So, are carbs evil or not?

Lyadeia

I'm sure this has been asked time and time again, but I'm always hearing contradicting stories from people. Some who swear that cutting carbs helped them lose a lot of weight, and others who say that it doesn't really matter in the end (basically that calories are calories). Right now I'm trying to just count calories, and watch how many carbs I take in.

Unless you have a medical reason to do so, carbs aren't evil

/end thread.

MSeel1984

No more carb-bullying, carb-shaming threads! It just ain't right!

HAHA Amen. That's the new phrase for these threads. Carb-bullying.

ihad

tigersword

For at least a year, I was trying to lose a little weight, like 5 lbs and drop BF. when I cut carbs, bam! And no, it wasn't because of a calorie deficit. Cals stayed the same. So, I am a believer. You can argue with each other all day long, but unless you try it, you don't really know. It works. I've turned others on to it, and they also get amazing results.

To me, it not carbs per se, it's the amount of carbs we eat. You don't realize how much of it dominates your diet. And, all that gets converted into sugar. If you don't use it, it stored as fat. That's not all bad, but again, the carb heavy world we live in is ridiculous. Carbs are filler food. When you eliminate them, you have to think harder about how to fill your plate. Vegetables become more attractive, at that point. And, you can eat way more volume bd stay way more full way longer.

Well first, 5 pound loss when switching to low carb is water, due to the reduction in glycogen stores. Second, carbs rarely get stored as fat, you'd need a pretty serious calorie surplus for that to happen. And you use glucose (as glucose or in the form of glycogen) every second of every day, there's no time that "you don't use it."

Basic human biology stuff.

skinnybunny_x

It depends on what kind of carbohydrates we're talking about. Fruit and vegetables are the ideal way to get them, followed by grains. The problem with grains, however, is that many people are adversely affected by wheat. If you notice bloating and constipation when you eat grains, you may have an intolerance. Even if you can digest them okay, you may want to cut wheat out of your diet for a couple of weeks and just observe the results you get. The truth is, wheat can never be a "whole grain" food. It has been processed, it is not in it's original form. And if you have an intolerance to wheat, it's not going to matter if you buy the white bread or the brown. Also, most wheat is genetically modified, which is not a good thing for your body.

My advice; replace wheat with other grains that ARE truly whole grains - like quinoa, millet, corn, amaranth, wild rice ... There are so many gluten free alternatives nowadays, why not give it a go? Try it for two weeks, and if you like the results you're getting, there is no reason to eat wheat. All of the other grains I've listed provide way more nutritional value.

Bottom line; quality food (low quality and low calorie = disaster for your body! this is why many diet foods just make you hungrier and leave you feeling like crap), make sure you're eating a high protein diet if you want more muscle tone, get most of your carbs from fruits and vegetables, eat as close to 0g of sugar a day (best way to get it is from fruit! You can use Stevia to give coffee, tea, and bakes goods a "sweet" taste. you won't notice the difference after a while, promise!). I wouldn't worry too much about fiber, because if you're eating enough fresh produce, your digestive system will be happy. Try hormone free meats, cheeses, and milk (or dairy free alternatives - almond milk is AWESOME to shred pounds!) to ensure that your dairy intake isn't messing with your hormones that will in turn affect your weight loss.

angiechimpanzee

Carbs cause water retention (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). So when people cut carbs, they see a LOT of water weight loss initially, which can also cause a difference in how you look because you'll be less bloated.

However, one can still maintain a very healthy and effective weight loss routine with carbs. So no, cutting them is not necessary. And no food is "evil" unless it's poison.

tigersword

WHITE CARBS CAN BE WITH TO MUCH BUT GOOD CARBS HELL NOOO IF YOU WERE ONLY TO EAT FRUITS N VEGGIES, AND DNUTS AND SEEDS AND HEALTHY FATS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOU WOULD PROBLEY BE MORE THAN FIT AND VERY HEALTHY AND THOSE ARE CARBS,

Stop yelling.

And apples are white carbs. So is cauliflower. Your assumption is false. There is no such thing as a good or bad carb.

thinking_thinly

I've lost the bulk of my weight eating high carb. 200-300g a day. Carbs aren't bad, but like previous posters said refined carbs are! I eat WHOLE unprocessed foods; potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, brown rice, ect.

MSeel1984

For at least a year, I was trying to lose a little weight, like 5 lbs and drop BF. when I cut carbs, bam! And no, it wasn't because of a calorie deficit. Cals stayed the same. So, I am a believer. You can argue with each other all day long, but unless you try it, you don't really know. It works. I've turned others on to it, and they also get amazing results.

To me, it not carbs per se, it's the amount of carbs we eat. You don't realize how much of it dominates your diet. And, all that gets converted into sugar. If you don't use it, it stored as fat. That's not all bad, but again, the carb heavy world we live in is ridiculous. Carbs are filler food. When you eliminate them, you have to think harder about how to fill your plate. Vegetables become more attractive, at that point. And, you can eat way more volume bd stay way more full way longer.

