CICO & Carbohydrates

coleg04 wrote: »

Good morning all!

I have some thoughts and I would love and appreciate some feedback, if possible.

First, I completely understand CICO and that this is the only way to lose weight; however, for me, if I do not limit my carbohydrates to about 20-30% of my diet I get crazy sugar/starch cravings and do not stay satiated for long. Additionally, it is extremely difficult for me to eat a "traditional" diet and still feel full in a caloric deficit without doing this. Am I alone here? I make sure I have enough carbs to feel normal and eat more especially before and after weight training, but I can't find much information about this.

Also, I believe this is why when I do not pay attention to my diet I can eat so much and gain weight quickly. I love carbs. The thing is 2 pop-tarts = 400kcal total and will leave me hungry again in an hour wheras 400 calories of chicken breast will keep me full for 3-4 hours. I used to think the low-carb diet was successful for me because of my blood sugar, but that was before I fully grasped the concept of CICO. I just wanted to know what people think of this and the way I seem to function.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe more quality carbs? I don't think a couple pop tarts is going to fill anyone up...there are numerous quality carbohydrates out there...pop tarts are just junk food...not all carbs are junk food.

legumes, lentils, potatoes and sweet potatoes, oats, barley, veggies, fruit, etc, etc...all carbs...not junk food.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

coleg04 wrote: »

Good morning all!

I have some thoughts and I would love and appreciate some feedback, if possible.

First, I completely understand CICO and that this is the only way to lose weight; however, for me, if I do not limit my carbohydrates to about 20-30% of my diet I get crazy sugar/starch cravings and do not stay satiated for long. Additionally, it is extremely difficult for me to eat a "traditional" diet and still feel full in a caloric deficit without doing this. Am I alone here? I make sure I have enough carbs to feel normal and eat more especially before and after weight training, but I can't find much information about this.

Also, I believe this is why when I do not pay attention to my diet I can eat so much and gain weight quickly. I love carbs. The thing is 2 pop-tarts = 400kcal total and will leave me hungry again in an hour wheras 400 calories of chicken breast will keep me full for 3-4 hours. I used to think the low-carb diet was successful for me because of my blood sugar, but that was before I fully grasped the concept of CICO. I just wanted to know what people think of this and the way I seem to function.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe more quality carbs? I don't think a couple pop tarts is going to fill anyone up...there are numerous quality carbohydrates out there...pop tarts are just junk food...not all carbs are junk food.

legumes, lentils, potatoes and sweet potatoes, oats, barley, veggies, fruit, etc, etc...all carbs...not junk food.

That's what I am saying. Non junk food is going to give you a much greater chance of felling satiated. Lets also not forget that protein and fiber is generally recognized as having the biggest impact on fullness.

coleg04 wrote: »

First, I completely understand CICO and that this is the only way to lose weight; however, for me, if I do not limit my carbohydrates to about 20-30% of my diet I get crazy sugar/starch cravings and do not stay satiated for long.

I don't experience this, but some others say they do. It's a common reason for doing low carb, I think. There's nothing inconsistent between understanding that CICO is how weight loss works and preferring a particular macro ratio.

Additionally, it is extremely difficult for me to eat a "traditional" diet and still feel full in a caloric deficit without doing this. Am I alone here? I make sure I have enough carbs to feel normal and eat more especially before and after weight training, but I can't find much information about this.

There is no one traditional diet. Human diets are quite varied and humans can be healthy on a wide range of macro ratios. Personally beyond getting enough protein I don't pay much attention to macros, only making generally healthy choices.

Are you alone? ;-) No, surely you know that low carbing (even much lower than you are doing) is quite popular right now. If 20-30% carbs is what works for you, great!

The thing is 2 pop-tarts = 400kcal total and will leave me hungry again in an hour wheras 400 calories of chicken breast will keep me full for 3-4 hours.

Well, this isn't really a fair comparison. Protein is on average filling for people, and whether you low carb or not you'd want to get a decent amount of protein and have a filling diet. Similarly, pop tarts (which probably have some fat, I don't eat them, so don't know the break down), aren't really a good proxy for "carbs"--carbs range from potatoes and rice and bread to fruit and vegetables. Many foods that get called "carbs" are really half carbs, half fat, like chips or sweet baked goods, etc. That's a misuse of the term, IMO, and when people who aren't choosing the usually more filling carbs (like vegetables, fruit, whole grains, whole foods like legumes and tubers) or preparing them in a less satiating way that involves lots of fat (french fries) blame "carbs" I think that's a misunderstanding.

