CARBS (lower)

ClaireTrev

If you try to add extra protein to your diet, you'll minimise carbs by default. ie if you have protein at every meal, you wont have any calories left to be eating carbs!

The thing to watch out for is that "carbs" aren't limited to bread and pasta. Fruit is mostly carbs (sugar and fibre). lots of veggies are carb-heavy (not saying you shouldnt eat them! just choose wisely and don't base your whole meal on the starchy ones, ie potato).

I find that if I eat lots of healthy fats I can happily go without a lot of carbs. Fats make you satisfied and taste goooood!

It also takes a while to get used to eating low-carb. give yourself time to adjust. And don't be disheartened if it makes you grumpy for a while - "atkins attitude"! It will pass.

chrisdavey

I would recommend that you focus on getting enough P&F and then making the remainder of your calorie target from carbs.

Hi! How do you on know I'm getting enough P&F's? Is there a scale/ website, or a way to figure that out? (I warned you that I'm slow on this stuff :frown: )...... Or would it be best if I just get to a nutritionist and not keep this going on and on?
The whole reason I bring this up is because I LOVE carbs (well potatoes/ brown rice/fruits) not HUGE on meats (I know, I know, I need it) and LOVE Fruits...... I swear I could survive the rest of my life on fish, rice and mangos! (maybe not all together but you know what I'm saying) and if I didn't like them so much this wouldn't be a HUGE problem I would just maxx out on meats and veggies all the time. I just like to be "in the know" and it seems like the "know' is different wherever I turn.

Protein depends on your exercise mainly. If exercising regularly then I'd aim for 1g/lb of lean body mass. If you don't exercise, (you should ) then you can get away with less than this.

Fat should be around .4g/lb of body weight.

caribougal

General rule of thumb (obviously varies by person) is 50-100g/day for weight loss, 100-150g/day for maintenance. Many people go higher if they're into endurance sports or are at goal and maintaining easily. Doesn't matter how that shakes out in terms of your meals. Lots of people save their heavier carbs like sweet potatoes for post-workout to help recover.

you cannot give a recommended level of carbs for weight loss when you don't know A) the person's weight their exercise and NEAT C) how much P&F they are consuming.

Yes, you can.
She's right. It works.

Thank you for your wisdom.

Did you ever think that reducing your carbs reduced your total daily intake below your TDEE hence losing weight?

Do you know that you can put on weight while "low" carbing?

I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but I'll respond anyway. I'm absolutely eating below TDEE and that's driving my weight loss. No doubt about it. But I choose to do that with a high fat / low carb approach. I have found that in this way, I eat foods that are nutrient-dense, very filling, and the fats make everything tasty. I could achieve weight loss with low fat, high carb too, but when I've done that, I've found I'm constantly hungry, obsessing about my "diet", and I found it very hard to moderate the carbs. By switching to low carb, I feel in control of my diet. It's pretty hard for me to over eat veggies and meat. I get too full. I personally don't miss any foods I've eliminated. When I want them, I eat them, but they're in the context of my overall low carb diet.

AnvilHead

I would recommend that you focus on getting enough P&F and then making the remainder of your calorie target from carbs.

^ This. There is no "metabolic advantage" to a low-carb diet. If it helps with adherence or satiation, that's an advantage - but it still comes down to calories in < calories out.

llpaq

If you try to add extra protein to your diet, you'll minimise carbs by default. ie if you have protein at every meal, you wont have any calories left to be eating carbs!

The thing to watch out for is that "carbs" aren't limited to bread and pasta. Fruit is mostly carbs (sugar and fibre). lots of veggies are carb-heavy (not saying you shouldnt eat them! just choose wisely and don't base your whole meal on the starchy ones, ie potato).

I find that if I eat lots of healthy fats I can happily go without a lot of carbs. Fats make you satisfied and taste goooood!

It also takes a while to get used to eating low-carb. give yourself time to adjust. And don't be disheartened if it makes you grumpy for a while - "atkins attitude"! It will pass.

