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What the hell are carbs?

emmaellery1989

So with help of a nutritionist I'm meant to be on a low carb diet.

But now I'm confused.

Items such as cucumber are coming up as carbs? And so are carrots?

And she's told me now I'm eating too many carbs??

I live on meat, fish, fresh fruit, veg and a few nuts.

So what are carbs???????

Replies

accidentalpancake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate

quiksylver296

Carbohydrates are a macro-nutrient. There are 3 macro-nutrients - carbs, proteins and fats. Every food is made up of these three macros. So, if it isn't protein and it isn't fat, it's a carb (or some combo of the three).

Carlos_421

Do you have a medical reason for restricting/managing carbs? (diabetes)
If not, there's no reason to do so for weight loss purposes. I'd recommend dropping this nutritionist, especially if they're telling you to cut carbs without explaining why or what they are.

ninerbuff

Lol, so the nutritionist DIDN'T tell you what a carb is? And wants you on a low carb diet? Sounds like they don't pay much attention to their client.
Above you have been given info for FREE by members. If you're paying this "nutritionist", I'd stop. They should have gone over with you on a specific plan.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

jemhh

In the US, nearly anybody can call themselves a nutritionist while it takes specific education/certification to be a registered dietitian. I'm not sure where you are but I'd keep that in mind if you choose to work with a nutritionist. If you are working with a nutritionist, you should ask her both why you need to be on a low carb diet and exactly what carbs are.

Rebecca0224

Hiw many carbs does she want you to eat a day?

eekeer

A carb is a organic compound that exists in food that can be turned into energy by animals and people. Anyway to answer your question, carbs exist in every food except for meat. However many low carbers still consume veggies and fruits due to their low calorie and low carb content, despite being carbs. You should still consume these foods on a low carb diet, because just existing off meat wouldn't be very healthy. If your eating too many carbs stick too low carb fruits such as cantaloupe and berries. Or if your still losing weight with what your doing now, I wouldn't worry about what your nutritionist says since weight loss is about calories in vs out, not how may carbs you consume. Hope this helped

tinkerbellang83

Valid point raised above about your nutritionist!

This link has a fairly straightforward explanation of what carbs are
http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/types-of-carbohydrates.html

toxikon

Basically everything but meat contains varying levels of carbs.

Yes, cucumber contains a small amount of carbs. But very minimal compared to bread or high-sugar products.

The goal of eating low-carb is to minimize carbs, not eliminate entirely - unless you're prepared to become a pure carnivore. The amount of carbs a "low-carber" eats varies greatly - for achieving nutritional ketosis, you'll want to stick to 20-50g net carbs. For a more general "low-carb" approach, you'll want 50-150g net carbs.

If you take a general approach to low-carb eating, you can still work grains and starches into your diet, just in moderation. It's more about cutting back on refined grains and sugars and eating more meats, veggies and healthy fats.

By the way, "net carbs" are the carbs left over after you subtract fiber (which is not digestible) and sugar alcohols, which are also not generally digested the same way as real sugar (some are better than others).

magpie0829

I feel like your nutritionist should have specified which foods to limit due to their high carb content and which foods you should be eating more of. Also your nutritionist should have explained what a carb is and why she/he thinks you need to be on a low carb diet. If your nutritionist can't or won't give you more insight into these things then it is time for a new nutritionist, or better yet, a registered dietitian.

chelllsea124

I don't understand why a "nutritionist" would tell you to stop eating something without explaining to you what it is they don't want you to eat. This just makes no sense to me....

cmriverside

Yeah I have to agree that if someone gives me a low carb suggestion, she should have a hand-out to explain it.

When I was over weight I also ate way too much in the way of sweets and bread-like products (common high-carb products.) For me, cutting carbs is most easily achieved by cutting way back on grains and sugar. I cut way back on all but my two slices of whole wheat bread a day, or oatmeal. If I have wheat products in the house, I have a very hard time moderating their intake. I'm talking about French bread, pretzels, crackers, crunchy cereal, cookies, cake, pie, muffins, donuts, that stuff. If I don't buy it I don't eat it. I also have substituted my potato chips and corn chips. If I don't have them, I don't over-eat them.

The "rule" I mostly live by is, "I have to cook it," so I have corn tortillas but not chips. I have oatmeal (the slow cook kind) but not instant cereals. I buy only 100% whole wheat bread and I keep it in the freezer so I can't just grab a slice, it has to defrost or be toasted. I have fresh potatoes, but no snack chips or corn crunchy things.

I stay under 150g of carbs on most days. Usually once a week I have some sweet or crunchy thing. It's best for me if I buy a single serve portion. Otherwise all bets are off.

The bad thing about the carb-y foods I described is that they are high calorie and they don't help me stay feeling full. Just the opposite. Once I start, I have trouble stopping.

Ben_there_done_that

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

cosmiqrecovery

dump your nutritionist. that's all i got.

cmriverside

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

lol, gotta love autocarrot.

wimdroid

cmriverside wrote: »

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

lol, gotta love autocarrot.

