Is cutting carbs necessary?

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StrongSplash13
StrongSplash13 Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
I just had my body fat measured at my gym and although I'm a 5'6'' female weighing 125 lbs, I have 29% body fat! Granted, still working off some pregnancy weight from my 14 month old son but still...I didn't think it was too bad until I went in.

ANYWAYS, I am getting more into heavy lifting and know I need to up my protein, but is cutting carbs absolutely necessary?? I am thin and relatively fit, and if I continue w lifting will I burn this fat or do I really need to cut out carbs? I don't know if I can do this!!

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  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    No. Not necessary. Get your fat and protein goals in, (around .8g/lb of protein, and .4 g/lb of fat --I think) then fill the rest in with carbs. Carbs are not evil. Carbs are fuel for your bada$$ workouts, don't ever cheat your workouts!
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Only you can answer that question.

    For some, it's *absolutely* necessary, other's not so much :drinker:
  • StrongSplash13
    StrongSplash13 Posts: 5
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    Thank you!! I stick to mostly whole grains and real food when I eat carbs but I cannot imagine cutting out toast and homemade popcorn. It seems like most lifting plans tell you to cut carbs and only eat chicken and veggies--which is good but I love food and think its the spice of life!!
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
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    By raising your protein and fat intake you may end up reducing carbs to stay within your calorie limit. Otherwise I don't see a reason to cut carbs if you're an individual who exercises at least a few times a week. Just make sure you're eating plenty of vegetables in addition to grains/starches.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    "Is cutting carbs necessary?"

    No, absolutely not.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    No, cutting carbs is not needed. On stuff like the ketogenic and atkins diet, you cut carbs and still maintain the same weight loss as a balanced diet.. so it's not necessary.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Nope. I am sitting around 12-14% bodyfat and I take in potatoes every evening, popcorn, fruits and sometimes cake, chocolate and pizza. I generally have between 200-300g carbs a day.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    Yeah, there's a fair number of people who have issues like diabetes, prediabetes, PCOS, etc. and for us, cutting carbs is unfortunately necessary. But for most people, like the others said just get your proper amounts of protein and fats in and fill in the rest with carbs.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Cutting carbs isn't necessary or even advisable (gluconeogenesis notwithstanding), but cutting low satiety/low nutrient density/high calorie per gram processed foods often results in great effects for many people.

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