Carbs

Becky_W25 · April 2015

Hi all!

I'm new on here so I was wondering if anyone could help give some guidance, links and advice on something.

I'm working out at the gym 2 times a day, 5 days a week. 30 minute each session both weights, core strength and cardio at vigorous effort. I've been tracking my calories on a different app for the past 3 weeks and i've seen an occasional dip in my weight loss but nothing much and it's getting pretty frustrating.

I've been told that I should be focused more on my carb intake (currently at 100g a day) than calories (currently 900-1,000) and go to 25g (carbs) a day. It's hard to know how I can do that though, as everything seems to have carbs in it.

Does anyone else do a 25g daily carb intake and can you give me some suggestions/ideas to how I can get my carb count down?

Thank you!

Becky

Acg67 · April 2015

Becky_W25 wrote: »

Hi all!

I'm new on here so I was wondering if anyone could help give some guidance, links and advice on something.

I'm working out at the gym 2 times a day, 5 days a week. 30 minute each session both weights, core strength and cardio at vigorous effort. I've been tracking my calories on a different app for the past 3 weeks and i've seen an occasional dip in my weight loss but nothing much and it's getting pretty frustrating.

I've been told that I should be focused more on my carb intake (currently at 100g a day) than calories (currently 900-1,000) and go to 25g (carbs) a day. It's hard to know how I can do that though, as everything seems to have carbs in it.

Does anyone else do a 25g daily carb intake and can you give me some suggestions/ideas to how I can get my carb count down?

Thank you!

Becky

What you've been told is nonsense, fat loss is not significantly different between low carb diets and higher carb diets holding cals and protein constant

Plus women are especially susceptible to big swings in water retention that can mask fat loss

Acg67 · April 2015

RealFoodisGood wrote: »

I just started a thread with a link that you asked for. I'll put it here too. There are many strings of links to get through, but it's worth it in the end.

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/how-do-we-gain-weight-calories-part-1/

lol, ends with Sam Feltham quack?

abatonfan · April 2015

Consuming under 25g of carbs a day could be considered a ketosis diet. While many on MFP do ketosis diets, I'm personally not a big fan of them (I feel super bad when I'm in ketosis due to my diabetes being a pain-in-the-butt). Ultimately, as long as you burn more calories than what you consume (CI<CO), you will lose weight.

I try to follow a reduced carb diet for my blood sugar (average out at around 130-150 net carbs a day for a 1400 average calorie intake). What worked for me was reducing my total consumption of grains and starchy vegetables by basing my diet more off lean meats and nonstarchy vegetables with small accompaniments of grains and starchy vegetables (they're not the main part of the meal).

Though this is off topic, your calorie intake is very low for a woman. At a BARE MINIMUM women should be eating at least 1200 calories per day (and this is before exercise).

This forum post might be able to help.

DedRepublic · April 2015

Becky_W25 wrote: »

Does anyone else do a 25g daily carb intake and can you give me some suggestions/ideas to how I can get my carb count down?

Your working out twice a day, with weights, 5 days a week, so 10 weight training workouts...and at just 900-1000 calories? This is dangerous...

YOU NEED CARBS!! Your muscles love and prefer carbs to work, recover, and grow.

I load carbs up in the meal before weight traiing, drink a carb drink during the workout, and slam carbs after the workout.

Exactly what are your goals?

sijomial · April 2015

Why on earth are your calories so low? Are you 4' tall?
Sort out a sensible calorie allowance before getting into worrying about macros.

I've been told that I should be focused more on my carb intake

Unless you have some undisclosed medical condition then this is awful advice.

ndj1979 · April 2015

so you are working out two times a day, five days a week, and consuming 1000 calories day and want to lower your carbs to 25 grams a day????????

you need to be netting 1200 calories and your carb intake should be (I believe) about .8 grams per pound of body weight….

311snowwhite · April 2015

Becky,

A few things. First, let me tell you a little about me so you will know that I know what I am talking about. I am 34, currently 110 lbs, a coach with Beachbody and fitness fanatic. However, 6 years ago I was 170 lbs and couldn't run to the end of the block.

Here are my thoughts, take them for what they are worth.

The most important thing I have to say is that if you aren't eating ENOUGH you will NOT lose weight. Your body will go in to starvation mode and hold on to any carbs/calories you put in to your body. You will retain not lose. 900/1000 calories a day? That is not enough. Honestly, I never recommend anything less that 1200.

