Is it true?...

Abrie79
Abrie79 Posts: 15
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
If at my weight, 204 lbs, i consume 101 carbs daily , i will lose muscle and therefore sag when i lose the weight? I am confused and trying to make sense of all of this. In my early twenties i just lost weight by limiting what i ate and exercising like hell, but now i'm worried about everything lol Knowledge is power as much as it's a hindrance!

Replies

  • kvr414
    kvr414 Posts: 111
    your muscles are made of protein, not carbs. you need enough protein to maintain your muscle. carbs are strictly and energy source for your body. bumping up your carbs to even 125-150 wouldn't hurt your weightloss but may be a healthier way to lose the weight. low carb diets must be maintained in order to KEEP the weight off.
  • Kelly_Wilson1990
    Kelly_Wilson1990 Posts: 3,245 Member
    You also need about 100 grams of protein a day.
  • MrsRobertson1005
    MrsRobertson1005 Posts: 552 Member
    As long as you don't starve your body, and you are taking in enough protein you should not loose any muscle. Your body uses carbs, calories, all of the to fuel your body. Its not so much the amount but the types. There are simple carbs and complex carbs, anything with bleached flour is bad carbs, anything that is whole wheat is good for you and your body.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    How much you work out determines how much muscle you have, not how many carbs you eat. But if you are building muscle you will need both protein and carbs.
  • Abrie79
    Abrie79 Posts: 15
    "No, you do want to loose that lil, it adds up quickly, the more weight you loose at once is not good, when you were younger your metab was faster your skin had more elasticity, now that we're "old" metabs slowed, skin doesn't bounce back like it used to.

    All the info does seem contridictory, but it's really simple, just to break it down simply for you, as long as youre in a calorie defecit you'll loose weight, but you don't want to be in too much of a deficit, or else you'll loose too much, be hungry all the time, etc."

    Is this statement true? Also, a fat loss website metabolic calculator is telling me to eat 1, 800 -ish to stay away from going into starvation mode and building more fat.

    Also, i am getting plenty of protein.
  • Knightrobs
    Knightrobs Posts: 33 Member
    Calorie deficit equates fat loss which is true. Also true that as we age the skin loses elasticity, but being early twenties that is less likely. Eat less than what you burn and exercise and eat protein to maintain muscle tone. Eat few carbs and the carbs you do eat should be complex to reduce insulin response and fat storage
  • Abrie79
    Abrie79 Posts: 15
    I'm 32...I was saying that it was easier in my early twenties. My main concern is losing too fast and getting saggy skin b/c i hold a lot of fat on my arms and face. I've been reading up on a body building site and talking to a friend who lost a lot. I really don't think that this calculator is very accurate. If i want to lose 2 lbs a week , its telling me to eat 1200 and that seems very low for my weight.
  • Knightrobs
    Knightrobs Posts: 33 Member
    Sry I misread your age. Even at 32 your skin should still have adequate elasticity provided your diet contains appropriate micromolecules. Long story short, do not worry about losing weight too fast. As for the 1200 calories I do not recommend eating just 1200 a day. What would be waaaay better would be to eat 2000-2200 calories and doing one or two exercise sessions a day to bring your net calories back down to 1200. The food intake will be easier to manage, you will increase your metabolism (great for the skin), AND improve your heart health. 1200 is net for the day, please exercise and eat those exercised calories :)
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    First of all, the actual muscle fibers are protein, not carbs. BUT, glycogen (carbs) is stored in the muscle in water inside the individual muscle cells, so if you don't consume enough carbs to maintain your glycogen stores, then your muscles will shrink. You aren't necessarily losing muscle at the beginning of a low carb plan but more the water and glycogen. After a period of time when you don't have enough carbs to replace that glycogen, then the body will have to convert protein into glycogen so that it can fuel your exercises. When this happens, it will come from the protein you consume first and then the muscle fibers. This is why body builders who are trying to gain size have to eat between 6-10 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight because they need it to maintain glycogen stores so the protein they consume can be conserved for muscle growth and repair instead of having to be broken down for energy.

    What type of exercise you do also plays a part in what you lose. If you are doing straight cardio with no weight training, you will lose about half fat and half muscle (yes, including the muscle fibers) because the body doesn't see the need to maintain muscle fibers it isn't using. It's a way of becoming more efficient at providing enough energy for the body. The same thing happens if you eat too few calories. Yes, what most people on here call "starvation mode" is actually just the bodies natural biological adaptation to low calories and trying to be more efficient.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm 32...I was saying that it was easier in my early twenties. My main concern is losing too fast and getting saggy skin b/c i hold a lot of fat on my arms and face. I've been reading up on a body building site and talking to a friend who lost a lot. I really don't think that this calculator is very accurate. If i want to lose 2 lbs a week , its telling me to eat 1200 and that seems very low for my weight.

    This app will add more calories as you work out (think of exercise as "earning" calories). And if you think it's harder now than in your 20's, just wait till you are in your 50's. Or better yet, don't wait. Get in shape now and stay that way so you don't have the same problem later. Your skin may be saggy for a while just after losing weight, but if you keep your muscles firm and keep yourself hydrated your skin will firm up too.
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