Carbs

Nothing wrong with carbs. Carbs give you energy. Energy is a good thing

Why restrict carbs? Carbs just so happen to be the main calorie source found in human food.

People who restrict those foods have higher risk of all cause mortality. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1240623-fruit-n-veg-more-reduced-risk-or-all-cause-mortality

Carbs are delicious!!!

Ok does anyone else just want to eat this whole thing?

It's easy, just eat meat. Make meat the main thing. Eat carbs to fill in. We are taught to fill the plate with carbs and have a 4oz portion of meat. I fill the plate with meat, and have a small portion of rice or something. It's really simple once you get inot it. Just eat more meat.

This. Because I want more meat!

Thanks Amylg05. I do eat brown rice but unfortunately my tastebuds have a definite aversion to most vegetables...especially green ones!lol

I am going to try the sweet potato wedges tho...thanks again

Keep trying new veggies.....cook them differently. Tastes change. Veggies will help you lower carbs if you need to.

One example.....there is a world of difference from canned green beans and fresh (steamed) ones. Try roasting veggies in the oven, add a little olive oil & garlic. Cauliflower is really good roasted. Grill asparagus. Grate carrots into sauces (chili, spaghetti) ....you'll hardly notice. Different methods will change flavors and textures.

Grilled asparagus = heaven.

Im allowed 150 a day, which is awesome for me as I rarely ate them, I go rather low during the day, a kashi bar or a slice of toast as im hungry at night, I still have 50 left after dinner, all the good stuff unfortunately has a lot in them, and I always go over my protein also which annoys me, I had ground turkey today 1 cup, and now tonight 2 turkey sausages, some yogurt and poof im over my protein are you kidding me ??!?! lol

It's fine to be over your protein--it's a goal, not a limit. A lot of people here would tell you it's set pretty low anyway. I usually have a hard time getting to my protein goal rather than over it, but I'm not all that fond of slabs of meat--and I can't afford lots of slabs of fish.

I don't have too hard a time finding low carb foods. Here's a primer list:

Butter, bacon, cheese, coconut oil, steak, chicken thighs, pork rinds, lard, ground beef, ground pork, lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, green beans, bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, eggs, duck breast, lamb, snow peas, mushrooms, dandelion greens, collard greens, bok choi...

I avoid food in a box, processed foods are always made with filler (cheap grains and corn based carbohydrates). I don't eat potatoes/rice/pasta/bread. Though I do find that when I eat a lot of nuts and seeds that it is pretty tough to stay below the 50g/day line.

The reason for limiting carbs is only because I am trying to stay within the limits that the MFP calculated that I should eat.

I'm not averse to carbs...on reading my diary it's clear that I like them rather a lot!lol

Everyday my carbs and protein are maxed out...so can't add anymore meat either!

I like home made oven chips with steak, mushrooms and onions, I love wholewheat pasta with a homemade tomato based sauce.

I take salad wraps (love salad!) in whole wheat tortilla wraps to work...so I don't think my diet is unhealthy?

Its just that they add up and take me over my limit of carbs. Healthy eating, fruit...natures Skittles would be about my all time favourite desert/snack but yet the sugar is massively high!

However, reading this makes me think that ppl are just using the MFP calculated amounts as a guideline rather than a limit to not go above...I may adopt that approach and see how it goes.

1200 calories is what MFP stated and this is my first time of counting calories so am attempting to follow what it states. I actually thought that 1.6 lbs was a small amount??

I will look at the calorie amount again and read up a little more...don't want to be slim and unhealthy...my lack of fitness is down to illnesses, meds and a sedentary lifestyle. I'm on here to help myself be healthier, not to make myself worse.

Thanks everyone btw...interesting reading on here

Try the 1lb/week goal. At 5'9"ish you should be able to eat far more than 1200, even sedentary, and still lose weight. Don't worry, it's a common newbie mistake on here, in part because the media perpetuates an unrealistic weight loss rate expectation with all its talk of "lose 10lbs in just one week!" and other garbage. You didn't put the weight on overnight, so don't expect it to come off overnight, either. Yeah, it seems like a long time, but 50lbs at 1lb/week means you'll be down to your goal weight in just about a year. That's not really a long time in the grand scheme of things.

As a couple of others mentioned, you can easily stay under 150g of carbs by avoiding/limiting things that are high in sugar or made with grains. So the spaghetti, for example, you have a couple of options - make the spaghetti a side dish to something like fish or steak, or use spaghetti squash for the noodles (this is all kinds of awesome, btw). In either case, you not only lower your carbs, but you increase the (per calorie) nutrient density of the meal.

Yes, that means less fruit....kind of. Berries are low sugar nutritional powerhouses. You'd be surprised how many of them you can eat without overdoing the carbs.

As for macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein), a lot of veteran users do it this way:

Protein - about 1g/lb (.5g/kg) of lean body mass, try to get at least your goal.
Fat - at least .35g/lb of total bodyweight, try to get at least that
Carbs - depends on individual needs. If you don't have any reasons for restricting carbs, then fill in the remaining calories with carbs and fat as you see fit. If you're looking to restrict carbs, most restrictions are set gram amounts, so however many grams you're limited to and fill the rest in with fat. In carb restricted scenarios, this is an upper limit that you try to not exceed. If you're not restricting, then the limit doesn't matter as long as the conditions for fat and protein are met.

If you're not restricting carbs and you do it the "fill in as fit" method, keep an eye on your hunger levels. If you find yourself struggling to stay under your calorie goal, make sure you're not getting too much sugar, and consider lowering your carb goal and increasing fat. A lot of people find that by doing that, they can control their hunger a lot better.