What is the deal with carbs?

Carbs are not the enemy when they are found in fruits and veggies. However if you eat two bananas and cereal in a day you're most likely going to be over. Focus more on a solid workout week and eating with a cal deficit. As well read these boards as they are rich in knowledge.

I would say that as long as you're getting at least 10% of your calories from fat and another 10% from protein you'll be okay. If you go too super low protein you'll have no energy and you'll start to lose your hair (at least I did). Too low of fat also has its own problems. If you're meeting at least that then I wouldn't worry

Well, good news. Carbs are not the enemy! I ate about 250g of carbs during my weight loss and lost 53 lbs in 9 months (after my 6 week ppostpartum check up after having my second baby). What you'll want to focus on is calories for weight loss. Make sure you're getting about 1g per pound of lean body mass in protein if you're active a good amount of fats and fibers, your micros. But so long as you're balancing your other macros, health wise you'll be good here's a good read

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Cutting carbs was the only way I was able to lose weight. Fair warning...these boards are not pro-carb restriction.
It works well for me, & I find it sustainable. However, many people will not.

If you don't think this is sustainable enough for you to continue through the weight loss process and on to maintenance, I suggest you find another way.

Otherwise you'll put the weight back on & that will suck =/

Bottom line in weight loss is to create a calorie deficit.
While you are doing that you also want to make sure that your are not ending up malnourished (getting a good balance of vitamins, minerals or nutrients) For most people a mix of 30-40% of calories from protein, 30-40% from carbs and about 20% or so from fat and staying away from processed foods tends to work well.
This is assuming you don't have any medical conditions requiring adjustments or are not in athletic training which may require more refined adjustments.

In the 80's and 90's or so, 'everyone' was on a non-fat kick, and also protein came under the gun because it supposedly came with a lot of hidden fats. In last 10-15 years similar is said about carbs. These things come and go.
I never had problems losing weight (large or small amounts) eating a middle of the road balanced nutrition over an extended period of time.
Water gain... it's a short term temporary thing, I usually don't pay a whole lot of attention to it as long as on the long run my weight is going down (if I'm losing) or staying in the range I want. Your body can retain water for short periods of time (one to few days) for a number of reasons.

On individual basis, everyone's metabolism is a bit different, some people feel better eating a higher percentage of protein, others feel better with little less protein and more crabs.

Bottom line is, if you are trying to lose weight, ingesting 1500 calories a day and burning 2500, you will lose weight *almost* no matter what the calories come from. (I say *almost* because I am excluding very lopsided extreme cases - like 1400 calories from fat - and assuming we are talking about staying within a good common sense range)

Carbs are not the enemy. I eat 250 carbs a day and had no problem losing weight . Create a reasonable but responsible deficit and you'll lose weight

Swap out 3 eggs for the banana and cereal in the AM, and you will cut your carbs and feel full all morning. Throw some left over veggies in the eggs for some more nutrition.

Carbs are not the enemy at all. Calories are what will make weight loss/gain happen. I eat a crapton of carbs (seriously, 300+ grams per day, even 400) and I have a BMI of 19. As long as you USE your calories, wherever you get them from, you will lose weight. I am very active all day every day so I use those carbs. As long as I am getting a decent amount of protein and fats since those are used for various processes in the body, it's no biggie.

For some reason, the rumor that carbs are bad has been perpetuated far too long. Carbs are absolutely not bad!

Carbohydrates = Energy

They fuel your life and your workouts. You should NEVER try to eat a low carb diet, especially if you are exercising regularly. Now, there is a difference between good carbs and bad carbs. Good: fruits and whole grains. Bad: refined, white flour and pasta.

As far as you going over your carbs, pay attention to your macro intake as a whole. Focus on eating balanced meals, with protein, carb, and fat sources represented. If you focus on increasing your protein intake, that will likely help balance your carbohydrate intake.

And as far as losing weight, there are factors that will affect short term weight loss, but long term it's all calories in vs. calories out. If you burn more than you eat, you will lose weight. That means you could eat nothing but twinkies, but if you have a calorie deficit you will lose weight. Beyond that, you're talking about overall health, not weight loss.

Bump

Like others said its about the balance, if all you eat is chips and crackers for your calories then yes...no bueno, but if its mixed in then I wouldnt worry.

Just about EVERYTHING except for pure proteins (cheese, eggs, meats) have carbs and I'm almost always over on mine and I generally eat very little processed foods so i wouldnt worry too much.

PS I would rather exercise and have the gummy bears and fruit then the subway sandwich lol.

Carbs are just a macro-nutrient...that's it. They provide for awesome energy.

The only thing I'd suggest is that if you're routinely going over MfP's carb goals then your diet probably lacks balance...balanced nutrition is important to your overall health.

The app says I'm ingesting too many carbs (way too many). If I work out 45 minutes medium intensity (Zumba or something). Could I still lose weight?

Yes, assuming you are eating in a way that allows you to stick to your calorie deficit (included in your MFP goal) what you eat and the particular macro breakdown won't matter more than a tiny bit unless you have some sort of medical issue, as others have mentioned.

And remember that if you work out you get more calories, and that increases the amount of carbs MFP gives you.

Also, there's nothing magic about the particular macro ratio that MFP gives you--it's within the recommended ratios for a healthy, balanced diet, but there's plenty of flexibility and lots of other ratios would also be within that range.

All that said, if you are interested in health it doesn't hurt to pay some attention to the macros and especially to getting enough protein (lots of people think the MFP goals are low, certainly if you are adhering to the 1200 calorie goal that so many people get), not being afraid of fat, and eating a decent amount of fruits and, especially, vegetables, which are carbs, but relatively low calorie ones and are unlikely to be a significant cause of people being way over. There's absolutely no need to eat low carb to lose weight, but the MFP goal is not a low carb one at all--it's 50% of calories from carbs. No harm in being around 60% instead if that's how you prefer to eat, but when you suggest that it's just fruit, some gummi bears, and a vegetarian subway sandwich that cause you to be way over, there's a disconnect there.

But anyway, I agree that there's no need to be low carb, that you can thoughtfully decide that higher carb percentages than MFP recommends are best for you, and that working on your diet is more about health than losing weight and that it definitely is something that can come over time even for those interested in working on it.

Most people using mfp are trying to lose weight/get healthy for a variety of reasons. Me, I was recently diagnosed with diabetes, just over the line so diet and exercise are the only rx for me. I am working with a nutritionist who advocates carb counting and it is not just for weight loss, it is so my body doesn't experience spikes or sudden decreases in blood sugar. My total carbs per day is limited to 165. 45 breakfast - 15 snack - 45 lunch - 15 snack - 45 dinner. Its not that hard to do. The general consensus on the board might disfavor carb counting but for me maintaining my blood sugar level is just as important as losing weight. I was a big carb lover but a week after starting I feel so much better. Decreasing carbs gives me more energy, not less.