So scared of carbs! HELP!
Replies
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I'm ALWAYS under on carbs! I guess because I keep thinking if I eat more carbs than I am, I'll go overboard.0
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Not if you're in calorie deficit.Ninerbuff,
Excuse me for being ignorant but if I eat carbs and I have the glycogen stores then won't my weight continue to go up? The more carbs I have (even good carbs) then the more water I store, which means the more weight I gain?
Sorry this is just confusing to me. Maybe why I'm so afraid of carbs!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
By no means am I a nutritionist ... but as others have also said, I think you answered your issue yourself. When you eat carbs you BINGE! So rather than just eliminate them from your diet - which most likely is leading to your carb cravings and binges - add them in moderation. This doesn't mean adding highly processed carbs, but add whole grains, oats, brown rice, etc.0
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If you ate a normal amount of carbs, your body would hold a normal amount of water weight and glycogen. Because you are restricting carbs to such low degrees, your less weight is attributed mainly to less water in the body. Thus, when you increase your carbs, you are increasing water retention to more or less normal levels. In other words, you can relax because the gain - which you shouldn't call it that - isn't from fat mass.
Glycogen is a solute which attracts water. Each 1 gram of stored glycogen pulls in 2.7 grams of water. FYI: 225 grams is 0.5 lbs. I'm being very simple here but that would lead to a gain of 1.35 lbs of water weight.0 -
I used to be a fan of ketogenic diets, but found that too low of a carb level made me crave them all the more... and then I started bingeing, which I had NEVER done in my life until I restricted carbs. I highly recommend reading The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno, or even checking out Mark's Daily Apple blog, as someone else mentioned. I eat now closer to 50-100g per day of carbs, most of which are fruits & vegetables, along with some grains here and there. It feels way more balanced overall. And you shouldn't fear the carb monster if you are exercising and eating at your caloric limit daily.
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You've lost water weight. And carbs are muscle sparing, so if you're losing weight without exercise, then you're also burning lean muscle tissue. NOT A GOOD THING as it will eventually lower your metabolic rate.Carbs are usually full of sugar and sugar causes your body to crave more sugar, which is why you can't stop eating them. I eat low carb 6 days a week and fulfill my cravings on the 7th day (mainly pizza and beer) and will see a weight gain for 2-3 days after since carbs cause you to retain water.
Look into 4-hour body if you want to eliminate carbs, since that plan allows for good carbs (beens, lentils, etc). He doesn't allow cheese, which I do eat and have still had weight loss with.
Some people, like my husband, eat one carb-ful item and are in a "drunken" state from it. I however, get a sugar rush with lots of energy until I crash and feel hungover. Sugar and Carbs are not necessary in your diet. If you eliminate carbs, your body will fuel itself from fat and protein.
It's a balancing act. I never thought I could eliminate carbs, but having my one "cheat day" makes it so much easier and I've lost 18 pounds so far (without exercise).
It is a "balancing" act. Though carbs aren't essential, they play a key part in actual energy use for the body. Don't fear them, learn to utilize them correctly.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Thanks for posting this, OP. I needed the reminder.
I, too, am too obsessed with macros. I try hard not to be. Some days I am OK going over a teensy bit. But I often eat less calories than I need if my fats or carbs are going to 'go over'. I am working on it. slowly. Sometimes I will trick myself, but not really. It is grains carbs that I am really concerned about (I know in general they are not bad, but they often seem to trigger my hypoglycemia and chronic migraines) So it is those carbs I want to keep lower, so sometimes I do quick add calories for fruits and veggies- so I won't worry about the carbs from those. because I get obsessed with the percentages.
(PS- I am at my maintenance weight and so far so good - 2 weeks- so, the Quick Add cheat to avoid certain carbs doesn't seem to be hurting)0 -
Carbs don't make you fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.
It sounds like you're binging because you feel deprived from going low carb. Have you tried a moderate carb plan? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
^^^THIS^^^ I have been on a plan that is lower in carb, not "low carb" and it has proved very beneficial to me---my body fat has gone from 50% to 32% in two years, and I hope to be at 25% in a year or so--but I will be patient and it will take the amount of time that it takes. One of the things that I found out about myself was that sugar caused me to binge, so I eliminated it--same with wheat. BUT I eat everything else, including one or two pieces of 100% rye bread every day (two pieces on my heavy exercise days). I keep my carb intake to 100-200 grams per day (with the higher amounts on my more intense exercise days) to control my blood sugar spikes without doing damage to my muscles from too low an intake of carbohydrates.
