My BIG debate....calories VS. carbs

edunk2008

Hello!!! Im new to the site and to REALLY giving a diet a shot. I am having trouble getting my carb intake to remain below my daily allowance, but my calories are an easy goal to meet. What suggestions can you send my way to help me with my carb spike?? When trying to lose weight, is it more important to focus on carbs or calories, or do the two go hand in hand in helping you shed the baggage??

VeganGal84

It depends on who you ask! :laugh:

I ignore carbs, since most of the carbs that I eat are very healthy (whole grains, veggies, fruits, etc.) and will not cause weight gain as long as I stick to my calorie goal.

For me, calories are more important to watch than carbs. But some people feel the exact opposite!

dls06

Add more veggies. If you portion you carbs and add lots of veggies to every meal you'll stay under.
Are you always over on protein too? If not you could lower your protein by 5% and it will give you more carb numbers without raising your calories.

bcattoes

I focus on nutrients and calories. Since I don't many sweets and eat whole grains I don't worry about carbs. But my problem is that I can't seem to even come close to what this site recommends. I'm almost always over on protein and under on carbs, but I don't purposely eat high protein or low carb. What do you eat that puts your carbs over?

AnnaPixie

calories IMO :flowerforyou:

chuisle

Hi! I agree that calorie vs. carb debate is not clear and people have to eat what works for their bodies.

That said, I think MFP's allowance for carbs is super high and most people hit the carbs and their protein is really low, especially women. I changed my goals to 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. Good carbs should be a cornerstone but your diet shouldn't consisent of over 75% of your calories from them (I've seen that before!)

I have also been experimenting with carb cycling and have seen some nice results

optimusmom

Carbs are tricky. I try and focus on "good carbs", such as, whole grains etc. What I also try and do is eat most of my carbs earlier in the day when I am most busy so the energy is available for my body. Usually, I try not and eat carbs after 4pm as that is when I'm starting to wind down.
Overall, I wouldn't worry so much about the numbers. Focus on healthier food choices and an active lifestyle and the weight loss will gradually take care of itself.
Best of luck

sexforjaffacakes

I say watch both!

sillygirljess

Personally, if I eat more protein than carbs I'm full longer and my overall calorie consumption is lower. In a way, it's both a carb and calorie reduction. You get far less quantity for the calorie cost when you're eating pasta and grain, than when you're eating veggies and meat.

ChitownFoodie

That said, I think MFP's allowance for carbs is super high and most people hit the carbs and their protein is really low, especially women. I changed my goals to 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. Good carbs should be a cornerstone but your diet shouldn't consisent of over 75% of your calories from them (I've seen that before!)

40/30/30 is exactly where mine is set at. It has worked for me. I met goal weight sticking to it. I just gained weight from bad vacation eating.

lilcrittert

Stay off of refined carbs and sugar. That is, anything purchased in packaging like cans, boxes, or bags. Eat natural carbs like fruits and veggies. It's the refined stuff that can really slow you down plus it's not good for you.

DeBlue

I'd suggest eliminate the processed carbs first. These are not REAL food and are not well handled by the body. I've had real success in the past week by eliminating breads and other grains and focusing on proteins, veggies and fruit. Good complex carbs in REAL food should help you get to your goal.

tigersword

Excess calories turn to fat, regardless of whether they are carbs, proteins, or fats, so as long as you're staying at your calorie goal, and getting enough protein and fat, I wouldn't worry about going over your carbs. What are your percentages like? A balanced approach is generally better, so if you feel your carbs are too high, maybe eat more protein, but if you're losing weight and it's working, don't worry as much about it. If you make your diary public, people can see what you're eating and make better suggestions.

Oh, and bread is most certainly REAL food... Where do people get these insane ideas?

LorinaLynn

I don't worry about the carbs. Sometimes I'm over, sometimes under. But I do make a point to try to hit or go over my protein, and I did increase my goal on that.

liftingbro

Unless you are insulin resistant or have another metabolic issue, calories in vs calories out is all that matters.

Some people swear by Atkins or similar diets but they also just break down to calories in vs calories out as well. How?

#1- Most high protein diets also happen to be lower calorie diets as well, if you track the calories.
#2- Protein has an increased Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). Protein's TEF is 30% higher than carbs meaning that it takes 30% more calories to digest a gram of protein than it does a gram of carbs. So, just simply increasing protein intake will increase your calorie burn. On a typical low carb diet you are going to burn close to 20% more calories just from increase TEF.


