Carbs? Loosing weight?

DKBelle
DKBelle Posts: 585
edited September 27 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,
Is it bad if you go over your daily needs of carbs by eating only fruits&veggies ? Lately I am trying everything to loose weight (decided not to eat meat, although yesterday we were at a party so I cheated a bit) although nothing seems to work for me. I am working out every day at least 30 min to an hour also eating healthy lots of veggies and fruits. I don't eat junk food and sugar. I eat around 1500+300 cal so my calories intake must be fine. How you guys do that everyone in here loose a lot of weight except me :) What do I do wrong? Please advise :)
Thanks!

Replies

  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
    are you drinking plenty of water? I switched out all of my white carbs for brown ones, and I eat at least six times a day to keep my blood sugar steady (at last check this evening, it was 69. Yeah, me!). I eat lots of protein and complex carbs, and I run or do some sort of activity 1-2 hrs six days a week.
  • RDH0513
    RDH0513 Posts: 245 Member
    Losing* weight is not about eating a bunch of veggies and fruit. And why did you give up meat? You need enough lean protein to help build and maintain lean muscle, which btw burns more calories at rest than fat does. It is all about calories in and out, but it also helps if you are putting a balanced diet into your body. Adding strength training is also beneficial for losing weight, not just tons of cardio.
  • PaulaJKelly
    PaulaJKelly Posts: 96
    You need to get some protein. I don't exactly know how much you will need but it is a lot more than you think. I think I am supposed to have 100 g. You can get protein in cottage cheese, beans, quinoa, etc. Also, drink at least 10 (8 oz) glasses of water a day. I don't know how to translate this to your system but I am sure you can figure it out. There is definitely a big debate about eating back your exercise calories. I don't do it; others do. You'll get there.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    You may not be able to loose much weight eating 1800 calories per day, unless you are exercising a lot. If you are trying to loose weight, calories are the most important thing, maybe try going back to 1200-1400 per day. Fruits and veggies are good (even though they have lots of carbs) because they make you full without packing a ton of calories.

    It is possible you are overestimating exercise calories as well, I always reduce what MFP says by about 20-30%. I seem to be losing a steady 2 lbs per week this way.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    For starters, don't get discouraged! After looking at your food diary, your breakfast calorie count is way too low. That should be your biggest meal of the day with enough protein to keep your metabolism high throughout the day. Think of it this way: When you wake up in the morning, your body is craving fuel. If you are not giving your body what it needs, it will lower your metabolism to conserve energy (aka "starvation mode"). Try increasing your breakfast count to at least 1/3 of your daily intake. Trust me, 3 of my friends were having the same problem and once they made the switch (without increasing their exercise), they started dropping weight. For myself and my husband, as soon as we made the switch, we also dropped quickly. I shed just shy of 10 lbs in 3 weeks just by making sure I had a big breakfast. Good luck and stay the course!
  • DKBelle
    DKBelle Posts: 585
    Sorry I forgot to write I drink 64 oz of water every day and sometimes even more(it depends on the weather ). Last 2 days I did not eat much breakfast because I woke up late and it was lunch time already :) but I usually eat 300-400 calories for breakfast. I don't know if I should still eat more for breakfast, but will try. I give up meat because I wanted to clean my body a bit, but will eat later on again(one more week ).
  • PNWriter
    PNWriter Posts: 223 Member
    I agree!! Protein and water are necessities. BJohs said it right about breakfast being the biggest meal of the day and filled with protein. I try to have a Fage yogurt (Greek yogurt is EPIC for proteins), a glass of milk, an Orowheat sandwich thin with laughing cow cheese. Then a couple hours later, just to give myself another protein boost, I try to have an ounce of almonds or nuts for that good protein and "good" fat. I then have a moderate lunch that includes a protein, later on, a snack, a light dinner, and a little snack later on. I try to start the day with a higher calorie meal and taper off by the end of the day. My dinners usually are protein and lots of veggies. For a trick, I roast a turkey breast once a week and use it for lunches and snacks. Pump that water, too. It gets your metabolism going for sure! I drink 16 oz before breakast, another 16 between breakfast and my first snack, another 16 between snack and lunch, 16 beteween lunch and snack, and 16 between afternon snack and dinner. Overall, for carbs, I try to stay under 150 or 200 per day and make them complex carbs (veggies, fruit, whole grains) instead of simple ones (sugar, white potatoes, white bread, etc). Hope this helps!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    You can certainly lose weight at 1800 calories a day, I was losing weight at 2100 calories because I finally realized how many empty calories I was having, potato chips, chocolate bars etc, eating "constantly" but lacking real nutrition because so much was from junk, Apparently I was eating way more than 2500 calories because I got up to my high weight, even now 32 lbs down my daily goal is almost 1900 calories, it depends on the person and their starting weight etc, 1200 isn't the solution for everyone, see all the threads where "Hey I increased my calories to 1500 from 1200 and am finally losing weight" and of similar veined threads.
  • DKBelle
    DKBelle Posts: 585
    You can certainly lose weight at 1800 calories a day, I was losing weight at 2100 calories because I finally realized how many empty calories I was having, potato chips, chocolate bars etc, eating "constantly" but lacking real nutrition because so much was from junk, Apparently I was eating way more than 2500 calories because I got up to my high weight, even now 32 lbs down my daily goal is almost 1900 calories, it depends on the person and their starting weight etc, 1200 isn't the solution for everyone, see all the threads where "Hey I increased my calories to 1500 from 1200 and am finally losing weight" and of similar veined threads.

    I used to eat 900-1200 and already changed that for 1800 :) according to different sites this is the recommended for me. I am 5'9 by the way. I also did zig-zaging for a while but did not help. I lost only 2lbs in like almost 5 months. I was working out for 3 months around 2 hours, doing cardio+strength but nothing was working this is why I was wondering how you guys are doing :)
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    Sorry I forgot to write I drink 64 oz of water every day and sometimes even more(it depends on the weather ). Last 2 days I did not eat much breakfast because I woke up late and it was lunch time already :) but I usually eat 300-400 calories for breakfast. I don't know if I should still eat more for breakfast, but will try. I give up meat because I wanted to clean my body a bit, but will eat later on again(one more week ).

    My breakfast usually consists of 2 scrambled eggs (with yolks) with diced ham, onions and spinach. One slice of 12-grain toast with either one slice of low fat cheese or one tbsp of reduced fat peanut butter. Half a banana or a small bunch of grapes. Black coffee and a 16 oz bottle of water. I'm rarely hungry before lunch time, but will force myself to have a small snack about an hour before lunch. Lunch will be my second largest meal of the day and dinner the smallest. I feel like I'm eating all day and I'm hardly ever hungry. But I'm full of energy all day long. I'm 43 years old, 5'2", have 2 small children, don't exercise as much as I used to, and have lost 30 lbs since January 2010.

    Keep working on different solutions and you will find the one that works best for you!
  • Knightrobs
    Knightrobs Posts: 33 Member
    Maybe your carbs are not as complex as you think. If you are eating carbs, the only true way to know if they're being stored is to check your blood sugar after you eat. Even the "best" complex carbs can cause a spike in blood sugar, everyone is very different. And if you are spiking your blood sugar, then you are inducing an insulin response and you ARE storing that energy as fat and/or glycogen.
  • heather0416
    heather0416 Posts: 118 Member
    Losing* weight is not about eating a bunch of veggies and fruit. And why did you give up meat? You need enough lean protein to help build and maintain lean muscle, which btw burns more calories at rest than fat does. It is all about calories in and out, but it also helps if you are putting a balanced diet into your body. Adding strength training is also beneficial for losing weight, not just tons of cardio.

    I agree. If you like meat... just cut down on red meats.. chicken and fish are better for you...
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    For myself the loss has mostly come from diet, I haven't been to the gym or specifically worked out in almost 2 months, work is keeping me far more active than I was over the winter though.
    I used to eat pizza, chips, chocolate etc and be hungry, now I eat 1800 calories worth of real foods and feel much fuller and satisfied for much longer, the real foods keep me at least filled up way better.
  • DKBelle
    DKBelle Posts: 585
    Losing* weight is not about eating a bunch of veggies and fruit. And why did you give up meat? You need enough lean protein to help build and maintain lean muscle, which btw burns more calories at rest than fat does. It is all about calories in and out, but it also helps if you are putting a balanced diet into your body. Adding strength training is also beneficial for losing weight, not just tons of cardio.

    I agree. If you like meat... just cut down on red meats.. chicken and fish are better for you...

    I never eat red meat ::) I mostly eat chicken, turkey and rarely pork or beef so that shouldn't be a problem.
  • scubacat
    scubacat Posts: 346 Member
    I used to go over on my carbs a bit but felt it was ok at the time since I was at 1200 calories and wasn't going over on calories. The carbs I was eating were from fruits and veggies, not sugar or pasta. However, I was also not losing weight. I decided to change it up a bit, cut down the carbs, eat some lean protein and the weight has started coming off. Carbs are just as important as calories in my opinion. Hang in there!
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