Carbs? Are they friend or foe?
jema99
Posts: 6 Member
Hi, I am new to all this and here so many things about carbs. They are bad, they are good. Without them you will get tired, with them you will get fat. I have left my carb amount on MFP to the percentage it set at (52%) and am struggling to get there (more 47-48%) I not even sure what a carb is other then bread and potato (which I'm told to avoid). So am after some advice on is what MFP set correct or just a random number, what is a carb, are there good carbs and Should i be trying to get more carbs in. I have started 10 days ago and have also started exercise walking/jogging and using a fit bit to try and get me to 10000 steps at this stage at an average of 8,500 steps a week.
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Replies
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Completely your friend. Carbs do not make you fat, too many calories makes you fat.
There really is no such thing as a 'good carb' or a 'bad carb'.
There are simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates.0 -
Sugary carbs in foods like pasta and doughnuts have no good nutrients in them
They are often called junk calories
Junk food
Calories from fruits and veggies will have nutrients. Those vary wildly and you can find all that in this program nutrient breakdown.
But yeah... Junk carbs are junk. And lots of times those junk sugar carbs carry fat and salt.
Coconut oil and salmon contain healthy fat. And some avocado slices on a great salad... Mmm yummy
French fries contain bad fat, bad carbs, and a ton of salt.
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I eat plenty of high quality, nutrient dense foods with carbs.
I limit (I consider them a TREAT) low quality nutrient poor foods with carbs.0 -
Anything that is plant related. Or is made from plants is a carb. Animal products are protein. Carbs are the body's source for energy. Although if eaten in excess and not metabolized get stored as fat. The only way I can lose weight is to limit carbs to about 60 grams daily and 1200 calories daily but I am 55 years old with a defunct thyroid. Everyone burns carbs at. Different Rate. If you exercise a lot you need more carbs than a sedentary person. Hope this helps.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I eat plenty of high quality, nutrient dense foods with carbs.
I limit (I consider them a TREAT) low quality nutrient poor foods with carbs.
This is what I generally do too.
OP, you can't generalize about carbs, they are hugely varied.
Some people do better on a lower carb diet, some don't, but it's about what helps you eat well, feel good, and keep to a proper calorie level.0 -
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professionalHobbyist wrote: »Sugary carbs in foods like pasta...
Pasta is a starch. You can even get whole grain pasta.
It's commonly eaten as a meal with protein and veggies, at least that's how I make my pasta.
Demonizing it and calling it "junk" is extreme.French fries contain bad fat, bad carbs, and a ton of salt.
You can make french fries in a variety of ways, with different kinds of fat. I tend to limit fried stuff, personally, so consider fries an indulgence (although one that can be worth it, if they are really good fries).
However, the carbs in fries are just potatoes. Potatoes have nutrients and calling them "bad carbs" again shows why I think this kind of language toward food can be extremist and over the top. I eat potatoes as part of a balanced dinner quite commonly and haven't had any negative results. I personally think they are one of the best night before a workout meals, but that's probably also because I like them. I especially like them chopped up and roasted with their skin on.0 -
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Your primary goal should be to stay within your calorie budget. If you are within 10 or 20 percent of the recommended percentages you're going to be fine. It's going to go up and down each day depending on what you eat. As long as the weekly/monthly average is around 50% give or take it's close enough.
This is not an exact science. Even the doctors and nutritionists can't agree on one exact right number for everyone.0 -
professionalHobbyist wrote: »Sugary carbs in foods like pasta and doughnuts have no good nutrients in them
They are often called junk calories
Junk food
Calories from fruits and veggies will have nutrients. Those vary wildly and you can find all that in this program nutrient breakdown.
But yeah... Junk carbs are junk. And lots of times those junk sugar carbs carry fat and salt.
Coconut oil and salmon contain healthy fat. And some avocado slices on a great salad... Mmm yummy
French fries contain bad fat, bad carbs, and a ton of salt.
I had fries tonight-one serving size contained 4g of fat and 340mg of salt. Yeah, not going to lose sleep over that
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Carbs are the devil. Carbs are our saviour. Or fats. Or protein.
Source doesn't matter, only calories matter. Source of calories matter.
In one thread someone calls S'mores ok, in the next they'd be labelled as junk food.
Notice a pattern?
Welcome to MFP (seriously). Use your own sense of what makes sense - you are more likely to get it right than reading some of the advice here.
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An ice cream carb has a differentprofessionalHobbyist wrote: »Sugary carbs in foods like pasta and doughnuts have no good nutrients in them
They are often called junk calories
Junk food
Calories from fruits and veggies will have nutrients. Those vary wildly and you can find all that in this program nutrient breakdown.
But yeah... Junk carbs are junk. And lots of times those junk sugar carbs carry fat and salt.
Coconut oil and salmon contain healthy fat. And some avocado slices on a great salad... Mmm yummy
French fries contain bad fat, bad carbs, and a ton of salt.
There is a whole lot of food demonizing there ^^^^ You are just painting with a broad brush as to what is good or bad without considering context or the overall contents of a person's diet. Doing that skews your ability to give people proper advice.
Food demonizing!
It was very exact.
Doughnuts, French fries, pasta were mentioned specifically.
Those items are not nutrient rich.
Please look them up and observe the actual facts concerning their content of macronutrients and value as building blocks to your body.
Why is a fact somehow offensive?
Strange way of thinking. Pointing out a fact is demonizing and a broad brush stroke?
Are you offended by math too?
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professionalHobbyist wrote: »An ice cream carb has a differentprofessionalHobbyist wrote: »Sugary carbs in foods like pasta and doughnuts have no good nutrients in them
They are often called junk calories
Junk food
Calories from fruits and veggies will have nutrients. Those vary wildly and you can find all that in this program nutrient breakdown.
