does anybody have some advice about carbs?

gabi_ele

I'm doing well with my eating and all, but at the end of the day, I still have loads of carbs left and I'm over on my protein almost every day. :grumble:
I would appreciate some ideas... thank you in advance:flowerforyou:

gabi_ele

I'm doing well with my eating and all, but at the end of the day, I still have loads of carbs left and I'm over on my protein almost every day. :grumble:
I would appreciate some ideas... thank you in advance:flowerforyou:

Lavendersunday

I am in the same boat...not enough carbs....so I am making applesauce oatmeal muffins right now to have tonight...20.5 grams of carbs and yet only 93.5 cals. If I really wanna up the calories cause I haven't eaten them all yet...I can add some raisins to bring total cals per muffin to 134.

~Namaste

shorerider

More whole grains and oats--healthy cereal and bread type stuff.

ekirton

My advice if you are having trouble eating enough carbs is start the day with them. It's the best time to have them as you need them for energy during the day. The key is to start the day with whole grains. If you like hot cereal, try old-fashioned oats. If you like a cold cereal, then look for one that lists whole wheat, whole oats, or other whole grain first on the ingredient list. If you cut a small banana on top then you'll get even more carbs or have one later as a snack. I do this virtually every day except sometimes on the weekend I'll have poached eggs on toast.

Most days of the week I also have whole grain breads for lunch. Check the label to make sure that whole wheat or another whole grain is the first ingredient listed. Often I'll even toast the bread and put tuna and tomato on top. Great and easy.

This works for me and means that I can generally eat, or get close to eating, my carbs.

spaul82478

I always and below on my carbs and over on my proteine but my dr said that was fine as long as i ate 100 cal of good whole grains at breakfast lunch dinner and a snack.... I am satisfied with it and i am full so... as long as the dr says its ok then i guess its ok ? right...lol

kerrilucko

Make sure you're getting your fruits and veggies too, they are full of carbs.

BlackBeltLJ

As someone who has to counts carbs- they are in EVERYTHING- pears, apples, bananas, sugar free pudding, Amy's delicious foods:noway:

IndigoElectron

I'm assuming you've worked out how many carbs you need to eat each day, but just in case... I'm following the South Beach diet (I'm well into Phase 2) and I had to adjust my Goals to fit in with that, instead of using the Guided setting. I worked out what I should be eating according to South Beach, put the foods into a day's menu, and looked at what percentage of carbs, fat and protein it added up to. I did have to tweak it slightly because the calorie count was too high, so I cut out some of my dairy, nuts and starches/grains and added in more vegetables. So my percentages are 45% carbs, 25% protein and 30% fat, instead of the 55% carbs, 15% protein and 30% fat that is recommended by this site.

You may have already done this, apologies if I'm being obvious!

hamilton4beaumont

I REALLY wish I knew what percentages I should be eating!!!! I've seen all sorts of calculators, etc. and I just got frustrated and stuck with what this site suggests. I'd really like to know though because I would consume whatever it said to in order to keep my %'s in line. I don't eat what I like, I eat what I need. Not knowing what those percentages should be makes me feel uncertain.
Not really informative, but wanted to vent!

shorerider

I REALLY wish I knew what percentages I should be eating!!!! I've seen all sorts of calculators, etc. and I just got frustrated and stuck with what this site suggests. I'd really like to know though because I would consume whatever it said to in order to keep my %'s in line. I don't eat what I like, I eat what I need. Not knowing what those percentages should be makes me feel uncertain.
Not really informative, but wanted to vent!

Hamilton,

You can go to the USDA Pyramid site and get a good idea. They have a great FREE feature now where you can 'build your own food pyramid" based upon USDA diet guidelines, your age, sex, physical activity, etc. I used it to at least get some base idea but had to modify mine because of my diabetes. Still, it gave me some idea anyway. Then you can modify MFP's guidelines from there.

I really did like though that if you put in your figures and you're overweight, then it also gives links to safe weight loss tips and stuff.


Here's the links--

http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/

kerrilucko

I don't know if this helps at all but I recently read an article in a magazine on the American Nutritional recommendations. It said that someone on a 1200 cal a day diet should consume roughly 1 cup of fruit, 1 1/2 cups of vegetables (excluding starchy veggies like potatoes and corn), and 4 grain servings, at least 2 of which should be whole grains. These foods are essentially your carbs for the day.

IndigoElectron

I think what makes it confusing is that different diets recommend different things. Everyone is different, you just need to try things and see what works for you. I followed a low fat, high carb diet for most of my life, but when I switched to South Beach (which is higher fat and protein, and lower carb though not anything like Atkins), the weight started coming off and I felt much more healthy. So I eat less whole grains than is the government recommendation, but how I eat suits me.