Some people just do better on higher carbs ?

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Graelwyn75
Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Until mfp, I never focussed on getting lots of protein and at times, had baked potato for dinner every night...actually lost weight eating those. I find with lots of protein and less carbs, I get hungry within an hour, no matter how many vegetables, how much protein. But tonight when I had a baked potato with eggs and a small amount of butter, I was full for 5 hours. That has been unheard of for me since I tried focussing more on protein and right back on rice, potato and the like. Cannot remember even when I last had pasta.

I was vegetarian for over a decade, so I guess potato and rice and pasta made up a fair bit of my evening meals. Never caused me to become overweight. I also has a lot more energy than I have since getting more calories from protein sources. Do some people just work better on carbs ?

Replies

  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    I do better on higher carbs than watching protein. If I hit the protein that mfp wanted me to I'd still be hungry, at least thats how it was back when I did. So I just log my food, usually under on protein, I need go go in and lower my requirement actually so I stop seeing that. I just feel better eating more carbs. I feel very sluggish with low carbs.
  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
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    I do fine on carbs, and generally eat quite a few of them. I don't usually go over my mfp carb allowance, but I do usually get quite close to reaching it. When I am not cheating with junk and portion sizes, I lose quite quickly eating carbs and protein. I like having well balanced meals with a protein, a carb, and lots of veggies.
  • Mayrose2
    Mayrose2 Posts: 11 Member
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    That is true, I know for sure that I need to include carbs in my diet else i will not feel full for long. I also top this up with lots of veggies. If i feel hungry like after 2,3 hours or so, I eat almonds and dates, or a banna untill my next meal. (Not always)

    Everyone needs to find what works them.
  • StephanieEmpson
    StephanieEmpson Posts: 170
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    Since I am Type II, I eat less carbs so I can maintain decent blood sugars. If I were to go back to the "old" ways I would be back on medsa nd more than likely gain my weight back. So low carb for me.... Also I manage to work out almost everyday for a min of 30 minutes.
  • marclife
    marclife Posts: 7
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    I tried low carb once and hated every minute of it. I had the same issue. I could gorge myself with veg and meat, but I couldn't shake the hunger. I'm currently consuming over 200g of carbs per day now from fruits and vegetables. I'm eating at a caloric deficit losing weight and I have zero hunger pangs. If a particular diet/lifestyle nevery kills your hunger, sticking to it will be next to impossible.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I do fine on carbs, and generally eat quite a few of them. I don't usually go over my mfp carb allowance, but I do usually get quite close to reaching it. When I am not cheating with junk and portion sizes, I lose quite quickly eating carbs and protein. I like having well balanced meals with a protein, a carb, and lots of veggies.

    Yes, I think I used to eat over 200g but lately have been having over 100g protein and under 150 carbs and I seem to be made hungrier by my meals, not fuller, lol. I never even used to count. I had veggie chilli, baked potatoes, pasta dishes, organic sandwiches, rice cakes, fruit and veg and things ticked along nicely. I thought more protein would help me lean out, but in fact, I weigh more than when I had more carbs because with a lot of protein, I am seldom full. Unless it is a tub of cottage cheese.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Since I am Type II, I eat less carbs so I can maintain decent blood sugars. If I were to go back to the "old" ways I would be back on medsa nd more than likely gain my weight back. So low carb for me.... Also I manage to work out almost everyday for a min of 30 minutes.

    I was asking about people who work better on higher carbs, not who works better on low carbs due to a medical issue,
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I tried low carb once and hated every minute of it. I had the same issue. I could gorge myself with veg and meat, but I couldn't shake the hunger. I'm currently consuming over 200g of carbs per day now from fruits and vegetables. I'm eating at a caloric deficit losing weight and I have zero hunger pangs. If a particular diet/lifestyle nevery kills your hunger, sticking to it will be next to impossible.

