa
    TKhamvongsa Posts: 287
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    Carbs are the love of my life.
  • KombuchaCat
    KombuchaCat Posts: 834 Member
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    I think your plan sounds like a good one. You are still eating carbs but the good kind that comes with lots of fiber and other vitamins and minerals.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    With that much activity, I wouldn't recommend cutting carbs back, your lifts and runs could suffer. However, if you can maintain performance, there's no reason for it.

    I would never give up a good scotch or beer, however, that's crazy talk.
  • Yagisama
    Yagisama Posts: 592 Member
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    They are the playthings of the devil. :explode:
  • carliekitty
    carliekitty Posts: 303 Member
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    sounds good to me but i would eat back the alcohol calories…….
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    If cutting out those foods keeps you from going over on your calorie/macro goals then that is fine. But, by themselves, they are not causing or preventing you from losing body fat.

    Learn how to include foods you like into your diet, use them to fuel your activities and you will have success. No one type of food/macro is good or bad by itself.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    Carbs are good in moderation.

    They are not essential but for an active lifestyle they are optimal.

    You will probably not need many carbs for you walks and if you are resting 48 to 72 hours between lifting you probably won't need many to replenish your muscles glycogen stores as your body will do this naturally.

    If you are going to be doing anaerobic exercise you will probably need to take in extra carbs to fuel that.

    100 g of carbs a day should be enough to cover the micros you need (more on heavy exercise days).

    There are low carb forums which will probably give you more knowledgable feedback on low carb diets.

    A lot of people have had great success with training and weight loss on MFP, but not many on the general forums have done it on a low carb diet.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Carbs are essential to human life.

    but eating them is not, as we can make them.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    Carbs are essential to human life.

    but eating them is not, as we can make them.

    Yes, forgot to mention the words dietary carbs in my post about.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I even have a reference ;-)

    http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10490&page=275
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    I even have a reference ;-)

    http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10490&page=275

    Cheers
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Thank all!

    I know I can't really build muscle at a calorie deficit and I can't cut fat on a calorie surplus. I am having fun tweaking things to see what happens. I think the little fat left is due to alcohol. Yes I love my cocktails and even when I was losing my 50 pounds some days I would get a third of my calories from booze. To a degree booze is carbs so I cut back. Now I am cutting that back more, time will tell soon enough. Thanks again and I will try to update.

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