I am the only one here not following a low carb diet?!

I don't consciously choose to skip carbs, but the diet SHOULD not be carb based. 100 years ago when everyone worked on the farm or in a mine or whatever sure. Carbs were easy energy, easy calories.

I know if I have a choice between 3 cups of spinach loaded with vitamins and nutrients, or a slice of bread with next to nothing (and twice as many calories) I will take the spinach. I'm going to feel more full, and I'm going to get more out of it!

You would feel more full from 3 C of spinach than from a slice of whole grain bread?? I would not. But I'd cut it to 2 C of spinach, add a couple oz of protein and a little olive oil vinaigrette and wrap it all in whole grain wrap. Now that good mix of carbs, fat and protein will you really fill you up.

I would eat the slice of bread *AND* the spinach. Spinach is so low calorie that you can eat a LOT of it and still have room for a slice of bread. It's the butter on the bread that really ups those calories. But.... I found a butter spread made with olive oil that is actually pretty good and fairly low calorie. (Well, half the calories of regular butter anyway.)

I am avoiding processed food in general, not necessarily low carb but low processing.

Love carbs - that being said I don't necessarily eat a low carb diet. In fact, I find for myself I workout and excercise better when I incorporate carbs into my diet. I have just tried changing around the types of carbs (i.e. instead of plain white pasta I have switched to veggie pasta - I would do wheat but Hubby hates it). I also portion out my servings where as before I would eat about 1/2 to 3/4 of a box of plain pasta I now portion out the 1 to 2 servings of veggie pasta (whichever fits into my goals for the day).

My ratio is 45% protein, 30% carb, 25% healthy fats.

I stick to higher protein but that is still enough carbs for me to have healthy energry and not overload.

I eat what I want within my calories. Yesterday it was almost all carbs

one extreme or the other doesnt work for me

for me, cant imagine eating 2000 calories of almost all carbs...bloat city

ohh and i hate the word "diet" as it indicates a short term plan (which in the long run will do you no good) not a long term lifestyle change

I signed up last year but really didn't use the site until August of this year. For the first month I stayed under my calorie intake but kept losing and gaining the same 2 pounds. I switched to low carb and I'm down 8 so far. All I know is calories in versus calories out is a complete fallacy (at least it is for me). With so much protein and fat in my diet, I can barely eat 1000 calories but I'm never hungry.

I am insulin resistant and I have to eat carbs at each meal.

Really ? We must be working to a different definition of insulin resistance - try http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004546/

In general low carb is put forward as beneficial to insulin resistance - see http://www.heartlandnaturopathic.com/irdiet.htm for example.

http://www.jacn.org/content/23/2/177.short found that "Fasting glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance HOMA were significantly lower after the very low-carbohydrate diet"

I fear you have been misinformed.

Exactly! I'm sorry OP but patients I've worked with that have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes benefit tremendously from reducing their carb intake. There is an increasing body of evidence that shows low carb diets (think Atkins, Paleo, Primal etc) to result in better long term blood glucose control. I suggest you gradually reduce your carb intake and note how you feel at different levels, all the best

Sorry, but my hubby's doctor told him the same thing. He said keep your carbs even, but don't eliminate them. My hubby's A1C is continuing downward each time he gets blood work done. Both the doctor and the diabetes nutritionist told him that he needs to try to eat fat and protein with his carbs at mealtimes.

Personally, I wouldn't trust any medical "professional" that advises a fad diet.

Low carb! Not no carb! Not a fad! Carbohydrates turn into sugar in your body. Eat good carbs, with high fiber. They take longer for your body to turn into sugar. Thus, evening out the glycemic response.

Low / Good carbs = GOOD
No carb = NOT GOOD

Sorry, but the low carb diet, no matter the name, *IS* a fad. Ten years ago, there were low fat diets with a wide variety of names. Then some new books come out, and suddenly it's carbs making us fat. NO!!!

I guess the next fad is a low protein diet?

I would never venture to tell someone what to eat or how to live their life, but sacrificing one macro-nutrient for another is NOT going cause fat loss. You can believe what you will, but low carb will be a thing of the past, just as low-fat faded away.

