What carb range are you in?

murf19

This is part of Mark Sisson's blog on Mark's daily apple. I consistantly see talk and questions regarding the amount of carbs you should eat. I use this for a reference and it has worked wonders for me. I keep mine around 125grams a day. Look it over, see where you fall and maybe make some changes if needed. Stay away from man made carbs, eat your weight in protein and eat good fat foods. You will lose the fat.

The following descriptions illustrate how carbohydrates impact the human body and the degree to which we need them, or not, in our diet. The ranges represent daily averages and are subject to variables like age, current height and weight and particularly training volume. For example, a heavy, active person can be successful at a higher number than a light, moderately active person. In particular, hard training endurance athletes will experience a greater need for carbs and can adjust their personal curve accordingly. This is a topic I address further in the book (e.g. – experimenting with adding 100g of carbs per hour of training per day), on MarksDailyApple.com and in a future “primal” book dedicated to endurance athletes. Here then is my “Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve.”

300 or more grams/day - Danger Zone!

Easy to reach with the “normal” American diet (cereals, pasta, rice, bread, waffles, pancakes, muffins, soft drinks, packaged snacks, sweets, desserts). High risk of excess fat storage, inflammation, increased disease markers including Metabolic Syndrome or diabetes. Sharp reduction of grains and other processed carbs is critical unless you are on the “chronic cardio” treadmill (which has its own major drawbacks).

150-300 grams/day – Steady, Insidious Weight Gain

Continued higher insulin-stimulating effect prevents efficient fat burning and contributes to widespread chronic disease conditions. This range – irresponsibly recommended by the USDA and other diet authorities – can lead to the statistical US average gain of 1.5 pounds of fat per year for forty years.

100-150 grams/day – Primal Blueprint Maintenance Range

This range based on body weight and activity level. When combined with Primal exercises, allows for genetically optimal fat burning and muscle development. Range derived from Grok’s (ancestors’) example of enjoying abundant vegetables and fruits and avoiding grains and sugars.

50-100 grams/day – Primal Sweet Spot for Effortless Weight Loss

Minimizes insulin production and ramps up fat metabolism. By meeting average daily protein requirements (.7 – 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight formula), eating nutritious vegetables and fruits (easy to stay in 50-100 gram range, even with generous servings), and staying satisfied with delicious high fat foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds), you can lose one to two pounds of body fat per week and then keep it off forever by eating in the maintenance range.

0-50 grams/day – Ketosis and Accelerated Fat Burning

Acceptable for a day or two of Intermittent Fasting towards aggressive weight loss efforts, provided adequate protein, fat and supplements are consumed otherwise. May be ideal for many diabetics. Not necessarily recommended as a long-term practice for otherwise healthy people due to resultant deprivation of high nutrient value vegetables and fruits.

LisaJayne71

I saw this the other day on his website and liked how it was set out and the information given...

I have PCOS and so have to stick to low carb, low fat, low cal.... yes.. it's not easy!
I went to see a dietician here in the Middle East and she told me I should have lower carbs but make sure I had between 150g- 200gs a day!!!!! Not ideal for me!
I try to stick to 50-100 gms a day and where I can go under 50 though that's not always easy!

scagneti

I'm usually around 150-180 a day and I've been losing pretty steadily. If that stops though then I'll look at cutting it back to the 125 mark.

You should eat your weight in protein?? I weigh 144, so that's not too hard, but what do people who weigh over 250lbs do? That's a LOT of protein!

Grokette

I saw this the other day on his website and liked how it was set out and the information given...

I have PCOS and so have to stick to low carb, low fat, low cal.... yes.. it's not easy!
I went to see a dietician here in the Middle East and she told me I should have lower carbs but make sure I had between 150g- 200gs a day!!!!! Not ideal for me!
I try to stick to 50-100 gms a day and where I can go under 50 though that's not always easy!

Actually with PCOS you should be eating a low carb, moderate protein and high fat eating plan, just as Mark talks about on MDA. The reason for this is to reverse the insulin resistance.

