Are carbs really that bad?

Swaggerr
Swaggerr Posts: 19
I usually have around 4 slices of wholemeal bread a day, and pasta/spaghetti and wholemeal cereals, but how bad are carbs? I might try a low carb diet depending on the answers i get. I might have fruit and veg for lunch instead of bread.
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Replies

  • jenniet04
    jenniet04 Posts: 1,054 Member
    Carbs are not bad, you actually need them. However, you should also have a good balance of proteins as well and try to get most of your carbs from fruits and veggies.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Carbs aren't bad, unless you have some kind of metabolic issue, diabetes, insulin resistance, celiac, etc. If you're healthy, there's nothing wrong with eating as many carbs as you want, as long as you get in enough protein and fat, and stick to your overall calorie goals.
  • Nah carbs are not bad. They are "bad" if the send you over your calorie limit or cause a lack in protein or fats.

    Today is epic refeed day for me. 500g of carbs >:)
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.
  • carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.

    Hmm I have read many. I am a nutrition student :] Why are bread, pasta, and white potato bad for weight loss exactly? Assuming you are in a calorie deficit.
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
    I've never met a carb I didn't like. Currently, I've never met a carb I didn't like in moderation:wink:
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,201 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.
    LOL at scientific journals that say carbs like potatoes and bread are bad.......science doesn't work that way.
  • Duhh white carbs are the enemy! That is why I eat only brown sugar :P
  • kenyonsmom10
    kenyonsmom10 Posts: 97 Member
    Carbs are not bad, your body needs them. I focus on eating carbs in my first two meals of the day and then the rest of the day I just focus on fruits/veggies/protein. This helped me to lose weight even broke a plateau for me!
  • suelegal
    suelegal Posts: 1,282 Member
    Carbs are not bad, your body needs them. I focus on eating carbs in my first two meals of the day and then the rest of the day I just focus on fruits/veggies/protein. This helped me to lose weight even broke a plateau for me!

    Veggies and fruit are carbs
  • tidmutt
    tidmutt Posts: 317
    Many people find that if they restrict their carbs, particular refined carbs like bread, pasta etc. they feel more satiated and spontaneously reduce their calorie intake. Even if you continue to eat plenty of vegetables and fruit you will inevitably reduce your overall carb intake. What's good about this is that the foods that you replace it with are generally more nutritious since refined carbs are usually fairly devoid of anything beyond calories.

    You might like to give a low carb diet a shot, it's not all steak and bacon, many low carb eaters consume huge amounts of vegetables and some fruit too. Personally I think it's a great way to eat.
  • canegrovern
    canegrovern Posts: 21 Member
    white rice ,bread and pasta are bad but whole wheat rice,pasta and bread are very good for you.
  • white rice ,bread and pasta are bad but whole wheat rice,pasta and bread are very good for you.

    why are they bad?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.

    doesn't net calorie balance govern weight loss?

    if you are referring to the fact that insulin inhibits lipolysis, take a look at this excellant graph by James Kreiger

    Lipolysis-Lipogenesis1.png

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319
  • scagneti
    scagneti Posts: 707 Member
    Nope. They're not as bad for you as some people say but they're not as important for you as others let on.
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.
    LOL at scientific journals that say carbs like potatoes and bread are bad.......science doesn't work that way.


    what are you on about? listen mate if you cant even be arsed to put a picture on here of your self, I would suggest you dont comment on this thread, mr faceless.

    here is my opinion bad carbs and seems alot of people agree with this, I avoid, white bread, white pasta,rice, etc, good carbs fruit,veg, wholemeal stuff, heres a thought....... any weight loss for a human being has been based around diet and calorie restriction in the last 40 years, but why is the population continuing to get bigger? a diet in high protein works better for me, you dont see body builders at 3%body fat, eating more carbs than protein thus the reason why I believe carbs are bad for weight loss, but thats just my opinion, everybodys body is different and each to their own.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    <---- Look what eating carbs did to my body! Oh the shame. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    Carbs are NOT bad for fat loss. Don't listen to Mr. Broscience above who picks on an MFP user not using a picture of ripped abs as his profile.... He obviously doesn't realize that the obesity in this country is NOT from "low calorie yet high carb diets" as he suggests. It is from people who underestimate their calorie totals, underexercise, and overdo it with the broscience and fat diets, diet pills, etc.

    I consistently lose fat on a weekly basis, and I also chow down on pasta, bread, potatoes, etc. all the time.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I dont' recall saying anything about WHITE bread or WHITE pasta. I don't take pills either, and never said that you did...

