more carb, less calories

ericacarter12
ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been noticing a trend in my food diary. I always have what seems like a ton of extra carbs compared to what they say I should have but enough calories. Is there a food out there with a little higher carb content, but virtually not calories?

Replies

  • Jcl81
    Jcl81 Posts: 154 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been noticing a trend in my food diary. I always have what seems like a ton of extra carbs compared to what they say I should have but enough calories. Is there a food out there with a little higher carb content, but virtually not calories?

    It's insignificant, unless you have no energy.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    fruit
  • thatdesertgirl777
    thatdesertgirl777 Posts: 269 Member
    Some of the entries in the database are missing macro counts. So it could depend on if you use those sometimes. Open up your diary to public if you'd like us to take a look.
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    how do I open it up?
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    no, carbs are sugar, so you cant have high carb but low sugar.
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    no, carbs are sugar, so you cant have high carb but low sugar.

    Is okay to go over on sugar in myfitnesspal? I would be going 11g over on sugar if I add a banana
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    no, carbs are sugar, so you cant have high carb but low sugar.

    Is okay to go over on sugar in myfitnesspal? I would be going 11g over on sugar if I add a banana

    do you have a medical reason to need to watch your sugar intake?
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    no, carbs are sugar, so you cant have high carb but low sugar.

    Is okay to go over on sugar in myfitnesspal? I would be going 11g over on sugar if I add a banana

    do you have a medical reason to need to watch your sugar intake?

    other than I am overweight a lot, no. But isn't it bad to go over on sugar?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited July 2016
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been noticing a trend in my food diary. I always have what seems like a ton of extra carbs compared to what they say I should have but enough calories. Is there a food out there with a little higher carb content, but virtually not calories?

    You are asking the wrong question :D A higher carb diet seems to work for you - as in, you can easily stick to your allotted calories eating like that. Don't fix it if it ain't broken ;)

    And a very wrong question :s All foods have calories. Carbs provide 4 calories per gram.

    You can ignore sugar unless you have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake and are instructed to do so by your (real) doctor.
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    I have been overweight since I was 12 and I recently turned 28. I am determined to get my weight from 235 to 150 before I turn 30. I have been my entire life low sugar, low calorie. So really, REALLY, don't worry about sugar??
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been overweight since I was 12 and I recently turned 28. I am determined to get my weight from 235 to 150 before I turn 30. I have been my entire life low sugar, low calorie. So really, REALLY, don't worry about sugar??

    Really really don't worry about sugar. Especially when the question is 'should I eat some fruit?'
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been overweight since I was 12 and I recently turned 28. I am determined to get my weight from 235 to 150 before I turn 30. I have been my entire life low sugar, low calorie. So really, REALLY, don't worry about sugar??

    Really really don't worry about sugar. Especially when the question is 'should I eat some fruit?'

    May I add you as a friend? I think you could offer some real insight for me.
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been noticing a trend in my food diary. I always have what seems like a ton of extra carbs compared to what they say I should have but enough calories. Is there a food out there with a little higher carb content, but virtually not calories?

    You are asking the wrong question :D A higher carb diet seems to work for you - as in, you can easily stick to your allotted calories eating like that. Don't fix it if it ain't broken ;)

    And a very wrong question :s All foods have calories. Carbs provide 4 calories per gram.

    You can ignore sugar unless you have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake and are instructed to do so by your (real) doctor.

    May I add you as well? I think you and TavistockToad could really help me in my road to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
  • rakowskidp
    rakowskidp Posts: 231 Member
    Erica, I am a high(ish)-carb vegetarian, and my wife is a VERY low carb carnivore (keto/paleo/whatever you want to call it). We've both lost a significant amount of weight by maintaining a calorie deficit.

    When I log, I'm only concerned about calories, protein, and micronutrients (vitamins, calcium and iron).
  • rakowskidp
    rakowskidp Posts: 231 Member
    thatdesertgirl777 wrote: »
    Some of the entries in the database are missing macro counts. So it could depend on if you use those sometimes. Open up your diary to public if you'd like us to take a look.

    This is a good point... I always use the USDA entries for produce, and the macro and micros are nearly always specified in those entries.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    No -- you can get carbs without sugar (a potato has little sugar, lots of carbs, same with any mostly starchy food), but a carb has 4 calories/gram, so that prevents you from getting many carbs and staying low cal.

    That said, calories are what matter -- the macro counts are often off, as others said.

