PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME WITH CARBS

Options
IdcShrimp
IdcShrimp Posts: 71
in Food and Nutrition
I track my food on MyFitnessPal, although I'm not dieting I'm just maintaining my weight. I don't eat too many calories per day, however startlingly enough I ate too many carbs today. I was supposed to have 150 g of carbs, and I had 260 g! It's been like this for 24 days now.

It scared me a bit, honestly. However, most of my carbs came from dried fruits, honeydew melon, whole grain waffles, couscous, admittedly one white-wrap burrito, grapes, carrots, pineapple, two huge apples, cantaloupe, and tomato wraps. So I ate 1334 calories today, and my target for my height and weight to maintain is 1337. So does this overload of carbs equate weight gain? I'm scared!

I didn't eat too MUCH, I ate "too many" (according to this site) carbs in grams. So, ultimately, does this matter, or will I stay the same weight cause I don't overeat? I'm not saying everything I ate today was healthy, either! So i'm scared the carbs will make me gain weight because about 1/4 of them were from white bread products or processed carbs.

in my case, is it calories in calories out? i hate when people say "oh its what kind of carbs you eat that matters/carb quality" because if I eat 99% good carbs and 1% bad carbs but I eat too many grams of carbs, wouldn't that make me gain? and do these macronutrient tallies ultimately even matter as much as I'm making them? like the whole grams of carbs per day thing...HELP
«13

Replies

  • SharonNehring
    SharonNehring Posts: 535 Member
    Options
    Do you have a medical condition which requires watching your carbs? Diabetes, pre-diabetes or insulin resistance? Does eating that many carbs cause you fluid retention, GI upset or anything else?

    If your answers are no, then there's nothing to be scared about. You stayed within your calorie goals. You can, in the future, work on finding a little better balance between carbs, protein and fats if that is your goal. Learning how to eat in a well balanced manner takes some practice, a bit of planning and a little trial and error. You will not always be perfect as you learn.
  • stronghealthywoman
    stronghealthywoman Posts: 44 Member
    Options
    Hey..

    Here's I see it, fruits and vegetables are carbs, but good carbs and the way I see it, eating fruits and vegetables never got people fat.

    I get it sometimes we indulge in the "bad" carbs, but if your carbs are coming from fruits and vegetables, you shouldn't worry about the carbs/calories.

    I'm not someone to worry about calories, I focus on nutrition.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    Options
    Are you trying to follow a low carb diet? If not, what does it matter? Maybe it is time to readjust your macros to something that fits your lifestyle more?
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Options
    Hey..

    Here's I see it, fruits and vegetables are carbs, but good carbs and the way I see it, eating fruits and vegetables never got people fat.

    I get it sometimes we indulge in the "bad" carbs, but if your carbs are coming from fruits and vegetables, you shouldn't worry about the carbs/calories.

    I'm not someone to worry about calories, I focus on nutrition.
    Very well stated.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    You maintain on 1337 cals?
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    Options
    You maintain on 1337 cals?


    This

    I had to re-read that to make sure I was reading 1337 right.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
    Options
    The carb scare is fully entrenched........eat a ribeye and forgetaboutit.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    Doesn't matter one bit. What matters is calories.
  • JoshDuper
    JoshDuper Posts: 4
    Options
    In my opinion, sugar is the killer. If there is more than 4 grams of sugar in any normal portion you eat, then you should consider eating something else. Sugar is empty calories and does little but to turn to fat. Eat only quality carbs i.e. fruits, nuts, vegetables. I don't ascribe to the RDA on carbs at all. Ever seen a fat and unhealthy Eskimo? Perhaps, but generally they are lean and healthy.
  • Wtn_Gurl
    Wtn_Gurl Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    Dried fruit like raisins have the MOST carbs, so you could eliminate that food group if you wanted to lower your carbs.

    What your eating sounds like excellent nutritious food, so I dont know what to tell you..except try losing the dried fruit like raisins and see how that affects you.

    You could try to test out what would happen if you ate half of the fruit you are already eating. Try it for a week or two and see if you ate half the fruit that you usually eat and see if that has an effect. One to two weeks should give you a good enough time to test and see if certain foods help you or hinder your weight loss.

    As for me, I try to stay about 100 carbs a day rather than your 260 and i am losing weight.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Options
    Nothing wrong with carbs they are no more evil than Protein and they don't make you put on weight any more than any other nutrient. If your're within your calories you wont put on weight no matter the make up of those calories. Also you're not maintaining on 1300 calories a day unless you're 3 ft 6 so you are likely eating far more than you think
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    Options
    How are you doing on your protein and fat macros?