For women with metabolic and / or Endocrine issues such as PCOS (which causes both endocrine and metabolic issues) the high fat, moderate protein, low carb way of eating controls the insulin response and slowly revereses Diabetes and /or Insulin resistance.

pyro13g

When I'm at maintenance calories my carbs are 240gr a day, so I call BS since I don't experience Steady, Insidious Weight Gain . I'm at 150 when I shed fat so Primal Blueprint Maintenance Range doesn't fit well either since I drop weight and fat quickly. I would buy it more if these carbs were "bad carbs" or lot's of high glycemic loads.

There's also plenty of people that do drop weight and fat quickly with lots of carbs from grains, legumes, and tubers. The way I've seen it play out is that they minimize any high glycemic loads. Like the twinky guy did. yeah, he ate crap and it was nutritionally poor, but he did lose weight on junk food. He was very careful not to introduce a high glycemic load.

murf19

I'm usually around 150-180 a day and I've been losing pretty steadily. If that stops though then I'll look at cutting it back to the 125 mark.

You should eat your weight in protein?? I weigh 144, so that's not too hard, but what do people who weigh over 250lbs do? That's a LOT of protein!

Here is a blurb on protein. I don't go over my weight, however there are formulas that you can go by. What ever works for you.

Laura Dalson
How much protein do we need?
Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams.
Another way to compute protein needs has to do with lean body mass. This method is discussed in the Zone Diet and Protein Power books.

Do people who exercise need more protein?
Although it is controversial, there is evidence that people engaging in endurance exercise (such as long distance running) or heavy resistive exercise (such as body building) can benefit from additional protein in their diets. One prominent researcher in the field recommends 1.2 to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for endurance exercisers and 1.7 to 1.8 grams per kg per day for heavy strength training.
I just stick to 1 gram per body weight.

jewelzz

I keep mine under 100 p/d

BigBoneSista

My nutritionist has me eating up to 186 grams. But I rarely get over 160. I'm usually between 120 and 145 per day. It depends if I drink juice or eat a extra serving of sweet potatoes. I'm losing very well.

toots99

Good information here, thanks for posting.

scagneti

Wouldn't people who do more cardio than weight training need more carbs than someone who does essentially weight training?

That might have been an urban legend, but that's what I remember learning.

linsben

I eat primal, the Mark sisson way as well (love him!) and for my weight loss efforts my carb intake is between 50-100G a day. Right now im thinking about introducing intermitted fasting and experimenting with Ketosis for a couple days. Feels good and im still consuming so much food its hard to believe im under or just over 50 G a day. When i've reached my weight loss goals i plan on eating between 100-150 a day for maintenance. When you remove grains, rice, potatoes bread and sugar from processed foods its amazing how easy it is to be eating 100 g from garbs a day.

Im glad you posted the Carbohydrate guidelines he suggests. They seem right on target to me. Hopefully others with consider it as well.

PJilly

I'm in the 150-to-300 range, where I've experienced steady, insidious fat loss.

I get frustrated when I see posts I consider to be misleading that are intended to "educate" people. I don't doubt there are people who have had success losing weight with a low-carb diet, but there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that most people can't have just as much success without eating low-carb. I don't doubt you had the best of intentions posting this, but I think it really confuses people unnecessarily.

lorinjer

I'm at 75 grams.....losing weight very slowly.....

kbanzhaf

When I first began my weight loss journey almost five years ago, the nutritionist I saw said not to eat over "15 carbs" a day, and 1 "carb" is 15 grams of carbohydrates.
I thought she was a quack (the only other things she really said was to write everything I eat down and watch portion sizes), and that it would never work.
18 months and 70 pounds later, I have to admit she knew what she was talking about.
I gained back about 20 pounds, have lost 10 of them, and would like to lose about 8 more at this point. I've held pretty steady at my current weight for almost a year, and while I still write stuff down (LOVE THIS SITE FOR THAT PURPOSE), I don't deprive myself of eating out, enjoying sweets from time to time. It's just all in moderation.

pyro13g

I do my protein by ratio of calories. I try to keep it 30-35% of calories. So right now that would be 113gr at a weigh of 172lbs.

jen0619

When I'm at maintenance calories my carbs are 240gr a day, so I call BS since I don't experience Steady, Insidious Weight Gain . I'm at 150 when I shed fat so Primal Blueprint Maintenance Range doesn't fit well either since I drop weight and fat quickly. I would buy it more if these carbs were "bad carbs" or lot's of high glycemic loads.

