Who's losing weight and eating carbs?

I eat carbs, in fact I eat whatever I want 5 days a week as I'm on the 5:2 diet, which in my opinion is the best thing since sliced bread - oops is that a carb!!

I've never met a carb I didn't like.

Unless you have a medical condition, there isn't a reason to restrict.

^This!

I eat 130-250 grams of carbs a day. My workouts involve hardly any cardio, and lots of weight lifting. Carbs are my fave!!

I beg to differ. Carbs killed my cat.

Cats are "obligate carnivores." They are not able to digest carbs very well. Yes, too many carbs can cause all kinds of problems for cats. In particular, they can develop "mega colon" which means their large intestine stretches out and stops working very well. We have a cat with this condition that we took in when he was well along in years. He probably had a mostly dry-food diet in his youth and most of the dry foods are pretty high carb. So, if you have a constipated cat, unlike a constipated human, he does not need more fiber but instead no fiber or as little as possible. Although previously people used things like canned pumpkin to help a cat go, this is no longer recommended.

OK...that is scary to hear! I have a fat cat who is always getting into carb things, tortillas, bread, pretzels, chips, it drives me nuts! I try to hide it as much as possible but now the carbaholic cat has learned to open the pantry door so I need to buy kid locks for it. Yikes!!

Ummm to the OP I eat tons of carbs, I don't think it makes that much of a difference overall and they are tasty. I am trying to get more protein in my diet now that I have started tracking it and doing strength training but carbs are a very good thing!

i usually eat whatever I want. Just portion control! I know how many calories I need a day and get in some exercise. This is a lifestyle change not a race. I will however say I have done no carbs once in this 6 months to reset my body. Did for 2 weeks. It does work great but I cannot say I would be able to do it forever.

I eat bread, cookies, cake, pasta, rice, did I mention cookies?, and it hasn't hindered my weight loss one bit. I put my macros at 40/30/30 and just eat what I feel like. I only try not to go over my limit of 1600-1800 cals a day. If I do, no biggie, there's always tomorrow.

I eat carbs approximately 180 per day based on last week's report. I also don't eat clean and I don't worry too much about macros. I worry about hitting my calorie goal. If I want something, I make it fit or find a substitute. I made a long term lifestyle change and would not stop eating or start doing something that I wouldn't be able to realistically sustain for the rest of my life. This is why I stopped drinking soda - saw no point and haven't missed them once I got over the craving/withdrawal phase - but really made no other changes other than watching my portions and counting my calories. I have a huge sweet and chocolate tooth and have ice cream or Oreos nearly every day. I'm one that if I denied myself those items, I'd end up eating half a bucket of ice cream instead of 2 servings (and yes, 2 servings because that's what fits ;-) )

Unless you have some medical condition messing with your metabolism or intolerance to certain foods, weight loss is about consuming fewer calories than you expend. Some of us find that right number right off the bat and have consistently lost weight since day one. For others it's taken some trial and error to find the right goal.

For me, I eat a net 1600 per day. On days I work out, I eat back those calories which are calculated by my heart rate monitor. I work out 5 days a week which puts me eating around 1850-2000 calories those days and 1600 on my two rest days. My deficit is such that even if I go over a few hundred a couple days a week, I'm still setting myself up for a loss. I do a 60 minute circuit training/crossfit type class that is intervals of cardio and strength training using free weights, body weight, medicine balls, tractor tires, resistance bands, etc.

My best friend actually lost 40 pounds tracking her carbs. She had also been just diagnosed with diabetes so this was her main motivation to ensure she was not eating too many of them.

My best friend actually lost 40 pounds tracking her carbs. She had also been just diagnosed with diabetes so this was her main motivation to ensure she was not eating too many of them.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in Feb 2012. I've lost 50+ lbs here on MFP, plus a few before that, for a total of 68. My nutritionist recommended 45-60 grams of carbs for each main meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and 15 g for snacks (afternoon & before bedtime), with a max of 180, I belive it was. I haven't paid much attention to the max, but I do try to stick to 45-50 per meal. I still eat whatever I want, but a lot less. I've found that 1 or 2 cookies taste just as good as 5 or 6 or 10! I rarely drink soda or lemonade anymore because they're not filling for the amount of carbs/calories they take up, but if I want one, I have it. Fruits & veg are good because they have a relatively low # of carbs for the amount of calories, so you can generally eat more. If you eat a lot of processed foods, you will generally get less food for the amount of carbs/calories. Good luck!

As to exercise - at first, not a lot--some walking. But as my calorie allowance goes down with the weight loss, I generally exercise enough to "afford" ice cream or another dessert every day. I'm up to about 40 minutes on my stationary bike most days, plus some cooldown stretching.

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@mrm27 : You know what. People are so mean on mfp. Have some respect,


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wow,, i can't believe u are saying that,, but to be honest u are one of the mean people and no respect,, especially ur comments to my post and threads ,, ahahaha lmao, lol!

Actually you can die if you don't eat enough protein and fat. The body requires no carbs to live. Processed food is junk. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are how I get carbs.

These kind of posts are such an issue on here. People come to these boards for help, if you dont have legit information, dont respond.

I agree that processed food does nothing good for your body and whole grains are totally the way to go. But your body will not survive without carbs....

No, actually he's right. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate.

I eat lots of carbs. I am losing weight, and I am diabetic (type 2). I do a lot of exercise which requires the high carbs intake. But this has no detrimental effect on and blood sugar levels which are really under control due to the exercise. It has given me so much control that I no longer require medication for diabetes. However, if I didn't eat so many carbs I would have problems, because, kind of ironically for a diabetic, I have to eat lots of carbohydrate to prevent hypos. If you're sitting on your butt all day, you don't need so many carbs. But if you are very active (Sunday I did a 91 mile sportive) you do.

our metabolisms are all different. personally, now that I'm 40, i am definitely noticing some changes in my burn rate (metabolism) so I avoid the carbs which make me feel bad the next day. These tend to be carbs made with white bleached flour. I'm in the best shape of my life, i do various forms of cardio 6 days a week and lifting / training 2-3 days a week.

It took me a month or so to really learn to make my own food and that i could eat anything i wanted

Here's what I eat for carbs, and it's not a restrictive thing. I do eat white flour pasta from time to time, but usually only if someone ls cooking or i'm out to eat, but that's because i prefer the whole wheat pasta. I don't eat out nearly as much as I used to, in fact I cook almost all my meals and i love it! I've been getting creative.

Here's my list of carbs, I eat all these items for carbs and have great energy levels, and have gotten my body fat down to the athletic range for my age (i'm 40 with 18% body fat with a plus/minus error of 2%)

I don't restrict, i just listen to my body and pay attention to what goes in it. The cravings have all stopped, and if i crave something i eat it.

My Favorite Carbs:

- Whole wheat pasta (i love this so much, i prefer it - we are all different but i like the taste better)
- whole wheat & grainy bread (a couple times a week, only when i want it)
- leafy greens
- sweet delicious fruit! raspberries strawberries blackberries sometimes grapes depends on the season
- love tomatoes yum
- I roast a ton of veggies: carrots, yams, potatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli
- garbanzo beans YUM
- black beans
- dark chocolate 86% or higher
- asparagus
- cauliflower
- Kale (yummy homemade kale chips)
- Corn (not that often but i don't restrict it either) (i aim for moderation with corn)
- Brown Rice
- Bulgur Wheat / Kasha
- Lentils (red, green, black)