Low carb diets - there is no way they can limit of 25 to 50 carbs a day?
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Choices in how to lose weight are as personal as why people want to lose weight. This is as it should be. I am following a LCHF diet because my husband's doctor suggested it to him for diabetes control. I am eating vegetables at every meal normally exceeding the recommended daily allowance per Canada's Food Guide, yet I am still eating a low carb diet. I am not eating as much fruit as I normally did and choosing low sugared fruit when we do eat fruit. The high sugar fruits, we view as we would dessert or candy; a treat to be savoured occasionally and in small doses. And the best news, my husband's diabetes is in really good control.
Each to their own choice.0 -
CharonCharon wrote: »My question:
In the real world, what is low carb to you?
I do "lower" carb, not low carb.
I aim for 35% of my daily input calories (which vary depending on my activity level) simply as a guideline. On average this works out to just over 100g daily. I'll frequently be over 100g but am usually under 200 even on a long run day (or the day before).
I generally run between 10 and 25km daily, five to seven days a week. In that context 200g for many people would still be considered lower carb. Eating lower, not low, carb doesn't appear to affect my running. Here's the day before a medium length run:
Saturday 0km - 27% carb | 88g
Sunday 17km run - 24% carb | 98g
I felt great, and ran a little faster than my usual slower training pace.
If I really wanted to reduce carbs further I could; all I've done is largely eliminated bread / bagels / and most cereals as they use up too many calories in my deficit oriented diet. At the same time I don't feel the need to reduce carbs further. I'd done so originally because when I was 78 pounds heavier I had been for some time consuming 75% of my diet as carbs. Cutting out low nutrition carb heavy foods was an easy win, and it stuck with me and feels good.
When I get to the point where I'm maintaining I suppose I'll get to have bread again once in a while. Also if given the choice I'd rather have a refreshing beer in the summer than a hunk of bread.
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I eat about 100 to 120 g carbs per day and a little higher for protein (125 to 152). This feels good to me. Generally though it is about 1 to 1 more or less. I am upping my carbs a little on days with weight lifting and crossfit. I do that by eating 1/2 or 1 cup oatmeal or an apple, or quinoa or brown rice on my salad. I'm curious how it will work out.0
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If I have a hard time.....bacon and cheese are my friend. They are with me through thick...and thin
I am about to experiment with my macros. I am going to aim for 60% F, 30% P ( about 125-150 g) and 10% carbs. I will be eating at maintenance while conditioning for a Spartan Beast.
The big three: fatty meat, cheese, and eggs. I won't have ANY problems staying low carb. And I...will emerge...a SUPERHERO!!!
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Bacon wrapped cheese is pretty good.0
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Cheese covered bacon wrapped scallops stuffed into a turducken?0
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OMG!! I'm forcefully removing myself from this thread.
I wasn't hungry until reading the deliciousness of the last few posts
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christinev297 wrote: »OMG!! I'm forcefully removing myself from this thread.
I wasn't hungry until reading the deliciousness of the last few posts
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I could not limit my carbs until I stopped eating < 50 grams of carbs daily. It was hellish for two week then the cravings just faded fast.0
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I pay zero attention to carbs and have never been on a low carb lifestyle.
But.
I do notice since I've been on MFP and with calories set for .5lb a week loss that I have been sort of naturally eating less carb sources. No pasta. For what a serving of pasta is I can have a huge spinach salad with lots of veggies. The pasta serving would leave me hungry but not the salad. So yes I get carbs from veggies but not pasta, bread etc. like I used to, it's definitely a lower number.0 -
christinev297 wrote: »OMG!! I'm forcefully removing myself from this thread.
I wasn't hungry until reading the deliciousness of the last few posts
heheheheh. . . . .jut do it. Eat a piece of bacon . . .go on. . . . .
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Bacon's only downfall is sodium. Makes me sad.0
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gaelicstorm26 wrote: »Bacon's only downfall is sodium. Makes me sad.
Ah! But the beauty of a very LCHF diet is that you need to up your sodium. Bacon is still your friend.
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »My soft limit is 30g, although I try to keep it below 20g per day. I'll end today with 9g of net carbs. Granted, my portions right now are about half what they normally would be, so I'd still stay below 30g easily. I feel better without carbs, especially breads and pastas, and limiting those allows me to easily limit my calories without ever being hungry. It's that simple for me.
"Can't." teehee That's funny right there.
considering you're barely eating 1000 calories and you are barely eating any vegetables- it's not really a surprise.
A diet consisting mostly of cheese and meat isn't really carb laden- but no one who actually eats vegetables is going to be able to keep carbs that low. It's not happening.
