Tried having low-carb meals today

Cinarocket

I'm normally a huge carbs eater. I love pasta and since I've been trying to lose weight I've cut both the frequency and amount of them. Been switching to rice a bit more, not great but seems better than pasta. And i'm sill eating bread regularly altho not too much.
I would say i average ~200 grams of carbs per day.

I've come to understand that the macronutriments of the food I ate are irrelevant (wheter it's carbs, fat, sugar) as long as I keep the calories down but I think reading about all those low-carb diets and other bad things i may have heard kinda got to my head. Which is a shame because I'm a big man (6'2' 200lbs) who does a lot of sports and when i get back home from sports I usually want meat with a side that's usually pasta/rice high on carbs and I don't like veggies too much
So today I gave it a try :

Had eggs for lunch and decided not to have a couple slices of toast with them as I usually do. Then I went to play sports during which i'm generally not very hungry because when you're busy you don't think about hunger as much.
Got back home really hungry : cooked chicken and veggies (regular portion nothing huge) and decided not to add the rice that i'd planned to eat the chicken with.

Result : after dinner I usually just chill on the computer watching TV and I was starving! I had fruits and was still hungry after I decided to have nuts as those cut hunger a little bit but it's pretty unusual for me snack after dinner and not snacking ever is part of the reason I think i've been doing well. (Had about 300 calories of nuts).

Now i'm not so hungry anymore but I wasted 300 calories on a snack to pass on carbs that probably would have been about 300-400 kcal anyway.

Stupid, never again.

nicsflyingcircus

It sounds not so much as if the problem was cutting the carbs, as that replacing 300 calories of carbs with 80 calories of veg at a meal in direct trade is likely going to leave you hungry.

That being said, if eating carbs is working for you, do it! :drinker:

bethanyboomstick

Carbs are not inherently evil. Refined, processed, simple carbs are bad for you, yes, and should be eaten in small amounts. Complex carbs found in fruits, veggies and whole grains are digested much slower and help keep you feeling full longer. If you think you should eat more carbs, go for it. I eat 65% carbs, 25% fat and 10% protein and I never have problems with hunger between meals. It's all about finding what works for you.

fanceegirl75

Maybe try adding beans/lentils to your diet. They are on the good carb side. Give you plenty fiber so your net carb intake goes down quite a bit. The body also digest them slower so you seem to have the feeling a being full awhile longer.

Camo_xxx

Sounds like you did your reserch and did a thorough and accurate evaluation.

SJKirk51912

I don't think cutting carbs for one day can support the conclusion that that low-carb is bad or "stupid". I eat low-carb and as soon as I eat a piece of bread, pasta, sugar, etc. I feel sick and lethargic.

I'm sure anyone that drastically changes their food for one day, no matter what type of food, is going to feel hungry or sick, or just not normal.

If low carb isn't for you then so be it, but just "trying" it for a day will not give you any sort of positive results that I and others have gotten from it.

sofaking6

If you're playing sports, you need that fuel. If you want to reduce carbs, try having some either before or after you play or workout instead of both before and after. Which is not to say that you either should or should not reduce your carbs

parkscs

I don't think cutting carbs for one day can support the conclusion that that low-carb is bad or "stupid". I eat low-carb and as soon as I eat a piece of bread, pasta, sugar, etc. I feel sick and lethargic.

No, this is MFP. It's completely rational for someone to conclude that low carb eating is stupid because he didn't eat rice and instead ate nuts one day. I too make broad proclamations after 1 day of arbitrary eating, oftentimes deciding to never try something again in my life because I wanted a 300 calorie snack one evening. If that ain't science then I don't know what is.

baconslave

I don't think cutting carbs for one day can support the conclusion that that low-carb is bad or "stupid". I eat low-carb and as soon as I eat a piece of bread, pasta, sugar, etc. I feel sick and lethargic.

No, this is MFP. It's completely rational for someone to conclude that low carb eating is stupid because he didn't eat rice and instead ate nuts one day. I too make broad proclamations after 1 day of arbitrary eating, oftentimes deciding to never try something again in my life because I wanted a 300 calorie snack one evening. If that ain't science then I don't know what is.

:laugh: Dude. You made me snort-laugh.

Cinarocket

Well the fact is that I decided for once to go from a daily high carbs routine to a low day of carbs and I noticed I was particularly hungry all day and had to snack out if when usually high carbs never leave me hungry through the day and I never snack.

I don't know if its completely rational but it seems more than fair to assess that cutting carbs from my eating routine is the reason why.

If that's not what it is maybe I should believe God made me hungry after dinner and God wanted me to eat nuts cause that's a lot more rational and in god we trust right?

Thanks for interacting though. To the others who replied in a useful way thanks !

psuLemon

I would agree one day isnt a good indication of a diet. Could you open your diary though because if all you ate was eggs, chicken and some veggies I would be starving too. Especially since none of those things are particularly high in fat. When cutting carbs, its recommended to add fat.