    And my picture wasn't taken 5 years ago. And no, there's not just one picture of me on here. Why so hateful? Go eat some cake and get happy.
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    omg, look at your post, you expect to come on here and take the piss out of somebodys reply to a thread, and you expect nice comments back, you contradict your self! go away!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I love carbs. I eat aboit 55% carbs. Carbs are the body s prefered fuel.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Yeah, that white pasta and bread gives you a horrible body, just look at all those fugly Italians who have one or both at every meal :laugh:
  • LickyNees
    LickyNees Posts: 101 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.

    Right. So how did the twinkie diet work then?
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    white rice ,bread and pasta are bad but whole wheat rice,pasta and bread are very good for you.

    why are they bad?

    I can say why white bread and pasta are bad for me... I didn't feel full. Eating white bread and pasta seriously just made me want more and more and more. And if I did get full, I was hungry after just an hour. Same goes for flour and sugar based junk foods and pastries and such. Even when I tried to stay within caloric restriction, I couldn't because I just felt SOOOOO HUNGRY.

    Now that I avoid the white and eat the whole grain (and I vary the grain so I'm not eating just wheat wheat wheat) I feel a lot more in control. I don't have as much hunger or cravings.

    Sure I still eat white bread or white pasta occasionally, but I treat it the same way I would a chocolate bar or pastry. Something to be consumed as an occasional treat.

    I'm sure that if you can stick within your calorie limits, wheat or white won't make a difference as far as weight loss goes, but for me, getting rid of the white is helping me stay within my limits. I'm still eating lots of carbs, I'm just choosing them more carefully.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    <--- About 50% carbs. Pasta, bread, potatoes and/or rice daily. :drinker:
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    No scientific data here, I just think the key here, as it is in many things, is to know your body and how you respond to different foods. For some people, carbs like white bread, pasta or rice can lead to over eating... now whether this is due to habit or not, I couldn't say.
  • ooOOooGravy
    ooOOooGravy Posts: 476 Member
    Only from personall experience here: I eat plenty of Carbs, much pasta, loads of potatoes and Brown Bread until it comes out my ears, i try to aviod the sugar carbs best i can (barring fruit, but not too much), sugar is my biggest killer, i run/cycle or swim 6 days a week for 30+ minutes too, which helps i guess.

    Anyway, from what iv been eating, which is reletively high carb, iv lost 44lbs in 4 months! Only personal experience here, i suppose everyone is different :)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    The problem with the white stuff is that they are very high on the glycemic index. That measures the effect of the carb on your blood sugar level. Some carbs burn very fast and flood your bloodstream with sugar which causes your body to produce a flood of insulin to clear it out. Insulin is produced by your liver and it is the liver's job to "clean it up". The liver also regulates fat storage and fat burning.

    Can you lose weight and eat white carbs? Yes. But you can lose it faster if you avoid them, and your liver and body in general will run more efficiently.
  • The problem with the white stuff is that they are very high on the glycemic index. That measures the effect of the carb on your blood sugar level. Some carbs burn very fast and flood your bloodstream with sugar which causes your body to produce a flood of insulin to clear it out. Insulin is produced by your liver and it is the liver's job to "clean it up". The liver also regulates fat storage and fat burning.

    Can you lose weight and eat white carbs? Yes. But you can lose it faster if you avoid them, and your liver and body in general will run more efficiently.

    ^ Agree on the GI issue of having refined carbohydrates.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.
    LOL at scientific journals that say carbs like potatoes and bread are bad.......science doesn't work that way.


    what are you on about? listen mate if you cant even be arsed to put a picture on here of your self, I would suggest you dont comment on this thread, mr faceless.

    here is my opinion bad carbs and seems alot of people agree with this, I avoid, white bread, white pasta,rice, etc, good carbs fruit,veg, wholemeal stuff, heres a thought....... any weight loss for a human being has been based around diet and calorie restriction in the last 40 years, but why is the population continuing to get bigger? a diet in high protein works better for me, you dont see body builders at 3%body fat, eating more carbs than protein thus the reason why I believe carbs are bad for weight loss, but thats just my opinion, everybodys body is different and each to their own.

    did you completely ignore my post? and guess what every single diet works due to calorie restriction, unless you want to point me towards a diet that works by consistently eating in a caloric surplus
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Carbs aren't bad, unless you have some kind of metabolic issue, diabetes, insulin resistance, celiac, etc. If you're healthy, there's nothing wrong with eating as many carbs as you want, as long as you get in enough protein and fat, and stick to your overall calorie goals.

    ^ /Thread. This is a great summary.
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