Counting Carbs instead of Calories?

smte
smte Posts: 89 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious .... has anyone had any success in counting carbs rather than calories? When I was pregnant, I was diagnosed w/ Gestational Diabetes and had to monitor my diet. I was told how many carbs to have for each meal & snack (3 meals and 3 snacks). I found this a lot easier to do that counting calories.

I have not been disciplined with keeping this up, plus, my carb intake is lower than when I was pregnant.

So, did anyone do this? Did you lose weight? If so, how did you figure out how many carbs for each meal/snack?

Thanks!

Replies

  • shafa4321
    shafa4321 Posts: 132 Member
    I am doing low carb and if u could keep it under 30 carb works well .
  • prefabsey
    prefabsey Posts: 25 Member
    Some recommend <100g per day --> http://www.marksdailyapple.com/press/the-primal-blueprint-diagrams/#axzz2qtpaPrcM

    I'd search for the low carb groups on MFP. In the general forums, some people are unsupportive of of low carb intake and/or carb counting.

    I will say, however, that you might need to get used to counting calories, or at least understanding what healthy proportions are. If you eat (very) low carb but still eat mountains and mountains of food, you will probably undo any of the weight-loss effects of low carb intake.
  • vwbug86
    vwbug86 Posts: 283 Member
    If a lower/low card diets works for you great.

    I would defiantly suggest still keeping under your calorie goal. Because if you 4000 calories, but only 100 carbs you will still gain weight.
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    If you eat (very) low carb but still eat mountains and mountains of food, you will probably undo any of the weight-loss effects of low carb intake.

    It's hard to eat "mountains" of low-carb food. Meat/fish/poultry (with some fat), eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, cream, all the non-starchy veggies you want, some starchy veggies if you work out long and hard, small amounts of low-sugar fruit--these will satisfy you well before you hit the 4,000-calorie mark. Once you've adjusted to a lower-carb, real-food diet, you find yourself satiated for longer, not having to snack every two hours.

    As for the OP's question--it varies. Some say 20g carbs per meal, others say 72g carbs spread over the day. Mark's Daily Apple recommends between 50 and 100, less than 50 if you're trying to kick-start weight loss. It isn't necessary to do the Atkins induction (20g/day the first few weeks) and 5 carbs/week ramp-up (Ongoing Weight Loss), unless you just want/need that kind of structure. Experiment to find out what level works for you, using one of these options as a starting point.
  • Ignaura
    Ignaura Posts: 203 Member
    i count macros (protein, carbs, and fat) instead of calories. To me is easier that way and calories fall just in place.
  • LatinaGordita
    LatinaGordita Posts: 377 Member
    i would suggest you check out the forum below:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-group

    There are some many variations of low carb. Atkins, Keto, Primal, etc. etc. Each of these have their own forum groups on MFP.

    Do some research and pick what you feel you can stick with. I started day 1 with 300 grams of carbs slowly lowered (divided by 2 a week at a time) until I felt I got the best results. You had GD, however are you pre-diabetic now? Is your doctor recommending a low carb diet?

    I currently stick to a keto diet and eat less than 20 net carbs. My macros are 70%f, 25%p and 5%carbs. That works for me.

    Best of luck on your journey.

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