And yes, OF COURSE, carbs turn to sugar in your body. Glucose is necessary for our bodies to function. That's why carbohydrates are a macro-nutrient. They are an important part of a healthy diet. Carbohydrates give us energy.

In fact, it could be stated simply:

Carbs = energy

Pick apart what you want, I guess. Read what I said, too many carbs at any one time WILL throw off the blood sugar response in Type 2 and IR patients. Eat some carbs. Eat healthier, high fiber carbs that take LONGER to digest. But, ultimately, do what you want to do and what works for you. I'm living with the disease personally, and I have found what works for me. My Dr. and I fully intend to, over the next year, reduce my medications, eliminating them within that time frame. Also, as I stated before, I fully believe that it is the exercise that has made a bigger difference for me than the diet. Honestly, I have found that I can eat pizza, potatoes, pasta - on a limited basis, without disrupting my system - as long as I continue to exercise (I feel like I'm repeating myself). I love my carbs. I have switched, as fully as I can, to higher fiber carbs (whole grain breads, whole grain pastas, brown rice, quinoa...). I still eat carbs, but MY endocrine system can't handle too much of it. Maybe the OP's and your husband's can. If so, good for them - that's great - everybody is different. I came here to offer what has worked for me, not to argue with you.

I don't eat low carb.

I eat adequate carb.

Happens to be around 50g a day for me right now.

I like to burn my body fat as my primary fuel, fuelled by logs not kindling, that kind of thing ...

Don't get hungry, don't crave food, don't exercise much and still losing fat.

Pretty tricky to argue with it so on I go ...

I guess if you aren't exercising much then you don't need as many carbs. I love to exercise though. It makes me feel great! :bigsmile:

I am insulin resistant and I have to eat carbs at each meal.

Really ? We must be working to a different definition of insulin resistance - try http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004546/

In general low carb is put forward as beneficial to insulin resistance - see http://www.heartlandnaturopathic.com/irdiet.htm for example.

http://www.jacn.org/content/23/2/177.short found that "Fasting glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance HOMA were significantly lower after the very low-carbohydrate diet"

I fear you have been misinformed.

Exactly! I'm sorry OP but patients I've worked with that have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes benefit tremendously from reducing their carb intake. There is an increasing body of evidence that shows low carb diets (think Atkins, Paleo, Primal etc) to result in better long term blood glucose control. I suggest you gradually reduce your carb intake and note how you feel at different levels, all the best

Sorry, but my hubby's doctor told him the same thing. He said keep your carbs even, but don't eliminate them. My hubby's A1C is continuing downward each time he gets blood work done. Both the doctor and the diabetes nutritionist told him that he needs to try to eat fat and protein with his carbs at mealtimes.

Personally, I wouldn't trust any medical "professional" that advises a fad diet.

Low carb! Not no carb! Not a fad! Carbohydrates turn into sugar in your body. Eat good carbs, with high fiber. They take longer for your body to turn into sugar. Thus, evening out the glycemic response.

Low / Good carbs = GOOD
No carb = NOT GOOD

Sorry, but the low carb diet, no matter the name, *IS* a fad. Ten years ago, there were low fat diets with a wide variety of names. Then some new books come out, and suddenly it's carbs making us fat. NO!!!

I guess the next fad is a low protein diet?

I would never venture to tell someone what to eat or how to live their life, but sacrificing one macro-nutrient for another is NOT going cause fat loss. You can believe what you will, but low carb will be a thing of the past, just as low-fat faded away.

And yes, OF COURSE, carbs turn to sugar in your body. Glucose is necessary for our bodies to function. That's why carbohydrates are a macro-nutrient. They are an important part of a healthy diet. Carbohydrates give us energy.

