whats low carb!?

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Amanda82691
Amanda82691 Posts: 298 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So how do we know how many carbs we should be eating a day and what would be considered low carb for people?

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Some national guidelines suggest 50-55% of calorie intake as carbs. Others have protein guidelines and essential fats and leave carbs to fill the gap.

    I would say less than 20% of calories is "relatively low carb", less than 50 grams a day is low carb.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Carb sensitivity varies from person to person. I find my body does best at around 100g per day. Anything less than 50 a day I'd call low-carb, but I would find that very hard. Atkins and similar programmes talk about net carbs, just to make the picture even less clear-cut, which is carbs minus fibre (so many veggies are OK....)
  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
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    It definitely varies, but I agree that 100g or less per day constitues a low carb diet. Most low carbers eat 50 or less, if i had to guess. Just MHO. :)
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Yup...depends on your goals. I was undiagnosed insulin resistant for quite a few years before becoming t2D.

    I am no longer able to handle more than 10 g of carbs per meal, rougly under 50 g per day...that's usually not sustainable but my future and quality of life depends on it.

    My husband on the other hand, is carb sensitive and keeps his to under 75 g per day most days, never going over 100.

    Google primal blueprint carb curve, I think that will give you a guideline you can live with if you can work with.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    Anything under 100. My body likes to have about 60-70/day without massive blood sugar swings or cravings but I know others keep it even under 30g. I find it difficult to get my fibre in if I'm less than 60ish.
  • mab5338
    mab5338 Posts: 14
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    I currently do about 80 total carbs per day, about 30+ of that being fiber, so 50 or fewer net carbs. It's really not too hard to do, cut out the "side" dishes with lunch and dinner and just have the meat and veggies. I have found that eating some white-carbs (a bagel thin) in the morning helps with my cravings and I am still losing about .5lbs a day and staying under 50 total carbs.
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
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    Low carb? Ain't nobody got time for that!
  • takumaku
    takumaku Posts: 352 Member
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    Standard view taken from the US guidelines.


    High carbs: 50%-70%

    Moderate carbs: 30%-45%

    Low carbs: less than 30%
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
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    Low carb? Ain't nobody got time for that!

    I also don't got time for diabetes and foot amputations
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    Low carb? Ain't nobody got time for that!

    I also don't got time for diabetes and foot amputations

    lol true story.
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
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    Low carb? Ain't nobody got time for that!

    Dialysis takes quite a chunk out of one's day as well
  • h9dlb
    h9dlb Posts: 243 Member
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    Less than 100g a day is low carb. Less than 50g is very low. Atkins starter is <20g.

    Although I lost a lot of weight, I really struggled to get through the day on less than 75g, my workouts suffered and I rapidly lost muscle mass.

    Horses for courses I guess but low carb didn't work for me.
  • seanp306
    seanp306 Posts: 1
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    Honestly, it all depends on your body type. You should consult a personal trainer and explain what you want your body to look like. For me, I am trying to cut carbs since I want to expose my six pack. To that end, I have just completed a sugar detox cleanse and I feel great! I am now free of mood swings and more energetic. I used an eBook called, ’21 Day Sugar Detox’. There’s a review of this program at www.smartsean.com
  • matthewlamere
    matthewlamere Posts: 27 Member
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    they say 300 carbs a day is the right amount.. its garbage. There's a big court case pending about how the food pyramid was made to intentionally deceive people into thinking they needed more grain products than they really do. Doctors who made the pyramid were apparently influenced by the larger corporations. What you truly need to lose weight is around 1 gram of protein per pound you weight 15 grams of saturated fat and 25-80 carbs per day. Also try to keep your carbs whole grain and more "natural". White bread is made from a lot of corn starch... it will literally kill you. The things that get approved by the fda are unreal.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Low carb? Ain't nobody got time for that!

    I also don't got time for diabetes and foot amputations

    lol true story.

    sigh...indeed.

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