Carbs?

lmurph93 · February 2014

I got back into MFP about a week ago, mostly because I realized how crazy my diet could get as a student. I've been an avid gym goer for the past three years and love to exercise. Lately my biggest obstacle has been changing my eating habits. Mostly I LOVE carbs, and they're a staple in my meals.

I guess my question is, will eating carbs really slow down my weight loss? I'm talking whole wheat bread for sandwiches, granola, quinoa, pasta that sort of stuff?

Does anyone have any suggestions for their replacements? For lunches?

**Fun fact I learned in class (and what prompted this question) is that we absorb 100% of the carbs we eat**YIKES

rejectuf · February 2014

Some people find extreme carb restriction helps them lose weight more rapidly. I personally couldn't handle a diet like that (normally referred to as 'keto'). I cut out grains and added sugar from my diet because I feel better without them, but get a decent amount of carbs from other sources (veggies, fruits).

But ultimately as long as you eat at a calorie deficit you'll lose weight.

edit: I do want to point out that most people will feel fuller from protein, fats, and 'complex carbs' like vegetables. So feeling satisfied and not overeating may be easier by cutting down on pasta/rice/etc.

nikkylyn · February 2014

I eat carbs a lot of them. In fact im having pasta n garlic bread for dinner. I do try to eat whole wheat whenever possible. Except for white rice love the stuff.

NRSPAM · February 2014

Anything that helps you lose more rapidly, often results in gaining that weight back, not always, but very often. Carbs will not slow your weight loss. Just hit your macros, and eat at a deficit.

burtnyks · February 2014

I'm no expert, and this is just my opinion based on years of yo-yo dieting and finally finding something that works long term. I follow the IIFYM approach to food. I used to think like you did and in the last year I've learned that carbs, or fats or protein are not the enemy. Eating too much food is the enemy!! An easy way to find maintenance (at least for a starting point) is to multiply your weight by 13-15 (higher number if you are more active). The general recommendation is to eat 0.8g of protein per lb, ~0.4-0.6g of fat per lb, and you can fill the rest with carbs or however you wish. I eat more carbs now than I ever have and I was losing weight, currently just maintaining.

If you want to lose you should reduce your maintenance calories by about 10%. If the scale doesn't move you can keep lowering total calories. I would not go lower than 20% though. You can PM me if you need help! I'm a firm believe that there are no good/bad foods. There are probably better choices for overall health, like staying away from over-processed foods, but in moderation I think all is OK. You can gain weight eating 3000 calories of pop-tarts just as easily as if you ate 3000 calories of broccoli.

You don't need to give up carbs, but you should really try to focus on meeting your protein and fat requirements first to make sure you are getting enough in your diet. If you want replacements you can use lettuce or low carb tortillas for sandwiches/wraps. You can use spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for pasta. There is a neat little spiralizer you can buy on amazon for about $25 than will make zucchini noodles.

pcastagner · February 2014

Here is a neat trick.

Use half your cals to recover from what you did today and yesterday.

Use the other half to fuel tomorrow.

(Which means today's cals, in your mental budgeting, have nothing to do with the part of today that didn't happen yet)

You may eventually conclude carbs make you go faster and/or harder the next day, like a thousand athletes before you have.

Nikiki · February 2014

I eat carbs daily. I cut back on how much I eat (instead of a giant dinner plate full of spaghetti with a couple pieces of garlic bread on the side I use a small bowl and eat a small portion of it, one piece of garlic bread and douse it all liberally with spaghetti sauce. I generally keep things like bread & pasta to only a couple times a week and use whole grains like quinoa, oats & rice daily. Chocolate happens daily though. I must have chocolate and coffee to live

One thing I have discovered unfortunately is I can't drink much while losing. In maintenance I can have a glass or two of wine daily but when actively trying to lose I can drink 1-2 drinks MAYBE once every other week. My alcohol tolerance has gone down the crapper from this *le sigh* but as long as I can have my chocolate I will survive

and once I get back to maintenance I can go back to my daily reds

pkw58 · February 2014

For me, I go for nutritionally dense carbs. Also, I really try not to eat more than 30% carbs ( I am on maintenance). It is extremely easy to obtain and eat carbs. I went thru the whole Dukan Diet on line process, and they really should change the name to Dukan Lifestyle. Carbs are reintroduced in stage 3 .. but after not eating bread, pasta, rice or potatoes for almost six months, I really can only eat them in very limited quantities occasionally. When I was on stage 3 I was suppose to add back two pieces of whole grain bread daily and it actually repulsed me, so the on line coach told me to eat another apple or 1/2 a banana. Worked just fine.