THANK YOU- I think I have a bit of the "atkins attitude" I don't know how much I love this....LOL! I am so new and I don't want to get too disheartened. I'm just a little confused- and that gets me a little frustrated. I won't give up though- and I just have to choose wisely like you said. I just want RESULTS......NOW. And I know that's my first step to success is being patient, so I shall be THANK YOU AGAIN....... I'm going to try more protein tomorrow and see how it all pans out.

chrisdavey

General rule of thumb (obviously varies by person) is 50-100g/day for weight loss, 100-150g/day for maintenance. Many people go higher if they're into endurance sports or are at goal and maintaining easily. Doesn't matter how that shakes out in terms of your meals. Lots of people save their heavier carbs like sweet potatoes for post-workout to help recover.

you cannot give a recommended level of carbs for weight loss when you don't know A) the person's weight their exercise and NEAT C) how much P&F they are consuming.

Yes, you can.
She's right. It works.

Thank you for your wisdom.

Did you ever think that reducing your carbs reduced your total daily intake below your TDEE hence losing weight?

Do you know that you can put on weight while "low" carbing?

I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but I'll respond anyway. I'm absolutely eating below TDEE and that's driving my weight loss. No doubt about it. But I choose to do that with a high fat / low carb approach. I have found that in this way, I eat foods that are nutrient-dense, very filling, and the fats make everything tasty. I could achieve weight loss with low fat, high carb too, but when I've done that, I've found I'm constantly hungry, obsessing about my "diet", and I found it very hard to moderate the carbs. By switching to low carb, I feel in control of my diet. It's pretty hard for me to over eat veggies and meat. I get too full. I personally don't miss any foods I've eliminated. When I want them, I eat them, but they're in the context of my overall low carb diet.

If that's what works for you then stick with it. But automatically saying that a certain level of carbs creates weight loss is just wrong. And I'm the exact opposite, carbs fill me up and fats do nothing.

Also, people need to think about what type of exercise they are doing. If you are predominantly doing anaerobic work then you will be using stored glycogen as your main energy source. What happens if you are on a low carb diet? Glycogen stores are depleted and performance suffers. If you are just doing aerobic work then the main source of energy will be from fats.

caribougal

General rule of thumb (obviously varies by person) is 50-100g/day for weight loss, 100-150g/day for maintenance. Many people go higher if they're into endurance sports or are at goal and maintaining easily. Doesn't matter how that shakes out in terms of your meals. Lots of people save their heavier carbs like sweet potatoes for post-workout to help recover.

you cannot give a recommended level of carbs for weight loss when you don't know A) the person's weight their exercise and NEAT C) how much P&F they are consuming.

Yes, you can.
She's right. It works.

Thank you for your wisdom.

Did you ever think that reducing your carbs reduced your total daily intake below your TDEE hence losing weight?

Do you know that you can put on weight while "low" carbing?

I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but I'll respond anyway. I'm absolutely eating below TDEE and that's driving my weight loss. No doubt about it. But I choose to do that with a high fat / low carb approach. I have found that in this way, I eat foods that are nutrient-dense, very filling, and the fats make everything tasty. I could achieve weight loss with low fat, high carb too, but when I've done that, I've found I'm constantly hungry, obsessing about my "diet", and I found it very hard to moderate the carbs. By switching to low carb, I feel in control of my diet. It's pretty hard for me to over eat veggies and meat. I get too full. I personally don't miss any foods I've eliminated. When I want them, I eat them, but they're in the context of my overall low carb diet.

If that's what works for you then stick with it. But automatically saying that a certain level of carbs creates weight loss is just wrong. And I'm the exact opposite, carbs fill me up and fats do nothing.

Also, people need to think about what type of exercise they are doing. If you are predominantly doing anaerobic work then you will be using stored glycogen as your main energy source. What happens if you are on a low carb diet? Glycogen stores are depleted and performance suffers. If you are just doing aerobic work then the main source of energy will be from fats.

I don't disagree with you but I think you're not reading what I wrote in response to the OP.

She asked "For right now can you all share with me what "lower" carbs are to you?"