But yeah... Junk carbs are junk. And lots of times those junk sugar carbs carry fat and salt.
Coconut oil and salmon contain healthy fat. And some avocado slices on a great salad... Mmm yummy
French fries contain bad fat, bad carbs, and a ton of salt.
There is a whole lot of food demonizing there ^^^^ You are just painting with a broad brush as to what is good or bad without considering context or the overall contents of a person's diet. Doing that skews your ability to give people proper advice.
Food demonizing!
It was very exact.
Doughnuts, French fries, pasta were mentioned specifically.
Those items are not nutrient rich.
Please look them up and observe the actual facts concerning their content of macronutrients and value as building blocks to your body.
Why is a fact somehow offensive?
Strange way of thinking. Pointing out a fact is demonizing and a broad brush stroke?
Are you offended by math too?
You can pry my pasta from my cold, dead hands.
I fail to see how 2 ounces of my whole wheat pasta (which has 5 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein for 180 calories) is the devil incarnate. Even the "bad" regular pasta has 2 grams of fiber and 7 of protein, though the calorie count is 210 for the brand I like.
Are there other foods with better macro amounts for the calories? Sure. But if I can fit this into my goals and still get the nutrition I need, there's no reason not to.
Now if you want to say these foods are things that can easy be overindulged in, I would be much more inclined to agree.
That still doesn't make them bad.
~Lyssa0 -
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Thanks everyone for your replies. I appreciate it all. I can see carbs are a varied and complex subject, which is good and helps me see why there is such ambiguity about it and that there is no hard and fast rules about it. The overall theme i get from this ,is its more of a moderation thing and nutrient value with it.0
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Thanks everyone for your replies. I appreciate it all. I can see carbs are a varied and complex subject, which is good and helps me see why there is such ambiguity about it and that there is no hard and fast rules about it. The overall theme i get from this ,is its more of a moderation thing and nutrient value with it.
You've got it!
What I recommend is to log everything honestly and evaluate how you feel over time.
If I eat a 300 calorie donut, I'll be hungry within an hour. If I make my egg sandwich (scrambled egg, sausage patty, cheese & english muffin) for 300 calories, I stay full for 2-3 or so.
Does that mean I won't eat donuts? Of course not. But it does mean I need to look at what I'm eating over the course of the day and get plenty of other nutritious stuff in, and maybe have some low-cal snacks to get me though till lunch.
If a certain food leaves you feeling hungry fairly quickly, experiment a little with other things of similar calories with different macro content. There's nothing wrong with those other foods, but avoiding being hungry can prevent those nasty binges people sometimes fall into
~Lyssa0 -
I use MFP's default protein & fiber goals as minimums, and ignore carbs & fats. It'll take trial & error to find what works for you.0
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Carbs can be both friend and foe. You need then for energy. You need fiber (a subset of carbs) for satiety and proper intestinal function. Some have to limit them because they cause excess blood sugar which can be dangerous (diabetics). Everywhere else is a huge expanse where everyone fits somewhere. You just need to find out what is the proper amount for you.
Personally, I eat about 35% of my calories in total carbs. 154 g. with an average of about 35 - 40 g. of that as fiber. I do not track sugars.0 -
Carbs are a macro nutrient.... plain and simple.
They do NOT cause weight gain, or weight loss. What causes weight gain is a SURPLUS in calories, what causes weight loss is a DEFICIT in calories.
When people "Bulk" (gain weight, mass, muscle, etc.) they eat more carbs because it's the easiest and usually most tolerable macro nutrient to eat an abundance of. I mean, not everyone can eat 500+g of protein a day and tolerate it for to long.
When people try to lose weight, they cut carbs, because protein and fats are ESSENTIAL nutrients your body NEEDS. You don't necessarily NEED carbs like you do protein and fat, so hence saying that, that is why people cut carbs and not protein or fat.
It's totally possible to lose weight eating nothing but carbs daily, it's not healthy, but, it can be done.0 -
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You have to take a persons personal demands into consideration and at what point they may need a high carb intake! I run a lot and it is common knowledge to replace carbs after intense excercise aswell as protein to repair and other nutrients and minerals etc so like yesterday after completing a high intensity speed session, 1-2 hours after I had pasta (high in carbs) with some quorn mince (high in protein) with some veg and plenty of water! My meal mainly consisted of pasta to replace glycogen and help deliver protein to the muscles faster! Nothing wrong with pasta what so ever and every pro athlete has a pasta intake in there diet because of the carbs!professionalHobbyist wrote: »An ice cream carb has a differentprofessionalHobbyist wrote: »Sugary carbs in foods like pasta and doughnuts have no good nutrients in them
They are often called junk calories
Junk food
Calories from fruits and veggies will have nutrients. Those vary wildly and you can find all that in this program nutrient breakdown.
But yeah... Junk carbs are junk. And lots of times those junk sugar carbs carry fat and salt.
Coconut oil and salmon contain healthy fat. And some avocado slices on a great salad... Mmm yummy
French fries contain bad fat, bad carbs, and a ton of salt.
There is a whole lot of food demonizing there ^^^^ You are just painting with a broad brush as to what is good or bad without considering context or the overall contents of a person's diet. Doing that skews your ability to give people proper advice.
Food demonizing!
It was very exact.
Doughnuts, French fries, pasta were mentioned specifically.
Those items are not nutrient rich.
Please look them up and observe the actual facts concerning their content of macronutrients and value as building blocks to your body.
Why is a fact somehow offensive?
Strange way of thinking. Pointing out a fact is demonizing and a broad brush stroke?
Are you offended by math too?
I would say you demonized them!
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Uncle Ben and the Quaker Oats guy your enemy? Come on. - Dom Mazette0
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