Next, a low carb diet coupled with exercise is surely the quickest way to lose weight. You also need to think about if that is going to be easy for you to maintain and not yo-yo. Like in the beginning of my weight loss journey I would go low carb and do really well for a while, but then my self control would weaken and my hunger would get the best of me and I would go "off the rails" for a couple of weeks (if not more) and gain a bunch of weight back. Trying to find balance in your diet is KEY. It is also better to eat your carbs earlier in the day and try to keep your dinners to just veggies and protein.

I also found that in the beginning I always trusted the calorie calculators on the machines at the gym to tell me how many calories I was burning and some of my eating was based on that. It wasn't for a couple of years that I realized the machines can WAY overestimate, and invested in a heart rate monitor to track my calorie burn. Polar has some cheaper ones that work GREAT.

I hope this helps.

Erin

ndj1979 · April 2015

311snowwhite wrote: »

Becky,

A few things. First, let me tell you a little about me so you will know that I know what I am talking about. I am 34, currently 110 lbs, a coach with Beachbody and fitness fanatic. However, 6 years ago I was 170 lbs and couldn't run to the end of the block.

Here are my thoughts, take them for what they are worth.

The most important thing I have to say is that if you aren't eating ENOUGH you will NOT lose weight. Your body will go in to starvation mode and hold on to any carbs/calories you put in to your body. You will retain not lose. 900/1000 calories a day? That is not enough. Honestly, I never recommend anything less that 1200.

Next, a low carb diet coupled with exercise is surely the quickest way to lose weight. You also need to think about if that is going to be easy for you to maintain and not yo-yo. Like in the beginning of my weight loss journey I would go low carb and do really well for a while, but then my self control would weaken and my hunger would get the best of me and I would go "off the rails" for a couple of weeks (if not more) and gain a bunch of weight back. Trying to find balance in your diet is KEY. It is also better to eat your carbs earlier in the day and try to keep your dinners to just veggies and protein.

I also found that in the beginning I always trusted the calorie calculators on the machines at the gym to tell me how many calories I was burning and some of my eating was based on that. It wasn't for a couple of years that I realized the machines can WAY overestimate, and invested in a heart rate monitor to track my calorie burn. Polar has some cheaper ones that work GREAT.

I hope this helps.

Erin

nope, starvation mode is a myth. If what you are saying is true then all the starving people in Africa would be obese because starvation mode.

People eating 1000 calories a day will lose weight if they are in a caloric deficit….

Hollywood_Porky · April 2015

ndj1979 wrote: »

so you are working out two times a day, five days a week, and consuming 1000 calories day and want to lower your carbs to 25 grams a day????????

you need to be netting 1200 calories and your carb intake should be (I believe) about .8 grams per pound of body weight….

I agree. I think the calorie intake is below what would be sustainable with that kind of workout intensity and regimen. I am astonished one would be able to keep it up. I advocate eating less carbs and more fiber - but I think the intake for you, OP, should be much higher.

I find losing weight easier when keeping carbs within 100gs and having the deficit be moderate - even slight. Slow weight loss over time is much better than quick results. I am down 56# now - all fat pounds, and that's over a 14 month period. I don't even feel like I did it - probably because I did it slowly and ate enough food to have the energy to workout.

KHS86 · April 2015

Here's the answer, more calories out than calories in.

If you want to be more specific and count calories, then calculate your TDEE and eat so that you're in a 20% calorie deficit every day.

You can also just make it a fixed amount, like 500 calorie deficit.

It's a good idea to change your habits and lifestyle and start eating healthy permanently, so that you do not gain it all back when you're done losing weight.
And the reason why it's not a good idea to drop the calories too low is that your body will adjust to the low amount of calories and think your starving, and therefore drop your metabolism, and then it gets really hard to lose weight.

1g fats = 9 calories
1g carbs = 4 calories
1g proteins = 4 calories

Drink water all day every day.

Eat
Sleep
Cardio
Lift

Try only weighing yourself every 7 days, instead of every day, and do so in the morning when you wake up.

Good luck.

MrDaddyHill · April 2015

What you are describing is the Keto diet. If you are interested in trying that, check out:
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

Philp0718 · April 2015

311snowwhite wrote: »

Becky,

The most important thing I have to say is that if you aren't eating ENOUGH you will NOT lose weight. Your body will go in to starvation mode and hold on to any carbs/calories you put in to your body. You will retain not lose. 900/1000 calories a day? That is not enough. Honestly, I never recommend anything less that 1200.

