How low is your Low Carb ?

and not breaking out the fiber from the total doesn't make sense. your body can't digest fiber so it doesn't add either to calories or to your carb intake.

I try to stay under 100g/day, and usually manage between 50-70g/day.

250

no joke.

for me that's low-carb. 25% of my intake, but I'm also trying to gain. Normally at 3000 cal, my carbs are around 180g

(also, as someone who eats a primal diet and supports the lifestyle, this thread makes me cringe a bit... 100-150g of carbs, cool. sub-100 though... especially sub 50... i really don't know why people do it TBH)

.....I think all carbs are getting a bad rap, when it's starchy or processed carbs that are the real culprits.

I 100% agree with that. I keep my carbs around 40% of my total calories...some more restricted than the average joe out there I'm sure...but the whole no carb/low carb craze reminds me a lot of the no fat craze of the 80s.

No way I could really go super low on my carbs...I love my very nutrient dense berries and fruit too much....

I think it's possible to get all of the nutrients you need doing LC...but most people I know who do LC don't...they don't make up for the nutrients they are lacking from not eating fruit and the like.

I am curious how many of the low carb'ers track their potassium, sodium and calcium consumption? In Lyle McDonald's rapid fat loss book he discusses that it easy to get your electrolytes out of whack on a low carb plan. Another guy I know and respect suggested this to me a while ago and after I started tracking them I did find that mine were low. Supplementing with magnesium daily was another thing a fellow recommended and it has made a difference.

Just thought I would share.

Eating too low carbs will harm your body eventually, your body needs carbs to function properly. forget about keeping them low and just eat the good carbs from fruits and veg.

Simply untrue. There is absolutely no need for dietary intake of carbohydrate from a biochemical standpoint. None.

This isn't to say carbs are something everyone needs restrict, only those that have a medical/physiological reason to do so.

15 grams per serving, no more then 45 in a meal, plus 15 for each of 2 snacks.
I was told by a Diabetic Nutritionist.

A daily limit of less than 150 g of carbohydrates is typically considered a low-carb diet. Some low-carb diet plans, however, encourage the consumption of a very low amount of carbohydrates to facilitate weight loss or help correct metabolic derangements such as diabetes or insulin resistance. Very low-carb diets may include less than 20 g of carbohydrates a day, which corresponds to less than 4 percent of your daily calorie intake.

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Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/426550-what-is-considered-a-low-carb-diet/#ixzz2OJ3135Qd

Yes, I agree with this poster. My nutritionist gave me guidelines of 15 carbs for snacks and 30-45 carbs for breakfast and 45-60 carbs for lunch and for dinner. This results in about 185-225 carbs per day. (However, I do a check for net carbs at the end of the day (total carbs minus total fiber). If I am netting less than 130 NET carbs then I eat a cracker or two to get it up. I have problems with headaches and weakness if I get less than 130 net carbs a day.)

I was diabetic with very high blood sugar but I got it under control in just a couple months by eating 5-6 times a day at the above carb levels and now I am totally off medicine and declared normal, non-diabetic. :happy:

And this is not necessarily "low carb" -- I consider this a Moderate Carb way of eating. I also try to ensure that my carbs are healthy and not processed. So I focus on carbs like rice and potatoes rather than pasta, etc. That being said, I have a few healthy-as-possible while still yummy cookies on most days. I'm not on a diet after all, this is my healthy lifestyle and having treats in moderation is important and something I plan to always maintain. :flowerforyou:

Eating too low carbs will harm your body eventually, your body needs carbs to function properly. forget about keeping them low and just eat the good carbs from fruits and veg.

Simply untrue. There is absolutely no need for dietary intake of carbohydrate from a biochemical standpoint. None.

This isn't to say carbs are something everyone needs restrict, only those that have a medical/physiological reason to do so.

i know you're credible, but do you mind citing this?

while your brain CAN use ketone bodies, it prefers glucose.

i know you're credible, but do you mind citing this?

while your brain CAN use ketone bodies, it prefers glucose.

First, as mentioned in another post, "preferred" from a biochemical standpoint simply means it will use that source FIRST if available, not that it's better for it in any way.

As for citations:

Metabolic Effects of very-low-carbohydrate diets: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129159/#B13

Is dietary carbohydrate essential for human nutrition? http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/5/951.2.long

Lyle McDonald (who seems highly respected in the MFP community) also makes mention of this here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html

Lyle also states (and is quite correct) "Even the American Dietetic Association bible, the RDA Handbook, states that there is no requirement for dietary carbohydrates. Any decent nutrition or physiology book will state the same. "

There are endless sources confirming that there is NO dietary requirement for carbohydrate in humans.

Eating too low carbs will harm your body eventually, your body needs carbs to function properly. forget about keeping them low and just eat the good carbs from fruits and veg.

That's what I'm talking about. I stay around 20 net carbs, but most of those are coming from salads and veggies. I have cut out processed foods, and I eat no wheat, pasta, rice, or potatos.