Grams of carb per pound of body weight ???

linaj1988
linaj1988 Posts: 33 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
how man grams of carbs per pound of body weight would you need to consume to lose weight?? I'm at 141lb and 5'3.. Want to be 125lb

Replies

  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Carbs have nothing to do with weight loss. To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    there's no such relationship as far as I know. You can use different diet approaches that have different amounts of carbs but they aren't usually related to weight. Atkins induction starts with 20 grams/day for example. If you shot at 1200 calories with 50% carbs it would be 150 grams, and all stations in between. Maybe set MFP up to lost 0.5 lbs/week and follow what it says for a month first ?
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
    I wouldn't say carbs have nothing to do with weightloss. However you can't calculate the right amount of carbs that way. There is a general idea that a balanced diet has carbs at between 35-50% of total calories i think. Don't forget carbs are for energy and note that fruit and vegetables are carbs and you should be eating lots of those.

    What you should do is work out your protein for your body weight. The rule of thumb is 1 gram of protein for 1 kilogram of body weight. Fats and carbs are in balance with each other. More fat, less carbs. More carbs less fat. In terms of managing your appetite, its better to keep carbs moderate. And its not a good idea to restrict fats severely.

    At your weight etc, i'd suggest you look at losing between half a pound and one pound per week. What you choose depends on hungry you feel. Lose more slowly if hunger is an issue.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Keep your carbs under 100 per day to start. Then go to 75. Keep calories at deficit -all will be good!
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Agree, there are no minimums that I'm aware of nor a specific level that I'd for weightloss. Typically I see it recommended that you base your fat and protein minimums based on weight and then dill in with carbs as you see fit; it's going to be a personal decision based on goals and what keeps you satiated.

    As for losing weight, just eat at a calorie deficit.
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
    There isn't an amount you need to eat that will trigger weight loss. You can try low carb which is below 50 grams or very low carb which is below 30. However neither of these are necessary to lose weight. You can eat all the carbs you want and if you are in deficit you will lose weight.
  • linaj1988
    linaj1988 Posts: 33 Member
    Thanks all for your replies :) makes sense I suppose, I read on one of the millions of forums they have out there that less than 50g of carbs a day is recommended for weight loss so thought I'd ask coz I have more than double of that and it freaked me out!!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    You have more than 100? Who cares. Doesn't matter. It's better to set your protein and fat levels based on bodyweight or lean mass and fill in the rest with carbs.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Yeah, carbs fill in the space not needed by protein or fat. I lost my last few pounds eating over 400 grams of carbs a day and am maintaining on about 500.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Depending on your height and amount you exercise, you could eat 300g of carbs and still lose weight potentially. Many people enjoy eating low carb or very low carb. But it's not at all required for weight loss. Though, if your carbs are very high, that might mean you're not getting the minimum required/recommended for protein or fat. There are no minimums or maximums for carbs for weight loss as long as you're in a deficit overall calorie-wise.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited September 2015
    Like others have said, it doesn't matter.

    What makes sense is to choose a calorie level based on your stats, activity, and weight loss goal (MFP will do that for you, but it assumes you are sedentary until you log exercise), figure out your protein and fat minimums for your goal, and then experiment with your macros to see where you feel best. (Or just pick something like the MFP default or the popular 40-30-30 and adjust as needed.)

    For protein and fat, to preserve muscle mass when losing it's often recommended to eat at least .8 g-1g/lb of LBM (or maybe think of this as .6-.8 g/lb of goal weight). You don't have to be super precise, but this gives a good ballpark. .35 g/lb is often recommended for fat (but I haven't researched that as much and think there's a pretty wide range that will work, as I know some traditional diets are lower fat).

    Personally, I'm 5'3 and 125, and when I was going from your current weight to my current one I did 40-30-30 and 1600 calories, so ate about 160 g carbs on average. I lost just fine on that, and even when heavier I never cut carbs lower than 100.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    linaj1988 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your replies :) makes sense I suppose, I read on one of the millions of forums they have out there that less than 50g of carbs a day is recommended for weight loss so thought I'd ask coz I have more than double of that and it freaked me out!!
    That's because less than 50 will most likely put you into ketosis. It's not necessary to lose weight (any macro split will allow weight loss), however keto does suppress the appetite which makes it easier for many people to stick to their calorie targets since they don't get hungry.
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