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.0 -
Glycogen is a solute which attracts water. Each 1 gram of stored glycogen pulls in 2.7 grams of water. FYI: 225 grams is 0.5 lbs. I'm being very simple here but that would lead to a gain of 1.35 lbs of water weight.
Interesting!0 -
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
This makes sense as I always wondered why my weight fluctuate so much compared to my husband's!0 -
As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
They burn calories faster but it doesn't matter which macro it comes from.0 -
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
Huh?!0 -
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
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Women don't NEED to restrict their carbohydrate intake more than men. Restricting carbohydrates, especailly for prolonged periods can have a negitive effect on/for women or anyone for that matter.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/146728620 -
Carbs are not the scary evil monster that your brain is making them out to be.
Stick to carbs that have a decent amount of fiber. Vegetables and fruits are great, eat plenty fo them. IMO, a good rule of thumb for grain products is look for those that have at most a 10:1 ratio of total carbs to fiber and are low in sugar. Limit overly processed grains and added sugar.0 -
Ninerbuff,
Excuse me for being ignorant but if I eat carbs and I have the glycogen stores then won't my weight continue to go up? The more carbs I have (even good carbs) then the more water I store, which means the more weight I gain?
Sorry this is just confusing to me. Maybe why I'm so afraid of carbs!
Just like a wrestler that saunas to sweat out water to reach a weight class for competition, after the competition he drinks water and his weight goes back up. I think you are doing the same thing with the carbs. If you keep your carbs at a more even keel then you wouldn't have as many fluctuations. Remember that the water you store with the carbs is not fat.0 -
Thanks so much everyone!!!!!!!!!! I love love love Tosca Reno so I'm definitely going to start the eat clean diet and keep on exercising.0
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Everytime I binge (which is always carbs!) I gain like crazy. I'd love to just be able to eat normal and only worry about calories but for some reason I am scared to death of carbs and weight gain! If I eat "good" carbs and limit calories I'm sure I'll start losing again but I can't wrap my head around this concept.
Please tell me carbs are not the scary evil monster that my brain is making them out to be!:sad:
carbs are not the scary evil monster that your brain is making them out to be!0 -
Everytime I binge (which is always carbs!) I gain like crazy. I'd love to just be able to eat normal and only worry about calories but for some reason I am scared to death of carbs and weight gain! If I eat "good" carbs and limit calories I'm sure I'll start losing again but I can't wrap my head around this concept.
Please tell me carbs are not the scary evil monster that my brain is making them out to be!:sad:
carbs are not the scary evil monster that your brain is making them out to be!
I look like your avatar pic when I see carbs. LOL!0 -
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
FTW!
and...uh.... whoever wrote this nonsense above, please get your own Dr. Bro MD.0 -
Biochemistry in hormones yes, but utilization of macronutrients is the same by both genders (unless of course there is hormonal disruption ie Thyroid). It basically comes down to calories.Carbs don't make you fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.
It sounds like you're binging because you feel deprived from going low carb. Have you tried a moderate carb plan? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
^^^THIS^^^ I have been on a plan that is lower in carb, not "low carb" and it has proved very beneficial to me---my body fat has gone from 50% to 32% in two years, and I hope to be at 25% in a year or so--but I will be patient and it will take the amount of time that it takes. One of the things that I found out about myself was that sugar caused me to binge, so I eliminated it--same with wheat. BUT I eat everything else, including one or two pieces of 100% rye bread every day (two pieces on my heavy exercise days). I keep my carb intake to 100-200 grams per day (with the higher amounts on my more intense exercise days) to control my blood sugar spikes without doing damage to my muscles from too low an intake of carbohydrates.
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
:huh:0 -
thank you for this post! you are absolutely correct with all your information given!0
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As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
They burn calories faster but it doesn't matter which macro it comes from.
