can you eat carbs and lose weight?

Options
24

Replies

  • harleygaljojo
    harleygaljojo Posts: 111 Member
    Options
    Yes, mam. I eat anything I want. Calories are calories. I have never limited anything. I have always been able to loose that way. I just watch portions and research all my calories.
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
    Options
    Yes you can. Carbs are not evil.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    Options
    On a typical day I have atleast 1 servings of one of these
    pasta
    bread
    rice
    fruits (I eat loads of fruits if I can)

    I am averaging more than a lb per week. For bread and pasta I try to eat whole wheat but not always. Rice is almost always white. For losing weight, just make sure you're eating less than you burn doing daily activities. Or just stick with the MFP recommended calories and try to eat the workout calories and you should be fine :)

    My diet is simple: carbs, fats, protein. I just try to eat mostly home-cooked and try to stay off of junk foods but allow myself a "spike day" once in a while that lets me eat whatever I crave so I don't go crazy all of a sudden and fall off the path
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
    Options
    I don't really understand what to eat! some people say don't eat carbs and other say eat?
    and i don't mean fruits but bread, pasta cereal ...

    Yes. Eat what you want. Dont deprive yourself. If your looking to lose eat at a modest cal deficit of 15-20% below maintenance
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
    Options
    yes. All things in moderation and with a modicum of common sense.
  • veggiesaurus15
    veggiesaurus15 Posts: 152 Member
    Options
    Just be careful of refined flour products with additional added sugars. I think it really comes down to caloric density. Intact whole grains with the fiber still intact will make you feel fuller sooner without added calories.
  • cheesy_blasters
    cheesy_blasters Posts: 283 Member
    Options
    Lots of people do.
  • hothodgie
    hothodgie Posts: 258 Member
    Options
    I have lost weight cutting my carbs. I have lost weight cutting my fats. Both times I gained all the weight, or at least most of it back once I got tired of restriction. This time around, I eat whatever I want. The difference this time around is I learned that no matter what, its all about balance and portion control. I can live with eating whatever I want for the rest of my life. I cannot live the rest of my life without pizza, pasta, and sweets. I just don't eat them all of the time, and I limit how much of it I eat. This is working for me. I am finally happy while on a "diet".
  • freder1ck
    freder1ck Posts: 44 Member
    Options
    I love carbs! :smokin:
  • BLKeisha
    BLKeisha Posts: 22 Member
    Options
    It really depends on your body cause carbs are killing me
  • solarpower03
    solarpower03 Posts: 12,160 Member
    Options
    You would lose weights with carbs. But once you have become lean, you would have to play with carbs to get ripped.
  • Marks281172
    Marks281172 Posts: 127 Member
    Options
    Yup im a bit carb eater and big exerciser... i could only ever low carb if i was a couch slob but i have no desire to be skinny yet unhealthy and unfit.
  • derrickhuynh
    derrickhuynh Posts: 14
    Options
    Yes, eating carbs is very beneficial for you especially if you workout or lift weights. The thing is there are different types of carbs: simple carbs and complex carbs. Simple carbs (such as white bread, white rice, basically any simple sugars) gets digested quickly and causes what we know as insulin spikes which is usually what we not want to happen as it can lead to the body storing it unnecessarily. Complex carbs (such as brown rice, whole wheat pastas, whole grain breads, sweet potatoes) gets digested more slowly and gives us a much steadier insulin rise throughout the day, and this is what we want to happen throughout the day.

    Now this is a very blanket statement, but choosing complex carbs throughout the day is the the preferable route in healthy food choices. Of course this does not mean you can eat all the complex carbs you want, and you should still eat in moderation. With that said, the only time I would ingest simple carbs is post-workout in my protein shake when your muscles glycogen (muscles stored energy) is depleted and you want your body to replenish it quickly. Overall these are very general statements and I recommend reading up articles such as from www.bodybuilding.com to get a better understanding of diet and nutrition.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Options
    I don't really understand what to eat! some people say don't eat carbs and other say eat?
    and i don't mean fruits but bread, pasta cereal ...

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard. The last time I reduced carbs to 50-100g per day, I lost 20 pounds in about 9 weeks, and reversed my ( undiagnosed) secondary infertility--I got pregnant with my youngest son.

    Six years later, I have gained back 70 pounds eating the wrong way. I spent 3 months eating a *normal* diet--what MFP suggested according to my stats I gave--and only lost 7 pounds. I threw those reccomendations out the window and went back to my lower carb diet, and lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks--exact same exercise plan! It seems clear to me that MY body works better if I do not eat as many carbs--especially from bread, pasta, sweets, etc. I do eat carbs, but most of them are from fruits and veggies.
  • RudeGyrl78
    RudeGyrl78 Posts: 21
    Options
    Listen! Carbs essentially breakdown to sugar that's why most will say to stay away from it. You CAN have Carbs, but in moderation like anything else...your body needs Carbs to help fuel your body! You need adequate even amounts of everything. I WILL tell you that if you cut out Carbs for atleast 2-4 weeks you WILL see a major difference in just that small amount of time, but you can't NOT have Carbs forever...hope this helps!!
  • dittmarml
    dittmarml Posts: 351 Member
    Options
    Carbs aren't the problem.

    All the fat that gets snuck into carbs (check out "fat" content in most cereals, in many breads, in almost all crackers, etc.) is problem #1.

    Simple carbs that are not filling and are easily broken down by the body but high in calories (by weight) are problem #2.

    Thanks to the great Western food-processing machine, these tend to go together - example - potato chips.


    Complex carbs can't do anything but help you (assuming you're not binging.) Personally I'm a fan of potatoes...I just don't add any fat to them.
  • wazzuteacher
    wazzuteacher Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    Like others have said, you need to be eating good carbs like from whole grains etc. You also need to know what works for you. Everyone is different on how they react to carbohydrates. Test it out and see what works best in your diet as to how many you can take in.
  • Liverpool_Chris
    Liverpool_Chris Posts: 16 Member
    Options
    I've only been a member for 5 days, but already I can see that I rely too heavily on carbs and don't get enough protein. I very rarely eat meat, so mostly eat a vegetarian diet. Any suggestions on how I can eat more protein and less carbs? I already have beans and legumes coming out of my ears!
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
    Options

    some people have a metabolic issue similar to that of a diabetic. In my case, my insulin gets ineffective, so my body produces more and more of it to try and metabolize carbs. Eventually, my pancreas could wear out and stop functioning all together, thus making me an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me that the way to reduce my insulin levels was to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, thus reducing my need for my pancreas to work as hard.

    All I can say to that is WOW. That is total BS. I think you misunderstood your DR.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Options
    Of course you can eat carbs and lose weight. The only reason to stay away from carbs is that people tend to overeat them like crazy, and then don't have room within their reduced calorie limits to get enough protein and fat.

    Meet your protein and fat goals first, then go wild with carbs- within your calorie limit of course. :laugh:

Categories