Calories vs carbs

I've personally done low carb. Wouldn't recommend it. Low energy and no muscle gains. You do get lean though. So now I do carb cycling. Workout days I stick to my carb goals and no workout days I do low carb, high fat and protein. So far so good. I feel much better. Stick to complex carbs like oats, sweet potato, high fiber fruits with low glycemic index.Do far I have lost 46 lbs. I did cut all processed sugars and food. No refined carbs either.

I count carbs when I'm cycling - to make sure I hit 90g of carbs an hour.

No need to restrict carbs unless they are crowding out other macros from your diet or you have a medical condition.

However, it can be an easy way for some people to reduce their calorie intake but reducing carbs without reducing overall calories won't make you lose weight.

Only things I count are calories and protein. Eat what you want otherwise and let carbs and fats take care of themselves. Only obsessives worry about proportion of carbs/fats.

CStergion wrote: »

Keep carbs under 150grams minimize processed sugars (30g daily) and you'll lose at least a pound a week
Replace the carbs with good quality fats
20%/60%/20%
Carb/fat/protein

Lovely one size fits all response there.

My carbs usually end up under 150g, but that's with a 40:40:20 split. Your maths doesn't work for me. I am losing 1lb per week but that's because I maintain a sufficient calorie deficit.

BiggDaddy58 wrote: »

People give slanted advice on here (many times) based on what works or worked for them)

Based on what they think worked for them and why they think it worked...

bbwrc wrote: »

Thank you everyone for taking time out to reply. I know I should find what fits my body, and that everyone takes to things differently, but it's nice seeing what others think, and what could possibly help me. Much appreciated

Whilst people may take to macronutrients differently we are bound by the over arching physiological fact that people don't take to calories differently.

As a human being we are all bound by the simple facts that;

- a calorie is a unit of measurement.

- if you consume less energy (calories) than your body requires, you force your body to get the rest of the energy from its stores, bodyfat being one of those stores.

- if you consume more energy (calories) than your body requires it will store the surplus as bodyfat for use at a later date.

All the macronutrient ratios in the world do not change this fact. Consume 30g or 300g of carbohydrates a day you are still bound by the facts about deficit and surplus calories.

If someone is able to show otherwise modern scientific thinking and current understanding of human biology and physiology wishes to speak to you.

I hate the myth circulating that carbs are the devil. Carbs are needed, they are our bodies preferred energy source. Personally, I lose 2-3lbs a week and I definitely have a high carb intake. You just have to make sure you're eating the rights kinds of carbs. I eat fruit, vegetables, sweet potato, quinoa, brown rice and pulses. I also eat wholewheat pasta. Carbs are fine as long as they're not derived from junk food and massively processed. Like seriously, who came up the dumb idea that carbs make you fat? It's bs. Vegans are good example, a lot of them get 80% of their diet from carbs and they are very lean and slim. C'mon, just think about it. Don't be fooled by flawed logic.

bbwrc wrote: »

Ok thank you guys! I was just curious if I should have been doing carbs instead. I see so many people going with counting carbs , so I wasn't sure . ^_^

That's only because they are doing low carb diets...low carb isn't necessary to lose weight but some people do better with it...they still have to count calories though...you can't eat a surplus on a low carb diet and still lose weight....low carb is just one of many ways of creating and energy (calorie) deficiency...an energy deficiency is how you lose fat.

A calorie is a unit of energy...your body requires XXXX amount of energy to maintain the status quot and operate at optimal levels...when you consume energy (calories) in excess of what you need, this excess is stored as body fat...basically it's like having a backup generator. When you consume less energy than your body requires, that backup generator has to kick on to make up the difference...thus you burn fat for fuel and lose weight.

Generally speaking, when one cuts carbs they are also cutting a crap ton of calories...in many cases, they end up in a deficiency of energy by default so many people opt for low carb diets to avoid actively counting calories because it's just easier for them...same as this person or that person might follow X or Y diet plan...for some people following some kind of diet plan is just easier than counting calories.

I've tried both but I'll be honest, you need a program you can stick to. I lost on low carb but I couldn't keep it up so I gained the weight back. I felt like I would die for a potato. Low calorie works for me. I get a little bit of everything and I have drastically reduced my sugar intake just because I want to be healthy. Truthfully the best thing to do is what you can stick to but low calorie is actually less restrictive than low carb. You can go anywhere and aren't saying "there's nothing I can eat" because you can eat anything just in much smaller amounts. I'm down 53 pounds just eating low calorie and I feel like I can do this forever. Actually I will need to even though I get a few more calories back when I hit maintenance. I've been on this for about 10 months and I am not desperate to quit dieting because it is livable. Yes the loss is slow because I'm 59 years old and pretty sedentary (although I walk daily). Good luck my friend and be patient. Lasting weight loss takes time and change.