No sugar snacks with carbs??

Carbs are sugars

There's nothing special about MFP's carb goal -- you could just ignore it.

However, carbs+protein (how much protein?) = whole grain bread with some turkey or chicken, maybe some hummus, low fat/no fat greek yogurt with berries (that will have sugar, but it's lactose and whatever's in the berries -- do you really care?), 0% or low fat cottage cheese.

Basically, for carbs without sugar think starches -- bread, potatoes, rice, other grains, legumes.

For carbs + protein, best bet is legumes or whole grains or add something with protein (lean meat/seafood won't have sugar or much fat, no/low fat dairy will have only lactose).

can you approach this from the other direction and cut your fat intake?

Do u know how much protein you need? Do not obsessed with proteins, dont need to much actually. İf you eat enough protein , you dont need protein snacks.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

No such thing as low fat nuts.

1 oz almonds, 164 calories, 14 g fat, or 77% of calories from fat.

Chances are that she doesn't actually need to worry about it, though.

I eat almonds most days, never noticed the fat was THAT high. I put pumpkin seeds into my diary just now and the numbers were better.

ISO905 wrote: »

Kim92Smith wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

No sugar or no added sugar?

Also, carbohydrates aren't an essential macronutrient. You need a certain amount of protein and fat to survive, but the carbohydrates are just like a guideline. This doesn't mean you can't eat them, but you won't develop any sort of deficiency from being under. That said, some people find they help promote energy and satisfaction, so they like to include them in the diet.

Thank you!! I'm super new to this and that is awesome to know!!!

Lots of good suggestions for options on what to add. You can keep your carb and protein ratios from
Protein: 10-35%
Fat: 20-35%
Carbohydrate: 45-65%
If you have a hard time reaching your daily goals BUT you feel good with lots of energy otherwise, then maybe you don't need to eat any more.

I wouldn't go on the assumption that carbs are just a suggestion----you need carbs everyday. Your body uses it for energy and some parts of your body like your brain and red blood cells depend on it!
A very low carb diet can disrupt hormone production and lead to a host of problems such as

**a stopped or irregular menstrual cycle;
**lowered fertility;
**hypoglycemia and blood sugar swings;
**more body fat (especially around the middle);
**loss of bone density;
**anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues;
**chronic inflammation and worse chronic pain;
**chronic fatigue and disrupted sleep

and for men it can lead to lower testosterone to cortisol ratios.

The previous poster was bang on. There is no dietary lower limit for carbs. You can even aim for zero if you wish. Your body can easily meet its minimum glucose (carb) needs through the process of gluconeogenesis.

I have been very low carb since spring 2015, I switched to low carb to treat my hypoglycemia, help with weight loss, improve cognition and more even moods, reduce my inflammation due to autoimmune diseases, and to steady my energy and blood glucose...Sort of the opposite of your list.

Lower carbs won't work for everyone but for some, it can bea really good tool with which to improve our health.

nvmomketo wrote: »

ISO905 wrote: »

Kim92Smith wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

No sugar or no added sugar?

Also, carbohydrates aren't an essential macronutrient. You need a certain amount of protein and fat to survive, but the carbohydrates are just like a guideline. This doesn't mean you can't eat them, but you won't develop any sort of deficiency from being under. That said, some people find they help promote energy and satisfaction, so they like to include them in the diet.

Thank you!! I'm super new to this and that is awesome to know!!!

Lots of good suggestions for options on what to add. You can keep your carb and protein ratios from
Protein: 10-35%
Fat: 20-35%
Carbohydrate: 45-65%
If you have a hard time reaching your daily goals BUT you feel good with lots of energy otherwise, then maybe you don't need to eat any more.

I wouldn't go on the assumption that carbs are just a suggestion----you need carbs everyday. Your body uses it for energy and some parts of your body like your brain and red blood cells depend on it!
A very low carb diet can disrupt hormone production and lead to a host of problems such as

**a stopped or irregular menstrual cycle;
**lowered fertility;
**hypoglycemia and blood sugar swings;
**more body fat (especially around the middle);
**loss of bone density;
**anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues;
**chronic inflammation and worse chronic pain;
**chronic fatigue and disrupted sleep

and for men it can lead to lower testosterone to cortisol ratios.

The previous poster was bang on. There is no dietary lower limit for carbs. You can even aim for zero if you wish. Your body can easily meet its minimum glucose (carb) needs through the process of gluconeogenesis.

I have been very low carb since spring 2015, I switched to low carb to treat my hypoglycemia, help with weight loss, improve cognition and more even moods, reduce my inflammation due to autoimmune diseases, and to steady my energy and blood glucose...Sort of the opposite of your list.

Lower carbs won't work for everyone but for some, it can bea really good tool with which to improve our health.

Your body CAN make energy from other sources (because it has to do whatever is can to survive) but you don't don't WANT it to do that. Save the protein for what it was meant for....not to fuel the body. Outside of a medical condition which would warrant a low carb diet (parkinson's Disease, Epilepsy do well on lower carb diets) there simply is no reason to sway too far from the 45%-65% range. You would be hard pressed to find any nutritional professional that would suggest otherwise.

