How to keep carbs under 45%!?

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stefng33
stefng33 Posts: 49 Member
in Food and Nutrition
hey guys! I've seen some comments out there where people are maintaining their carb macros at 35%! Wowwie!!! How on earth are they doing it?? I can barely keep mine under 45%...
Any feedback on replacements or some meal examples would be appreciated :)

I get that keeping cals down is the most important, but limiting carbs will certainly help with this! For me anyway.

Thanks
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Replies

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    Eat mostly protein and fat. Even with a lot of non-starchy vegetables, you should be able to hit that.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    Look at your diary, find out where most of your carbs are from and reduce or swap them. You'll need to eat more protein and fat.

    If I'm tying to reduce carbs I tend to eat less sugary/sweet food, and grains and grain based foods. I get most of my carbs from vegies and fruit in these cases...
  • ihatetodietalways
    ihatetodietalways Posts: 180 Member
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    Its not about calorie restriction as it is to prevent insulin spikes. No added sugar, no starches, very little fruit (berries are best, get vit. c from crystal form) and eat lots of eggs, fish, meat, butter, up to your calorie requirement or slightly more. If you dont drop then cut protein slightly in one meal. and so on
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    ~Fat and oil.
    ~Beef, pork, chicken, fish and seafood, eggs, some dairy (but not too much dairy because dairy has carbs).
    ~Lots of green leafy vegetables (romaine, spinach, swiss chard, kale) and things like asparagus, sprouts, mushrooms, cucumbers, avocados (17 grams of carbs in one whole avocado)
  • joycesupan39
    joycesupan39 Posts: 1 Member
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    If you reduce your carbs to 50-100g per day is that the only way to lose weight? I am also trying to gain lean muscle so restrictions my carbs will affect this or not?
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    stefng33 wrote: »
    hey guys! I've seen some comments out there where people are maintaining their carb macros at 35%! Wowwie!!! How on earth are they doing it?? I can barely keep mine under 45%...
    Any feedback on replacements or some meal examples would be appreciated :)

    I get that keeping cals down is the most important, but limiting carbs will certainly help with this! For me anyway.

    Thanks

    Why do you want to keep you carbs low? Is there a medical reason?
    If it is just because other people are doing it, there are all sorts of other people on MFP, following all sorts of eating styles, from very low carb, to almost only carb.
  • stefng33
    stefng33 Posts: 49 Member
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    How does a person live without rice, pasta, potatoes...and so on!? Jeez. These have been a staple for years. I'm not doing it for medical reasons. Just trying to lose a bit of weight and I'm thinking I might be one of those people who are 'carb sensitive' ...
    Thanks for the input!
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited May 2015
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    stefng33 wrote: »
    How does a person live without rice, pasta, potatoes...and so on!? Jeez. These have been a staple for years. I'm not doing it for medical reasons. Just trying to lose a bit of weight and I'm thinking I might be one of those people who are 'carb sensitive' ...
    Thanks for the input!

    Umm... Easy? Be creative. Serve bolognese sauce /chilli/curry etc on steamed vegies or spinach or cauliflower rice. Make zucchini noodles. Use lettuce leaves as wraps. Eat salad not sandwiches. Eat less carb dense vegies. Don't have cereal or granola for breakfast. Where's the book that says you need to eat these things?

    (I'm not anti carb by any means, but I prefer volume over grains....and sometimes comp prep calls for low carb!)
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    stefng33 wrote: »
    How does a person live without rice, pasta, potatoes...and so on!? Jeez. These have been a staple for years. I'm not doing it for medical reasons. Just trying to lose a bit of weight and I'm thinking I might be one of those people who are 'carb sensitive' ...
    Thanks for the input!

    There are no carb sensitive people. Unless you mean you are diabetic, which contradicts the no medical reasons part ;)
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Carb sensativity is real and it derives from a difference between simple and complex carbs and digestion causing bloating, gas and other ill effects... this has nothing to do with diabetes, etc... for example white carbs.

