How much carbs on a low carb diet

ajfc1971
ajfc1971 Posts: 258 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi
I know this may sound basic but how many carbs should I be eating on a low carb diet. I want to cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice for a while and see if this gives my weight loss a boost. I have been maintaining now for a few months.
I will still be eating veg and fruit so just need an idea.

thanks in advance.

Amanda

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Hi
    I know this may sound basic but how many carbs should I be eating on a low carb diet. I want to cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice for a while and see if this gives my weight loss a boost. I have been maintaining now for a few months.
    I will still be eating veg and fruit so just need an idea.

    thanks in advance.

    Amanda

    Assuming you don't have any specific medical condition or intolerance, going low carb won't increase your fat loss, holding cals and protein constant
  • Craigamears
    Craigamears Posts: 65 Member
    I noticed a difference when I dropped my carb level to around 100 grams net of fiber. This for me fuels the fat burning furnace. But I am also doing 1 gm of protein per pound of LBM to keep everything else intact. I can see the fat decrease when I do my BF%. I tend to concentrate on it more than the overall pounds lost.
  • SarahHebert1
    SarahHebert1 Posts: 98 Member
    The Men's Health TNT Low-Carb diet recommends staying under 40g of carbs per day. This is in conjunction with significantly increasing your protein of course as well as vegetables and vitamins. The same plan does work for women as well!
  • boro999
    boro999 Posts: 1
    i limit myself to around 180 carbs and 1700 calories. nothing severe and it works for me. means i can eat nice things as long as im sensible.
    simple and uncomplicated. i dont worry about different types of carbs. thats to brain boggling. just record everything on fitness pal. really helped me.
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
    It really isn't magic, but I do lower carb because of medical issues that make it a bad idea for me to eat grains. I have my macros set for 30% carbs instead of the regular 60%.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    Hi
    I know this may sound basic but how many carbs should I be eating on a low carb diet. I want to cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice for a while and see if this gives my weight loss a boost. I have been maintaining now for a few months.
    I will still be eating veg and fruit so just need an idea.

    thanks in advance.

    Amanda

    Every person's body is different. The amount of carbs my body can handle is relatively low...............your body may be higher.

    You will have to experiment to find where your body can easily lose weight, maintain weight and gain weight.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I limit carbs because they just cause me to have more sugar/carb cravings. I try to stay below 50g net carbs. If you must eat fruit, try to eat berries because they're higher fiber and lower sugar than say an apple or some other sugar loaded fruit.
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
    If you're following a plan like Atkins, there will be fairly specific guidelines for carb intake.

    If you're just trying to reduce carbs, play around with your macros for a while until you find something that works for you. For me, my macros are set at 50/25/25 f/p/c. This allows me flexibility in my carb intake so I can still eat some of my staples like pasta if I plan around it, but it keeps my general carbs coming from more whole, less refined sources (vegetables and fruit).
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
    I eat high fat/mod protein/low carb.

    I have mine set for 65/20/15, f/p/c.

    I'm almost always below 100g carb (total).

    I personally find it harder to limit cals if I include non-produce carbs in my diet. By going low carb by eating carbs from fruit and veg, I have an easy time eating at a cal deficit and have no cravings. When I do treat with carbs (like pizza this weekend), I immediately struggle with overeating.
  • cinbol
    cinbol Posts: 27 Member
    On doctor's recommendation, I have been on the Duke University Low Carb diet for almost 3 months now - the recommendation is under 50 grams per day, but cutting out all "white" foods, sugar, flour, rice. potato and pasta was the key for me. My plate is half high fat protein (steak w/fat) and half low carb veggies. I have lost 16 lbs in that period - at first coming off very fast then hitting a plateau for two weeks and then dropping again. After seeing my doc for a check up yesterday - other than being very happy with the weight loss, she was VERY happy with my overall Cholesterol - it has gone from 239 to 172! All my numbers are within normal ranges now and I was taken off my statins just before starting this program. This seems amazing to me since I am eating eggs and bacon every morning.

    She had diagnosed me at "insulin intolerant" and my glucose levels were climbing towards diabetes. That was her main reason for selecting this program. My cholesterol went down but my sugar actually went up ( just a little - not diabetes yet!) so now I am adding in low carb fruits ( berries are the best!) and Greek Yogurt ( which has the lowest carbs) - it was like having an ice-cream sundae last nite for me!

    As other posters have stated it's about tracking and finding out what works for your body. I am a sedentary "mature" woman nearing retirement and I wanted to be able to travel and play with my grandchildren. I sit at a computer all day, and was so tired by the time I got home, I just fall asleep on the couch. I was mis-diagnosed with Sleep apnea and started on a CPAP machine 3 weeks ago - this made matters worse as I was still not getting proper sleep - drop the CPAP and up the Vitamin D and I am sleeping better and getting the restorative sleep that my body needs - better sleep + better diet = ENERGY that I haven't had for over 15 years.

    Getting into a suit this morning that I haven't worn for about 5 years was my reward! ( and it's a size smaller than my other suits)

    So the high fat/highprotien/ low carb program is working for me....
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    If you're following a plan like Atkins, there will be fairly specific guidelines for carb intake.

    If you're just trying to reduce carbs, play around with your macros for a while until you find something that works for you. For me, my macros are set at 50/25/25 f/p/c. This allows me flexibility in my carb intake so I can still eat some of my staples like pasta if I plan around it, but it keeps my general carbs coming from more whole, less refined sources (vegetables and fruit).

    Yes, in the beginning with Plans like Atkins there are specific guidelines................but after the first 2 weeks, those guidelines change fast or slow, depending on the person.

    That is why I mentioned in an earlier comment that as everything else, it is very individual. Like me for instance...........even with being active, my carb threshold for losing is low due to numerous health issues and such. Sucks to be me.

    Of course if I eat a bit higher, I either maintain or gain weight..

    Each person will have to set themselves a limit. Test the waters and then make adjustments. If you are losing too fast, then raise your carb limit. Not losing at all or extremely slowly? Then lower your carb level a bit.

    Carb counting is not much different than calorie counting.
  • fastfoodietofitcutie
    fastfoodietofitcutie Posts: 523 Member
    I'm having a difficult time giving up fruit since it's a breakfast and lunch staple for me. I can't wrap my head around eating higher fat and less fruit, just doesn't make sense to me. I set my carbs at 40%, lower than the norm but higher than a normal low carb diet. I may try going to down to 30% but will have to figure out what to cut out and what to replace it with.

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