Ugh, no. "Starvation mode" in that sense, does NOT exist. What WILL happen is damage to your metabolic rate, but that is also after quite an extended period of time. Minimum 1200 calories/day is recommended for women to get adequate nutrition (1500 for men).

aeviescas · April 2015

What is your starting weight? Height?

If you don't want to share that, what does MFP say is your predicted weight loss given activity?

Don't start off with more than predicted weight loss of 1lb/week. 900/1000 calories is way too low unless you are like 4'5.

Also: if you're just starting out, make sure you're weighing and measuring ALL your food.

Becky_W25 · April 2015

Hey everyone!

You're all being really helpful, thank you so much.

I have to admit, the personal trainer that told me to eat 25g only told me this on Wednesday and it's been playing on my mind a bit because i've always though it's healthier to eat around 100g

it got me really confused, hence why I asked what other people do actually manage the 25g intake - because I couldn't think of any way around it without passing out.

In terms of the 900-1000 daily calorie intake; i'm definitely not doing it as a starvation diet because I want to create a more healthy lifestyle for myself and make this a permanent lifestyle change rather than a quick fix you know? At the moment i'm consuming 900-1000 (over the past week) without really realising. A lot of fruits and healthy veg goes in to my day as well...but since being on this site i've realised what i'm actually consuming may not be the right amount. So in a way, it's really good that i've started counting my calories because I didn't realise I was so low if i'm honest.

MFP says I should be losing around 2lbs a week with my activity. I'm 5'2 and pear shaped.

Thanks for your guidance and advice everyone, I really do appreciate. Especially pointing out that this guy was being silly about 25g carbs. I really appreciate your help.

ndj1979 · April 2015

Becky_W25 wrote: »

Hey everyone!

You're all being really helpful, thank you so much.

I have to admit, the personal trainer that told me to eat 25g only told me this on Wednesday and it's been playing on my mind a bit because i've always though it's healthier to eat around 100g it got me really confused, hence why I asked what other people do actually manage the 25g intake - because I couldn't think of any way around it without passing out.

In terms of the 900-1000 daily calorie intake; i'm definitely not doing it as a starvation diet because I want to create a more healthy lifestyle for myself and make this a permanent lifestyle change rather than a quick fix you know? At the moment i'm consuming 900-1000 (over the past week) without really realising. A lot of fruits and healthy veg goes in to my day as well...but since being on this site i've realised what i'm actually consuming may not be the right amount. So in a way, it's really good that i've started counting my calories because I didn't realise I was so low if i'm honest.

MFP says I should be losing around 2lbs a week with my activity. I'm 5'2 and pear shaped.

Thanks for your guidance and advice everyone, I really do appreciate. Especially pointing out that this guy was being silly about 25g carbs. I really appreciate your help.

1. your trainer is an idiot and I suggest finding a new one.
2. you need to net at least 1200 calories a day

Becky_W25 · April 2015

I started training with him in January and told him my target areas. I'm extremely strong, I was a swimmer in school and trained like crazy, my upper body strength and legs are really good to the point where my shoulders and arms a bit manly haha but that's ok. My main area is my stomach and that bloody 'pudge' that just wont move! I explained this to him but everytime I saw him he would get me doing weights and muscle strengthening exercises but we never focused on my real trouble area. Once I paid the full amount, I still had about 10 sessions left with him, but he completely started interrupting me when I spoke (not caring what achievements I might have made that week or where I fell short) and going on his phone or walking away to talk to friends in the gym during our sessions. I complained of course and our sessions where pretty crap from then on. Saw him on Wednesday after i've been doing my own thing at the gym these past few weeks and mentioned my trouble area again (because there had been no change) and he said that instead of thinking about calorie intake I should focus on my carbs and only earing 25g carbs a day for dramatic weight loss. I read it all up online and it just didn't feel right.

haibu · April 2015

25g of carbs is really low. A large apple has about 30g. Think about that, you couldn't eat an apple. An apple.

Becky_W25 · April 2015

Oh gosh! I love apples as well...that would be hell!

I haven't heard of TDEE before...but i'll take a look in to it. I just know of Net calories and things. But definitely will look in to it and see what would work best for me.

Carbs

Replies

Categories