    What you can do is up your protein, then up the fat a bit and then leave the rest for your carbs (when you setup the macros).. Try to hit these by your food choices (this will take some research on learning higher protein foods and what types of healthy fats to choose). Choose low glycemic carbs .. this is a good bet..
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    stefng33 wrote: »
    How does a person live without rice, pasta, potatoes...and so on!? Jeez. These have been a staple for years. I'm not doing it for medical reasons. Just trying to lose a bit of weight and I'm thinking I might be one of those people who are 'carb sensitive' ...
    Thanks for the input!

    Umm... Easy? Be creative. Serve bolognese sauce /chilli/curry etc on steamed vegies or spinach or cauliflower rice. Make zucchini noodles. Use lettuce leaves as wraps. Eat salad not sandwiches. Eat less carb dense vegies. Don't have cereal or granola for breakfast. Where's the book that says you need to eat these things?

    (I'm not anti carb by any means, but I prefer volume over grains....and sometimes comp prep calls for low carb!)

    Very easy! I haven't had any of those things years and do no miss them at all! I, too, prefer volume over grains.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Look at your diary, find out where most of your carbs are from and reduce or swap them. You'll need to eat more protein and fat.
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Pre planning can make a big difference until you get a hang of constructing days without having to think about it much.

    I agree with both of these. Figure out where the bulk of your carbs are coming from, identify the things you think will be easiest to reduce/eliminate, then replace them with fats and/or protein.

    Pre-logging food is a great option to help you see how things add up, and it's easy to swap foods in and out to help you hit your numbers. Then you have a plan for the day all laid out for you.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited May 2015
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Look at your diary, find out where most of your carbs are from and reduce or swap them. You'll need to eat more protein and fat.

    This--it's really just a matter of making sure that you have protein and fat at all meals and then adjusting serving size.

    I got in the habit of thinking of every meal as structured around protein and veggies and then adding in everything else as extras based on what I was in the mood for and had room for. So I'd have fewer meals with starchy carbs when my carbs were lower or else simply smaller servings of those foods. Now that I have more carbs to play with I tend to include them in more meals. I'd usually save my starchy carbs for dinner (and still had potatoes and sweet potatoes and pasta when I wanted, just with a different ratio to the other parts of the meal) but sometimes might have a carby lunch and then have a dinner of extra veggies and meat and maybe a little cheese or something depending on calories.

    For many people the issues are: (1) breakfast based on carbs--this doesn't work for me in general, so was one of the first things I changed by figuring out a more balanced and protein-based breakfast option or two; (2) sandwich-based lunch (I pack lunch or get a salad with protein or a half sandwich/wrap with soup); and (3) snacks -- I don't snack that much but have identified snacks with better macros when I want to.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    joycesupan39 wrote: »
    If you reduce your carbs to 50-100g per day is that the only way to lose weight? I am also trying to gain lean muscle so restrictions my carbs will affect this or not?

    You don't need to reduce your carbs to lose weight.

    Many people are more satiated if they have relatively more fat and protein so do well adjusting their macros some, but if you are happy and feel good I wouldn't worry about it, so long as you aren't overly low on protein or fat.

    You can't really gain muscle while on a deficit, but wanting to maintain muscle makes protein even more important.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    ihatetodietalways wrote: »
    Its not about calorie restriction as it is to prevent insulin spikes.

    How do you know what it's about for OP?
    No added sugar, no starches, very little fruit (berries are best, get vit. c from crystal form)

    NOT necessary at all to keep carbs below 45% or even at 35%.

  • toritater
    toritater Posts: 6 Member
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    stefng33 wrote: »
    hey guys! I've seen some comments out there where people are maintaining their carb macros at 35%! Wowwie!!! How on earth are they doing it?? I can barely keep mine under 45%...
    Any feedback on replacements or some meal examples would be appreciated :)

    I get that keeping cals down is the most important, but limiting carbs will certainly help with this! For me anyway.

