afraid of carbs
Elijah8468
Posts: 37 Member
Have done a couple macro calculations online and it seems like my carb count is always higher than I think. Have the body type that can put on weight easy so I always back off the carbs but am I actually hurting my weight loss/muscle gain by not eating enough carbs?
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Replies
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The only thing that matters to weight loss or muscle gain (which are, for the most part, mutually exclusive) is the total amount of calories you consume. Unless you have a medical reason to restrict your carb intake, there's nothing wrong with them.10
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Carbs are tasty. You shouldn't fear them unless you have a medical condition like stated above. Eat within your calories. Enjoy the bread, pasta, etc. Veggies have carbs too, but nobody is suggesting that we don't eat them right?7
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I'm a vegetarian. Most of my protein sources have carbs in them. Hasn't hurt weight-loss any. (Some days, I don't hit my post-exercise protein target, but I do hit the original with no issues.)1
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Carbs are just another energy source, same as protein and fat. I lost my last 20lbs by eating 60-70% carbs because it was the best way for me to eat a large volume of fruits and vegetables which helped me feel fuller. Now that I'm on maintenance I'm at 45% and that's still a considerable 280g/day and on workout days sometimes as high as 330-350g. Main stream media and various diet plans and "gurus" have demonized carbs and/or given out a great deal of misinformation. The science is simple as far as weight loss goes. Calories are calories no matter where they come from.7
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Omg the amount of carbs I ate to lose the baby weight, it was glorious. I love carbs and always will, I'd be a slug without them. When I'm cutting i eat 120-150 grams and now I'm maintaining so eat about 220-250 grams of carbs.2
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I'm making or passing my carb goal every day and still dropping pounds. I'll keep eating them2
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It does not hurt you at all to go without carbs. Look into the Ketogenic diet. Many athletes are using that diet.3
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How high do you think it is, or should be, and why?Elijah8468 wrote: »Have done a couple macro calculations online and it seems like my carb count is always higher than I think.
Body type isn't the issue here - bad eating habits is what makes you gain weight.Have the body type that can put on weight easy
You lose weight by eating in a consistent calorie deficit.so I always back off the carbs but am I actually hurting my weight loss/muscle gain by not eating enough carbs?
Your muscles grow when you are using and resting them properly and getting enough calories, especially protein.
You don't need to eat carbs, because your body can also create sugar from fat and protein, but
they are delicious and not toxic or fattening, so you don't have to avoid them, and
it's almost impossible to avoid them; lots of foods that contain carbs also contain essential nutrients that we can't get elsewhere.5 -
vivelajackie wrote: »Carbs are tasty. You shouldn't fear them unless you have a medical condition like stated above. Eat within your calories. Enjoy the bread, pasta, etc. Veggies have carbs too, but nobody is suggesting that we don't eat them right?
Unfortunately, that's what the whole keto craze has done - demonized carbs through pseudoscience and fearmongering, and filled many people's heads with the mistaken idea that carbs are teh poizonzz and cause weight gain, even when eaten in a deficit.
There's no reason to fear carbs if you don't have any medical reasons to do so. Calories determine weight loss, not carbs. There is NO net storage of fat while in a caloric deficit regardless of the macro composition of your diet.10 -
Eat the carbs. Don't eat the carbs -- not hugely important either way for weight loss.4
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You don't need to fear carbs unless you are diabetic any more than you need to fear fats unless you have galbladder issues or protein unless you have kidney problems.
You will not "put on weight easily" unless you overeat calories. If for you, personally, carbs make it too likely to overeat, then yes, maybe you should look into managing that. Otherwise, you're just needlessly over complicating things. Eat them, limit them, up to you. It doesn't matter for weight loss and it only matters for muscle building if you're already advanced and every little bit counts.6 -
CICO is the bottom line, whether your whole calorie intake is doughnuts, lean chicken or broccoli. Make sure you weigh and log everything, and if you can't trust yourself with certain foods don't have them in the house. Or save some calories to have a small portion at weekends. Or do some extra exercise and use the calories for the "naughty" stuff0
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i cant exercise much due to a bad hip. I have a balanced diet around 1500 cals a day and, apart from lowish fat but not drastic, have around 150g potatoes a day or rice equivalent and either oatbran or 2 slices of bread at breakfast time. I am losing weight steadily. I have tried the low-carb diet and it did work but I put it all on again afterwards and felt pretty miserable the entire time I was on it... Now I have a little bit of everything as long as it fits in my daily cal allowance... but low-carb does work for some people...1
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I ate 621g of carbs last Sunday but ended the day with a calorie deficit of 1807 cals.
Obviously that would result in a net weight loss for the day.