That's really not true about the vegetables; if it's a priority even the lowest carb diets have room for fruits and vegetables. You -- and anyone else -- can get an idea of what I mean by looking at your own fruits and vegetables. I think it might surprise some how negligible the carb counts are. For example from your diary:
Sunday: 58g Total | 51g Net
Bananas, Blackberries
Monday: 14g Total | 8g Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno
Tuesday: 38 Total | 25 Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Black Beans, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno,
Now imagine how many vegetables you could eat if you were mindful of the carb counts and chose more low carb friendly options... it's a lot. Low carb is not low vegetable by necessity.
my veggie counts have been insufferably low- I normally eat 2-3 times that in a day. I've been on a hellova budget.
There is no way you can eat that many servings of veggies and stay under 20 grams- my black beans alone spiked me to 24. A banana? super high (thankfully I'm only eating them this week b/c of weird calf issues I'm not sure are strain or cramps)
I regularly eat a whole bag of steamables that are "3.5 servings"- (three point five servings- HA).
I'm not saying you can't do low-ish carb- but there isn't any world in which you live where if you eat a decent amount of veggie you're staying low carb.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »My soft limit is 30g, although I try to keep it below 20g per day. I'll end today with 9g of net carbs. Granted, my portions right now are about half what they normally would be, so I'd still stay below 30g easily. I feel better without carbs, especially breads and pastas, and limiting those allows me to easily limit my calories without ever being hungry. It's that simple for me.
"Can't." teehee That's funny right there.
considering you're barely eating 1000 calories and you are barely eating any vegetables- it's not really a surprise.
A diet consisting mostly of cheese and meat isn't really carb laden- but no one who actually eats vegetables is going to be able to keep carbs that low. It's not happening.
That's really not true about the vegetables; if it's a priority even the lowest carb diets have room for fruits and vegetables. You -- and anyone else -- can get an idea of what I mean by looking at your own fruits and vegetables. I think it might surprise some how negligible the carb counts are. For example from your diary:
Sunday: 58g Total | 51g Net
Bananas, Blackberries
Monday: 14g Total | 8g Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno
Tuesday: 38 Total | 25 Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Black Beans, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno,
Now imagine how many vegetables you could eat if you were mindful of the carb counts and chose more low carb friendly options... it's a lot. Low carb is not low vegetable by necessity.
my veggie counts have been insufferably low- I normally eat 2-3 times that in a day. I've been on a hellova budget.
There is no way you can eat that many servings of veggies and stay under 20 grams- my black beans alone spiked me to 24. A banana? super high (thankfully I'm only eating them this week b/c of weird calf issues I'm not sure are strain or cramps)
I regularly eat a whole bag of steamables that are "3.5 servings"- (three point five servings- HA).
I'm not saying you can't do low-ish carb- but there isn't any world in which you live where if you eat a decent amount of veggie you're staying low carb.
Ok, I'll try this one more time since this seems to be a common misconception here. We can use my diary this time -- I picked out a couple of the higher days from last week.
Wednesday: 30 Total | 20 Net
684g or 1.5 pounds or 8.55 servings of: Cabbage, Onions, Garlic, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Peppers, and Tomatoes
Saturday: 42g Total | 27g Net
842g or 1.85 pounds or 10.25 servings of: Cucumber, Bananas, Onions, Peppers, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Green Beans
These are not low-ish levels of carbs; this is considered a very low, ketogenic level of carbohydrate. Low carb does not mean low vegetable -- that's a personal choice just like with any other macro split.
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My soft limit is 30g, although I try to keep it below 20g per day. I'll end today with 9g of net carbs. Granted, my portions right now are about half what they normally would be, so I'd still stay below 30g easily. I feel better without carbs, especially breads and pastas, and limiting those allows me to easily limit my calories without ever being hungry. It's that simple for me.
"Can't." teehee That's funny right there.
considering you're barely eating 1000 calories and you are barely eating any vegetables- it's not really a surprise.
A diet consisting mostly of cheese and meat isn't really carb laden- but no one who actually eats vegetables is going to be able to keep carbs that low. It's not happening.
I eat vegetables every day. My 3 month average total carbs is 38g. Since the veg have a fair amount of fiber my net carb average is around 20. It's insanely simple. That's the part people don't realize. Once you rid yourself of carbs, your body stops craving them. And someone else mentioned dairy as if it wouldn't fit into a low carb plan. That's true with some because many brands add sugar unnecessarily. You just don't buy those brands. I used to think it was crazy too... When I still ate carbs.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »My soft limit is 30g, although I try to keep it below 20g per day. I'll end today with 9g of net carbs. Granted, my portions right now are about half what they normally would be, so I'd still stay below 30g easily. I feel better without carbs, especially breads and pastas, and limiting those allows me to easily limit my calories without ever being hungry. It's that simple for me.
"Can't." teehee That's funny right there.
considering you're barely eating 1000 calories and you are barely eating any vegetables- it's not really a surprise.
A diet consisting mostly of cheese and meat isn't really carb laden- but no one who actually eats vegetables is going to be able to keep carbs that low. It's not happening.
That's really not true about the vegetables; if it's a priority even the lowest carb diets have room for fruits and vegetables. You -- and anyone else -- can get an idea of what I mean by looking at your own fruits and vegetables. I think it might surprise some how negligible the carb counts are. For example from your diary:
Sunday: 58g Total | 51g Net
Bananas, Blackberries
Monday: 14g Total | 8g Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno
Tuesday: 38 Total | 25 Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Black Beans, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno,
Now imagine how many vegetables you could eat if you were mindful of the carb counts and chose more low carb friendly options... it's a lot. Low carb is not low vegetable by necessity.
my veggie counts have been insufferably low- I normally eat 2-3 times that in a day. I've been on a hellova budget.
There is no way you can eat that many servings of veggies and stay under 20 grams- my black beans alone spiked me to 24. A banana? super high (thankfully I'm only eating them this week b/c of weird calf issues I'm not sure are strain or cramps)
I regularly eat a whole bag of steamables that are "3.5 servings"- (three point five servings- HA).
I'm not saying you can't do low-ish carb- but there isn't any world in which you live where if you eat a decent amount of veggie you're staying low carb.
Ok, I'll try this one more time since this seems to be a common misconception here. We can use my diary this time -- I picked out a couple of the higher days from last week.
Wednesday: 30 Total | 20 Net
684g or 1.5 pounds or 8.55 servings of: Cabbage, Onions, Garlic, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Peppers, and Tomatoes
Saturday: 42g Total | 27g Net
842g or 1.85 pounds or 10.25 servings of: Cucumber, Bananas, Onions, Peppers, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Green Beans
These are not low-ish levels of carbs; this is considered a very low, ketogenic level of carbohydrate. Low carb does not mean low vegetable -- that's a personal choice just like with any other macro split.
That must have been a very sad salad of almost entirely lettuce.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »My soft limit is 30g, although I try to keep it below 20g per day. I'll end today with 9g of net carbs. Granted, my portions right now are about half what they normally would be, so I'd still stay below 30g easily. I feel better without carbs, especially breads and pastas, and limiting those allows me to easily limit my calories without ever being hungry. It's that simple for me.
"Can't." teehee That's funny right there.
considering you're barely eating 1000 calories and you are barely eating any vegetables- it's not really a surprise.
A diet consisting mostly of cheese and meat isn't really carb laden- but no one who actually eats vegetables is going to be able to keep carbs that low. It's not happening.
That's really not true about the vegetables; if it's a priority even the lowest carb diets have room for fruits and vegetables. You -- and anyone else -- can get an idea of what I mean by looking at your own fruits and vegetables. I think it might surprise some how negligible the carb counts are. For example from your diary:
Sunday: 58g Total | 51g Net
Bananas, Blackberries
Monday: 14g Total | 8g Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno
Tuesday: 38 Total | 25 Net
Stir-fry Veggies, Black Beans, Blackberries, Tomato, Green Pepper, Onion, Jalepeno,
Now imagine how many vegetables you could eat if you were mindful of the carb counts and chose more low carb friendly options... it's a lot. Low carb is not low vegetable by necessity.
my veggie counts have been insufferably low- I normally eat 2-3 times that in a day. I've been on a hellova budget.
There is no way you can eat that many servings of veggies and stay under 20 grams- my black beans alone spiked me to 24. A banana? super high (thankfully I'm only eating them this week b/c of weird calf issues I'm not sure are strain or cramps)
I regularly eat a whole bag of steamables that are "3.5 servings"- (three point five servings- HA).
I'm not saying you can't do low-ish carb- but there isn't any world in which you live where if you eat a decent amount of veggie you're staying low carb.
Ok, I'll try this one more time since this seems to be a common misconception here. We can use my diary this time -- I picked out a couple of the higher days from last week.
Wednesday: 30 Total | 20 Net
684g or 1.5 pounds or 8.55 servings of: Cabbage, Onions, Garlic, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Peppers, and Tomatoes
Saturday: 42g Total | 27g Net
842g or 1.85 pounds or 10.25 servings of: Cucumber, Bananas, Onions, Peppers, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Green Beans
These are not low-ish levels of carbs; this is considered a very low, ketogenic level of carbohydrate. Low carb does not mean low vegetable -- that's a personal choice just like with any other macro split.
So I just peeked through the last few days of your diary, out of keto-curiosity
.....and that really is a small amount of vegetables (compared to what I normally eat ie. 400grams of cabbage in one serving). I've been interested in keto for its anti-inflammatory effects, so my question is, can a person that likes to eat for volume progressively switch to a keto diet where portion sizes are inevitably much smaller?
I mean obviously people here have successfully done that, but are you really reaching satiety and feeling full for hours? If so, how long did it take for you to adjust (I'm sure it's different for everyone, so anyone can chime in with experiences)
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