How do work out carb intake?

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emmarose1990
emmarose1990 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone knows a sensible way to figure out a daily carb level that would help me to lose weight? I'm on 1200 calories per day which I can keep to fine, but I'd like to reduce my carb intake to see if that works for me. I just don't know what is the right amount of grams for me?

I'm 5"5, 130lbs currently. If you are aware of some way to figure this out but need more info, just let me know!

Thanks xx

Replies

  • leighton1245
    leighton1245 Posts: 125
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    Hi all,

    I was just wondering if anyone knows a sensible way to figure out a daily carb level that would help me to lose weight? I'm on 1200 calories per day which I can keep to fine, but I'd like to reduce my carb intake to see if that works for me. I just don't know what is the right amount of grams for me?

    I'm 5"5, 130lbs currently. If you are aware of some way to figure this out but need more info, just let me know!

    Thanks xx

    If you want to lose weight, start out from 20 to 70 carbohydrates a day. At this level you should lose weight and not have cravings. As long as you feel well during the day, stay at this number of carbohydrates for a few weeks unless you reach your weight loss goal. If you're not losing weight and just maintaining weight, reduce daily carbohydrate intake by 10 each week until you start losing a one to two pounds of weight each week. You must really listen to your body though if you start feeling very tired or run down cause you arent getting enough carbs then you need to increase your intake. because your body uses carbs for energy.

    Also what does your diet look like now starting by cutting carbs might not be the right place.
  • In2luvnme
    In2luvnme Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks for that info...
  • leighton1245
    leighton1245 Posts: 125
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    No problem but i cant stress this enough be CAREFUL when cutting out alot of carbs and you must always listen to your body and do not do this for a long period of time.
  • Bags5150
    Bags5150 Posts: 4
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    Nutrients should be a % of your total calories. In other words, depending on your goals, you can take in X% of Carbs, X% of Protein and X% of fat. On the P90x program (not a plug, just doing it and following the plan) they reccomend a ratio of 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. I find that it's difficult to get that much protein. I have protein shakes twice a day and it's still hard. You have to have some carbs in your diet to support your excercise. In the goals and settings area on here you can manually adjust the % levels of nutrients and it will figure out how many gms of each you can have. Super low carb diets are VERY hard to stick to and maintain over a long period of time and many studies have shown that "yo yo" dieting is common in those who restrict carbs too much. I find that if I stick to relatively clean foods and stay away from sugars it's not difficult to keep my carbs at a manageble level. I am trying to make this a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix. I have been eating this way and tracking my foods and working out for a little over 30 days (maybe 45 and am down 15 pounds. I started out at 275 pounds. I am on a roughly 2100 calorie diet. I take in about 160 gms of carbs daily but they are clean carbs from whole wheat bread, fruits etc. I have plenty of energy and like I said, I have dropped about 15 pounds over the last 30-45 days.
  • emmarose1990
    emmarose1990 Posts: 8
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    Also what does your diet look like now starting by cutting carbs might not be the right place.

    My general day is muesli for breakfast, soup or salad (with chicken or ham) for lunch, and then dinners usually have some form of pasta/rice/potatoes in them. I'm in an office job so apart from after work activities, I'm not very active.

    Thanks for all your help :) I'm finding it difficult at the moment because I've been around the same weight for a year now (though I wasn't trying to lose weight then), but my goals on MFP pretty much refelct what I was already eating. I'm upping my exercise obviously which I'm hoping will make a big difference, other than that I'm a bit stuck as to what to eat!

    xx
  • leighton1245
    leighton1245 Posts: 125
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    Nutrients should be a % of your total calories. In other words, depending on your goals, you can take in X% of Carbs, X% of Protein and X% of fat. On the P90x program (not a plug, just doing it and following the plan) they reccomend a ratio of 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. I find that it's difficult to get that much protein. I have protein shakes twice a day and it's still hard. You have to have some carbs in your diet to support your excercise. In the goals and settings area on here you can manually adjust the % levels of nutrients and it will figure out how many gms of each you can have. Super low carb diets are VERY hard to stick to and maintain over a long period of time and many studies have shown that "yo yo" dieting is common in those who restrict carbs too much. I find that if I stick to relatively clean foods and stay away from sugars it's not difficult to keep my carbs at a manageble level. I am trying to make this a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix. I have been eating this way and tracking my foods and working out for a little over 30 days (maybe 45 and am down 15 pounds. I started out at 275 pounds. I am on a roughly 2100 calorie diet. I take in about 160 gms of carbs daily but they are clean carbs from whole wheat bread, fruits etc. I have plenty of energy and like I said, I have dropped about 15 pounds over the last 30-45 days.

    Please read the OP very carfully before recommending a diet from a program that you are doing. The program you are on is desgined to actually teach your body how to correctly use the nutrients that you are suppling it, because its used to getting bad nutrients before and doesnt correctly know how to use carbs for energy. Its a great program dont get me wrong
  • leighton1245
    leighton1245 Posts: 125
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    Also what does your diet look like now starting by cutting carbs might not be the right place.

    My general day is muesli for breakfast, soup or salad (with chicken or ham) for lunch, and then dinners usually have some form of pasta/rice/potatoes in them. I'm in an office job so apart from after work activities, I'm not very active.

    Thanks for all your help :) I'm finding it difficult at the moment because I've been around the same weight for a year now (though I wasn't trying to lose weight then), but my goals on MFP pretty much refelct what I was already eating. I'm upping my exercise obviously which I'm hoping will make a big difference, other than that I'm a bit stuck as to what to eat!

    xx

    No problem on helping at all, if you are looking to cut back switch to all wheats or whole grains pastas/breads and potatos try yams they taste close the same.
  • Bags5150
    Bags5150 Posts: 4
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    Reasonably sure that I didn't recommend a diet. I simply stated whats been working for me. If you want to be perfectly honest I posted becuase I thought that recommending that someone cut their carbs to as low as 20 with very litte information was irresponsible. What I stated was simply fact. I have been using that ratio and it is working for me. I also believe that recommending something and haveing to qualify it by saying do not do this over a long period of time makes no sense. As your posts went on you even said that maybe thi ISN'T a good idea! There are too many crash diets and fads out there. If you're truly serious about weight loss then in my opinion a lifestyle change is a must. Doesn't mean you have to go out and buy p90x either. When I was in my late 20's I lost 120 lbs. I did it by severely restricting how much I ate. Because I did not make a lifestyle change, when I started eating normal again I gained ALL of it back and then some, so I speak from experience. I think before you take someone to task for a post you should reread your own.
  • Bags5150
    Bags5150 Posts: 4
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    Rather than take my word for it or anyone elses for that matter, here are a couple of helpful links that I found...

    http://www.weight-loss-tips-and-secrets.com/daily-carbohydrate-intake.html
    http://www.quick-weight-loss-principles.com/recommended-carbohydrate-intake.html
    http://www.fitnesscontrarian.com/best-weight-loss-option-cutting-carbs/
    http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/lcd.html
    http://www.bestdocumentinformationlisting.info/healthandfitness/curb-your-carb-intake-the-dirty-truth-about-carbohydrates/

    The general consensus seems to be curb carbs, eat good carbs and be sensible.

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