New, just started....OMG why are my carbs so high!

firegirl1393
firegirl1393 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just started on here and never really watched what I eat or anything. Now with it right in front of my face, my carbs are always way higher than they are suppose to be. Any help would be appreciated!

Replies

  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    Eat less carbs?

    No but seriously - now you have a good idea that you are eating too many carbs start to replace the starchy carbs with more veggies and eat more protein. You will probably find it keeps you fuller for longer and helps you make smarter food choices.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    If you set your diary to "public" we can make some suggestions!

    Alternatively, tell us the kind of things you are eating, and what you are aiming for as a carb goal.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    Both of what the other two said...

    Opening your diary or at least telling us your calorie and macro goals will be super helpful.

    Eat less potatoes (don't cut them out if you like them), eat more broccoli & leafy greens - lower in carbs & calories but full of fiber & will help keep you fuller longer than a potato.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Carbs are primarily in fruit, veggies, bread, pasta, and most packaged foods. To turn the table and head the other way, you'll need to add protein. You can find that in beans, nuts & seeds, cheese (low fat!), low fat yogurt, beef, pork, chicken, turkey and a quick Google search reveled these other sources.

    Cottage cheese (14 g per ½-cup / 4 oz. serving)
    Dried spirulina seaweed (8.6 g per 1 cup serving)
    Whole Grain Bagels (7.2 g per small bagel, 3" diameter)
    Oatmeal (6 g per 1 cup cooked)
    Bulgur (6 g per 1 cup cooked)
    Brown rice (5 g per 1 cup cooked)
    Spinach (5 g per 1 cup cooked)
    Baked sweet potatoes (4.5 g per medium potato, skin included)
    Peas (4.5 g per ½ cup serving)
    Avocados (4 g per avocado)
    Broccoli (4 g per 1 cup cooked)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I would eat almost exclusively carbs if I could. :laugh: What works for me is to focus on working in more protein. That way the carbs get crowded out a bit but you're not focused so much on not having them. I still eat them-- I have toast every morning and some kind of chocolate every day-- but I don't let myself have those things unless I'm going to meet my protein goal first. Since you're on the default settings think of protein and fat as minimums.

    All that said, you're new to calorie counting so first I'd just focus on meeting your calorie goal. Once you get that in check you can worry about macros. Protein and fat are good for satiety so they may help you lower your intake naturally.
  • mrsjoyw
    mrsjoyw Posts: 80 Member
    I joined yesterday too and I was shocked at my sodium intake!! I honestly try to watch my sodium, I use Mrs. Dash and lots of other herbs/spices to supplement the lack of salt. It's the sodium in the other foods that I'm amazed at! This is a real eye opener for me too!
  • lbesaw
    lbesaw Posts: 267 Member
    I never come close to eating the number of carbs the program lists. I concentrate my focus on the calories and fats. I am always over on my protein and way low on my carbs.
  • Catlady87
    Catlady87 Posts: 302 Member
    I've realised my carbs can be really high too. How much bread do you eat, cos that's a killer for your carb allowance. So a typical day of toast for brekkie, sandwich for lunch and a pasta meal for dinner is an overload of carbs, which we wouldn't have though twice about in the past.
    Try rice instead of pasta, a portion is about 50grams. Always have brown rice instead of white.
  • lbesaw
    lbesaw Posts: 267 Member
    Yes---better to purge your cupboards and cook from fresh foods and lower sodium versions if you use canned. Any processed food is loaded with sodium. Even if you use salt to cook you will never add as much as in canned, processed food.
  • mrincredible93
    mrincredible93 Posts: 146
    In addition to what others have said, I found that the default level of carbs suggested by MFP is set way too high for most people using exercise in supplement to dietary modification. You may want to look at your default settings and make some adjustments there too.
  • RosscoBoscko
    RosscoBoscko Posts: 632 Member
    Try swapping sweet potato in where you would usually eat normal potato, chips/fries, baked etc.

    Also try grated cauliflower instead of rice.

    Wraps instead of bread, or even just wrap veg in meat/cheese instead of a sandwich or wrap.

    As others have said load your plate with green veg to make you fuller.
  • ze_hombre
    ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
    There is a big difference between carbs and sugar. Fibrous carbs are usually perfectly fine as they are not ingested by the body and help with bowel regulation. MFP will show the difference between fiber and sugar (it doesn't call out the alcohol carbs as well as I wish it would, but meh...). Read up on some of the low carb high fat diets (Atkins, Keto) if you want some recommendations on how to reduce carb intake. Also read up on FODMAPS, there are many different kinds of carbs, some good, but many are bad. Without being able to see your food diary its difficult to be more helpful.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FODMAP

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