My macros are set to 40% protein, 30% Carbs, 30% Fat. it is an on going battle to get enough protein when out and about for work and travel.

I have lots of tricks for eating out. Any good sushi place (and even the chains like sushi pop) will make any sushi roll without rice. Any asian based food will give you shredded cabbage instead of rice or noodles (Pei Wei, for example) ... all my favorite Tex Mex restaurants will sub sliced avocados for rice/beans. You don't have to eat the noodles in the soup, you can eat the meat, veggies and broth just fine and leave the limp noodles and rice behind. My go to breakfast at any deli is two hard oiled eggs or 4 1/2's of deviled eggs. Yogurt and Cottage cheese are great for breakfast. And so forth...Even if you decide to just cut down on servings of "empty carbs" you won't miss out. Sometimes I think those things dilute the flavors of really good food. You will be amazed about how good meatballs with red sauce fast with no pasta or cheese.

Good luck! Find the right nutrition at any stage of life is always a challenge, but it can be fun.

kgeyser · February 2014

There's nothing wrong with eating carbs, the only thing you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit. Like many others here, I eat plenty of carbs and am still losing weight. I would recommend eating a decent amount of protein at every meal, as it will help you feel full. I find that when I have meals that have lots of carbs and not very much protein that I tend to still feel hungry, which explains how I could eat three doughnuts in one sitting despite the number of calories I was getting.

lmurph93 · February 2014

Thanks for all the tips, and reassurance! You all rock!

I definitely won't be cutting carbs anytime soon, so I think I'll just make sure I get enough protein and good fat, and let the carbs fall where they may.

mmmm and someone mentioned coffee - can't live without coffee!!

Ctrum69 · February 2014

Uhhh.. I'd question where the information you got in class came from.

Dietary fiber is carbs you eat, but cannot digest.

Your body BURNS 100% of the carbs you eat, in one form or another, just like your car burns 100% of the gas you put in it. But if you are feeding it the right gas, it runs properly.

SImple carbs tend to spike the body's sugar levels quickly.

Complex carbs burn more slowly, and are a more preferred fuel.

SImple carbs ( a coke, grape juice, etc) also carry little to no nutrition beyond simple sugars.

Complex carbs carry a lot of your micronutrition. (spinach, broccoli, whole wheat bread).

Quinoa is an excellent "carb" because it's got a whackload of nutrition along with the carbs required to fuel your body. Beans as well.

Eat balanced, and if you go for carbs, go for the complex over the simple, if possible. That's not to say a glass of OJ should never pass your lips, but if you have the choice between that, and broccoli, go for the broccoli.

kennie2 · February 2014

CAAARRRBBBSSSS

Weirdly Enough being high carb has helped me lose weight, lean out and always feel awesome!

pcastagner · February 2014

Uhhh.. I'd question where the information you got in class came from.

Dietary fiber is carbs you eat, but cannot digest.

Your body BURNS 100% of the carbs you eat, in one form or another, just like your car burns 100% of the gas you put in it. But if you are feeding it the right gas, it runs properly.

SImple carbs tend to spike the body's sugar levels quickly.

Complex carbs burn more slowly, and are a more preferred fuel.

SImple carbs ( a coke, grape juice, etc) also carry little to no nutrition beyond simple sugars.

Complex carbs carry a lot of your micronutrition. (spinach, broccoli, whole wheat bread).

Quinoa is an excellent "carb" because it's got a whackload of nutrition along with the carbs required to fuel your body. Beans as well.