But again some really do find a higher percentage of carbs, even more filling, nutrient-dense carbs (well, more filling for many of us) to be less satisfying, and they should eat accordingly. I find fat completely unsatiating so have to take that into account (and yet I still manage to eat 25-30% fat, because foods with fat are usually tasty).

Anyway, what you are doing seems fine.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

coleg04 wrote: »

Good morning all!

I have some thoughts and I would love and appreciate some feedback, if possible.

First, I completely understand CICO and that this is the only way to lose weight; however, for me, if I do not limit my carbohydrates to about 20-30% of my diet I get crazy sugar/starch cravings and do not stay satiated for long. Additionally, it is extremely difficult for me to eat a "traditional" diet and still feel full in a caloric deficit without doing this. Am I alone here? I make sure I have enough carbs to feel normal and eat more especially before and after weight training, but I can't find much information about this.

Also, I believe this is why when I do not pay attention to my diet I can eat so much and gain weight quickly. I love carbs. The thing is 2 pop-tarts = 400kcal total and will leave me hungry again in an hour wheras 400 calories of chicken breast will keep me full for 3-4 hours. I used to think the low-carb diet was successful for me because of my blood sugar, but that was before I fully grasped the concept of CICO. I just wanted to know what people think of this and the way I seem to function.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe more quality carbs? I don't think a couple pop tarts is going to fill anyone up...there are numerous quality carbohydrates out there...pop tarts are just junk food...not all carbs are junk food.

legumes, lentils, potatoes and sweet potatoes, oats, barley, veggies, fruit, etc, etc...all carbs...not junk food.

^This. Poptarts (or their gluten free equivalent) wouldn't fill me, but a bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal with some plain yogurt stirred in would.

There are some people for whom carbs in any form seem to be a problem, and they are more sated by fat, though.

Since you seem to be okay with some carbs, OP, you should concentrate on quality sources of them like cwolfman mentioned.

I think CICO and cravings/satiety are two different things.

Yes CICO is critical to actually losing weight, but it doesn't do a thing for cravings/satiety which is where macros come into play. First off though, quality matters - the more nutrient dense your food regardless of the macros, the more leptin your body will release, which will keep you feeling fuller longer. One of biggest reasons, I never felt full is that I had become leptin-resistant; and the reason for that was a malabsorption issue. My body always thought it was not getting enough nutrients and would release grehlin. Since I've dealt with that malabsorption issue, I respond to leptin much more reasonably.

So in the past, the biggest macro that I dealt with was carbs and protein. The rest didn't matter as much to me as long as I was eating at least half the number of carb grams in protein and keeping it under the cal levels. Worked well for a while, but I need a jump start so my nutritionist put me on a more "bulletproof" type macro level: 25% protein, 20% carb, 55% fat. It's a lot less food, but I'm not hungry. Nothing is processed and the carbs are coming primarily from vegetables. My weight seems to be moving again so, it appears to be working.......we'll see again in January whether or not this style needs to be added into my life on a rotating basis (I don't think I could do it forever, but we'll see)

deannalfisher wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

fast vs slower carbs - helped me - instead of a white potato, i have sweet potato or similar...but year, poptarts wouldn't be my first choice for a carb source unless i needed a quick sugar rush

According to nutritiondata:

Potatoes, flesh and skin, raw (100 g) is GL 8.
Sweet potatoes, uprepared, raw (100 g) is also GL 8 (fewer cals, however, but not a huge difference).

Of course, with both what is going to matter more is what you add to it and what you eat it with, as most people don't just eat plain potatoes or sweet potatoes on their own. Potatoes actually score quite high on satiety tests. (I am also not sure why they always get compared to each other as if they were white and whole wheat bread -- they are both tubers, but different plants, and both have positives when it comes to micronutrients. Just as I wouldn't choose broccoli over cauliflower and never eat cauliflower or spinach over kale and never eat kale, I think it's even better to eat (if you like both) both potatoes--white and red and purple--and sweet potatoes. Variety is good.)

Also, I do happen to find both way tastier than a poptart, and I'd expect much more filling (don't think I've had a poptart since I was a kid at a friend's house, as I wasn't a fan. My sister eats them regularly and has never been fat, however.)

i don't know why but i just feel satiated much longer on sweet potatos - c'est la vie

Yeah, satiety is individual, so I'm sure that could be true. In the context of a meal I notice no difference. (Couldn't say about on their own, as I never eat them that way.)