Why are people scared of carbs?

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MBrothers22
MBrothers22 Posts: 323 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Speaking in terms of weight loss, why do people do low carb diets? What's the point? Is there some medical condition that if you eat a lot of carbs you will gain weight? Weight loss= calories in < calories out. Nothing to do with carbs. I feel like people want to seem like they are doing something special when really it's unnecessary.
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  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
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    With some, too many carbs = increased blood sugar = uncontrolled diabetes.
    Most diabetic have to watch their carbs very closely to control their blood sugar.
  • MBrothers22
    MBrothers22 Posts: 323 Member
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    You learn something new everyday :)
    I would have never thought of that
  • Fairlieboy
    Fairlieboy Posts: 84 Member
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    While lots of people say calories in = calories out - that is true for a robot.
    But I have not met many robotic people.
    Two other confounding factors are appetite; and your brain (very complex).
    Higher protein suppresses appetite. So science shows in studies that if one group eats a high carb meal, and another eats a protein / fat meal (same calories); at the next meal the people who have eaten the carb will eat more food. (Hence the reason that a lower carb meal will make it easier to "diet".
    A second reason is that we also like to "feel good". The endocrinology system responds to sugar / fat (eg. chocolate) and makes us feel good. So if you are feeling a bit down, a snack of a short length carb (such as sugar) picks us up (not a hunger / appetite response). Works in the same area of the brain - the hypothalamus.

    Thirdly, we have to eat protein - there are some essential amino acids we need. We have to eat fat. There are fats we cannot synthesis. But there is no "carb" we actually need. Yes - there are some vitamins in complex carbs such as green leafy vegetables, but these are not carbs - they just happen to be there, and you can get them elsewhere.

    Back to the start. Calories are calories, but that ignores we are people with very complex physical, mental and social interactions.
  • nolabone
    nolabone Posts: 117 Member
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    Besides diabetes, many women find that lowering their carb intake can help with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (which is very common.)
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,136 Member
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    In
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  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
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    Might be the point of reference they start from. Carbs are so heavy on the calories. I feel like I'm eating lo-carb now because I can't afford the calories - but really I think I'm eating normal carb :) It just feels low because I ate so much of them before. People throw around terms they've heard without necessarily knowing the true definition. I don't even know what constitutes low carb. I never say I'm eating that way but I do say I've reduced carbs - and I have. I had to. I can't reduce my caloric intake by 1000 calories a day without reducing carbs.
  • emelia_
    emelia_ Posts: 91
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    Simple carbs are bad, complex carbs are good. Some people don't understand the difference and cut them all out.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Speaking in terms of weight loss, why do people do low carb diets? What's the point? Is there some medical condition that if you eat a lot of carbs you will gain weight? Weight loss= calories in < calories out. Nothing to do with carbs. I feel like people want to seem like they are doing something special when really it's unnecessary.

    This isn't a reason for low carb specifically, but a lot of people cut carbs because it's an easy way to cut calories.
  • Dregg
    Dregg Posts: 66 Member
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    I'm not afraid of carbs, but I feel my body responds better to a lower carb diet, especially when I'm trying to lose weight. I think everyone is different so what works for me may not work for someone else.
  • WeatherGirl8
    WeatherGirl8 Posts: 91 Member
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    Fad diet! The book "Wheat Belly" was a thing.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Same reason people were scared of fat for 30 years.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
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    Simple carbs are bad, complex carbs are good. Some people don't understand the difference and cut them all out.

    No.

    No food is "bad" or "good".

    Unless you have a medical condition there is no need to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet. If you want to, sure -- go ahead. But it is not necessary or beneficial if your body functions normally. For many people it sets up a binge-restrict cycle and causes them to feel guilty about food they could otherwise enjoy.
  • janelann222
    janelann222 Posts: 13
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    your body needs to burn available carbs before getting to your fat source. Unused cards are converted into glycogen and ultimately fat if not used. If you decrease your cabs you can burn fat easier and they become more readily available for energy. I like working out on an empty stomach in the am for this. I am not a fan of eliminating carbs by any means, but we tend to eat a lot more than we need. Also, glucose causes a sugar spike and then crash. I find personally when I eat more processed foods I crave more similar foods sooner in time. When I resist them, it becomes easier to not constantly reach for food.
  • Quarkles
    Quarkles Posts: 69 Member
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    I like what John Pinette said about it: "People have gone low-carb hysterical. They see you eating a piece of bread and like they're like 'Wha-WHAT?' If they were so bad, I'd have been dead 10 years ago!"
    Carbs just tend to be high in calories. Since I've started logging with MFP, I notice that I'm usually under for carbs at the end of the day without even meaning to be. But yeah, a life without rice, cake or crust for my pizza toppings? *shudder*.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    In
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  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    People are scared of carbs because somewhere along the line, they heard about the deleterious effects of eating refined carbohydrates. Many have confused eating an isolated macro-nutrient with eating whole food that contains the vilified macro-nutrient.
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    smh

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