How Bad Are Carbs?

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syedsaad
syedsaad Posts: 156 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am doing pretty good with my calories and fat intake but always waaayyyyy over in carbs (around 100 carbs over everyday) ..... how bad is it if the total calorie intake is OK???

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  • capergirl770
    capergirl770 Posts: 23 Member
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    I can't lose weight at all just cutting calories, I have to cut carbs to about 25 grams a day. But a lot of people you should balance all 3.. I wish I could be I'm not one of those people
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    ALLTHECARBS_zps89494765.jpg
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
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    For weight loss, it's the calories that count, BUT if you're that far over on carbs and still within your calorie goal, you pretty much have to be shorting either protein, fats, or both. And that's not good, because (a) both protein and fat keep you fuller longer so it's easier to stick to a deficit, and (b) they're more vital than carbs--I'm not low-carb myself, and as a runner find them great for energy, but you absolutely need protein and fat for your body's daily functions. One thing a lot of us do is treat the protein and fat numbers as minimums and try hard to hit or exceed them every day, then let the carbs fill in the rest.

    Hope that helps.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Carbs are great, but priority 1 after the calorie goal is your protein goal. 1 gram per lb of lean mass. Then fat. 0.3 grams per lb of body weight. Carbs are the rest.
  • gangstagirl625
    gangstagirl625 Posts: 187 Member
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    for me low calories dont work but as soon as i cut the carb it started falling off
  • barnzey901
    barnzey901 Posts: 33 Member
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    I am doing pretty good with my calories and fat intake but always waaayyyyy over in carbs (around 100 carbs over everyday) ..... how bad is it if the total calorie intake is OK???

    Also look at what kind of carbs you are consuming.

    Try consuming less refined carbs i.e. white bread, white rice etc. and swap these for whole grains such as whole meal bread, brown rice etc.
  • skinny2be2013
    skinny2be2013 Posts: 9
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    Carbs are fine it depends how you feel on them. At the end of the day as long as your kcal intake is at your max you should be fine.
    I find that if i eat alot of carby meals (breads and pastas) then i feel hungry soon after even tho i shouldnt.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Unless you have a medical condition (like diabetes), you shouldn't have to worry about carbs. :)
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Unless you have a medical condition (like diabetes), you shouldn't have to worry about carbs. :)

    This.

    Carbs get a bad rap. They aren't bad and your body does need some carbs. Go for the good carbs and try to limit the "bad" carbs (white breads, pastas, flours, etc).

    I consume a lot of carbs daily due to fruits and veggies. Over 200g a day and I still lose fine. Some people are different though.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    I am doing pretty good with my calories and fat intake but always waaayyyyy over in carbs (around 100 carbs over everyday) ..... how bad is it if the total calorie intake is OK???
    Carbs are great. Protein and fat are your essential nutrients. They should not be thought of as minimums, particularly if you are using MFP setup (which uses the minimum for a healthy weight adult, not taking into account many factors such as energy metabolism). What is more important is to get an adequate amount of protein (over .8g/lb of body weight) and fat (I'm not sure the numbers on this guy 'cause I'm sure I get plenty) before filling up on carbs. So for example typically I try to get over 100g of protein, over 40g of fat, and over 200 carbs each day. I'm 129 pounds. If I exercise a lot and have a lot of exercise calories worked up, I try to use it on carbs (since they help repair damaged muscles), but where your 'extra' calories go is really up to you (it's much debated and up in the air as to what is best if you are getting adequate protein and fats).

    I wouldn't recommend a low carb, low fat, or low anything diet. Just eat a balanced diet and get the nutrients that your body needs.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    As long as you are getting adequate protein and fat, it's ok that you're over on carbs. Personally, I have found it helpful to take a more keto approach but it's not for everyone.. if you feel good eating lots of carbohydrates and you protein and fat are meeting your needs then what's the problem?
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    Your body burns macros in the following order (easily turned to energy):

    1. Carbs (blood sugar and glycogen stores from muscles)
    2. Protein (muscle tissue itself)
    3. Fat (least efficient to convert therefore the last to be used)

    Once you know the macro burn order it's easy to see where you need to cut grams. Also shows you why it is so important to have some kind of resistance training in your workout regimen. If your body knows that you need your muscles frequently to do work it will turn to fat stores for energy instead of lean muscle if there are no carbs.

    Carbs are the primary energy source... period.
    Protein is strictly for muscle growth and repair.
    Fat is for neural performance. Your nervous system needs fats to function properly.

    All of these energy sources get converted into glycogen and that gets stored in your tissues for work/exercise.

    This is also why so many people believe in Intermittent Fasting and Fasted Training. It burns out all the glycogen and forces your body to rely on fat stores until you break the fast and feed the body with clean food. Your milage may vary.

    Bottom line you need to figure out your goals and adjust your macros accordingly. Remember on training days you will most likely want more carbs than fat and on non-training days a bit more fat and less carbs. If you go SLIGHTLY over it's fine, but 100g/day over on a consistent basis is a bit much, unless you are doing intense training.

    My 2¢
  • syedsaad
    syedsaad Posts: 156 Member
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    Thank You All

    new to keeping a look at my diet so dont know much but learned alot from the responses :)

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