As Lyle McDonald points out here, a low carb diet and higher carb diet of the same amount of calories results in the same weight loss according to studies.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/ketogenic-low-carbohydrate-diets-have-no-metabolic-advantage-over-nonketogenic-low-carbohydrate-diets-research-review.html

Richard170

Calories > Carbs

This was recently demonstrated by professor of human nutrition Mark Haub of KSU. He ate an 1800 calorie diet that was mostly Twinkies and other junk food. Not only did he loose a lot of weight, he also saw significant improvements in his lab results. It is healthier to eat the right number of calories of junk food than it is to overeat healthy foods. This does not imply that it is good to eat junk food, just that overeating is even worse. Get the caloric intake right, eat a healthy and diverse diet of nutritious foods, and exercise and you will be healthy.

Loosing weight is not complex at all, it is self discipline that is highly problematic. The diet industry extracts billions each year exploiting human weakness.

Eat less, exercise more, be healthy.

samb

For a long time I was a big carb eater, mostly whole wheat, not white. I was pretty good about staying around my cal limit, however I was not losing weight regardless of the amount of exercise I did. I was a vegetarian so it was hard for me to stay low on carbs as most vegetarian foods have more carbs or equivalent carbs to protein. I decided I needed to make a major change and went primal. Meaning I don't eat anything processed - eating like our ancestors long ago did. First I started eating meat a little, and slowly added more in over time. I also cut out all grains and corn as they are among the processed foods. Then I worked on lowering my carb level. I know that everyone is different and its always a big debate about whether carbs are significant, etc. I am only speaking from personal experience, but I have lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks just from having my carbs low, without even exercising much. I have one free day a week where I can eat as much as I want, and do consume quite a bit of carbs that day, but it doesn't cause much gain at all unless I do it for more than 1 day. So I am a true firm believer that carbs make a HUGE difference. But like I said, this is just from my experience and people's body's are all different. For me this has helped me gain control of my weight and also helps me to make better food choices. My advice is, if what you are doing is working, then stick with it. If it is not, try experimenting. Try lowering your net carbs to below 50 (carbs minus fiber) for a week or so and see what happens. You just have to learn your own body and that takes time and experimentation. Like I said, for me I wasn't losing at 100+ g of carbs a day with ~50g protein, but have been consistently losing at >75g protein & less than 50 net carbs, usually around 35 net carbs, and even with my 1 day off wiith >150 carbs I don't really gain at all. Give it a try! But calories are also very important - however, if you consume a lot of protein and little carbs you stay full longer and if you are eating unprocessed foods - like veggies, fruit, meat, etc you may even find it hard to consume all of the calories for the day, no lie! Hope you find what works for you!

chuisle

Calories > Carbs

This was recently demonstrated by professor of human nutrition Mark Haub of KSU. He ate an 1800 calorie diet that was mostly Twinkies and other junk food. Not only did he loose a lot of weight, he also saw significant improvements in his lab results. It is healthier to eat the right number of calories of junk food than it is to overeat healthy foods. This does not imply that it is good to eat junk food, just that overeating is even worse. Get the caloric intake right, eat a healthy and diverse diet of nutritious foods, and exercise and you will be healthy.

Loosing weight is not complex at all, it is self discipline that is highly problematic. The diet industry extracts billions each year exploiting human weakness.

Eat less, exercise more, be healthy.

Agree...to a point.

Body recomposition is the name of the game for those of us trying not to just lose weight, but change how we look. In that case, I think the calories you put in your, the type and where they come from, are very important. When I started MFP I only cared about whether I had calories enough for certain foods. I still lost. Now I am very close to my goal weight and relatively lean at 22% body fat. It's become harder to drop pounds and fat and once you're at that point I think what kinds of calories I have matter.

Also: I am not totally on the low carb bandwagon. Even on days I eat low carb I eat around 60 g. Good carbs are good for you and important!

Robscofle

Control both...

You need carbs for energy (your brain's primary source of fuel is glucose (sugar)). However, eating lots of high glycaemic index foods such as refined wheat products (white bread rolls), white potatoes and anything made from them or sugary sweets will stimulate excessive insulin release in your body. Insulin is great at promoting fat gain. Excessive insulin response to sugary food can also stimulate "rebound hypoglycaemia" which makes your blood sugar levels drop too low so you feel the need to eat even more.

If you keep to your calorie goal, eat lots of wholegrain foods (granary bread, fruit and vegetables) and minimise your intake of refined and sugary foods, you can't go wrong. Friend request me if you would like support/advice.

catwrangler

Hello!!! Im new to the site and to REALLY giving a diet a shot. I am having trouble getting my carb intake to remain below my daily allowance, but my calories are an easy goal to meet. What suggestions can you send my way to help me with my carb spike?? When trying to lose weight, is it more important to focus on carbs or calories, or do the two go hand in hand in helping you shed the baggage??

Don't worry about anything but calories for now, if you plateau you can mix things up by experimenting with the carbs. I don't eat much bread because I could really pig out on it, and I think limiting bread helps me.