Carbs vs. Calories

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  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
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    I have recently decided to drag myself back on the wagon and lose some more weight. However, I can't decide if I want to count carbs or calories.

    A few years ago, I diligently tracked calories for around a year and got close to my goal weight before gaining it all back. A few months ago, I went low-carb (25g/day) and lost 7 pounds in 12 days. However, I had to give that up. All the hard-to-digest proteins made my acid reflux act up. Add in the stress of school, and it got pretty bad.

    Now that it's summer, I want to lose some more weight before going back to school, but I can't decide which I want to count. Carbs were easier because the denser foods made me feel fuller throughout the day, whereas on the calorie-counting, all I could think about was how many I had left and how I needed to "save" them for dinner, even though I was hungry. And the acid reflux can easily be managed with a PPI, especially now that I'm out of college for a couple more months. But the quick weight loss from carb counting makes me scared that it would easily come back.

    I guess I'm mostly just asking about the pros/cons for each and whether other people had more success doing one that the other. Thanks!

    No need to get THAT low. Chances are, you regularly eat over 100g of carbs, so going to 50g or 75g or even 100g (depending on activity level) would probably create the desired results. Also, to avoid the digestion issues, eat veggies (and fruit). Increasing your fat should help with not being hungry all the time. Eat avocado, coconut oil, olives or olive oil...etc. with each meal to increase satiety.
  • bexcobham
    bexcobham Posts: 107
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    Maybe count both?

    I gained weight on a low carb diet, foolishly thinking it was OK to be a greedy little scoffer. You can still gain weight eating low carb if you consume too many cals. Butter & coconut oil in my coffee wasn't a good plan.

    I don't get on with high carb diets. Wheat especially makes me feel crappy. Low GI carbs such as quinoa and pulses have helped me loose weight. They are satisfying, relatively low in calories and keep you going for longer. They also give me enough energy. My workouts suffer after a couple of days on a low carb diet.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
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    scubasuenc, thaks for all that. I have around 60 pounds to lose, so MFP automatically sets my limit to 1200. Which I pretty constantly have trouble staying under. In the past two weeks, I've stayed under my goal a total of (1) time. It's really discouraging, which is why I'm debating switchting to carb counting again.

    lizziebeth102, I stated low carb made me sick, but that that could easily be managed with an acid reflux medicine. Acid reflux is a problem I already have on an almost daily basis that I control with an antacid as needed. I would just need to switch to a daily pill to keep that under check better.

    Again, thanks everyone for weighing in on this. I'm going to give it some more thought and do some more research on it. But keep responding if you have a contribution. :flowerforyou:

    Did you put in 2lbs/week loss? If so, that's why MFP is giving you terrible results. Use a TDEE calculator and just reduce your calorie intake by 10-20%. If you cut all the way to 1200 now, what will you do when you have lost 20lbs and you need to cut more calories? Actually, you'll never get to that point because you'll get angry about being hungry all the time and throw in the towel.

    ETA: here's a TDEE calculator

    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx

    I'm 5'2 and 130lbs. With my activity level it suggests that I burn over 2,000 calories a day (1351 just being alive), so if I wanted to lose weight, I would set my goal at 1,800. Seems more manageable, no?
  • thesaraaah
    thesaraaah Posts: 17 Member
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    Can you live without carbs for the rest of your life? If not, then you should just count calories.

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