So, are carbs evil or not?

Liftnlove

No, they're not.

emtjmac

Macros are very important for a bodybuilder trying to go from 8% BF to 2%. I just focus on calories for the most part.

_AllieCat_

Since your brain runs on carbs, I would say they aren't evil.

Refined carbs and sugar you should limit. They are just like any macro nutrient. Try not to eat too much or too little. Balance is everything.

Everyone responds differently to carbs. My body, for example, when I eat a large amount of carbs in a sitting I get sleepy, irritable, my heart races, and I feel bloated. Other people claim that meat does this to them. Everyone is different.

HotMummyMission

There not evil but watch them to be honest I was told there not evil an I don't eat bread don't eat pasta haha you will be aware of what you eat stick to your Marcos an ull be fine you need carbs though x

kangaroo33

Calories are calories, but carbs....well it depends on the kind you are talking about. Carbs from vegetables, fruits, whole grains and dairy products are all great carbs and generally used very efficiently by your body, for fuel. Carbs from white flour/breads and sugar/sweets, are generally the "evil" carbs (as you call them...but so do I) if you overendulge and don't have them in moderation or you don't work out at the intensity of an athlete. Of course, too much of anything can be problematic, too. So, the rule of thumb is to basically watch your calorie intake and burn, and enjoy everything in moderation to create a healthy balance. Life's to short, but you want to be healthy so you can live it!

Oh....I'm down 63 pounds so far, based on the theory above. Looks like you're on the right track for you, too!

majope

I just got back from the gym, and am going to do my part to help rid the world of evil. So which do you think is more diabolical, a Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tart or a Gingerbread Pop-Tart?

Oh, yes. One of those masterminds of evil is going down!

ElizabethKalmbach

Carbs are not evil. You need them for energy.

BUT. The reason some people have a strong knee jerk reaction to them one way or the other is that the refined ones can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes that leave you craving more calories than you should be having, which in turn, can make you gain weight.

Figure out which carbs work for you and keep you within your macros/calories and then eat and enjoy them.

I am gluten free, but still eat the heck out of some noodles and breads and potatoes, while losing weight and being healthy. I started avoiding PROCESSED carbs/refined sugars and my blood sugar levels evened out and made eating other carbs without having cravings possible.

KANGOOJUMPS

no, they are your fuel.

tigersword

My thought on the "I cut carbs and dropped 30 pounds" thing is that the people who go balls to the wall "low/no carb" are probably the ones who were stuffing themselves with enriched pasta, bread and chips. Of course you're going to drop tons of weight if you stop stuffing yourself with garbage.

If you know which carbs are the best for maintaining a healthy diet (red/sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) and keep them in moderation then no, they aren't "evil".

I get around equal amounts of protein and carbs each day... I'm not dead (or obese). I educated myself on which carbs are the best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

Brown rice is one of the worst health food myths ever. White rice is healthier, in general.

StaticEntropy

My thought on the "I cut carbs and dropped 30 pounds" thing is that the people who go balls to the wall "low/no carb" are probably the ones who were stuffing themselves with enriched pasta, bread and chips. Of course you're going to drop tons of weight if you stop stuffing yourself with garbage.

If you know which carbs are the best for maintaining a healthy diet (red/sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) and keep them in moderation then no, they aren't "evil".

I get around equal amounts of protein and carbs each day... I'm not dead (or obese). I educated myself on which carbs are the best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

Brown rice is one of the worst health food myths ever. White rice is healthier, in general.

I'm curious about this, why is it healthier? I thought brown rice is just like regular rice, plus fiber.

TheVimFuego

I am evil and I eat carbs! Causation or correlation?

I read that as caucasian ... But it is early here and, worryingly, the MFP forum is the first site that I surf,

On topic,I find some of the refined stuff can cause cravings for me, which doesn't help maintaining the energy gap.

I eat 'em all though, it's all good innit?

taylorwaylor

They arnt evil... Just eat the right kinds! And I think that cutting carbs does help lose weight, because you arnt giving your body fuel, so it looks elswhere (fat). But, I think cutting out processed food will help too (which usually have a lot of carbs anyways) Just get carbs from veggies!