    Thanks

    I keep mine under 10% because I eat high fat, low carb. I just don't eat any fruits or rice, etc. I eat quality fats and meats (coconut oil, pastured eggs, grass fed beef) and I eat veggies. The carbs in veggies don't really count but they will make your macros go up in that area. You just have to ignore it if it's from veggies.
  • Sugarbeat
    Sugarbeat Posts: 824 Member
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    stefng33 wrote: »
    How does a person live without rice, pasta, potatoes...and so on!? Jeez. These have been a staple for years. I'm not doing it for medical reasons. Just trying to lose a bit of weight and I'm thinking I might be one of those people who are 'carb sensitive' ...
    Thanks for the input!

    I've actually made the switch fairly painlessly. I did eat a tiny bit of pasta on Sunday and wished I hadn't. I used to think I couldn't live without it, now I can't remember what the fuss was all about. There is way more flavor in a dish of veggies, protein, and fat. However, I had to make the switch to LCHF and that made a difference. If you still want those things and want to lower your carb level, just have smaller portions of them, and add a little more veggies or whatever to your plate.
  • stefng33
    stefng33 Posts: 49 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    stefng33 wrote: »
    How does a person live without rice, pasta, potatoes...and so on!? Jeez. These have been a staple for years. I'm not doing it for medical reasons. Just trying to lose a bit of weight and I'm thinking I might be one of those people who are 'carb sensitive' ...
    Thanks for the input!

    There are no carb sensitive people. Unless you mean you are diabetic, which contradicts the no medical reasons part ;)

    Just something I read somewhere ...that it's more difficult
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Look at your diary, find out where most of your carbs are from and reduce or swap them. You'll need to eat more protein and fat.

    This--it's really just a matter of making sure that you have protein and fat at all meals and then adjusting serving size.

    I got in the habit of thinking of every meal as structured around protein and veggies and then adding in everything else as extras based on what I was in the mood for and had room for. So I'd have fewer meals with starchy carbs when my carbs were lower or else simply smaller servings of those foods. Now that I have more carbs to play with I tend to include them in more meals. I'd usually save my starchy carbs for dinner (and still had potatoes and sweet potatoes and pasta when I wanted, just with a different ratio to the other parts of the meal) but sometimes might have a carby lunch and then have a dinner of extra veggies and meat and maybe a little cheese or something depending on calories.

    For many people the issues are: (1) breakfast based on carbs--this doesn't work for me in general, so was one of the first things I changed by figuring out a more balanced and protein-based breakfast option or two; (2) sandwich-based lunch (I pack lunch or get a salad with protein or a half sandwich/wrap with soup); and (3) snacks -- I don't snack that much but have identified snacks with better macros when I want to.

    [/
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    joycesupan39 wrote: »
    If you reduce your carbs to 50-100g per day is that the only way to lose weight? I am also trying to gain lean muscle so restrictions my carbs will affect this or not?

    You don't need to reduce your carbs to lose weight.

    Many people are more satiated if they have relatively more fat and protein so do well adjusting their macros some, but if you are happy and feel good I wouldn't worry about it, so long as you aren't overly low on protein or fat.

    You can't really gain muscle while on a deficit, but wanting to maintain muscle makes protein even more important.

    So what's a good setting for fat and protein then? I work out and eat as healthy as I can but I get a bit confused at where I'm supposed to be for my macros.
    The reason I've asked about carbs specifically is because I tend to eat lots (brown rice, fruit, certain veg, sometimes pasta- but hardly since its loaded with calories) and so I wanted some examples of switch ups.
    I've tried spaghetti squash instead of noodles, lower carb choices for fruits and veg etc., but I guess I just need to be much more creative.
    And in fact, I will bet like you say, if I up my protein and fat ( which I was afraid to do!) I will feel much more satisfied and full after meals. So how do I determine what ratio is best??
    I'm no expert here clearly and I just hope from asking questions and experimenting that it will get easier :)
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Are you getting adequate protein and fat? Do you have any medical reasons to limit carbs?

    If Yes (to the first one) and No (to the second), there's no reason to worry about limiting your carbs. Weight loss is a function of your deficit. Unless you have some kind of medical circumstance (like diabetes or PCOS), your individual macro ratios don't really impact weight loss.

    Typically, aim for around 0.8-1g of protein per pound of lean body mass (total weight - % body fat) and 0.4g of fat per pound of total body weight. Fill in the rest with carbs. Easy peasy.

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