There's also plenty of people that do drop weight and fat quickly with lots of carbs from grains, legumes, and tubers. The way I've seen it play out is that they minimize any high glycemic loads. Like the twinky guy did. yeah, he ate crap and it was nutritionally poor, but he did lose weight on junk food. He was very careful not to introduce a high glycemic load.

I agree here!! My carbs are starting usually around 260 a day. I am in maintenence mode and have been. I have not gained weight or been steadily gaining weight. Higher carbs work better for me without them I get light headed and dizzy multiple times a day. I tried low carb and it is no good for me.

murf19

I'm in the 150-to-300 range, where I've experienced steady, insidious fat loss.

I get frustrated when I see posts I consider to be misleading that are intended to "educate" people. I don't doubt there are people who have had success losing weight with a low-carb diet, but there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that most people can't have just as much success without eating low-carb. I don't doubt you had the best of intentions posting this, but I think it really confuses people unnecessarily.

I Didn't post to confuse people. I get asked all the time about my carbs. and what my intake are and how did I lose my weight, because they're having a carb issue. This is how i did it. I posted what works for me. It doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone. Ya do what ya gatta do.

newnicole

I like this.. im going to try to pay attention to the carbs
unfortunately my fiber bars seem to be very high

aweigh2go

For protein, do I go with 1 g/lb of LEAN BODY MASS or TOTAL WEIGHT?

PJilly

I'm in the 150-to-300 range, where I've experienced steady, insidious fat loss.

I get frustrated when I see posts I consider to be misleading that are intended to "educate" people. I don't doubt there are people who have had success losing weight with a low-carb diet, but there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that most people can't have just as much success without eating low-carb. I don't doubt you had the best of intentions posting this, but I think it really confuses people unnecessarily.

I Didn't post to confuse people. I get asked all the time about my carbs. and what my intake are and how did I lose my weight, because they're having a carb issue. This is how i did it. I posted what works for me. It doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone. Ya do what ya gatta do.

I didn't think for a second you posted this because you were trying to confuse people, but a lot of people are here because they're trying to figure out how this all works, and it's confusing when they get mixed messages. The fact is that the MFP default is 55% carbs, 15% protein, and 30% fat. When people read posts that tell them they can't possibly lose fat unless their carbs are considerably lower than that, how could that not be confusing?

From your original post:

150-300 grams/day – Steady, Insidious Weight Gain

Continued higher insulin-stimulating effect prevents efficient fat burning and contributes to widespread chronic disease conditions. This range – irresponsibly recommended by the USDA and other diet authorities – can lead to the statistical US average gain of 1.5 pounds of fat per year for forty years.

Personally, I absolutely disagree with that excerpt. I understand many people here think that's the only way to go. And that's fine. BUT, what I think we all need to keep in mind is that not everyone here has the same level of knowledge, and I don't think it's wise to post advice that is counter to how MFP is set up and even goes so as to say the recommendations are irresponsible.

LisaJayne71

I saw this the other day on his website and liked how it was set out and the information given...

I have PCOS and so have to stick to low carb, low fat, low cal.... yes.. it's not easy!
I went to see a dietician here in the Middle East and she told me I should have lower carbs but make sure I had between 150g- 200gs a day!!!!! Not ideal for me!
I try to stick to 50-100 gms a day and where I can go under 50 though that's not always easy!

Actually with PCOS you should be eating a low carb, moderate protein and high fat eating plan, just as Mark talks about on MDA. The reason for this is to reverse the insulin resistance.

For women with metabolic and / or Endocrine issues such as PCOS (which causes both endocrine and metabolic issues) the high fat, moderate protein, low carb way of eating controls the insulin response and slowly revereses Diabetes and /or Insulin resistance.

I'll have to have a look at that, thanks!
I hope he gives it in grams for each one as it's hard to know what constitutes, low, moderate and high!