carbs question

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skyytlz
skyytlz Posts: 30 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This is going to sound like a really dumb question but I am so confused


When going low or no carbs does it mean grains and sugar or all carbs....since vegetables and fruit are technically carbs right?

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  • squishycatmew
    squishycatmew Posts: 151 Member
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    That's because there really is no strict definition of "low carb". As far as I can tell, people usually start by avoiding sugars, simple starches, and grains, but yeah, a lot of low/no-carb diets seem to convince people they shouldn't be eating fruits or vegetables, either (especially fruits because they have the scary scary sugar).
  • fiannanova
    fiannanova Posts: 2 Member
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    Low(or no)-carb diets means excluding nearly all carbohydrates, except for dietary fiber and sugar alcohols.

    Edit: If you're interested in learning how many grams of carbs to eat based on your weight-loss goals, there is a great calculator at http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
  • JeralynSh
    JeralynSh Posts: 139 Member
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    I never give up my fruits and veggies during my low carb cycles. I love them too much.
  • valentine142
    valentine142 Posts: 4
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    This is different depending on what diet your doing. I am doing low carb, I have 40-45g of net carbs/day (net carb= # of carbs-# of fibre). I stick to a diet of low carb vegetables (i.e. broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower, zucchini, green onion, spinach, etc), I've eliminated bread and starchy foods from my diet and replaced even milk with unsweetened almond milk. Having a diet high in lean meat protein (Chicken, fish, pork), but low in carbs, calories and fat will help you drop pounds and inches quickly. I take a multi-vitamin, potassium and calcium-magnesium supplement daily because I've omitted a lot of foods that have these essential vitamins/minerals. Fruits are ok in moderation, like veggies some are better than others as far as the # of carbs go, stick with raspberries and strawberries, they are fairly low and will give you something sweet if your craving it. Hope this helps you!:smile:
  • Firehawk734
    Firehawk734 Posts: 132 Member
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    i agree with valentine. It really does depend on the diet.

    In my book, low carb diet means a diet with limited carb intake like 20-30%. Ultra low carb or keto diets are diets under 50g carbs, or maybe like 10% or less of total calories. Very tough to do but once you're adjusted I find them to be great.

    You can effectively eat unlimited green veggies like broccoli, lettuce, spinach, etc, becuase they fill you up and are very very low in calories. I generally don't eat much fruit becuase of the sugar but that's just a personal preference. Fruit in moderation is healthy and just fine depending on what kind of diet you're doing. The green veggie intake is ok on any diet.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    It is o.k. to be confused about this. Low carb means different things -- according to who is talking.

    I limit grains (wheat, rice, corn) but do eat chick peas and lentils and those have carbs.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    An effective low or very low carb diet will never eliminate veggies and may limit fruit, but will not eliminate them from the diet, as they are packed with the micro nutrients need for good health.

    You will never find an effective no carb diet as eating no carbs will likely leave you vitamin deficient in some form or another.

    Most will cut back, or out, on grains and simple sugars and most complex sugars - these foods aren't bad for us, but they are at best neutral, for the calorie cost they offer very little back in the way of nutrition compared to better and more health alternatives.

    Technically the body does not need dietary carbs of any sort to survive - but for optimal health and fitness a small amount of carbs are required.

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