In fact, it could be stated simply:

Carbs = energy

Pick apart what you want, I guess. Read what I said, too many carbs at any one time WILL throw off the blood sugar response in Type 2 and IR patients. Eat some carbs. Eat healthier, high fiber carbs that take LONGER to digest. But, ultimately, do what you want to do and what works for you. I'm living with the disease personally, and I have found what works for me. My Dr. and I fully intend to, over the next year, reduce my medications, eliminating them within that time frame. Also, as I stated before, I fully believe that it is the exercise that has made a bigger difference for me than the diet. Honestly, I have found that I can eat pizza, potatoes, pasta - on a limited basis, without disrupting my system - as long as I continue to exercise (I feel like I'm repeating myself). I love my carbs. I have switched, as fully as I can, to higher fiber carbs (whole grain breads, whole grain pastas, brown rice, quinoa...). I still eat carbs, but MY endocrine system can't handle too much of it. Maybe the OP's and your husband's can. If so, good for them - that's great - everybody is different. I came here to offer what has worked for me, not to argue with you.

Yes, too many carbs can lead to too many calories. you don't need to put more energy into your body than what you are going to actually expend. That's just plain common sense.

But like I said, my husband's A1C is continuing downward, and he is on a lower dose of metformin now. And daily oatmeal has also lowered his blood pressure. It's important to maintain balance and to take in plenty of nutrients. Hubby also can not eat too much fiber because he has Crohn's disease, so I make sure he has a fair amount of fat to make up for it. It was tricky for me, for quite a while, to prepare the best foods for him with his medical conditions. But since I started MFP and preparing *balanced* meals, he hasn't had a single issue with his blood sugars or with his bowels. He is healthier than he has been for a long time. (and me too!)

Low carb is fine for some. Just like low fat might be fine or low protein. But for me, I like to include a variety of foods, so lowering the carbohydrate portion of my macros would make that too difficult.

I love Low Carb, but everyone has to do what works for them!

Definition of diet: The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats

ohh and i hate the word "diet" as it indicates a short term plan (which in the long run will do you no good) not a long term lifestyle change

It's just semantics. I love the word diet because we are all on a diet of some sort, else we will be dead very soon. I love my heatlhy diet. I've been on it for 30+ years, which isn't very "short term".

I saw that the majority of people here is following a low carb diet. I was curious to exchange some ideas with people following a balanced diet as mine. (55% carbs, 30% fat, 15% protein).

In what way is that "balanced" ? Looks like a high carb diet to me.

That's the recommended dietary ratios.

Facetious statement Im sure- but just to press further- "balanced" as in balanced diet doesnt mean 50-50 or even 25-25-25. I think everyone knows that - some just come up with their OWN BALANCE and want to belittle another's.

PS- I stay under calories- more times then not I try to do the ratio MFP sets up- but am having huge success simply watching calories while eating foods that either used to have a face or in some other way come directly from nature not a box or factory. Maybe if I was a body builder or had some major fitness goal beyond being a normal weight and healthy and strong Id tweak my ratio and 'balance' it some other way. For now- I eat carbs and I would never consider 100 grams of 'good' (non processed, mostly vegetables and whole grains) a high carb diet. But to each their own, right?

I cut out grains in January after being diagnoses with Type 2 diabetes and intolerances to wheat, corn and soy. It has certainly NOT been "unhealthy" for me to do so. My lipid panel improved, I've lost weight, my eczema cleared up, my a1C dropped from 7.3 to 5.5 (my goal is 4.8-5.2) and my blood sugar readings are consistently in the "normal" range (fasting less than 100, post -prandial less than 140)

I now get carbs from vegetables and nuts/seeds. I occasionally add fruit (mostly berries or melon when in season) or beans, but limit to 1/4 c so as not to raise my BG beyond a "normal" reading.

It's interesting to read what everyone's written. The rule of thumb seems to be high prot, but I think the American diet focuses a little too much on it. Excess calories are excess calories.

I myself eat 60carb/20prot/20fat. Any more protein than that and I get migraines. I'm not sure if it's because a lot of my work is very analytical/intense but my brain craves sugar. Most of my family eat rice three times a day- they may not be sleek like the models on tv but otherwise are very healthy and on the skinny side. So I guess to some extent it also depends on your genetic background.