What's up with carbs???

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Jbarnes1210
Jbarnes1210 Posts: 308 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm confused about carbs. Do you have to count carbs, fat or calories to loose weight? The last month I only lost 8 pounds, and told the diet doctor that I always stay below my calorie goal, and felt like I should've lost more. The doctor told me its more about watching carbs than calories to loose weight. Has anyone else heard this before?

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  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    No. Unless you have a medical condition, you do not need to focus on carbs. The doctor is wrong. It is about calories in vs out.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
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    Calories, then make sure you have enough protein, then decide if you want more fat or more carbs to make up the rest. Either way you have to have enough fat to absorb the nutrients in your food. Some people lose more with less carbs because you replace them with fat, and you hardly ever get hungry. If you go very low carb, after a week or two, you also tend to lose all cravings for anything sweet or carby. It's not that carbs make you fatter than no carbs, only that people who restrict them tend to eat less in general.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    You lost 8 lbs in 1 month. That's just about perfect. Why do you think you should lose more? Calories are the be all end all of weight loss. Eat less of them per day then you burn, over the long run, you will lose weight. This is true if you eat no carbs, some carbs, or lots of carbs. To lose more then 8 pounds a month simply requires a huge caloric deficit. if you wanted to lose 3 lbs a week (12 lbs in a month) you'd need to eat 1500 calories below maintenance every single day. Depending on your maintenance this could have you eating anywhere from very little to next to nothing. I'd just learn to accept that 2 lbs a month is great progress. You'll be lucky if you can keep that up for the long haul. It'l probably slow to 4 lbs a month. And that's okay too. What's wrong with losing 50-100 lbs in a year?
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Uhhh ... I dunno ... they're yummy and you need them ?

    Fire your (so-called) "doctor"
  • int3rpo1
    int3rpo1 Posts: 17
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    Calories are what matter most. Some people get great results from adjusting their carb intake and/or *when* they consume their carbs(before/after working out, for example). But as far as weight loss goes, calories are what you must track. 8 pounds in a month sounds like excellent, steady, and healthy progress to me!
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Technically you don't need to do any of those - but intutiive eating is very difficult to master!

    If you like your carbs then focus on calorie counting.

    If you are not that fussed about carbs you could reduce your carb intake and then focus on protein and fat - your appetite shoukdl reduce and you will eat less and probably hit a natural calorie deficit - you can always do both (low carb and calorie count)!

    There's no right or wrong answer both are unsustainable if it's not right for you and both are very sustainable if it is.

    Best advice try them! Flip a coin and choose one and give it your best shot for a month! If at the end of the month you're finding it comfortable then stick with it!

    If on the other hand you've found it difficult then switch it up and try the other one!

    If neither work then back to the drawing board and find some more options.

    All diets are restrictive - low carb you are restricting one particular macro nutrient. Calorie counting (moderation) you are restricting all macro nutrients!

    All diets require sacrifice, try and find the one that feels the least uncomfortable for you!

    Good luck

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