How many grams is "low carb"?

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  • jsuaccounting
    jsuaccounting Posts: 193 Member
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    Try taking out all bread, pasta and added sugars to see how it works for you. That will probably put you at moderate to low carb without having to think about it too much.

    I think of low carb as < 75 grams per day (think Slow Carb diet, Southbeach Phase II)

    I think of Moderate carb as 75-100 grams per day but I've seen it defined as 150 grams or less.

    A Ketogenic diet is something unique. It is not just doing low carb. If you want to go for Keto you should do some research (not on this site - try reddit for more accurate advice on Keto http://www.reddit.com/r/keto). Ketogenic is usually under 25 grams of carbs per day (think Adkins). It will flush the excess salt and water out of your tissues and can make you a little woozy for a few days. To attain a predominately ketogenic state - someone usually has to eat high fat (65%+) and moderate protein.

    Good luck - the last 10 pounds is difficult. Keep us posted on how you do it.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
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    Scientifically anything below the RDA for study purposes. Low carb would have quite a range, on the other hand very low carb would probably be where ketosis exists and for most that would be under 100 g's.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    However, this doesn't really clarify whether it's better to restrict carbs to a certain number of grams per day or a certain percentage of your calories per day. Which method will give you better weight loss?

    I would go with grams, as there are factors like the brain's daily glucose consumption that are grams per day and not a % of what you eat. Atkins phase 1 is <20g/day of net carbs, Dr Westman's ketogenic diet is <20g of total carbohydrate, etc.

    Usually when you see a % of daily calories number it has started life as grams per day and been turned into a % of a typical 2000 calorie or similar diet.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
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    I think it really depends who you ask. Mark Sisson defines low carb at 20-50g/day (total not net) and he qualifies this as the "sweet spot" for weight loss. Above that ,50-100g is slow steady loss and 100-150g is maintenance for active people.

    Anytime I feel a bit pudgy I drop my carbs to around 20% (50-70g/day with about 30g being fiber) and lean right back out again. Be sure to replace these macros with plenty of FAT not necessarily protein as too much protein may overload your kidney and not nourish your body. A good macro would be 20%carb/ 50%fat/ 30% protein.

    Hope this helps.
    But then again Mark also states that 300+ is where insidious weight gain occurs, so basically we can discount anything he says about weight loss and carbs.
  • ailoros1
    ailoros1 Posts: 3
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    However, this doesn't really clarify whether it's better to restrict carbs to a certain number of grams per day or a certain percentage of your calories per day. Which method will give you better weight loss?

    I would go with grams, as there are factors like the brain's daily glucose consumption that are grams per day and not a % of what you eat. Atkins phase 1 is <20g/day of net carbs, Dr Westman's ketogenic diet is <20g of total carbohydrate, etc.

    Usually when you see a % of daily calories number it has started life as grams per day and been turned into a % of a typical 2000 calorie or similar diet.

    Yeah, that's what I was kind of leaning towards, too. And that's how I started out, just counting the net grams. I think I just started overthinking it. ;) Thanks! :)
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
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    If you only have 10 lbs left to lose and choose to lose it with low carb but not stay low carb once they are gone - you need to lose 15 lbs. As soon as you raise your carbs you will gain 5 lbs of water weight back.
  • tyralicious
    tyralicious Posts: 12
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    I went to a dietitian and she told me that a low carb diet would be best for me. She stated that 50 grams of net-carbs or less a day would be ideal. Basically 50-75 or 100 grams is moderate, and I think anything higher is well, you know, not moderate. And this is all net carbs, not carbs all together.

    Net Carbohydrates = Carbs - Dietary Fiber

    Like for instance:

    If I have 67 Carbs, and I have 29 grams of fiber, my net carbs would be at 38 net carbs.

    Low-carb is hard at first, but it gets easier. I think... I'm only on my third day of it. But it's gotten easier each day.

    Not to mention, I don't feel bloated, I haven't had heartburn, etc. I'm actually getting more protein in than ever.
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
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    I consider 100g or less low-carb for me. I usually only do 1 or 2 low carb days a week.


    :p
  • ajay900
    ajay900 Posts: 3 Member
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    I have been on the no grain, low carb diet for the last 10 months and on the ketogenic diet for the last 3 months. I have lost 23 pounds and my blood work had improved vastly. I maintain a ratio of 75% fat, 10% carbohydrates and 15% protein. Do not have those hungry moments hardly at all any more, if I am a little hungry I have a few almonds. The foods that I eat are as follows: eggs, butter, full fat mayonnaise, full fat sour cream, olive oil, 2-3 oz. protein per meal, large salad with homemade ranch dressing at noon, full fat cheese, lots of cooked veggies, 1 oz. of 88% dark chocolate and lots of water. Feel great and don't miss the highs and lows of high carb eating. This program works for me.
  • lseed87
    lseed87 Posts: 1,105 Member
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    20-30g
  • neohdiver
    neohdiver Posts: 738 Member
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    ailoros1 wrote: »
    I'm a little confused; some people are referring to the number of grams of net carbs, and some people are referring to a percentage of your total calories. Which is better? Or does it matter? For example, if I'm eating 100g net carbs per day, but I'm on a 1,000 calorie a day diet, that's 10% of my diet. I'm wondering if just restricting the number of grams is enough, regardless of total calories, or if it's more beneficial to increase total calories so that the percentage of carbs in my diet is lower. Does that make sense?

    Thanks! :)

    Most people who are watching their carbs limit them to a certain number of grams. Unfortunately, MFP doesn't permit us to set them that way - we have to play with the percentages until they generate the number of carbs we want as a cap.

    There is a discussion about net v. gross, and about how to count sugar alcohols - but the # of carbs v. % of fat is mostly because of how this place is set up.

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