calories vs carbs

catlover

I had to read the posts about reducing calorie intake by 3500 calories a week about, oh, 117 times before I actually got what that meant so I hope some of you don't mind explaining the calorie and carb thing one more time.

When I was shopping today I noticed that the aisles have literally exploded with 100 calorie packs of everything--popcorn, chips, cookies, granola bars, snacks of every kind. I was just there on Monday, what the heck happened?? Anyway, my intake is 1200 a day and for the past 4 weeks I've been trying to stay within my limits and eating most of my exercise calories and taking measurements. The scale has not budged in 8 weeks. I was reading a few of the posts about carbs before I went to the store. As I was shopping today it struck me that it's not HOW MUCH I'm eating, maybe it's WHAT I'm eating. I was successful on both WW and SB plans and I did not eat nearly the carbs from bread and pasta and grains that I am eating now.

I suppose my "question", which is more of an observation, must be that COUNTING CALORIES is not all there is to it, or is it. Using the counting only theory, I could have three bags of popcorn, three bags of cookies, three bags of chips, three granola bars and I'd be at 1200 calories. But can I lose weight on that?? Understand that I would never do that and expect it to work, but can those of you who know about this please offer information about carbs and calories. Maybe I need to eat much less in the grain area and much more in the other areas. Thanks for your input.

catlover

I had to read the posts about reducing calorie intake by 3500 calories a week about, oh, 117 times before I actually got what that meant so I hope some of you don't mind explaining the calorie and carb thing one more time.

When I was shopping today I noticed that the aisles have literally exploded with 100 calorie packs of everything--popcorn, chips, cookies, granola bars, snacks of every kind. I was just there on Monday, what the heck happened?? Anyway, my intake is 1200 a day and for the past 4 weeks I've been trying to stay within my limits and eating most of my exercise calories and taking measurements. The scale has not budged in 8 weeks. I was reading a few of the posts about carbs before I went to the store. As I was shopping today it struck me that it's not HOW MUCH I'm eating, maybe it's WHAT I'm eating. I was successful on both WW and SB plans and I did not eat nearly the carbs from bread and pasta and grains that I am eating now.

I suppose my "question", which is more of an observation, must be that COUNTING CALORIES is not all there is to it, or is it. Using the counting only theory, I could have three bags of popcorn, three bags of cookies, three bags of chips, three granola bars and I'd be at 1200 calories. But can I lose weight on that?? Understand that I would never do that and expect it to work, but can those of you who know about this please offer information about carbs and calories. Maybe I need to eat much less in the grain area and much more in the other areas. Thanks for your input.

mhsrnmz

Well, you may be able to loose weight but I would guess you would soon become sick and sooner become and remain hungry.

I limit carbs somewhat because those are the foods that I can eat waaay too much of. Nearly all of my carbs are whole grain and I pair them with a good protein food. If I must have some chocolate I get a good quality dark chocolate and combine it with a serving of almonds for example. HTH.

banks1850

you are, of course, correct catlover! Just because you are eating the right amount of calories doesn't mean you are eating right. I mean, a tiger could eat straw all day and all it would get is sick. Our bodies were designed to eat a number of different types of food, we are omnivors. So along with carbs, we are suppose to supply it with fat, vitamins, minerals, and protien. If you don't put the good stuff in, you won't get the results out. So yes, stay within your calories, but also watch what those calories are. Just as starvation will throw off your body chemistry, making it hard to loose weight, so will eating too few of a certain group of food. An imbalanced body chemistry will, no doubt, wreak havoc on your ability to loose weight.

lotusfromthemud

Remember that fruits and vegetables are also carbs. My grain intake is very low. I usually only have one small serving of grains a day. (I also have a wheat issue, so my grain choices are limited.)

At first, I just was watching my calorie intake here, (slow and steady) but lately I've been watching those other numbers on my food diary like a hawk, trying to reach my fat, protein and carb goals every day. I've set them at 40% carbs 30/30 fat/protein. That's higher than the website recommends for protein, but I'm trying to lose body fat and gain muscle.


I find that for me, the whole grains are a slower energy burn, and also contain fiber. I think the old fashioned idea of a "balanced diet" really is true. :flowerforyou:

graypink0130

Best to stay away from processed foods. Carbs come two ways group 1 is bread and pasta and group 2 is whole grains(Oatmeal,granola), fruits and veggies. Group two is a better carb because these items fill you up without filling you out. These carbs are healthier and have more fiber than group 1. My suggestion is to stay away from Processed foods best you can (anything canned, frozen dinners, or bags of anything that is not all natural (popcorn, cookies, chips). Stay away from false advertising...those 100 calorie foods are full of sodium, bad carbs, and fake sugar, which is not such a great way to lose weight, even though they are easy and taste good:ohwell: