What have you done to reduce carbs? What has worked for you?

lemmie177 wrote: »

People can repeat CICO over and over, but carbs is often the first (and I find easiest) place to cut to reduce the CI in CICO.

In regards to OP's question, I find that eating sweet potatoes tends to reduce my overall calorie and carb intake for the day just because they're so satiating. They're great in place of rice, grains, or white potatoes.

I agree with this. I have "lowered" my carbs so they are only 40 percent of my intake, and increased protein to 30 percent. More protein helps me fell full longer. That said, I eat all types of carbs, I just pay attention to how much. I do like the low-carb tortillas, but mostly because they are also half the calories of regular ones.

That's true.

I reduced my calorie intake, not my carbs. I've never really been a naturally big carb eater in the commonly perceived sense of the word. All about the calorie deficit. Science!

If you want to reduce your carbs, look at your diary and figure out where most of your carbs are coming from - then replace or remove those things.

If you're in a plateau, you're likely not in a deficit. You might want to tighten up your food logging or consider a food scale, if you don't already use one.

Lowering carbs in and of itself won't make you lose weight, but it might help you create a calorie deficit.

Good luck.

I used to be one of those people that thought I couldn't lose weight unless I drastically reduced my carbs. For so long I was eating under 20g of carbs a day. I reached a point where I couldn't get under 165 by eating low carb even when I was within my calories. I decided to try adding in carbs (fruits, whole grains, etc) and found that I could still lose weight. In fact, when I first started adding in carbs, I lost 1.5 lbs each day of consuming 150g. I was expecting to actually gain weight initially and I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't. I'm currently eating my own words that CICO was a bunch of crap and that the only way I could lose weight was to restrict bread, rice, pasta, etc. I'm finding that to be further from the truth. I actually seem to lose weight better when eating carbs for some reason. Maybe it was stressing me out knowing I couldn't have my favorite carb foods lol. Not to mention I'm a happier girl knowing I don't have to live without this and that. I am now at my lowest weight since high school (162).

I echo what many have said. Carbs are what I love, so part of the way I avoid eating more than my calorie goal is by limiting what I buy and making sure better choices are available and convenient. Instead of a bag of chips I can grab easily, I'll make sure I have protein bars, cut up veggies, whatever it may be. I also have switched to carbs that give me more bang for my buck--whole grains, etc. These may not taste the same, but if that's all that's there, you'll be satisfied.

One thing I have done regularly to reduce calories (and carbs, but that wasn't my goal) is to use different ways of dressing up foods. I love Latin American food. I ditched the tortillas and chips and make taco salads instead--I just throw my meat over lettuce and toss in some salsa. Instead of a tuna sandwich, I cut up slices of cucumber and put tuna on that. It takes longer to eat (something I need because of my tendency to eat super fast) and cuts out a bunch of calories.

Healthy Life (and other similar brands) make bread that's lower calorie and lower carb. They have hamburger buns, hot dog buns, regular white bread, wheat bread... I use these, though I'm not claiming they're nutrient-dense. I just wanted a lower calorie alternative to something I didn't want to get rid of entirely. When I have gotten rid of things entirely that I enjoy, it leads to falling off the wagon.

Lastly, to address the plateau, something I've had happen many times, you have to give it time, if you're sure you're logging completely accurately. You won't lose weight steadily, but if you're eating a deficit, you will lose weight. Make sure you're using food scales and measuring your intake accurately. It's an easy downfall when you trust yourself to eye one serving or judge what a "small" apple is, or believe the calorie burn MFP (or machines, or almost anything) tells you.

Congratulations on your achievements so far, and best of luck in the future!

I stopped eating bread since I didn't like it that much anyway. I also swapped cereal for eggs, although I do have oatmeal sometimes. For the past couple of months I stopped eating rice, potatoes, pasta etc and I have fresh veggies as my side instead.

I eat a lot of fruit, so my carbs aren't actually low, but my carbs (& calories) would deffs be higher if I was still eating even healthy quinoa and whole grains. They're just things I used to eat that I didn't really like as much as other food and that I'm honestly too lazy to cook.