RockstarWilson

You might want to read up on switching to no-carbs. Switching suddenly and then going out to run across a field for two hours and expecting your body to respond is overkill. If you want your body to be no/low carb, you have to give it time to adjust. it was still in carbs mode, so it was looking for carbs to chew. I would say give it a couple days, with NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, and you may get different results. I know that in my first week of keto, I didn't do anything extra, as I didn't know how my body would respond. Yours might just need that break, so it can get used to using fat for energy.

psulemon (the Moderator) is quite right. You need to replace with the right nutrients. veggies wont fill you up for nothing. What keeps you full when you take away carbs is fat. That is all. Protein won't do it. You NEED to replace all the carb calories with fat calories. I know....mindblowing, because conventional wisdom says otherwise, but you can only do one or the other: low carbs/high fat, or low fat/high carbs. Protein does not satiate for long, so it is irrelevant in the hunger equation. I bet you ate those veggies plain, and based on the other food choices, had boneless skinless chicken breasts that has about 3% fat. Nobody can sustain on that. Nobody. Instead of the bscb, get the thighs with skin on, get the 73% ground beef and don't rinse. Get bacon! I think if you read about it more, you will know how to make the change, because when you figure out that what wasn't healthy before is healthy when you take away carbs, it will click.

Research "Ketogenesis." That is the state you were trying to get your body into, but you went too hard too fast without proper replenishment. You just need to have the tools to be able to do it. Research it, try it, and if it works, stick with it. If not, try something else or keep on keeping on.

Maybe I missed it, but what was the reason you decided to switch? If you are athletic and have a good eating lifestyle, what would be the reason to change?

neanderthin

Low carb is popular and you know what happens when your popular...everyone wants to date you. I suggest you go out and get a pizza slice andforgetaboutit.

neanderthin

You might want to read up on switching to no-carbs. Switching suddenly and then going out to run across a field for two hours and expecting your body to respond is overkill. If you want your body to be no/low carb, you have to give it time to adjust. it was still in carbs mode, so it was looking for carbs to chew. I would say give it a couple days, with NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, and you may get different results. I know that in my first week of keto, I didn't do anything extra, as I didn't know how my body would respond. Yours might just need that break, so it can get used to using fat for energy.

psulemon (the Moderator) is quite right. You need to replace with the right nutrients. veggies wont fill you up for nothing. What keeps you full when you take away carbs is fat. That is all. Protein won't do it. You NEED to replace all the carb calories with fat calories. I know....mindblowing, because conventional wisdom says otherwise, but you can only do one or the other: low carbs/high fat, or low fat/high carbs. Protein does not satiate for long, so it is irrelevant in the hunger equation. I bet you ate those veggies plain, and based on the other food choices, had boneless skinless chicken breasts that has about 3% fat. Nobody can sustain on that. Nobody. Instead of the bscb, get the thighs with skin on, get the 73% ground beef and don't rinse. Get bacon! I think if you read about it more, you will know how to make the change, because when you figure out that what wasn't healthy before is healthy when you take away carbs, it will click.

Research "Ketogenesis." That is the state you were trying to get your body into, but you went too hard too fast without proper replenishment. You just need to have the tools to be able to do it. Research it, try it, and if it works, stick with it. If not, try something else or keep on keeping on.

Maybe I missed it, but what was the reason you decided to switch? If you are athletic and have a good eating lifestyle, what would be the reason to change?

Jesuuuuus, carbs are not unhealthy. People really need to watch the whole movie and not just the trailer before they get all excited and sell the farm.

Vexxe

You had no clue how to approach this which is why you failed.

I saw no mention of increased fat intake, nor will you suddenly switch to nutritional ketosis in a day. You were probably tired because you pushed your body to deplete liver glycogen and your body had no carb intake to replenish it. There is a reason people feel crap that switch to low carb for a couple of days, the body is adapting. There is no switch to just switch your metabolism to a different setting.

neanderthin

You had no clue how to approach this which is why you failed.

I saw no mention of increased fat intake, nor will you suddenly switch to nutritional ketosis in a day. You were probably tired because you pushed your body to deplete liver glycogen and your body had no carb intake to replenish it. There is a reason people feel crap that switch to low carb for a couple of days, the body is adapting. There is no switch to just switch your metabolism to a different setting.

Well he had toast and rice so his complaint wasn't about feeling foggy because of the adapt ion time, it was because he missed the foods he liked and didn't really feel he should continue.

Unknown

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neanderthin

Carbs are not inherently evil. Refined, processed, simple carbs are bad for you, yes, and should be eaten in small amounts. Complex carbs found in fruits, veggies and whole grains are digested much slower and help keep you feeling full longer. If you think you should eat more carbs, go for it. I eat 65% carbs, 25% fat and 10% protein and I never have problems with hunger between meals. It's all about finding what works for you.

