Do carb make you fatter, like really or just technically?

Eating too many calories causes weight gain, whether they are carbs or not. Some things, such as pasta, are just more calorie dense so it is easier to eat a large amount of calories in one sitting. A serving of pasta is not very much, but if you load it with veggies and chicken it is still a very satisfying meal. So long as you're watching/weighing your portions you don't have to worry about carbs/sugar...unless of course you have a medical issue. But most people could technically lose weight eating pasta for every meal as long as they watch their portions.

Yes, calories in vs calories out is the key. But that doesn't mean that 75% of your daily cals should come from carbs. Make sure you have a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fat.

You burn off carbs when you exercise, so if you eat carbs and do no exercise then likelyhood is that you will gain weight, or maintain at the very least! Switching to brown pasta is better for you, and making sure you have the right portion size, i.e. a fist size amount.

I read that carbs turn into sugar in your body. I am on a low carb diet and have lost 14 pounds this month by cutting out carbs.

How and when did this irrational fear of carbohydrates come to be...it's *kitten* annoying and stupid.

Yes, overeating carbs will make you gain weight, just like overeating any other calorie source will make you gain weight.
One reason most people see an immediate weight gain after eating carbs (such as a big spaghetti dinner) is because carbs take several grams of water to process each gram of carbs, so you have water weight gain.


Yes, spider, carbs are sugar. Your body makes them into glucose (blood sugar, which the body runs on) and glycogen (carb storage in the liver & muscles).
You should not "cut out carbs" because it is unhealthy.
You could eat lower levels of carbohydrates, and especially lower levels of simple/empty sugars (such as candy or white bread) in favor of healthier complex carbs (vegetables, whole grains, beans).

Eating higher protein & lower carbs leads to more weight loss.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553
Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein to stay within the healthy macro ranges.


In my newbie help post I compiled links to helpful info, including sexypants, logging accurately, goal setting, including weight, calories, and macros, and motivation.

Have a look at the goal setting post... it includes a link to a table showing the healthy macro ranges & percentages.
page 1, carbs, 45 - 65% of calories (4 cal per gram)
page 2, fat, 20 - 35% of calories (9 cal per gram)
page 4, protein, 10 - 35% of calories (4 cal per gram)

I love pasta, too, and my family enjoys eating lots of different pasta dishes so I had to figure out a way to work it into my daily calorie goal. Usually, it does mean having less of the actual pasta and more of what I'm eating with it. I also try to separate my own portion so I know exactly how much of the pasta I am having. I usually have a large serving of vegetables to go with it (broccoli or cauliflower with a dusting of parmesan), so I no longer mind the smaller portions of pasta anymore. My family has gotten used to it, too, so that's good for them as well. We usually skip the bread we used to eat with it as well. Talk about a lot of calories saved!

cwolfman13 wrote: »

How and when did this irrational fear of carbohydrates come to be...it's *kitten* annoying and stupid.

Probably about the same time low carb diets started a come back.

Weight loss is all about restricting protein. Protein builds muscle, so if you eat too much protein and don't lift heavy weights, then all of that protein will turn into fat. How do you stop this from happening? You restrict your protein and eat all the carbs you want. Candy, ice cream, pasta, coca-cola, whatever. As long as you don't eat ANY protein, or something like that.

I chat to an 85 year old lady at the bus stop every day, as I happened to be eating a banana, she said when she was young the 'health' authorities were telling people to avoid potassium...we had a good laugh at all the avoids she eaten and lived through!

Carbs won't make you gain weight as everyone has said, but if you're like me, eating a carb heavy meal doesn't satisfy me like a high protein/fat meal does. The more carbs I eat, the more I want! Weird but but true

Barring a health condition (like Diabetes or PCOS), the only thing you need concern yourself with for weight loss is calories.