It's a personal thing.

I'd venture that erring on the side of less carbs would work better for you if you have been more of a carb consumer in the past.

I see the main aim initially being to help the metabolism to normalise and want to burn fat/ketones as the primary fuel, not glucose.

If you were involved with intense exercise then you could probably be a bit more liberal with carbs. If it was low intensity stuff (i.e. walking, my main form of exercise) then I wouldn't bother adding much carbohydrate.

I started on 30g and moved onto 50g, there doesn't seem to be much difference fat-loss wise for me. Maybe I could consume more as I am close to my ideal but my energy is good and I enjoy what I eat now so there doesn't seem to be much point.

I see the carbs that I eat (mostly from veggies) as incidental to my energy needs, I eat the carb-containing foods for their other benefits.

I also find the less refined carbs I eat, the less I crave and this is a massive plus for me.

What did help kick things along for me was moderating the protein and upping the fat.

20g on a very strict day 120g on a very bad day that falls on a workout day

When I first started, it took everything I had to net under 100 because I had been such a carb-lover. I ate carbs at almost every meal. I have been working on it the past week and I am happy to say that today will be my first day under 40! That is a HUGE improvement for me! It's really difficult at first, but if you can push yourself, you can do it. If I eat all the food I planned out for today, it will 33 carbs. I just can't give up my apple and peanut butter after workouts! Tomorrow I am going to try for under 30 and see how I do. You may struggle at first, like I did, but if you really want to go low-carb, you can do it!

Also remember that the "quality" of the carbs you consume in a day matters. You could eat 2 whole Hershey bars and no other carbs in a day and still only have consumed 50g of carbs. But you would have one heeeeeecckkkk of a bloodsugar spike!

You could eat bananas and oranges and get a heck of a bloodsugar spike, or have strawberries with virtually no effect.

If you have 120g of carbs from low-glycemic sources, spread out throughout the day, and you're able to lose weight then that's what works for you. If you have that many and you're not losing weight then you might be eating the wrong carbs, or you might just need to lower.

Everyone is different when it comes to the total, but for everyone the "type" does make a difference.

I come in under a 100 a day. It works for me. I don't call my eating style low carb I call it lower carb. : )

Hi Ive just started back on the low carb route, it works better for weight loss but for bloating too!
I sit around the 40 grams mark but try and avoid sugar so that I dont get the energy highs and lows.
I need to remind myself not to fall into the high sugar low calorie products that are everywhere! A small piece of cheese and slice of ham works WAAAAY better!
Good luck x

Hi Ive just started back on the low carb route, it works better for weight loss but for bloating too!
I sit around the 40 grams mark but try and avoid sugar so that I dont get the energy highs and lows.
I need to remind myself not to fall into the high sugar low calorie products that are everywhere! A small piece of cheese and slice of ham works WAAAAY better!
Good luck x

Indeed, nutrient-dense food is the way to go, not food-like product.

If I eat a hard-boiled egg (which I do often) it isn't calories, it is just good fuel.

Mine is set for about 80 - which is what I feel comfortable with based on what i eat on a daily basis as I usually have a piece of fruit a day (lower sugar/carb) and tend to like the higher sugar veggies (carrots, red peppers) and some greek yogurt...every few months I do a strict to sort of shake up my system a bit and then I try and keep it to under 50/day (usually by cutting the fruit and small amount of dairy I do have)

ugh...i dont know how you all do it...i did do well on 50g a day...now im trying to cut it back to that again...it seems like ive forgotten how to eat just protein and fats mainly...i LOVE carbs way too much...but im trying..

right now im set to stay below 100g...but even that is hard...
i love beans and lentils...then i find out they are mainly carbs!! with very little protein ..less than i thought they had...i mean compared to carbs.... oh me.

I used to love beans and lentils and that kind of thing, I thought they were good 'fill you up' food and full of protein. Ah, the chilli I used to make ... red kidney beans ...

I now subscribe to the Paleo way of thinking (mostly, it's a framework, I'm not strict) which gets rid of grains and legumes completely on health grounds due to their potential issues with gut health.

If you cut the processed stuff, sugar, grains and legumes out then it's pretty hard to get 100g carbs a day.

50g is a stretch for me these days.

But that's just me, I tend to be an 'all in' kind of person ... I don't think I'm missing much by not consuming these things and I may even be doing some long-term good so on I go.

I do understand the emotional link to carbs though, absolutely.

I'll probably slide back and add some in maintenance but I know that my diet will never be grain-based again.