Carb restriction?

diabear

How many carbs should I be eating a day for fat loss?

I tried 30 carbs, but I seem to constantly go over.

Ely82010

That is too low, specially if you work out. Let the database set the protein, carbs, and fat ratio unitl you start loosing weight. You can always change it later on. Your diet should be around 40 to 45 %.

Yasmine91

You need to be careful about going low on carbs, you could put yourself in a state called ketosis and it's not healthy at all. Just eat what MFP recommends and you won't go wrong.

CarlydogsMom

After listening to a podcast called "Cut the Fat Weightloss" (it's really wonderful), one of the lessons I learned is that the most UNDESIREABLE way to ingest carbs (and this is for people trying to lose weight, not necessarily to maintain, or for uber-athletes) is to combine a high level of carbs with a high level of fat. Ingest carbs/fat together, and your body uses carbs first for energy, and deposits the fat. A good example of a not-so-great combination is, say, some sort of bread/bagel/muffin with say, something like peanut butter, cream cheese, etc. So I've been working hard to think of how I can combine carbs with protein or to find very low fat combinations with my carbs. That podcast also goes into detail about how you burn carbs, and suggests that you restrict your carbs for a period of time before, and after, a bout of exercise. This allows your body to burn fat for its energy while your metabolic rate has been revved up.

So, maybe the timing of ingesting your carbs, or if you have carbs with fat, could be something to evaluate. For example, I generally exercise (walk 2.5 miles) first thing in the a.m., so I have a protein-based breakfast with limited carbs. I allow myself to have carbs for lunch, trying to have a carb/protein lunch, i.e. cooked quinoa with veggies/chicken, or a protein shake/fruit smoothie, or pita bread/hummus. If I add more exercise in the afternoon, after work, I'll try to restrict carbs a bit, but do allow myself the leeway to add more carbs based upon my daily goals.

It seems to work for me, so I thought I'd pass that along.

kdiamond

Way too low.

Instead of restricting your carb intake, trying changing the value of the carbs. Eat your carbs in fruits, veggies, and some healthy starchy carbs like sweet potatoes. Cut out the breads and gluten products. You'll notice a good change just by doing this and you won't feel deprived.