Carbs aren't the enemy, in fact they often come packaged with loads of micronutrients, vitamins and fibre.
Many of the healthiest populations have high carb diets.
Only in a calorie surplus!Have the body type that can put on weight easy
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kommodevaran wrote: »
How high do you think it is, or should be, and why?Elijah8468 wrote: »Have done a couple macro calculations online and it seems like my carb count is always higher than I think.
Body type isn't the issue here - bad eating habits is what makes you gain weight.Have the body type that can put on weight easy
You lose weight by eating in a consistent calorie deficit.so I always back off the carbs but am I actually hurting my weight loss/muscle gain by not eating enough carbs?
Your muscles grow when you are using and resting them properly and getting enough calories, especially protein.
You don't need to eat carbs, because your body can also create sugar from fat and protein, but
they are delicious and not toxic or fattening, so you don't have to avoid them, and
it's almost impossible to avoid them; lots of foods that contain carbs also contain essential nutrients that we can't get elsewhere.
I'm always at a calorie deficit but getting most f them from protien and fats. Some calculations have me taking in as many as 300g of carbs and that just seemed excessive to me. I'm down to 205 from 280 and I'm trying to keep as much muscle mass as possible while dropping a pound or two a week. Didn't know if no having enough carbs would hurt that
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i have pcos so i was told eat low carb to lose weight. Bottom line is i was miserable i tried high carb just counting calories and lost 100 pounds in a year. Carbs are literally the fuel your body uses. not scary.3
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Elijah8468 wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
How high do you think it is, or should be, and why?Elijah8468 wrote: »Have done a couple macro calculations online and it seems like my carb count is always higher than I think.
Body type isn't the issue here - bad eating habits is what makes you gain weight.Have the body type that can put on weight easy
You lose weight by eating in a consistent calorie deficit.so I always back off the carbs but am I actually hurting my weight loss/muscle gain by not eating enough carbs?
Your muscles grow when you are using and resting them properly and getting enough calories, especially protein.
You don't need to eat carbs, because your body can also create sugar from fat and protein, but
they are delicious and not toxic or fattening, so you don't have to avoid them, and
it's almost impossible to avoid them; lots of foods that contain carbs also contain essential nutrients that we can't get elsewhere.
I'm always at a calorie deficit but getting most f them from protien and fats. Some calculations have me taking in as many as 300g of carbs and that just seemed excessive to me. I'm down to 205 from 280 and I'm trying to keep as much muscle mass as possible while dropping a pound or two a week. Didn't know if no having enough carbs would hurt that
If going low carb impacts your workouts (or recovery) then it would be counter to your goals. Only you can answer that.
Carbs are also protein sparing as well as being the primary fuel for intense exercise.4 -
If carbs are bad would athletes eat so much pasta before an event?1
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Fruits and veggies are carbs! I love them! Different ratios work for different people. Somewhere around 40-40-20 works well for me (Protein-Carbs-Fat), depending on my workouts. If I'm running more than doing weights, I tend to need more carbs, and my fat percentage can often go up to around 30. If I'm doing more muscle-building workouts, then I need more protein. I can usually tell what I need more of by what unprocessed food I'm craving - for example, am I craving grilled chicken or fruit? My body lets me know. Bottom line, don't fear carbs. There's a lot of nutrition there. Junk food has empty carbs - but you probably already know to stay away from that!
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if you dont eat carbs you'll lose weight faster.2
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qwebster01 wrote: »if you dont eat carbs you'll lose weight faster.
Water weight, yes. But if you're eating the same amount of calories, you would lose fat at the same rate.8 -
qwebster01 wrote: »if you dont eat carbs you'll lose water weight faster.
Fixed it for you. It has been scientifically proven that there is no metabolic advantage to a low-carb/ketogenic diet.6 -
When you mean carbs do you mean bread and pasta potatoes? Depending on what time of day it is if I was to have a pasta dish I'd be asleep on the sofa within the hour. Those type of carbs tire me out. But I love bread and I occasionally have some. But like what people say if you don't burn it you wear it.
I thought I was carb sensitive but I think like anyone after a big refine carb meal you feel tired and sluggish.
I limit my refine carb intake as I just can't have one slice of Italian thick slice bread with butter on it I'd need 2!1 -
vivelajackie wrote: »Carbs are tasty. You shouldn't fear them unless you have a medical condition like stated above. Eat within your calories. Enjoy the bread, pasta, etc. Veggies have carbs too, but nobody is suggesting that we don't eat them right?
Unfortunately, that's what the whole keto craze has done - demonized carbs through pseudoscience and fearmongering, and filled many people's heads with the mistaken idea that carbs are teh poizonzz and cause weight gain, even when eaten in a deficit.