To suggest to someone (especially someone that is new to all this) that you don't need any carbs is simply irresponsible...that determination is best left between that person and their medical professional

JohnnyPenso wrote: »

filbo132 wrote: »

Sugar is not that bad if you exercise unless you're diabetic. The media likes to villify sugar, but that's because the general population eats crap and sit all day at home and work.

Other than the fact that commercially used processed sugars have zero nutritional value, beyond raw calories, they're great.

Agreed, with a few caveats.

The poster you quoted said "Sugar is not that bad if you exercise". I would agree that sugar is VERY helpful for any lengthy forms of exercise (running, cycling, tennis etc). Whether you get it by ingesting sports drinks or gels or chews, nothing else is absorbed and available so quickly. Ditto for those times when you weren't able to eat on time or exercised and didn't eat and you're feeling drained. Why wait for your digestive processes to convert food to glucose, when you can eat a little sugar directly?

But as long as you keep overall input moderate, I would also argue that adding it to food to make things that are nutritious but not particularly appealing more palatable isn't such a bad thing either. Fruits are a perfect example of this. Breakfast cereals (assuming sugar content is reasonable) is another.

The problems I have had with sugar have been in eating excessive amounts.

ISO905 wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

ISO905 wrote: »

Kim92Smith wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

No sugar or no added sugar?

Also, carbohydrates aren't an essential macronutrient. You need a certain amount of protein and fat to survive, but the carbohydrates are just like a guideline. This doesn't mean you can't eat them, but you won't develop any sort of deficiency from being under. That said, some people find they help promote energy and satisfaction, so they like to include them in the diet.

Thank you!! I'm super new to this and that is awesome to know!!!

Lots of good suggestions for options on what to add. You can keep your carb and protein ratios from
Protein: 10-35%
Fat: 20-35%
Carbohydrate: 45-65%
If you have a hard time reaching your daily goals BUT you feel good with lots of energy otherwise, then maybe you don't need to eat any more.

I wouldn't go on the assumption that carbs are just a suggestion----you need carbs everyday. Your body uses it for energy and some parts of your body like your brain and red blood cells depend on it!
A very low carb diet can disrupt hormone production and lead to a host of problems such as

**a stopped or irregular menstrual cycle;
**lowered fertility;
**hypoglycemia and blood sugar swings;
**more body fat (especially around the middle);
**loss of bone density;
**anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues;
**chronic inflammation and worse chronic pain;
**chronic fatigue and disrupted sleep

and for men it can lead to lower testosterone to cortisol ratios.

The previous poster was bang on. There is no dietary lower limit for carbs. You can even aim for zero if you wish. Your body can easily meet its minimum glucose (carb) needs through the process of gluconeogenesis.

I have been very low carb since spring 2015, I switched to low carb to treat my hypoglycemia, help with weight loss, improve cognition and more even moods, reduce my inflammation due to autoimmune diseases, and to steady my energy and blood glucose...Sort of the opposite of your list.

Lower carbs won't work for everyone but for some, it can bea really good tool with which to improve our health.

Your body CAN make energy from other sources (because it has to do whatever is can to survive) but you don't don't WANT it to do that. Save the protein for what it was meant for....not to fuel the body. Outside of a medical condition which would warrant a low carb diet (parkinson's Disease, Epilepsy do well on lower carb diets) there simply is no reason to sway too far from the 45%-65% range. You would be hard pressed to find any nutritional professional that would suggest otherwise.

To suggest to someone (especially someone that is new to all this) that you don't need any carbs is simply irresponsible...that determination is best left between that person and their medical professional

I disagree. It isn't irresponsible. It is factual. You prefer people not know nutritional truths? I like my health decisions to be based on facts, and the fact is that carbs can be minimized to nothing if you wish. Of course if there is no health benefit to lowering carbs (like those with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, PCOS, NAFLD, Alzheimer's, T2D, prediabetes, or CAD experience) then there is no point in considering a LCHF diet, unless you prefer eating that way.

A higher carb diet may benefit some people. People with familial hypercholesterolemia will have their health suffer from a higher fat diet so a higher carb diet is smart for them. Some people with gall bladder issues may not do well with a higher fat diet too, but that isn't true for all because I know people whose symptoms improved on a LCHF diet.

I agree that not many nutritional, or health, professionals would suggest a LCHF diet. My current doctor does but my last endocrinologist suggested MORE fruit and veggies and lean meats as a way to control BG. For me that led to higher BG, more cravings and some weight gain - possibly due partially to higher insulin (IR here) from those foods. LCHF solved a good portion of my health and weight loss issues once I went that direction.

So yes, I WANT my body to make the small amount of glucose I need rather than to eat it. My body can use triglycerides and some dietary protein to make that small amount of sugar. It works well for me.

ETA This was off topic, sorry about that.