Well first, 5 pound loss when switching to low carb is water, due to the reduction in glycogen stores. Second, carbs rarely get stored as fat, you'd need a pretty serious calorie surplus for that to happen. And you use glucose (as glucose or in the form of glycogen) every second of every day, there's no time that "you don't use it."

Basic human biology stuff.

Yep...good old adenosine triphosphate!

CoachReddy

WHITE CARBS CAN BE WITH TO MUCH BUT GOOD CARBS HELL NOOO IF YOU WERE ONLY TO EAT FRUITS N VEGGIES, AND DNUTS AND SEEDS AND HEALTHY FATS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOU WOULD PROBLEY BE MORE THAN FIT AND VERY HEALTHY AND THOSE ARE CARBS,

Stop yelling.

And apples are white carbs. So is cauliflower. Your assumption is false. There is no such thing as a good or bad carb.

apples and cauliflower are carbs attached to fiber, thus they're not "white" carbs in the way refined carbs are

SanteMulberry

[/quote] "...Not only have you obviously never seen the ecological divisercity of the plains, you are lacking in your history. The "plains indians" ate a variety of fruits and vegetables, along with buffalo, deer, rabbit, ect. There is an abundance of vegetation on the plains, with a very long growing season (which is why it's now a center for agriculture). (There are "plains" in Canada too).

http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/reports4/plains2.htm..."
[/quote]
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yes, the village-dwelling Plains Indians did do a fair bit of farming, but the nomadic tribes starved when the white settlers came in and killed off the buffalo herds.

"...Bison were hunted almost to extinction by non-Indians in the 19th century and were reduced to a few hundred by the mid-1880s. They were slaughtered for their skins, with the rest of the animal left behind to decay on the ground.[17] After the animals rotted, their bones were collected and shipped back east in large quantities.[17]

There were U.S. government initiatives at the federal and local level to starve the population of the Plains Indians by killing off THEIR MAIN FOOD SOURCE [emphasis mine]. The Government promoted bison hunting for various reasons: to allow ranchers to range their cattle without competition from other bovines and to weaken the Plains Indian population and pressure them to remain on reservations.[18] The herds formed the basis of the economies of local Plains tribes of Native Americans for whom the bison were a primary food source. Without bison, the Native Americans would be forced to leave or starve.

The railroad industry also wanted bison herds culled or eliminated. Herds of bison on tracks could damage locomotives when the trains failed to stop in time. Herds often took shelter in the artificial cuts formed by the grade of the track winding though hills and mountains in harsh winter conditions. As a result, bison herds could delay a train for days.

As the great herds began to wane, proposals to protect the bison were discussed. Buffalo Bill Cody, among others, spoke in favor of protecting the bison because he saw that the pressure on the species was too great. But these were discouraged since it was recognized that the Plains Indians, often at war with the United States, depended on bison for their way of life. In 1874, President Ulysses S. Grant "pocket vetoed" a Federal bill to protect the dwindling bison herds, and in 1875 General Philip Sheridan pleaded to a joint session of Congress to slaughter the herds, to deprive the Plains Indians of their source of food.[19] By 1884, the bison was close to extinction..."

SanteMulberry

"...Please stop making things up. Before the 1930's Dust Bowl turned a great section of the plains into a near desert, the plains were an incredibly lush landscape for fruits and vegetables. That's why people settled there and began farming...."

You seem to try very hard to insult others. Accusing others of lying is a nasty habit and one that could easily backfire. Please see my further post on the Plains Indians. I never said a thing about the potential for farming on the plains--merely that buffalo meat was a primary food. Otherwise, the evil plan to exterminate the herds in order to exterminate the people would not have been hatched.

etoiles_argentees

WHITE CARBS CAN BE WITH TO MUCH BUT GOOD CARBS HELL NOOO IF YOU WERE ONLY TO EAT FRUITS N VEGGIES, AND DNUTS AND SEEDS AND HEALTHY FATS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOU WOULD PROBLEY BE MORE THAN FIT AND VERY HEALTHY AND THOSE ARE CARBS,

Stop yelling.

And apples are white carbs. So is cauliflower. Your assumption is false. There is no such thing as a good or bad carb.

Agreed.

CoachReddy

WHITE CARBS CAN BE WITH TO MUCH BUT GOOD CARBS HELL NOOO IF YOU WERE ONLY TO EAT FRUITS N VEGGIES, AND DNUTS AND SEEDS AND HEALTHY FATS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOU WOULD PROBLEY BE MORE THAN FIT AND VERY HEALTHY AND THOSE ARE CARBS,

Stop yelling.

And apples are white carbs. So is cauliflower. Your assumption is false. There is no such thing as a good or bad carb.