    Yes, thinking I will add more baked potatoes and brown rice back. Even sweet potatoes seem to leave me hungrier than ordinary baking potatoes. I think some need more of a balance across the map. I seem to work best on higher carbs, moderate fat, moderate protein. Else my energy just drops, my mood deteriorates and I lack energy to workout.
  • agulamali
    agulamali Posts: 44 Member
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    People who exercise intensely do better on higher carbs because they need carbs to refill depleted glycogen stores. Low carb is a good weight loss template for sedentary people, but if you workout hard, it's ok, beneficial even, to include some carbs such as rice and starchy vegetables in your diet. I feel avoiding gluten is generally a good idea, though.
  • anifani4
    anifani4 Posts: 457 Member
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    I tried low carb once and hated every minute of it. I had the same issue. I could gorge myself with veg and meat, but I couldn't shake the hunger. I'm currently consuming over 200g of carbs per day now from fruits and vegetables. I'm eating at a caloric deficit losing weight and I have zero hunger pangs. If a particular diet/lifestyle nevery kills your hunger, sticking to it will be next to impossible.

    Yes, thinking I will add more baked potatoes and brown rice back. Even sweet potatoes seem to leave me hungrier than ordinary baking potatoes. I think some need more of a balance across the map. I seem to work best on higher carbs, moderate fat, moderate protein. Else my energy just drops, my mood deteriorates and I lack energy to workout.

    It's fabulous that you are figuring out exactly what your body needs to feel energized and have your hunger satisfied. Go with what works for you and watch portion size if you need to.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Your dinner sounds delicious - I will definitely give that a shot next week. In my mind, a baked potato with eggs and butter isn't really a "high carb" meal. Its definitely not low-carb, but clearly within the guidelines for a balanced diet. I think its important to try and work other veggies into the mix - to ensure you are getting all of your vitamins and minerals, but baked potatoes are certainly not a bad food choice, regardless of what Dr. Atkins said.
  • SSarahh23
    SSarahh23 Posts: 22 Member
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    I'm losing fine whilst still eating carbs. I generally eat about 150 - 200g per day (well that's the average of the past few days) but I know I would struggle and be miserable on a low carb diet.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    People who exercise intensely do better on higher carbs because they need carbs to refill depleted glycogen stores. Low carb is a good weight loss template for sedentary people, but if you workout hard, it's ok, beneficial even, to include some carbs such as rice and starchy vegetables in your diet. I feel avoiding gluten is generally a good idea, though.

    I do weight training and about 4 hours intense cardio a week. In summer, it tends to go up to a lot more.
    Don't really have bread, cake etc very often, no pasta, maybe spelt sometimes, mainly stick to quinoa, beans, fruit, vegetables, rice cakes, dark chocolate and potatoes for my carb sources.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Your dinner sounds delicious - I will definitely give that a shot next week. In my mind, a baked potato with eggs and butter isn't really a "high carb" meal. Its definitely not low-carb, but clearly within the guidelines for a balanced diet. I think its important to try and work other veggies into the mix - to ensure you are getting all of your vitamins and minerals, but baked potatoes are certainly not a bad food choice, regardless of what Dr. Atkins said.