Helloitsdan

Not at all. As long as your diet doesn't consist primarily of them, they're awesome.

No......most can consume up to 60% of their cals in carbs as long as training and adaptation are in place.

tigersword

My thought on the "I cut carbs and dropped 30 pounds" thing is that the people who go balls to the wall "low/no carb" are probably the ones who were stuffing themselves with enriched pasta, bread and chips. Of course you're going to drop tons of weight if you stop stuffing yourself with garbage.

If you know which carbs are the best for maintaining a healthy diet (red/sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) and keep them in moderation then no, they aren't "evil".

I get around equal amounts of protein and carbs each day... I'm not dead (or obese). I educated myself on which carbs are the best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

Brown rice is one of the worst health food myths ever. White rice is healthier, in general.

I'm curious about this, why is it healthier? I thought brown rice is just like regular rice, plus fiber.

The fiber is actually the problem. The fiber in brown rice is the hull. The hull is indigestible. The majority of the nutrients in brown rice are in the hull. Meaning, on paper brown rice has more nutrients, but the human body can't digest and absorb them. It ends up being a waste of calories, really. Bioavailability is a much more important marker of nutrition than just what the food contains. White rice is far more bioavailable than brown rice, making it a better choice. Plus there are much better sources of fiber out there.

taylorwaylor

My thought on the "I cut carbs and dropped 30 pounds" thing is that the people who go balls to the wall "low/no carb" are probably the ones who were stuffing themselves with enriched pasta, bread and chips. Of course you're going to drop tons of weight if you stop stuffing yourself with garbage.

If you know which carbs are the best for maintaining a healthy diet (red/sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) and keep them in moderation then no, they aren't "evil".

I get around equal amounts of protein and carbs each day... I'm not dead (or obese). I educated myself on which carbs are the best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

Brown rice is one of the worst health food myths ever. White rice is healthier, in general.

I'm curious about this, why is it healthier? I thought brown rice is just like regular rice, plus fiber.

The fiber is actually the problem. The fiber in brown rice is the hull. The hull is indigestible. The majority of the nutrients in brown rice are in the hull. Meaning, on paper brown rice has more nutrients, but the human body can't digest and absorb them. It ends up being a waste of calories, really. Bioavailability is a much more important marker of nutrition than just what the food contains. White rice is far more bioavailable than brown rice, making it a better choice. Plus there are much better sources of fiber out there.

I was curious too, so i found this article.
http://butterbeliever.com/brown-rice-vs-white-rice-which-is-healthy/

StaticEntropy

My thought on the "I cut carbs and dropped 30 pounds" thing is that the people who go balls to the wall "low/no carb" are probably the ones who were stuffing themselves with enriched pasta, bread and chips. Of course you're going to drop tons of weight if you stop stuffing yourself with garbage.

If you know which carbs are the best for maintaining a healthy diet (red/sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) and keep them in moderation then no, they aren't "evil".

I get around equal amounts of protein and carbs each day... I'm not dead (or obese). I educated myself on which carbs are the best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

Brown rice is one of the worst health food myths ever. White rice is healthier, in general.

I'm curious about this, why is it healthier? I thought brown rice is just like regular rice, plus fiber.

The fiber is actually the problem. The fiber in brown rice is the hull. The hull is indigestible. The majority of the nutrients in brown rice are in the hull. Meaning, on paper brown rice has more nutrients, but the human body can't digest and absorb them. It ends up being a waste of calories, really. Bioavailability is a much more important marker of nutrition than just what the food contains. White rice is far more bioavailable than brown rice, making it a better choice. Plus there are much better sources of fiber out there.

I was curious too, so i found this article.
http://butterbeliever.com/brown-rice-vs-white-rice-which-is-healthy/

Thank you both for the info. I tried brown rice once "for the fiber." The taste did not agree with my requirements, and that was that.

Unknown

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Jasmine_James

Some also have success by going low-carb because they put their body into a state of ketosis, when I no longer has sugar from carbs for energy so it literally melts fat instead. I know it is not for everyone, but for anyone interested just Google ketosis diets to understand more. There is also a lot of information coming out that it's healthier to do high protein and high fat (healthy fats -- like avocado and coconut oil) and low carb for overall health.