How exactly are refine, processed and simple carbs bad for us?

Not to mention complex carbs are inherently in refined and processed carbs and that also would make fruit a simple carb bad for us.....ok, sure that makes sense.

baconslave

Carbs are not inherently evil...

Even as a rabid, low-carber, I can agree with that. The rest...meh. All depends on you as an individual. My husband beats me over the head with, "As long as you can burn it off, it doesn't matter how many carbs you have." And I do agree to an extent. As in we're talking about normal human beings, without any medical issues or metabolism dysfunction. Eat your carbs if you like them. I can't do them, because even the "good" carbs, complex carbs, set off binges of epic proportions. So I'm 20-30g (gross not net) to retrain my addict-brain. My diabetic mother eats low-carb, as in 120g, so she can actually add some grains or fruit.

My kids eat carbs. I'm the only low-carber in the house. I keep the refined sugar down to a minimum, and feed them mostly complex carbs. But they have their cereal sometimes, and I made choc chip pancakes today. They also play soccer and run around like little demons at least 45 min a day. Sugar is not "never," it's a moderation thing. Unless you have insulin resistance, or sugar/carb addiction, then sugar is evil, sometimes even simple sugars in fruit. But I'm betting OP doesn't have that problem.

But as others have said, if you do reduce your carbs, increase your fat. It tastes good and keeps you satiated. I don't eat veggies without butter all over them (cooked) or with ranch or cream cheese (raw). You can't starve yourself that day and not expect to get hungry. Fat replaces the calories removed when cutting carbs. And if you are low enough, below 30g, to try to get in ketosis, you MUST have fat. Ketosis is burning fat.

I didn't eat carbs one day and decide I should restrict them. I spent my entire adult life abusing and over-consuming carbohydrates, finally figuring out my personal sweet spot.

Magic isn't real, except in books and video games.

Conversely, picking one factor out of the day that made you ravenously hungry...that's not going to give you an accurate picture. My hunger varies from day to day. The past 2 days, I've struggled to get 1300 cals. Before that, I struggled to keep it under 1500 because I was so hungry.

But OP, you can do whatever you like, but it's better to have enough information to make an educated judgment before you draw definite conclusions about any eating plan. Education is always the best way to prepare for anything.

bigsistruck

I was hungry the first few days of my low carb diet, but after a while it actually made me LESS hungry throughout the day. That being said, I quit the low carb thing after 6 weeks because I was tired of the limited selections and low energy that I experienced all of the time. I will take a little hunger over loss of energy!

_lyndseybrooke_

Solution: Don't go low-carb. It's unnecessary, barring any relevant medical conditions.

tobybears8

What is better for losing weight, counting carbs or counting calories? Also, how many carbs are you supposed to have in a day?

moglovesshoez

Well the fact is that I decided for once to go from a daily high carbs routine to a low day of carbs and I noticed I was particularly hungry all day and had to snack out if when usually high carbs never leave me hungry through the day and I never snack.

I don't know if its completely rational but it seems more than fair to assess that cutting carbs from my eating routine is the reason why.

If that's not what it is maybe I should believe God made me hungry after dinner and God wanted me to eat nuts cause that's a lot more rational and in god we trust right?

Thanks for interacting though. To the others who replied in a useful way thanks !

Low carb usually accompanies high fat... eat more fat i.e. nuts (oh wait.... you did and then you didn't feel hungry...)

parkscs

Solution: Don't go low-carb. It's unnecessary, barring any relevant medical conditions.

He didn't. He just didn't eat rice for one meal, got hungry and ate some nuts. And as a general matter, I wouldn't really base a diet and exercise routine solely around what is "necessary", and simply because something is not necessary doesn't mean people shouldn't ever consider it.

baconslave

What is better for losing weight, counting carbs or counting calories? Also, how many carbs are you supposed to have in a day?

Which is better? Neither. How many carbs a day? There is only a set number a day if you are on a low-carb plan.. otherwise don't worry over it. But if you have trouble overeating carbs, trouble with portion control of them, limiting carbs will help you retrain yourself. I suggest doing both. Count calories based upon your TDEE or BMR, create a deficit. Then, if you have issues with carb portion control, cut them to 100 or 150g/daily for a while.

baconslave

Solution: Don't go low-carb. It's unnecessary, barring any relevant medical conditions.

Unnecessary for you personally. Not unnecessary for everyone. I find it necessary to help me keep portion control. I'm a big fat a** continually gaining weight if I don't keep the carbs low.

Depends entirely upon the individual.

