Carbohydrate Counting

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choughton01
choughton01 Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Recently I was given a pamphlet on counting Carbohydrates to lose weight. Does anyone do this? Does it work? I compared my journal to what this pamphlet says in carbs that I should be eating and I'm under these carb limits by 100 sometimes. This pamphlet doesn't focus on calories but carbs instead. Anyone doing this, have any input about this?

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  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
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    im not counting carbs at all... i have looked at my numbers everyday; ive never went over.. on days i ate pasta, a sandiwhc (with 2pieces bread) and potatoes, i never went over.. i thought it was stupid to count them...

    My rule is..if its not something i can live with for the rest of my life; im not going to do it to loose weight! I couldnt see myself not eating bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and many other various items just to eat less carbs, for the rest of my life. Im eating healthy, and that is enough for me!
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I have no number or scientific study to back me up but both my friend and I found cutting back on carbs have been very effective for our weight loss.

    I am still a true believer on counting calories because it's simple and logical. Maybe you can combine both to get max result? Just a though. Good luck.
  • sarahbear1981
    sarahbear1981 Posts: 610 Member
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    Its more important to eat the right kinds of carbs. Complex carbs are better for you.
  • choughton01
    choughton01 Posts: 68 Member
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    I can take carbs or leave them, that's why I was wondering if this works and if anyone is doing it. This pamphlet was given to my sister by a registered dietitian when my sister was told that if she doesn't take weight off she will definitely be type II diabetic soon. Just wondering what people think about this is all.
  • yashua28
    yashua28 Posts: 2 Member
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    I count my carbs every day and I stay under 1400 calories. I stay between 50 to 100. If I want to loose weight a little faster I limit my carbs to 30 yo 50 for 3 or 4 days. The low calorie diet doesn't work for me, however my girlfriends do well with the low calorie diet. But you have to find what works for you. Good luck
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    I count calories and carbs (well I count everything). For me keeping sodium and carbs lower has helped the weight loss quite a bit. MFP has the settings at 55% carbs/15% protein/30% fat and 2500mg/sodium, I changed my settings to 40% carbs/40% protein/20% fat and lowered my sodium to 1500mg (even though I can't always keep it that low) and I am losing close to 3-3.5lbs a week. My general goal is to have more protein than carbs and it seems to be helping!
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
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    Recently I was given a pamphlet on counting Carbohydrates to lose weight. Does anyone do this? Does it work? I compared my journal to what this pamphlet says in carbs that I should be eating and I'm under these carb limits by 100 sometimes. This pamphlet doesn't focus on calories but carbs instead. Anyone doing this, have any input about this?

    Over weight people are more sensitive to carbs then normal weight people. What this mean is when a over weight person eats carbs, their insulin will raise higher than a normal weighted person eating the same amount of carbs. What insulin does is it store carbs in the muscle and once the muscles are full it will store carbs as fat. If you eat plenty of carbs and barely exercise your muscles will always be full of carbs and you'd constantly store fat.

    Not eating carbs lowers insulin, once your blood sugar drops below 70 glucaon will be released. What gluacgon does it's the opposite of insulin, it doesn't store... it releases carbs from the muscle, and it also liberates fat for fuel burning. A good number for people is to be under 100grams of carbs a day.
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
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    Micromanaging your food intake with the exception of unhealthy fats is a waste of time as well and not a sustainable lifestyle. If you are on a diet you will FAIL and gain it all back. You have to be able to eat what you want ( portion control) whenever you want to keep it off. You have to know what to eat and what not to. A 1000 calorie meal is unacceptable in any format. I eat healthy and have a very hard time hitting my 50% calories from Carbs. I eat very good and rarely reach 50% of my calories from carbs goals where as my fat and protein at 25% i can reach most days by what i eat daily. My menu isn't built around MFP macro nutrient guides. Eating healthy costs less in general then eating a junk filled diet.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
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    Micromanaging your food intake with the exception of unhealthy fats is a waste of time as well and not a sustainable lifestyle. If you are on a diet you will FAIL and gain it all back. You have to be able to eat what you want ( portion control) whenever you want to keep it off. You have to know what to eat and what not to. A 1000 calorie meal is unacceptable in any format. I eat healthy and have a very hard time hitting my 50% calories from Carbs. I eat very good and rarely reach 50% of my calories from carbs goals where as my fat and protein at 25% i can reach most days by what i eat daily. My menu isn't built around MFP macro nutrient guides. Eating healthy costs less in general then eating a junk filled diet.

    You have to keep in mind, "the best way to lose weight" are merely theories, not facts. Does marco managing work? yes, does portion control work? yes. The issue with portion control is, it can result in more loss of muscle if you're eating the wrong macro nutrients. The problem with watching your carbs, you may not be able to satisfy your craving if you're too strict with it. You said "a 1000 calorie meal is unacceptable in any format" my meal right now is 2500 calories at dinner.. It's my only meal of the day.

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