Carbs

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.

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?

Just pass me the bucket of natural greek yogurt and I'm set!!! (So's the yogurt...)

Just thinking the same thing, delicious!

My general strategy is to focus on reaching my protein goal (1g/kg body weight), next I try to hit my fat macro and fiber. This means I must make careful choices about what I choose to eat. It is extremely difficult with only 1200 calories to play around with. Are you sure you need to be that low to lose weight?

I am insulin resistant and can not eat a lot of carbs per day, I use diabetic exchanges most of the time. Also, check the Atkins website, they have a food list on phase 1 that gives all vegetables that are low in carbs. Phase 2 and 3 slowly add carbs back into the diet until you find the amount your body can handle without gaining. You do need some carbs in your diet though. Also, I eat around 1800 calories on average active days and around 2300 calories on the days I am sparring or in the ring boxing.

I have the same problems I think its the calories limit at 1200 I seem to do better at 1300-1400 with excercise....I just started this week at 173 and am down to 169 so far will keep at it plan on eating bacon eggs and pork skins

I weigh 14 stone at the moment I'm exercising once a day (a fast long walk), loosing about 532 calories in the 80 minutes it takes. Yes I'm eating the calories back - shouldn't I be....?

Yeah, lazy American here too early for math

Carbs = not bad

1200 calories = not enough

1 stone = 14lb so that is about 50lbs
1cm = appx 2.5 inches so 174cm is about 5 ft 8 or 9

1.6lbs a week is to fast try for 1lb a week...

1200 calories is not enough and it's not about the types of food you eat it's about the quantity.

Eat at a reasonable deficet...

ETA: Canadian and it's mid morning so my brain is functioning.

You sure about that? :laugh:

1 inch = 2.54 cm, so pretty close 174/2.54 = 68.5 inches, so 5'8.5"

Not sure how I missed this for so long. But she got the units backwards. Hence, I was asking if she was sure her brain was functioning properly.