There's no reason to fear carbs if you don't have any medical reasons to do so. Calories determine weight loss, not carbs. There is NO net storage of fat while in a caloric deficit regardless of the macro composition of your diet.
Having been on both sides of this equation recently, I agree. I started logging/losing weight in September of last year eating moderate carbs. In February I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes and switched to a low carb diet to moderate my blood glucose. I have found absolutely no difference in the rate of weight loss between either diet.
Low carb has been fantastic for controlling my blood sugar, but if we're talking weight loss it's the calorie deficit, not carbs, that is important in my experience.6 -
Elijah8468 wrote: »I'm always at a calorie deficit but getting most f them from protien and fats. Some calculations have me taking in as many as 300g of carbs and that just seemed excessive to me. I'm down to 205 from 280 and I'm trying to keep as much muscle mass as possible while dropping a pound or two a week. Didn't know if no having enough carbs would hurt that
300g is not excessive. I am doing keto. I try to stay under 40g net (not counting fiber). 40g net is usually about 60-70g total. To do this, I obviously have no sugar, no bread, no pasta, nothing like that. I allow myself almost no fruit at all (like only a handful of blueberries), almost no dairy at all (like, half a cup of yogurt, unsweetened) and I'm very careful even about which vegetables I eat. When I do that, which is pretty strict, I'm at about 60-70g in a day. I'm cutting out a lot of food and worrying about the carbs in the nuts I eat to stay at a quarter of what you're eating. That seems like you're probably eating a normal amount.
So, about the exercise, my understanding is that restricting carbs isn't an issue with that generally unless you're doing some mad cardio. Again, this is my understanding, if you're doing mad cardio, you need some carbs most likely.
If you want to know if carbs are bad for you, you should do keto for a few weeks. At the end of that time, you'll know. In my experience, one of two things will happen. You'll either be like, "Hm, yeah, the keto thing works okay. I can see a difference in my appetite but I also miss cake so I'm not sure," or you'll be like, "There is not a cupcake on this planet that tastes as good as keto feels."2 -
I see most referring specifically to weight loss but the real issue should be about health. In that sense I think it is perfectly warranted to be aware of where your calories are coming from and deliberate about the type of carbs you put in your body. I don't think there are too many people that could argue with me that 42 grams of carbs from Doritos is very different for your body's overall health than 42 grams of carbs from fresh fruits and vegetables. So, don't be afraid of carbs, but do keep in the back of your head that not all carbs are created equal and whole grains and fiber packed vegetables will always better serve your goals than white flour and sugar.5
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The only reason i can think of to be "afraid" of carbs other than a medical condition is if they send you down the path of uncontrollable hunger.
My mum is a prime example of this, she has a massive bowl of oats (steelcut) for breakfast and loads in tons of fruit, it really is a gigantic serving! She'll eat this and be snarfing around the kitchen an hour later because she's hungry again, and then she'll eat something else. However, if she replaces those oats and fruit with a high protein and fat breakfast, it holds her over til lunch time.
So for her, carbs beget more carbs and makes it hard for her to ignore her hunger and therefore causes her to overeat. Myself, i can eat a kilo of fruit and it barely touches the sides, i treat it like a small snack, a tiny 60g Quest bar is more filling for me.4 -
I eat Berry Kashi loaded with blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries every morning with 0% fat organic milk. That's what I fuel myself with for the Gym and my day....mostly carbs and dairy. Because I love dairy and fruit, so I feel mentally satisfied while still eating healthy. Don't be afraid of carbs. Just replace bad ones with good ones.
Try "Explore Asian" (brand) black bean pasta. They have an edamame pasta, too. So when I want spaghetti and meatballs (or anything pasta, really) I use protein-rich black bean or pea versions and they're awesome! They make you more full than traditional pastas, too. Avoiding carbs is needless fretting.1 -
I eat starchy carbs every day. I actually have a carb heavy diet because I have to limit protein for medical reasons. I've lost weight and my blood work is looking better with a combination of diet and medications.
Limiting carbs is not one of the dietary modifications.0 -
I see most referring specifically to weight loss but the real issue should be about health. In that sense I think it is perfectly warranted to be aware of where your calories are coming from and deliberate about the type of carbs you put in your body. I don't think there are too many people that could argue with me that 42 grams of carbs from Doritos is very different for your body's overall health than 42 grams of carbs from fresh fruits and vegetables. So, don't be afraid of carbs, but do keep in the back of your head that not all carbs are created equal and whole grains and fiber packed vegetables will always better serve your goals than white flour and sugar.
Any single meal or snack will not impact your health in any way, shape or form. It's your overall diet that matters.5
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