Carbs for weight loss?

theron12
theron12 Posts: 60 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am counting calories for weight loss. I am on a 1500 calorie diet. I always hear people say to watch your carbs or you shouldn't eat many carbs cause they cause weight gain. My questions are (1) why are carbs so bad & why should you avaoid them. (2) lets say by me being on a 1500 calorie diet I ate nothing but bread & drink nothing but water. Even if I only ate 1500 calories of bread would I still lose weight? Or since my 1500 calories went to carbs then I wouldn't? Would I lose weight faster by having no carbs? Or would it be the same? Someone please Explain this to me! Thanks !

Replies

  • DresdenSinn
    DresdenSinn Posts: 665 Member
    Carb's are converted to glycogen which your muscles use for energy, if you want to perform at your peak you need carbs. Carbs are not your enemy, overall calories is what matters.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
    If your are in a caloric deficit you will lose weight regardless of your macros. Some people find it easier to achieve a deficit by reducing/limiting carbs.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    Carbs aren't bad...they're just the most recent dietary demon with low carb and keto diets being trendy at the moment.

    Carbs have nothing to do with weight management...weight management is about calories. If you cut carbs you will have quicker early losses due to a larger decrease in water weight and reduced glycogen stores.

    A low carb diet works on the same premise as any other diet...you cut out or substantially reduce an entire macro-nutrient and by default, you are cutting a lot of calories...it's the cutting of the calories that results in weight (fat) loss.
  • theron12
    theron12 Posts: 60 Member
    Thanks for the reply! That definitely helps me!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    theron12 wrote: »
    Thanks for the reply! That definitely helps me!

    Enjoy your bread (or other carbohydrate-rich food)!
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    • Calories in = calories out but carbs might make it hard to stay within your calorie allotment if you are one of those people who "crave" carbs and find it hard to stay within your calorie limit when you eat them.
    • There are also some reasons that some people do better on a low carb diet than others in terms of blood sugar ebbs and flows and cravings.
    • I personally find that limiting carbs makes it easier to stay within my calories and that my inflammatory markers / pan levels are far lower with fewer carbs.
    • This may not be true for everyone.
  • fallen44
    fallen44 Posts: 11 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    1) Carbohydrates aren't bad.

    2) You should only avoid them if doing so makes it easier for you to hit your calorie goal and you feel okay not having them. Even low carbohydrate people usually have *some* though (they're in fruits and vegetables and all sorts of delicious and healthful things).

    3) Yes, you would lose weight on 1,500 calories a day of bread (assuming 1,500 put you in a deficit). You might not feel the greatest (because you wouldn't be getting much protein or fat), but you'd lose weight.

    I ate carbohydrates the entire time I was losing weight -- they made up about 60% of my calories. A deficit is what creates weight loss.

    How do you know your defecit??????? (Noob here) XD
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    fallen44 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    1) Carbohydrates aren't bad.

    2) You should only avoid them if doing so makes it easier for you to hit your calorie goal and you feel okay not having them. Even low carbohydrate people usually have *some* though (they're in fruits and vegetables and all sorts of delicious and healthful things).

    3) Yes, you would lose weight on 1,500 calories a day of bread (assuming 1,500 put you in a deficit). You might not feel the greatest (because you wouldn't be getting much protein or fat), but you'd lose weight.

    I ate carbohydrates the entire time I was losing weight -- they made up about 60% of my calories. A deficit is what creates weight loss.

    How do you know your defecit??????? (Noob here) XD

    If you enter your stats and goals into MFP, it will generate a goal for you that has a deficit built in. It's an estimate based on how much energy MFP thinks you are using per day. After a few weeks, you can use your actual results to determine how close it is to your actual needs (that is, did you lose faster than expected? Slower?) and make any adjustments that you need.

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