RockstarWilson

You might want to read up on switching to no-carbs. Switching suddenly and then going out to run across a field for two hours and expecting your body to respond is overkill. If you want your body to be no/low carb, you have to give it time to adjust. it was still in carbs mode, so it was looking for carbs to chew. I would say give it a couple days, with NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, and you may get different results. I know that in my first week of keto, I didn't do anything extra, as I didn't know how my body would respond. Yours might just need that break, so it can get used to using fat for energy.

psulemon (the Moderator) is quite right. You need to replace with the right nutrients. veggies wont fill you up for nothing. What keeps you full when you take away carbs is fat. That is all. Protein won't do it. You NEED to replace all the carb calories with fat calories. I know....mindblowing, because conventional wisdom says otherwise, but you can only do one or the other: low carbs/high fat, or low fat/high carbs. Protein does not satiate for long, so it is irrelevant in the hunger equation. I bet you ate those veggies plain, and based on the other food choices, had boneless skinless chicken breasts that has about 3% fat. Nobody can sustain on that. Nobody. Instead of the bscb, get the thighs with skin on, get the 73% ground beef and don't rinse. Get bacon! I think if you read about it more, you will know how to make the change, because when you figure out that what wasn't healthy before is healthy when you take away carbs, it will click.

Research "Ketogenesis." That is the state you were trying to get your body into, but you went too hard too fast without proper replenishment. You just need to have the tools to be able to do it. Research it, try it, and if it works, stick with it. If not, try something else or keep on keeping on.

Maybe I missed it, but what was the reason you decided to switch? If you are athletic and have a good eating lifestyle, what would be the reason to change?

Jesuuuuus, carbs are not unhealthy. People really need to watch the whole movie and not just the trailer before they get all excited and sell the farm.

.....where did I say that carbs were bad? I was simply providing a possible solution to his question of why he was hungry, taking into account what he was trying to do. Nowhere in there did I tell him he SHOULD eat low carb.

RockstarWilson

You had no clue how to approach this which is why you failed.

I saw no mention of increased fat intake, nor will you suddenly switch to nutritional ketosis in a day. You were probably tired because you pushed your body to deplete liver glycogen and your body had no carb intake to replenish it. There is a reason people feel crap that switch to low carb for a couple of days, the body is adapting. There is no switch to just switch your metabolism to a different setting.

Well he had toast and rice so his complaint wasn't about feeling foggy because of the adapt ion time, it was because he missed the foods he liked and didn't really feel he should continue.

Dude's only complaint was that he was hungry multiple times throughout his day. He is asking for a reason for why he is hungry, not complaining that he chose not to have that toast with his eggs and was regretting it. Hunger is the central issue here.....

baconslave

You might want to read up on switching to no-carbs. Switching suddenly and then going out to run across a field for two hours and expecting your body to respond is overkill. If you want your body to be no/low carb, you have to give it time to adjust. it was still in carbs mode, so it was looking for carbs to chew. I would say give it a couple days, with NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, and you may get different results. I know that in my first week of keto, I didn't do anything extra, as I didn't know how my body would respond. Yours might just need that break, so it can get used to using fat for energy.

psulemon (the Moderator) is quite right. You need to replace with the right nutrients. veggies wont fill you up for nothing. What keeps you full when you take away carbs is fat. That is all. Protein won't do it. You NEED to replace all the carb calories with fat calories. I know....mindblowing, because conventional wisdom says otherwise, but you can only do one or the other: low carbs/high fat, or low fat/high carbs. Protein does not satiate for long, so it is irrelevant in the hunger equation. I bet you ate those veggies plain, and based on the other food choices, had boneless skinless chicken breasts that has about 3% fat. Nobody can sustain on that. Nobody. Instead of the bscb, get the thighs with skin on, get the 73% ground beef and don't rinse. Get bacon! I think if you read about it more, you will know how to make the change, because when you figure out that what wasn't healthy before is healthy when you take away carbs, it will click.

Research "Ketogenesis." That is the state you were trying to get your body into, but you went too hard too fast without proper replenishment. You just need to have the tools to be able to do it. Research it, try it, and if it works, stick with it. If not, try something else or keep on keeping on.

Maybe I missed it, but what was the reason you decided to switch? If you are athletic and have a good eating lifestyle, what would be the reason to change?

Jesuuuuus, carbs are not unhealthy. People really need to watch the whole movie and not just the trailer before theyget all excited and sell the farm.

I think Jesus knows that already... I hope he doesn't get too insulted.

Liftng4Lis

You've lost 28 pounds, just keep doing what you've been doing, its working!

Kellyfitness128

Don't cut the carbs! Cutting carbs = loss in water weight which appears as quick weight loss and that's why people like low-carb diets. But carbs are your body's preferred energy source and cutting them out will put your body in a state of ketosis which can have all sorts of negative consequences. I eat 300-400g of carbs a day as a vegan on a 2,000 calorie diet and I'm losing weight and happy! No cravings. Don't give in to low-carb diet fad