I answered with a general rule of thumb for low carb eating. The reason those values work is that for most people, eating within those ranges will create a cal deficit pretty effortlessly. I also said that if you are doing endurance sports (highly aerobic) you might want to increase carbs. This is saying the same thing you said. By the way, the OP said she does 35 min cardio daily. I don't think she's at risk of depleting her stored glycogen if she's doing that on 50-150g/day.

caribougal

You probably won't read this link or you'll discount it because you don't like low carb. But it explains the rationale behind the "rule of thumb" values I gave. Bottom line... For most people who live regularly on a low carb high fat diet who are not endurance athletes like triathletes or marathoners, almost no one "needs" more than 150g daily to support general daily activity and even your run of the mill daily 60 min cardio or HIIT.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/#axzz2I9Td2W4a

I'm guessing the OP is an average female wanting to drop a few pounds, and she asked about how to do that via low carb. She's not running for 2 hours a day every day. So those carb values i gave will enable her to eat a lot of nutrient-dense foods for whatever her calorie goal is, and most likely she'll lose some weight.

iSarahMay

That's is exactly what I aim for 25% carbs, 30% protein and 45% fat and I also feel great and do lots of running :happy:

kkshipley

So are the percentages below of the total caloric intake you give yourself per day?

lolabluola

TO me it means cutting out (for the most part) flour and sugar. I mean obvously i have days where i indulge, but for the most part - I try to stay away from flour and sugar.

Lower carbs to me means cutting out junk food - and the things I over indulge on.

I tend to over eat on the breads - pastas - bagels - candy - chocolate - pizza - chinese food - BEER - WINE - POTAOES - FRIES, that's how I gained weight. Counting calories alone didn't work for me because I could easily get in all of that stuff (and not accuratley count btw) and still be under my calories and feel like crap.

When I cut out the carbs it came easier because for the most part I can't say ohhhh I'll just have this pizza for lunch and skip dinner and then I won't be over in my calories - nope - that one piece would throw me way over in carbs. bla bla bla same with pizza cake beer breads pasta candy etc.

It's just another way of tracking.
OK and summing up - basically it's cutting out the starch in my meals and replacing with some fat and extra veggies I guess.
Anyway yup I love it, but that's just 'cuase it's the easiest thing for me to follow - some people it's probably easier to just count the calories and stuff. Plus for me cutting out the 'carbs' melts my fat right off (because i'm actually sticking to it lol)

Firefox7275

I'm in the beginning phases of my new healthier lifestyle and my focus at the moment is losing weight- like 10 more pounds- and then I don't care what the scale says- I just want to tone up.
For right now can you all share with me what "lower" carbs are to you? - I've basically took breads out of my diet and noodles, pretty much rice. I just want a goal of how many carbs per meal or per day I should have. I haven't seen a dietician or nutrionist yet but I'm hearing everything from 20-70 carbs daily. I'm working out (cardio) every day for at least 35 minutes.
Any suggestions/advice will be appreciated.

thank you

Lower carb and low carb are not one and the same, I would class 20 to 70g as low carb, even into ketosis. I don't count religiously but have largely eliminated the starchy carbs (grains, beans, lentils, potatoes, corn/ maize) and high sugar fruits. After that I concentrate on having a wide variety of different vegetables and lower sugar fruits, and aim to replace the 'lost' fibre and minerals with plenty of nuts and seeds. I am 'supposed' to be aiming for roughly equal calories from fat protein and carbs but not really successful so far!

Be aware that the more food groups or foods you eliminate the more regimented the remainder of your diet needs to be to compensate, you may end up having to eat foods you don't much like or foods/ quantities you just don't fancy. For example paleolithic man may well not have eaten dairy or significant amounts of grains but he was likely eating way more oily fish, organ meats, bones of small creatures and seeds than the average westerner.

chrisdavey

You probably won't read this link or you'll discount it because you don't like low carb. But it explains the rationale behind the "rule of thumb" values I gave. Bottom line... For most people who live regularly on a low carb high fat diet who are not endurance athletes like triathletes or marathoners, almost no one "needs" more than 150g daily to support general daily activity and even your run of the mill daily 60 min cardio or HIIT.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/#axzz2I9Td2W4a

I'm guessing the OP is an average female wanting to drop a few pounds, and she asked about how to do that via low carb. She's not running for 2 hours a day every day. So those carb values i gave will enable her to eat a lot of nutrient-dense foods for whatever her calorie goal is, and most likely she'll lose some weight.

Have read it before, have also done RFL & UD2 before so I'm not anti low carb but there is a time and a place.

Dropping to >100g a day in most cases isn't necessary. And as I said, you can't give recommendations on the carb amount for fat loss when you don't know how much P&F she is consuming and hence total calories.

caribougal

So are the percentages below of the total caloric intake you give yourself per day?

Yes. macro percentages of total caloric intake.