Agreed.

ok fine. there's no such thing as a "good" or "bad" carb - but there certainly are "better" and "worse" carbs.

a broccoli carb is more nutritionally beneficial to me than a gummy worm carb.

cwbullet

I have lost 57 lbs in 8 months. I made no attempt to watch my carbs. I just cut calories and exercised like crazy - 5-10 miles a day walking.

The key with carbs is you have to be able to say no when your calories are at your limit.

SanteMulberry

I have lost 57 lbs in 8 months. I made no attempt to watch my carbs. I just cut calories and exercised like crazy - 5-10 miles a day walking.

The key with carbs is you have to be able to say no when your calories are at your limit.

Your body will always rebel from that plan as long as you are eating "empty calories" on a calorie-restricted diet. I am very happy and satisfied to be within my 1,390 calories as long as I pay attention to being well-nourished. If I went back to eating sugar and wheat, I would likely be hungry all the time, which makes one much more prone to "going off the reservation".

magerum

I lost my weight at 50%+ carbs, mostly from white potato & grain. I wont even get into how many carbs I eat now to maintain (diary's open).

magerum

It depends on what kind of carbohydrates we're talking about. Fruit and vegetables are the ideal way to get them, followed by grains. The problem with grains, however, is that many people are adversely affected by wheat. If you notice bloating and constipation when you eat grains, you may have an intolerance. Even if you can digest them okay, you may want to cut wheat out of your diet for a couple of weeks and just observe the results you get. The truth is, wheat can never be a "whole grain" food. It has been processed, it is not in it's original form. And if you have an intolerance to wheat, it's not going to matter if you buy the white bread or the brown. Also, most wheat is genetically modified, which is not a good thing for your body.

My advice; replace wheat with other grains that ARE truly whole grains - like quinoa, millet, corn, amaranth, wild rice ... There are so many gluten free alternatives nowadays, why not give it a go? Try it for two weeks, and if you like the results you're getting, there is no reason to eat wheat. All of the other grains I've listed provide way more nutritional value.

Bottom line; quality food (low quality and low calorie = disaster for your body! this is why many diet foods just make you hungrier and leave you feeling like crap), make sure you're eating a high protein diet if you want more muscle tone, get most of your carbs from fruits and vegetables, eat as close to 0g of sugar a day (best way to get it is from fruit! You can use Stevia to give coffee, tea, and bakes goods a "sweet" taste. you won't notice the difference after a while, promise!). I wouldn't worry too much about fiber, because if you're eating enough fresh produce, your digestive system will be happy. Try hormone free meats, cheeses, and milk (or dairy free alternatives - almond milk is AWESOME to shred pounds!) to ensure that your dairy intake isn't messing with your hormones that will in turn affect your weight loss.

You over complicate things, really.

SanteMulberry

I lost my weight at 50%+ carbs, mostly from white potato & grain. I wont even get into how many carbs I eat now to maintain (diary's open).

Works for you---would never work for me. But that's okay--we are all different. One big difference is between men and women. Women have problems like PCOS that men never experience. Those with high blood sugar issues could never prosper on a diet that was 50% carbohydrates.

SanteMulberry

It depends on what kind of carbohydrates we're talking about. Fruit and vegetables are the ideal way to get them, followed by grains. The problem with grains, however, is that many people are adversely affected by wheat. If you notice bloating and constipation when you eat grains, you may have an intolerance. Even if you can digest them okay, you may want to cut wheat out of your diet for a couple of weeks and just observe the results you get. The truth is, wheat can never be a "whole grain" food. It has been processed, it is not in it's original form. And if you have an intolerance to wheat, it's not going to matter if you buy the white bread or the brown. Also, most wheat is genetically modified, which is not a good thing for your body.

My advice; replace wheat with other grains that ARE truly whole grains - like quinoa, millet, corn, amaranth, wild rice ... There are so many gluten free alternatives nowadays, why not give it a go? Try it for two weeks, and if you like the results you're getting, there is no reason to eat wheat. All of the other grains I've listed provide way more nutritional value.

Bottom line; quality food (low quality and low calorie = disaster for your body! this is why many diet foods just make you hungrier and leave you feeling like crap), make sure you're eating a high protein diet if you want more muscle tone, get most of your carbs from fruits and vegetables, eat as close to 0g of sugar a day (best way to get it is from fruit! You can use Stevia to give coffee, tea, and bakes goods a "sweet" taste. you won't notice the difference after a while, promise!). I wouldn't worry too much about fiber, because if you're eating enough fresh produce, your digestive system will be happy. Try hormone free meats, cheeses, and milk (or dairy free alternatives - almond milk is AWESOME to shred pounds!) to ensure that your dairy intake isn't messing with your hormones that will in turn affect your weight loss.

You over complicate things, really.

And you apparently oversimplify (as a lot people do).