    Also, hitting fat and protein and carbs doesn't matter that much. Getting enough protein does -- to maintain muscle on a deficit you'd want a minimum of .65-.85 g/lb of goal weight (I aim for .8 myself, which works out to 100 g), but because that it's personal preference and what makes you feel good. I don't worry about carbs vs. fat on a daily level, although I find that I tend to usually eat particular amounts of both. If you are eating more fat/protein and less carbs than the MFP default, that's fine. It might even be better if you are on low calories (as the default protein goal can be awfully low when calories are low).
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    So staying within the guidelines of MFP is good. Don't worry about going over, just don't eat several hundred calories over or several grams of other things over?
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    Is there any particular way that is best to lose fat when looking at what to eat? Such as stay within the limit on sugar, or stay within the limit on calories, or carbs? Sorry for so many questions, I am just really determined to not be so overweight when I turn 30.
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    I usually do the following, in order of importance to me:

    1. Stay under my calorie goal.
    2. Meet or exceed protein goal.
    3. Meet or exceed fiber goal (you can change the macros you track in settings).
    4. Don't worry about the other macros.

    This works for me, but if you have issues that need you to follow low carb or other ways of eating, you will have to adjust accordingly.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    Is there any particular way that is best to lose fat when looking at what to eat? Such as stay within the limit on sugar, or stay within the limit on calories, or carbs? Sorry for so many questions, I am just really determined to not be so overweight when I turn 30.

    Calories
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    So staying within the guidelines of MFP is good.

    For macros, it really doesn't matter. There are lots of different healthy macros, and MFP's (50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein, I think) is just one possibility. Whether it's right for you depends on your goals and how many overall calories you are eating.

    For sugar, depends on the source of the sugar (for nutrition, not weight loss). It's recommended not to eat more than 10% of calories from added sugar, as eating more tends to be associated with too many calories and a diet that is not so nutrient dense (there can be exceptions). MFP can't track added sugar, so assumed that most people aren't eating that much sugar from fruit and veg and capped overall sugar at 15%. I would not worry about sugar if it mostly comes from fruit and veg, fiber goal is met (that's a minimum), and you are eating enough protein.

    For calories, try to come close to the goal and that's the one you want to avoid exceeding (at least most of the time). Of course, going over a little doesn't really matter -- it makes sense to understand what your maintenance is and then make sure that even on a day where you don't do so well you stay under that.

    If you just started focus on calories, track your food, and then look back over the week and see what your macros were and how you felt on those days (taking notes at first like "felt good", "felt hungry at X time," so on, can help).
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    So staying within the guidelines of MFP is good. Don't worry about going over, just don't eat several hundred calories over or several grams of other things over?

    Calories are king for weight loss. I eat sugar and sometimes lots of carbs and have lost weight. Sometimes i am over on protein, fats and carbs, but spot on in calories. So, yes, all you worry about for weight loss is calorie count. However, I also watch my protein, fats and fiber to make sure I get enough as they help keep the digestive system moving (fiber and fat) as well as for satiety (protein, fiber and fat).
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    no, carbs are sugar, so you cant have high carb but low sugar.

    your logic is backward. Sugar are carbs, but not all carbs are sugar. You can have high (complex) carbs, but low sugar. You can't have high sugar and low carb (unless your standards for what constitutes "high" are vastly different for sugar and carbs).
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been overweight since I was 12 and I recently turned 28. I am determined to get my weight from 235 to 150 before I turn 30. I have been my entire life low sugar, low calorie. So really, REALLY, don't worry about sugar??

    If you have been overweight since you were 12, and have been "low sugar" your whole life, isn't that pretty much proof that, for you at least, "low sugar" is not an effective tool for weight control?
  • ericacarter12
    ericacarter12 Posts: 24 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    TavistockToad I checked out adding more fruit and seems I should have said higher carb, low cal, and low sugar. Is that even possible?

    no, carbs are sugar, so you cant have high carb but low sugar.

    your logic is backward. Sugar are carbs, but not all carbs are sugar. You can have high (complex) carbs, but low sugar. You can't have high sugar and low carb (unless your standards for what constitutes "high" are vastly different for sugar and carbs).
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    I have been overweight since I was 12 and I recently turned 28. I am determined to get my weight from 235 to 150 before I turn 30. I have been my entire life low sugar, low calorie. So really, REALLY, don't worry about sugar??

    If you have been overweight since you were 12, and have been "low sugar" your whole life, isn't that pretty much proof that, for you at least, "low sugar" is not an effective tool for weight control?

    No lie, mostly ate junk. And yo yo dieted a lot with my mom throughout my teens and by myself in my 20's
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    ericacarter12 wrote: »
    Is there any particular way that is best to lose fat when looking at what to eat? Such as stay within the limit on sugar, or stay within the limit on calories, or carbs? Sorry for so many questions, I am just really determined to not be so overweight when I turn 30.

    Calories in/out determine weight. Macros, not so much. Example, I eat a 75% carb diet and I've lost 35 lbs and now maintaining at 116 lbs. I don't worry about sugar. In fact, I add it to my oatmeal, porridge, smoothies, pancakes, cereal and tea/coffee. I also eat ice cream and chocolate once a week. And my blood sugar and A1C levels are perfectly normal. Sugar and carbs are not evil.

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