Limiting carbs...

Arkie_Ali

I had fell off the wagon for a while, but am back on now and exercising regularly. My question is, should I be limiting my carbs to a certain amount? I've heard other people tell me about limiting carbs to 30g a day, but this just dosen't seem do-able on a daily basis. Thoughts?

RachelsReboot

If it's what you need to do it can be done but it takes a lot of willpower that a lot of people don't have. If you don't have a medical reason to do so and you think it's too hard then don't set yourself up for failure. That said I do under 30 net almost daily (except when I don't take my own food to a Church function, like tonight) so it can be done. I HAVE to eat this way for the rest of my life.

ccnjc4e

I limit my carbs bc I am pre-diabetic. I wouldn't limit them that much unless you have a medical reason. Or talk to your doctor and see what they suggest.

The body still needs carbs for energy.

Pebble321

I limit my carbs bc I am pre-diabetic. I wouldn't limit them that much unless you have a medical reason. Or talk to your doctor and see what they suggest.

The body still needs carbs for energy.

This is great advice. 30g carbs a day is VERY low and you will find it hard to stick to that... so why set yourself up to fail?

Sp1nGoddess

For me I find that between 50 and 100 carbs is good. That allows me plenty of veggies & some fruit. I've heard some trainers say that if you have fat to lose you don't need carbs.... but you do need a minimum to keep your brain happy, at least I do... = ) It's best to stay away from white, sugary or starchy carbs. Once you get used to a reduced carb intake you will find that your blood sugar stabilizes and you don't get hunger pangs or that urgent need to eat.

BlaireV

I limit my carbs bc I am pre-diabetic. I wouldn't limit them that much unless you have a medical reason. Or talk to your doctor and see what they suggest.

The body still needs carbs for energy.

This is great advice. 30g carbs a day is VERY low and you will find it hard to stick to that... so why set yourself up to fail?

I second this. Unless you have a medical reason, there is no need to limit your carbs.

Qarol

For me I find that between 50 and 100 carbs is good. That allows me plenty of veggies & some fruit. I've heard some trainers say that if you have fat to lose you don't need carbs.... but you do need a minimum to keep your brain happy, at least I do... = ) It's best to stay away from white, sugary or starchy carbs. Once you get used to a reduced carb intake you will find that your blood sugar stabilizes and you don't get hunger pangs or that urgent need to eat.

Exactly that. For me, at least...

CaseRat

I eat upwards of 200g carbs almost every day. I've lose 2.5kgs in the past 3 weeks since the beginning of my body-fat cut. Carbs aren't bad.
Keep in mind I only rarely eat junk food with 'bad' carbs as they are called by some, usually ice cream, very rarely. Even then I keep it within my calorie goals for the day. I always ensure to have at least 150g protein per day, too. That number's usually around 200g though.

masterofktulu

To me it seems more leaned against eating the bad carbs like refined sugars, or unhealthy wheat products like white bread tons of white rice, big portions of unhealthy pasta and bagels and stuff. I eat a lot of carbs but they are the good ones and I have had consistent loss and feel great

ElPumaMex

I had fell off the wagon for a while, but am back on now and exercising regularly. My question is, should I be limiting my carbs to a certain amount? I've heard other people tell me about limiting carbs to 30g a day, but this just dosen't seem do-able on a daily basis. Thoughts?

Instead of a specific number of grams, I recommend you go for a percentage of your target daily cals.

For example, my goal is 45% Carbs, so at 1830 cals that is 824 cals for Carbs.
Each gram of Carb is 4 calories, as I am sure you know, so that comes up for me as 206 grams of Carbs.

Arkie_Ali

Thanks guys! I don't have a medical need, I was just wondering as a general diet rule. This helps a lot!

salxtai

In the simplest way possible:
Cal in < cal out = weight loss

what you do with macros in that regard is irrelevant, provided they don't send you over calorie limit.

From a more refined point of view,
Carbs = supply brain, muscles with glycogen. This is the more effective energy for it to use. High GI food will burn through faster and give bigger insluin spikes (ie. the tiredness you feel after a meal), low GI burn slower and don't cause a big spike/change in blood sugar levels.
Fats = Good fats help to lower cholesterol, bad fats clog arteries. Not used preferentially as an energy source unless the body in is in ketosis (low glycogen availability) this is the basis of the paleo diet.
Proteins = longer to digest, keep you full longer. basic building block of muscle.


A mixed diet that hits all those macros is what you should aim for, exception being if you have other medical conditions (Crohns, diabetes etc), where in which case you need to fiddle with them - get medical advice for this.

My diary's public if you want to have a look at how macros vs. calories break down in a non-restricted diet.
I eat what I want macro-wise, and just keep close to my limit as possible.

TinkrBelz

I do around 100-120 carbs per day. And I do around 150-200 of protein per day.

This seems to work for me and it is a lot easier to manage than when I was trying to stay under 50.

Anomalia

I don't have the will power to keep my carbs that low!

solpwr

Lots of great information to read here:
Www.dietaryguidelines.gov

RachelsReboot

Lots of great information to read here:
Www.dietaryguidelines.gov

Ummm yeah the US gov dietary guide lines, I'd think long and hard about letting the government tell you how you should be eating.

akiramezu

I've done it in the past, where i've had less then 10 g carb a day, 3-4 times a week.
Infact i'm doing it today, and if you have the will power to do it, then go for it, if not
don't even bother, because you'll end up binge eating

atjays

This is great advice. 30g carbs a day is VERY low and you will find it hard to stick to that... so why set yourself up to fail?

Not only that but the withdrawls can be down right terrible. I went atkins diet last year, zero carbs . I was one miserable person for about 5 days, my body hated me. After that though, it was fine. I wouldn't recommend exercising on a low carb diet, but you will drop a few pounds quickly. Ultimately it's not sustainable long term and really the only people that should be using it are for medical reasons.

akiramezu

This is great advice. 30g carbs a day is VERY low and you will find it hard to stick to that... so why set yourself up to fail?

Not only that but the withdrawls can be down right terrible. I went atkins diet last year, zero carbs . I was one miserable person for about 5 days, my body hated me. After that though, it was fine. I wouldn't recommend exercising on a low carb diet, but you will drop a few pounds quickly. Ultimately it's not sustainable long term and really the only people that should be using it are for medical reasons.

And athletes such as myself who try to cut weight as fast as possible before weigh ins. =]

DulceDollie

I started eating around 25 NET carbs a day on January 5th of this year. I've lost 30 lbs as a result and I find it very do-able. AND I'm vegetarian, so I don't use meat as a food option. It's an adjustment at first but gets much easier as you go along. Other people might disagree but it's what's been most effective for me, and it's the healthiest I've ever eaten in my life. Before, I filled my day with sugars and empty carbs. I hardly got any protein, healthy fats or vegetables. You'd be surprised at what you are capable of. Anyway, that's just my opinion. Good luck.

skywa

30 g of carbs a day? how do they even survive?! Dx