Eat balanced, and if you go for carbs, go for the complex over the simple, if possible. That's not to say a glass of OJ should never pass your lips, but if you have the choice between that, and broccoli, go for the broccoli.

Actually your body stores carbs you don't burn, so if you die with some adipose tissue or glycogen stores, you obviously haven't burned 100%, even in the long run.

You burn some, you store some. If your body sucks in the storing carbs department, you have a condition known as diabetes.

lmurph93 · February 2014

Uhhh.. I'd question where the information you got in class came from.

Dietary fiber is carbs you eat, but cannot digest.

Your body BURNS 100% of the carbs you eat, in one form or another, just like your car burns 100% of the gas you put in it. But if you are feeding it the right gas, it runs properly.

SImple carbs tend to spike the body's sugar levels quickly.

Complex carbs burn more slowly, and are a more preferred fuel.

SImple carbs ( a coke, grape juice, etc) also carry little to no nutrition beyond simple sugars.

Complex carbs carry a lot of your micronutrition. (spinach, broccoli, whole wheat bread).

Quinoa is an excellent "carb" because it's got a whackload of nutrition along with the carbs required to fuel your body. Beans as well.

Eat balanced, and if you go for carbs, go for the complex over the simple, if possible. That's not to say a glass of OJ should never pass your lips, but if you have the choice between that, and broccoli, go for the broccoli.

Actually your body stores carbs you don't burn, so if you die with some adipose tissue or glycogen stores, you obviously haven't burned 100%, even in the long run.

You burn some, you store some. If your body sucks in the storing carbs department, you have a condition known as diabetes.

Appreciate the advice about good carbs! I think from a nutrition/macromolecule stand point I was thinking more along the lines of pcastagner - you absorb 100% of the GLUCOSE you eat and either use it or store it as fat/glycogen, unfortunately we don't burn all of it. But you'e right dietary fibre is different and our body can't digest it.

Ctrum69 · February 2014

Actually your body stores carbs you don't burn, so if you die with some adipose tissue or glycogen stores, you obviously haven't burned 100%, even in the long run.

You burn some, you store some. If your body sucks in the storing carbs department, you have a condition known as diabetes.

Yes, that's the way the body functions. It's a gas tank. Your body, through your daily life, and millions of years of evolution, knows that it cannot count on carbs being in your digestive tract when it needs them, so it stores them for ready use.

It's like the gas tank on your car. If you drive 1000 miles and never put gas in it, it will run out. But if you only drive miles a day, yet put five gallons in daily, you'll need a bigger gas tank.

Finding the balance, where your body is burning what you are putting in, is the key to maintaining. If you want to lose, you have to put in less than you are burning (Ta da, weight loss), and if you want to gain, more.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm assuming she's going to aim for eating about what she's burning or slightly less.

and I think the "calories are calories' is a disingenuous thing to say, because on a broad overview, that may be true, but on an individual level, and to maintain healthy weight loss, what you eat is as important as how much you eat.

pcastagner · February 2014

Actually your body stores carbs you don't burn, so if you die with some adipose tissue or glycogen stores, you obviously haven't burned 100%, even in the long run.

You burn some, you store some. If your body sucks in the storing carbs department, you have a condition known as diabetes.

Yes, that's the way the body functions. It's a gas tank. Your body, through your daily life, and millions of years of evolution, knows that it cannot count on carbs being in your digestive tract when it needs them, so it stores them for ready use.

It's like the gas tank on your car. If you drive 1000 miles and never put gas in it, it will run out. But if you only drive miles a day, yet put five gallons in daily, you'll need a bigger gas tank.

Finding the balance, where your body is burning what you are putting in, is the key to maintaining. If you want to lose, you have to put in less than you are burning (Ta da, weight loss), and if you want to gain, more.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm assuming she's going to aim for eating about what she's burning or slightly less.

and I think the "calories are calories' is a disingenuous thing to say, because on a broad overview, that may be true, but on an individual level, and to maintain healthy weight loss, what you eat is as important as how much you eat.

Sort of?

With dynamic capacity though.

Sort of a Dr. Seuss gas tank.

Carbs?

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