    Oh, I generally eat a pound or more of vegetables a day, haha. I am a major vegetable fan. Just had to eat at a university campus tonight, hence only a bit of salad with the potato, but I had plum tomatoes later on at home.
  • DekkaTwoOneWizzy
    DekkaTwoOneWizzy Posts: 62
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    Is there such a thing as an "essential carb" No. For purely 'cosmetic' reasons I do feel that a lower carb, less than 100gr per day is superior to a higher carb approach. I'll share my empiricals: My first effort at structured dieting was with the first publication of the zone diet. I entered the body for life contest and didnt feelt that the eyeball method and a cheat "day" was working out. B4L was roughly 40 40 20. On the zone i had to do double the cardio to get into the single digit bodyfat %. Thereafter I started to carb cycle per Vince Gironda and Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Faigin. I got into the sub 10% bodyfat very easy and "Did better" in the way of expedient fat loss. "Do better on carbs?" is relative. If the reference is to cognitive function or explosive sports performance, carbs win. I tried to train and compete in JJ on low carbs(less than 50 active gr per day) and was getting wrecked. Once I started adding starchy carbs back in at 50gr per serving and peaking at 150gr I 'did better' at performing. When your glycogen reserves are maxed out, skeletal and hepatic, and your holding all the water, you can have ripped abs on friday night and carb load clean with low fat for two days and look like a bloated pig on monday. "Do better" has to be clearly defined as most people are NOT depleting glycogen fast enough for lower carbs to be a "problem"...
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Is there such a thing as an "essential carb" No. For purely 'cosmetic' reasons I do feel that a lower carb, less than 100gr per day is superior to a higher carb approach. I'll share my empiricals: My first effort at structured dieting was with the first publication of the zone diet. I entered the body for life contest and didnt feelt that the eyeball method and a cheat "day" was working out. B4L was roughly 40 40 20. On the zone i had to do double the cardio to get into the single digit bodyfat %. Thereafter I started to carb cycle per Vince Gironda and Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Faigin. I got into the sub 10% bodyfat very easy and "Did better" in the way of expedient fat loss. "Do better on carbs?" is relative. If the reference is to cognitive function or explosive sports performance, carbs win. I tried to train and compete in JJ on low carbs(less than 50 active gr per day) and was getting wrecked. Once I started adding starchy carbs back in at 50gr per serving and peaking at 150gr I 'did better' at performing. When your glycogen reserves are maxed out, skeletal and hepatic, and your holding all the water, you can have ripped abs on friday night and carb load clean with low fat for two days and look like a bloated pig on monday. "Do better" has to be clearly defined as most people are NOT depleting glycogen fast enough for lower carbs to be a "problem"...

    I was at around 17-18% bodyfat on higher carbs, when doing a fair bit of cycling. That is as a 37 year old female. By better, I mean I can actually go more than a few hours without hunger, have a better mood, don't feel constantly drained and irritable, can do my workouts better, not constantly needing to eat. It also had no impact on my weight. And I had plenty of muscle.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I just eat.. and watch the calories.. I'm interested in the other stuff.. macros and what-not.. but I have no idea how to set them so they actually help me meet my goals. So I just keep the added salt/sugar/fat low (most days) and choose whole raw fresh healthy foods (most days) and try to eat the right amount of calories to facilitate weight loss and be healthy.
  • DekkaTwoOneWizzy
    DekkaTwoOneWizzy Posts: 62
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    Hmmmm...thats kind of a loaded question. Theres some really rad studies on triglyceride loading on cyclists and performance enhcancement PLUS increased satiation as a consequence. Im always starving on low fat higher carbs. I just deal with it as ill only reintroduce them cyclically and in within the context of a low fat(less than 50gr) diet. You cant get away with high carbs high fat low protein. You will have lots of muscle on a 'skinny fat' looking body. But then theres my homeboy whose 54, shredded to the bone, drug free, and ONLY EVER eats Beans and Rice....he won the lottery on genetics. That is NOT the norm. Biking the rosebowl 20 times and being able to do a swimsuit photoshoot on a seconds notice require very different bodyfat%'s. If the former worlds fastest man is ONLY consuming 50gr of active carbs per day in the form of oats, what the world are nonathletes doing? Its the cracee...
  • DekkaTwoOneWizzy
    DekkaTwoOneWizzy Posts: 62
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    Also, LEAN ectsos, not skinny fat ectos, seem to tolerate high carbs very well. 60% and over. Whereas, Mesos do very well at 40-50%, and Pure Endos, largely due to insulin resistance, almost ALWAYS seem to do well at 20% and lower carb intake....you know that ripped, single digit bodyfat%, person who can eat anything and gain nothing and you know the girl everybody tells, "your so tiny gurrrrrrrrrrrl, you dont need to excercise" whose like 27% bodyfat but only 127lbs, and high carbs dont seem to be stretching her to outrageous girths nor doing her any justice. Moderate weight metabolic obesity. Will that girl 'do better' on carbs....not be hungry? Dunno. She'll fit in a size zero but look squishy as hell....performance vs cosmetics.

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