Why are Carbs bad?

I don't really view food in terms of bad or good.

I eat carbs, sugar, fat, protein etc. I just make sure to stay in my macros and create a weekly deficit and the weight comes off.

DITTO

No good reason to cut carbs. Just cut your calories and you'll be successful. Good luck!

Reasons Below as to why Low Carb is not a fad.

Low carb is better for insulin resistant people, a real medical issue. One third of the American population is insulin resistant. Having 30 pounds of extra fat greatly raises your chances of being insulin resistant. People who are overweight don't bother to get tested because they are in denial and often say something along the lines of, "I'm fat, i know I have something so why bother getting tested?". Because once insulin resistant, always insulin resistant.

Not true.
Insulin resistance can be reversible.

It can be managed, not reversed. The websites you visit that claim reversal all have one thing in common, changing your diet. That is a form of management, not a true reversal in that you can ingest carbs and never see a spike above 140.

Losing weight, exercising and increasing the intake of fiber, fruits and vegetables can improve insulin sensitivity.

Carbohydrates are necessary for brain function.
Your brain cannot function without glucose.

However you don't have to eat carbs for the above to hold true, as you can make your own glucose.

As previous posters have said, carbs aren't inherently bad. However, I personally cannot keep certain kinds of carby foods in the house because they're a binge trigger for me. I'm currently eating moderately low carb as I teach myself healthier eating habits (I.e. not so much with the chips and cake and cookies, and more with the fruits, veggies, and whole grain stuff).

I should have put 'bad' because it's not what I think, but what I hear people say about them! I don't want to give them up, but wondered if cutting down may help?????

Test your insulin sensitivity and you will know for sure if they are holding you back. I know you just glossed over what I said because you're most likely thinking that nothing is wrong with you and that you do not have medical issue what so ever. This could be true and it might be wrong. How do we know? Simple 10 dollar Blood Glucose kit from Walgreens will tell you if carbs are stalling your weightloss. Ingest 75 grams of carbs and test at least 3 times within two hours to track how high your glucose levels goes. If at anytime they go above 140, you can consider carbs as a primary factor as the reason for gaining all yoru weight back and making it harder to lose. However, A truly normal person rarely ever goes above 120 post meal glucose levels.

annnnd where were you miss pop tart kitty rainbow when I was trying to figure out why I could'nt lose weight?....:huh:

The responses I got was:
eat moar!
eat less!
you're not weighing your food
you're not working out enough
you're overestimating your caloric burn
eat more balanced meals
eat more veggies
eat less meat

:noway:

The ONE thing I didn't count on was blood sugar regulation issues. Now that I know though, a diet very low in carbs (for my health) and moderate caloric deficit has got me losing consistently ever since I found out 3 months ago. :drinker:

OP;
chekc out 'Diet 101: The truth about low carb diets' written by Jenny Rhul helped me a great deal. I got it for my tablet on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Diet-101-Truth-About-Diets/dp/0964711656/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374973691&sr=8-1&keywords=low+carb+diet+101+jenny+ruhl

You won't get any sugar coating with this book, you'll get the straight skinny on Low Carbing & if you DO have sugar regulation issues, this will help.

However, if your blood sugar is normal, there are far easier ways to lose weight. To reap the benefits of this kind of diet, one must make the choice as a lifestyle change meant to maintain for life. Pretty do-able if you have medical issues, not so much if all else is equal. :ohwell:

No matter what though, a caloric deficit is required to lose weight.

Carbs are like sodium in that unless you are medically advised to keep an eye on them (e.g. a problem with your blood sugar regulation system or your renin-angiotension-aldosterone system respectively) they aren't bad.

Worst case scenario, 96.6% of the 65.9 pounds of weight I've lost in the last 8 months has been fat mass, and that is with regular cardio, weight training rarely (i.e. I still haven't done my leg day from my 3-day-split I started 5 weeks ago), 15-20% protein most weeks, high sodium some weeks, ice lollies and ice cream, Snickers bars, cookies, bread, fruit, take-aways (including Chinese, McDonald's, Subway, and Pizza Hut), Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, supermarket ready meals, a blue raspberry slushie, milkshake, chocolate milk, and bagels are just some of the things I've consumed in that time that sound relevant.

They're not.

/thread

Hi Pal. Congradulations on you success! I had weight loss surgery to help me loose the weight. I would say yes to cutting back on the carbs if its a big part of your diet and see if you loose or not. Then go from there and try to find a good nutritional balance to keep you loosing. Good luck Hun!

carbs are GOOD, they are your fuel if you are a cardio queen like me.