Carbs? (Help Appreiciated)

If you're really working out two hours a day then 1200 calories isn't going to be enough. If you're worried about carbs just try to replace anything white with whole grain or whole wheat. Switch sugary things withfresh fruit.

I don't know that there's a simple answer to that. It matters more what kinds of carbs you're eating. Carbs are very important for fuel, but you probably want to stick to getting your carbs from vegetables vs. grains. They'll be fewer calories and are generally lower on glycemic index.

Here's a video by Dr. Andrew Weil on the topic of carbs:


Do with the information what you wish. Good luck!

MFP is set at 60-15-25, A balance diet consist of 45-60% carbs, 10-30% protein, and 15-30% fat. So if you want to go lower carb and still have a balance diet you can go to 45%. You can also try 50/25/25, which is pretty balance and 10% less carbs than MFP's default.

In P90X the 1st month is the fat shredder phase. We eat 50% protein / 30% Carbs / 20% fat.

Have you ever heard of Marks Daily apple? Heres a link to the question about carbs and how many you should eat and what they should be. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/
I keep my carbs in the 125 range, my protien around what I weigh and the rest is good fats. I tend to eat Primal as well.

I tell folks start by limiting your man made carbs and try to get it from fruit and veggies.

So I am beggining to work out atleast 2 hours a day... I want to eat lower carb, in addition to low calorie, but not so low my body isn't getting what its needing. I would appreciate if anyone knows how many carbs one should consume in a day. I know MFP gives you a carb goal, but it seems like its too high to be correct. If you need stats, Im 21,Female, 5 ft 51/2 inches, and 200 pounds. Eating 1200 calories a day.

Thanks for all the help!

~nisha rae

You are going to go into starvation mode... no one's body can function at that rate with that few calories. I would suggest rethinking this. As for carbs... Carbs are good for you IF they are the RIGHT carbs. Whole grains over white processed. I'm 5'5" and I have my goals set for 40/40/20. My bosy of course is defferent than yours, you should play around and see where it fits you best. Also remember that there are carbs in JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, not just breads, MFP takes that into consideration. This shouldn't be just a diet for you, you won't last very long like this, and once you stop you'll gain everything back. Do this healthy and with a proper balance and you'll see LASTING results. LIFE STYLE CHANGE... NOT DIET!

Best of luck to you and hope this helps!

If your working out, be sure to add your exercise calories into your 1200, so most like you will be eating 1300-1400 calories.

Dont worry so much about the # of grams of carbs.. but making better options for your body, and choosing carbs that are not going to spike your blood sugar. One reason carbs are not so good for you is because they are sugar and increase your blood sugar making you hungry. Try Carb Combining instead of eliminating carbs.

Choose a Carb (i.e. Fruit, Wheat Bread, Sweet Potato)

Then Choose a Protein (Meat, Eggs, Cheese, Almonds)

By combining these items your Protein is going to counteract the process inw hich you body will digest the carb, making a slower process and keeping you full longer.

When I was in school they threw around like, 120g, saying you need 120g of carbohydrate daily or your brain won't function. That's obviously false, because people go on much lower carb diets than that and don't spontaneously go braindead.

Are you sure about that? :laugh:

I think some of them came in that way

I agree with everyone here, so to summarize:
1) 1200 is not enough calories for this point in your weight loss journey. Try 1400 plus your exercise calories for 3-6 weeks, then start dropping by 50 calories every 6 weeks. Always eat back at least half of your exercise calories, and don't drop below 1200 net calories per day more than very occasionally. You will still lose at a good pace, get fewer plateaus, and it isn't as hard to decrease calories over time, while a sudden restriction can lead to desperation and failure.
2) Which carbs you are eating is even more important than how many. Most of your diet in a day should come from fruits and vegetables, with the remaining split between lean protein and complex carbs (how that is split depends on your body, how much you are exercising, and what type of exercises.)
3) If you are building muscle mass, either by lifting weights, or by cardio exercise to the point of muscle soreness, you need more protein than if you do a lot of cardio but never get any soreness. Sore muscles indicate damage has been done (don't think of that as a bad thing. Muscles must be damaged to rebuild bigger and stronger.) If you have soreness regularly (as I do 100% of the time,) you need to increase protein by 5% at a time, taking it from carbs, until the soreness is just a background pain, not life altering. Another poster told you how to change those percentages in "Goals".
4) Consider some high quality supplements to be sure you are getting enough calcium, iron, and all the trace elements you need when building muscle. Also consider antioxidents (like blueberries and pomegranate) to clean out the junk that burning fat releases into your system. And of course, ample water to hydrate, flush, and move the system.
5) I don't know if your commitment to 2 hours per day of exercise is new, but I would recommend that unless you are used to being very active, a sudden increase of that amount will make you miserable. Moderation is the key here. If you haven't been exercising regularly, start with half an hour every-other-day for a couple of weeks. When that feels too easy, increase the time to 45 minutes and add 30 minutes of something different on the opposite days, like walking one day, yoga the other. After a couple of weeks, switch the walking to an interval cycle, with 3 minutes of walking followed by a minute of jogging, repeated for the entire 45 minutes. When that is old hat, change the opposing days do weights and elliptical, or whatever. This schedule has you building strength, endurance, and avoiding muscle memory, while not setting you up for failure.

I'm a nurse with a masters degree, and women's health is my area of expertise. Don't set yourself up for failure by being unrealistic. Start small and make changes over time. As this site's community is fond of saying, "you didn't get fat and out of shape in a day, so don't expect to get thin and fit overnight either." Set realistic goals over a period of time that is consistent with those goals. For you, as for most of us, that would be to lose 5-7 pounds per month. Set exercise goals that look at 6 week time spans. When I started a class at the Y, my first goal was to make it through warm-up without stopping by 6 weeks. That sounds really wimpy, but this class is brutal. I'm 7 weeks out and I can complete warm-ups most days, but the thing is, I'm still going, and I'm improving, and I've lost 10 pounds since starting! I am proud of everyday I manage to stick with 75% of the workout. I'm usually the oldest and fattest person in there, but I'm there, and that's what's important.

Best wishes! Feel free to friend me.