Low Carb - Energy Level

DebbieLaviolette

Anybody eat lower carb...not Atkins low but lower? If so have you seen a difference in your weight loss? How about your energy level with workouts?

Meganne1982

Mycarbs are set at 10%, I usually eat less than that- about 20-30 g, most from fiber, so net carbs usually 10-15g. Low carbing it is how I lost most of my weight. And I have tons more energy since going this way! I've never felt better

I guess that's probably considered Atkins-Low, though I don't follow atkins. But I've heard peopl having benefits staying under 100 g.

seansquared

I follow a Ketogenic lifestyle, that is I only take in about 5% of my Calories in the form of Carbs. Atkins is about 20%. Massive weight loss, most of it bodyfat vs losing fat and muscle, and my energy level is just fine.

There is an entire Keto forum over on Bodybuilding.com. I would start there if you are interested.

Fat2FitChick

I stay under 100g of carbs. The first week I decided to do this my body was so shocked. I was super tired and had no energy and was told that this is because my body had to get used to not using as many carbs for energy and switch to burning fat instead. I don't know if it's true but my body took an entire week to adjust. On the scale I lost 5 lbs that week and now it is a steady 1-2 lbs loss a week.

sellingsworth

I am eating low carb - no bread, pasta or potatoes and very little fruit - energy level is better than ever - I do not have that 10 am crash or the 4 pm tiredness that I used to have - I am over 55 and the weight has come off slower -- but it is still coming off and I feel better than ever. Biggest help to me was eating protein for breakfast - eggs, meat, cheese etc - I hardly ever eat cereal anymore.

BioQueen

I personally tried to do Atkins for a few months... and it wasn't for me. I did see some weight loss, but I didn't even have enough energy to go to the gym. I didn't have much energy to do just about anything. Of course, that is how my body reacted to it, and I'm sure everyone is different.

DebbieLaviolette

Thanks for the Great Feedback.!!! is there a setting in MFP for lower carbs or do y'all do your own adjustments?

MissKim

It just depends on the person. Some people will do good on low-carb, and some people won't. So just try it out for a few weeks and see what happens. It really just depends if you are insulin resistant, or if you are insulin sensitive. If you are resistant, then a low carb diet will help you lose weight and get healthy. If you are sensitive to insulin, that means your body can metabolize carbs just fine, so a portion controlled/calorie counting approach would work for you just fine. But I believe every person benefits from cutting grains/sugar out of their diet. Good Luck!

MissKim

oh, and about the energy thing! lol, sorry, I knew i was forgetting something! also depends on the person, but everyone will probably go through a type of "carb flu" if they go from eating tons of carbs to cutting them quickly. but studies have shown that a person's body can run on ketones just as efficiently as on carbs. and I know several people that can atest to that. So, once again, just try it out and see if it works for you. but you have to give it a few weeks so your body can go from running on sugar for fuel to burning fat for fuel.

MissKim

Thanks for the Great Feedback.!!! is there a setting in MFP for lower carbs or do y'all do your own adjustments?

I make my own, you can just play around with your percentages until your happy with the numbers.

DebbieLaviolette

Can you adjust the percetages in MFP?

MissKim

yes, go to goals, and click change settings at the bottom, and do custom change. then you can change your percentages

happyhappyjoy72

This is all good advice. I think i'm gonna drop my Carbs down to 100g and see how my body responds.

Barneystinson

I eat under 50 grams total carbs daily during loss / keto phase. If I "carb up" it's 50g-100g (usually one day per week - on a weekend).

I have a lot of energy now that my body has adjusted, but if I slip up and eat poorly, it takes a couple days to get back into the swing of things and beat the sugar cravings. I have a lot of energy eating this way. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who's doing any serious athletic cardio conditioning (i.e. marathon training) but I can still go out and run 5K without an issue.

Everybody is different, though.

DebbieLaviolette

Wow!! THANKS!!!! I'm going to adjust my carbs to 20% which is 65g a day and see how that works and I will be patient for a week or two to give it time to work. I feel excited about this change :-)

DebbieLaviolette

Should I adjust my FAT cals too in addition to my carbs? How does the FAT cals affect weight loss?

Meganne1982

Should I adjust my FAT cals too in addition to my carbs? How does the FAT cals affect weight loss?

Everybody's body is different. I've messed around with my % a lot over time. I've found I feel best at about 10% carb, 30% protein and 60% fat. If carb goes down, fat tends to go up and vice-versa. Some people low carbing may do better with higher protein than fat, but I personally felt better going higher fat- which for me was the hardest part of going low-carb, I was sooooo brainwashed that fat is bad, fat is bad, fat is bad. But that's not true at all- I've never been/felt healthier

Play around with your percentages a bit until you find what's best for you

MissKim

Should I adjust my FAT cals too in addition to my carbs? How does the FAT cals affect weight loss?

Everybody's body is different. I've messed around with my % a lot over time. I've found I feel best at about 10% carb, 30% protein and 60% fat. If carb goes down, fat tends to go up and vice-versa. Some people low carbing may do better with higher protein than fat, but I personally felt better going higher fat- which for me was the hardest part of going low-carb, I was sooooo brainwashed that fat is bad, fat is bad, fat is bad. But that's not true at all- I've never been/felt healthier

Play around with your percentages a bit until you find what's best for you

what she said, but i'll add that the best way to figure it up is this. set your carbs for what you want to try, then determine how much protein you need. do you know your body fat %? you need to know your lean body mass. if you are doing strength training and exercising regularly then you will want 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. If you are not working out you will want .5 for every pound. so then set your protein. everything else should be fat. (fat is not the devil, the wrong kinds are though, so try to stick to healthy natural fats) this is b/c protein isn't processed like carbs and fat, it can't be just stored as fat. it has to be broken down to be used, and then if it can't be used it's turned into sugar and then will be the same as if you are eating carbs. so getting the right amount of protein is important. not sure if i got all the technical aspects down right, i'm going off my memory, but hopefully you get the gist of it. i'll use me as an example:

200 lbs
41% bodyfat ( i know, horrible )

200x41%=82, which leaves 118 lbs of lean body mass. so if i'm doing strength training, i should have 118 grams of protein, but if i'm not working out at all, it should be more like 59 grams.


ofcourse, I'm not claiming to be an expert, just offering up my advice/opinion to help

DebbieLaviolette

hmm I guess I will have to try different formulas. my BMI is 29% (208pds) so I am definitely up there in the fat arena.

Hellsbells42

I'm on low carbs (under 30g/day), and it suits me fine. I can eat cheese and eggs and fat, and I'm never hungry and don't have the chocolate craving. Having NO choc at home helps, obviously, but I used to eat Nutella when there was no choc, and now I never feel like eating that. I have lots of energy, even more AFTER exercising.
And not hungry after exercising, either. But you'll have to find out what suits your lifestyle best. If you go for low carbs, up your proteins. I've only recently read that you should eat 2.2g/kg weight/day to lose fat.
Your muscles will thank you if you give them protein.