    Going over on carbs while meeting a calorie target is not necessarily a bad thing. You will still maintain. But if you aren't getting enough protein and fat, there can be health effects.

    That said, your maintenance calorie goal does seem low. How did you arrive at that number?
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    Options
    There are some good links in this blog to reference materials that can help:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/mfp-101-calories-macros-and-micros-617211
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    Options
    This may not be a problem, and likely isn't. Make sure your body is getting its needs met - watch out specifically for anything that can be stored such as B12 because these will not present a problem until those stores are used up which can take a while.
  • cmdwaters
    cmdwaters Posts: 4
    Options
    Um care to expand then?
  • cmdwaters
    cmdwaters Posts: 4
    Options
    Hey..

    Here's I see it, fruits and vegetables are carbs, but good carbs and the way I see it, eating fruits and vegetables never got people fat.

    I get it sometimes we indulge in the "bad" carbs, but if your carbs are coming from fruits and vegetables, you shouldn't worry about the carbs/calories.

    I'm not someone to worry about calories, I focus on nutrition.
    Very well stated.
    No it's not

    ^^^
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Options
    I track my food on MyFitnessPal, although I'm not dieting I'm just maintaining my weight. I don't eat too many calories per day, however startlingly enough I ate too many carbs today. I was supposed to have 150 g of carbs, and I had 260 g! It's been like this for 24 days now.

    It scared me a bit, honestly. However, most of my carbs came from dried fruits, honeydew melon, whole grain waffles, couscous, admittedly one white-wrap burrito, grapes, carrots, pineapple, two huge apples, cantaloupe, and tomato wraps. So I ate 1334 calories today, and my target for my height and weight to maintain is 1337. So does this overload of carbs equate weight gain? I'm scared!

    I didn't eat too MUCH, I ate "too many" (according to this site) carbs in grams. So, ultimately, does this matter, or will I stay the same weight cause I don't overeat? I'm not saying everything I ate today was healthy, either! So i'm scared the carbs will make me gain weight because about 1/4 of them were from white bread products or processed carbs.

    in my case, is it calories in calories out? i hate when people say "oh its what kind of carbs you eat that matters/carb quality" because if I eat 99% good carbs and 1% bad carbs but I eat too many grams of carbs, wouldn't that make me gain? and do these macronutrient tallies ultimately even matter as much as I'm making them? like the whole grams of carbs per day thing...HELP

    As long as you are hitting you calorie target (or just below it) and eating enough protein it really does not matter how your fat and. Carbs are split.

    In fact The only time it would matter would be if you were trying to keep to a low carb high fat diet or if you had a medical reason.

    If no to the above then The main thing is enjoy what you eat.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    Options
    In order to maintain on 1334 calories a day you would have to be under 5 feet tall, be older and only very moderately active.
    I am 66, under 5 feet, walk about 45 minutes a day and once I get to my goal weight my maintenance calories are 1317 a day. You eat 16 calories more and I cannot imagine that that is correct for you. Maybe you need to re-evaluate.
  • janetn03
    janetn03 Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    Hi! I hope this info i provide you hepls.. any question please don't hesitate to ask. I am not a professional, I am however going to school for nutrition. best of luck !
    Carbs are your body’s main source of energy. When you ingest

    carbohydrates your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin.

    Insulin is very important because:

    • It grabs the carbohydrates and either stores them in the muscle

    or stores them as fat
    It grabs the amino acids and shelters them inside the muscle

    cell for recovery and repair.

    Most overweight people on low fat/high carbohydrate

    diets eat too many carbohydrates, releasing too much insulin

    and thus storing fat. There are complex carbohydrates and

    simple carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates give you

    sustained energy, while the simple carbohydrates give you

    immediate energy. You should eat mainly complex

    carbohydrates throughout the day except for your post-workout

    meal.
    Starchy complex carbohydrates: Oatmeal, sweet

    potatoes, potatoes, brown rice, grits or cream of rice quinoa

    Fibrous Complex Carbohydrates: Broccoli, carrots,

    cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, pepper, spinach

    or zucchini.
    ** please note keep your carbs before 8 pm!** oh and i almost forgot, as for fruits it is okay to eat but not overdue because it does contain natural sugar and too much of fruits can result in weight gain or it just simply wont make u lose any weight. :)

Categories