Sqeekyjojo

Evil?

No, I don't see a bag of basmati rice striving to take over the world.


A pain in the behind when you're trying to get your blood sugar levels and cravings down. But not evil.

tigersword

Some also have success by going low-carb because they put their body into a state of ketosis, when I no longer has sugar from carbs for energy so it literally melts fat instead. I know it is not for everyone, but for anyone interested just Google ketosis diets to understand more. There is also a lot of information coming out that it's healthier to do high protein and high fat (healthy fats -- like avocado and coconut oil) and low carb for overall health.

Your body burns fat every second of every day, regardless of whether you are in ketosis or not. Ketosis is one of the biggest low carb myths there is.

_Lori_Lynn_

Some people are sensitive to carbs, others aren't. I try to balance everything, but I do notice when I reduce carbs my weight drops at an alarming rate. I am a "carb sensitive type. I had analysis done once by a professional and they told me that the high protein and low carb is the diet for my body type. I didn't follow his advice (he wasn't selling anything). But it just means, we all have different things which work. I would experiment to see how you feel with them as they are and then reduce them for 30 days and see and then evaluate YOU and NOT what others say here. they are only speaking about what works for THEM. They are not wrong, they are just NOT you.

hazelovesfood

My thought on the "I cut carbs and dropped 30 pounds" thing is that the people who go balls to the wall "low/no carb" are probably the ones who were stuffing themselves with enriched pasta, bread and chips. Of course you're going to drop tons of weight if you stop stuffing yourself with garbage.

If you know which carbs are the best for maintaining a healthy diet (red/sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) and keep them in moderation then no, they aren't "evil".

I get around equal amounts of protein and carbs each day... I'm not dead (or obese). I educated myself on which carbs are the best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.totally wrong, white rice has been bleached and stripped of its nutrients

Brown rice is one of the worst health food myths ever. White rice is healthier, in general.

I'm curious about this, why is it healthier? I thought brown rice is just like regular rice, plus fiber.

hazelovesfood

White rice has been bleached and stripped of nutrients, brown is far better,

tigersword

White rice has been bleached and stripped of nutrients, brown is far better,

No, that's a myth. Have you actually read this thread?

Graelwyn75

I try and keep a balance, but I would sooner take in more carbs than more protein, if I have to eat a load of animal protein to compensate since several studies point to high intake of animal protein reducing lifespan and increasing the risk of cancers, in particular breast cancer(dairy).

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/11/11/1441.long

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21325617

This is my personal view on it, though, based on reading around and researching things. Add that to studies suggesting vegetarians(who often have at least a moderate intake of carbs, including beans and wholegrains) outlive meat eaters or have a lesser chance of certain health issues,

http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2013/130130.html

http://www.llu.edu/public-health/health/hypertension-white-calibration.page

and I am distinctly getting the impression that going low carb, if it involves elevating levels of animal proteins, might be great for weight loss, but weight loss not so great if you are shortening your lifespan anyway, lol. I suggest people find what works for them and does their research first before reducing or increasing certain elements of their diet.

sunryse00

People that cut out carbs to lose weight usually end up failing.

Wow! Just wow. Judgmental much? 65% of people that try to lose weight fail and I highly doubt that they are all low carb eaters.

Cadori

magerum

They're evilly delicious. That's about it.

monty619

people always ask what foods make the metabolism better.. its carbs yo.

TakinSexyBack

Cutting carbs can make the number on the scale go down due to water weight. It isn't fat loss. Stay within your calories, eat at least 1 gram protein per lb of lean body mass (find out how much you have here: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bf/ ) and eat at least .35 gm fat per lb lean body mass, and let the carbs fall where they may.

I agree with all of your answer except the first two sentences. Yes, initially you will see a quick drop in water weight when you start eating low carb. But, I know people who have lost 50, 60 and more than 100 lbs eating low carb. You can't say that is JUST water weight. You will lose fat on low carb long term also.