Yes, I think it does because of the blood sugar issue. Carbs--especially simple carbs cause a MUCH faster spike in blood sugar levels than either fat or protein. Since we are here to lose body fat, anything that pushes my body into burning it is better. Some of the body-builder forums (recommended here) talk about how counter-productive it is to eat too much more protein than the body can actually use to build muscle (they claim that it "teaches" the body to burn protein). So, that only leaves carbohydrates and fats. Since I don't want my blood sugar to go shooting up, it makes sense for me to eat slightly less carbs and slightly more fat---at least at this point. Maybe, down the road, when I am even more active than I am now, I will likely have to look at increasing my carb intake and decreasing my fat intake. So far, what I am doing is working for me. 0 -
Women don't NEED to restrict their carbohydrate intake more than men. Restricting carbohydrates, especailly for prolonged periods can have a negitive effect on/for women or anyone for that matter.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14672862
I'm not talking about very low carbohydrate diets and even less ketogenic diets.0 -
Carbs don't make you fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.
It sounds like you're binging because you feel deprived from going low carb. Have you tried a moderate carb plan? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
^^^THIS^^^ I have been on a plan that is lower in carb, not "low carb" and it has proved very beneficial to me---my body fat has gone from 50% to 32% in two years, and I hope to be at 25% in a year or so--but I will be patient and it will take the amount of time that it takes. One of the things that I found out about myself was that sugar caused me to binge, so I eliminated it--same with wheat. BUT I eat everything else, including one or two pieces of 100% rye bread every day (two pieces on my heavy exercise days). I keep my carb intake to 100-200 grams per day (with the higher amounts on my more intense exercise days) to control my blood sugar spikes without doing damage to my muscles from too low an intake of carbohydrates.
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
That's not really what I was getting at. :flowerforyou:
Personally I go with 40% carbs, but that's just because I set my protein and fat macros first and then my carbs setting is whatever is left.
I just get tired of people thinking that there are only two options available regarding macros.0 -
Biochemistry in hormones yes, but utilization of macronutrients is the same by both genders (unless of course there is hormonal disruption ie Thyroid). It basically comes down to calories.Carbs don't make you fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.
It sounds like you're binging because you feel deprived from going low carb. Have you tried a moderate carb plan? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
^^^THIS^^^ I have been on a plan that is lower in carb, not "low carb" and it has proved very beneficial to me---my body fat has gone from 50% to 32% in two years, and I hope to be at 25% in a year or so--but I will be patient and it will take the amount of time that it takes. One of the things that I found out about myself was that sugar caused me to binge, so I eliminated it--same with wheat. BUT I eat everything else, including one or two pieces of 100% rye bread every day (two pieces on my heavy exercise days). I keep my carb intake to 100-200 grams per day (with the higher amounts on my more intense exercise days) to control my blood sugar spikes without doing damage to my muscles from too low an intake of carbohydrates.
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
But don't forget the effect that estrogen has on the utilization of thyroid hormone.0 -
Here, I'll steal the cliched formula:
Not eating carbs is hard.
Eating carbs and then dealing with cravings and excess hunger is hard.
Pick your hard.
As for finding carbs that don't make you crave, simple, just reintroduce them one at a time and see how you react.0 -
If carbs are not present your body just uses fats and proteins. So as long as you intake appropriate amounts of fat and protein, you are not losing muscle mass.
On a low/lower carb diet, you are consuming more protein which is keeping you fuller longer and therefore are consuming fewer calories. As long as your calories are not too low, putting you into starvation mode, you will burn fat, not muscle.0 -
One thing that men on these forums don't always take into account is that women have slightly different bio-chemistry from men because of the influence of the much higher levels of estrogen that women have (yes, men have estrogen too but a tiny amount in comparison to women and estrogen raises blood sugar---for reasons of gestation). As such, most women need to restrict their carbohydrate intake a bit more than men, who, by virtue of their greater muscle mass, can burn off carbohydrates faster than women. Increasing your muscle mass will also help you a great deal.
FTW!
and...uh.... whoever wrote this nonsense above, please get your own Dr. Bro MD.
No reason to attempt to be insulting---everything I wrote is absolutely true. Estrogen DOES raise blood sugar and it also slows the utilization of thyroid hormone. Adequate blood sugar levels are essential for the brain development of a fetus. Ever heard of gestational diabetes? There is evidence that those women who have gestational diabetes give birth to infants that have higher levels of intelligence when measured in long-term studies. Look it up if you don't believe me.0
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