Now it made me wonder what carcomymrates are which my autocarrot tries to convert into carbohydrates

annabel92

I would imagine that your nutritionist is referring to heavy/refined/processed carbs that don't have much nutrition, such as bread or pasta.

Carbs in fruits and vegetables are fine as they're natural - these are 'fiber' carbs and needed.

Just like sugar in a banana is natural when compared to sugar in sweets, natural carbs are full of nutrition (such as fibre) and are a much better choice when compared to processed carbs.

accidentalpancake

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

See, there's the problem. I bet your nutritionist didn't warn you about your paper towel intake...

French_Peasant

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

This is one of the best posts I have EVER seen on MFP. It *is* true that paper towels are carbs. Or carcs, as the case may be.

ETA: I believe it is actually "pasketti" that is a carc.

ETA ETA: Are popscockles carcs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85wujdlSSYI

TeaBea

emmaellery1989 wrote: »

So with help of a nutritionist I'm meant to be on a low carb diet.

But now I'm confused.

Items such as cucumber are coming up as carbs? And so are carrots?

And she's told me now I'm eating too many carbs??

I live on meat, fish, fresh fruit, veg and a few nuts.

So what are carbs???????

This is over simplified, but basically food is made up of 3 macros - protien, fat, and carbs. Cucumber is not fatty or high in protein....so what's left is carbs. HOWEVER, cucumbers are very low calorie (very low in most nutrients) so they are fairly low carb and you also get fiber.

You get fiber from carbs.....your "nutritionist" did not intend for you to go on a zero carb (zero fiber) diet.

If you have medical issues (diabetes, PCOS) low(er) carb may be a good choice. Ask your nutrtionist why she put you on a low carb diet.....because it's not like you can't lose weight while eating carbs.

ruqayyahsmum

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

Yea i just cant kick the paper towel habit

beginforthelasttime16

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

This is my favorite thing I've read today

cmriverside

bahahahaahaha I've never watched Adult Swim. Thanks for that.

OliveGirl128

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Carbohydrates are a macro-nutrient. There are 3 macro-nutrients - carbs, proteins and fats. Every food is made up of these three macros. So, if it isn't protein and it isn't fat, it's a carb (or some combo of the three).

This.

And there's no reason to go low carb for weight loss, unless you want to. Carbs aren't what matters for weight loss, having the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals is and that's what you should be focusing on.

French_Peasant

annabel92 wrote: »

I would imagine that your nutritionist is referring to heavy/refined/processed carbs that don't have much nutrition, such as bread or pasta.

Carbs in fruits and vegetables are fine as they're natural - these are 'fiber' carbs and needed.

Just like sugar in a banana is natural when compared to sugar in sweets, natural carbs are full of nutrition (such as fibre) and are a much better choice when compared to processed carbs.

So carbs in bread....are not fiber carbs...and are not natural? Hmmmm.

inertiastrength

your nutritionist is an idiot.

cerise_noir

Yeah.... no.

Did you know that a nutritionist course can be completed over a weekend? Considering they didn't even give you a sheet of paper listing the foods you need to minimize, or even referred you to a nutrition website tells screams that much from the one you've been seeing.

There is nothing wrong with carbs, even for weight loss.

Excess calories are responsible for weight gain.

Innacurate food logging (underestimating/guessing instead of using a food scale) and overestimating exercise calories burned is responsible for no to less weight loss when in a deficit/logging.

Eat foods for nutrition.

Eat foods for joy (yes, you can have chocolate and/or ice cream if you include it in your calories!) :drinker:

Just log everything that you eat, drink and cook with. Weigh solid and semi solid food on a digital food scale in grams.

Choose correct database entries. A green check mark entry isn't necessarily correct. Check your food packaging and USDA food database if you're unsure.

All foods have calories. They add up.

janejellyroll

annabel92 wrote: »

I would imagine that your nutritionist is referring to heavy/refined/processed carbs that don't have much nutrition, such as bread or pasta.

Carbs in fruits and vegetables are fine as they're natural - these are 'fiber' carbs and needed.

Just like sugar in a banana is natural when compared to sugar in sweets, natural carbs are full of nutrition (such as fibre) and are a much better choice when compared to processed carbs.

Except bread and pasta both have pretty good nutrition. Like anything, they can be over-eaten -- but there's no reason to avoid them (unless you find it makes it easier for you to meet your calorie goals and you don't mind avoiding them).

lemurcat12

annabel92 wrote: »

I would imagine that your nutritionist is referring to heavy/refined/processed carbs that don't have much nutrition, such as bread or pasta.

We have no clue what her "nutritionist" means or how much education she has, but using "carbs" to mean only highly refined starches would be a good sign that she's not a good nutritionist and is using words incorrectly.

Whole grains are considered reasonably nutritious, btw, and can be part of a very nutritious meal (a favorite of mine when losing weight -- with both whole wheat and white pasta -- was to combine a serving size with a sauce made of many vegetables (also carbs) and some lean meat, with a little olive oil and feta cheese, maybe some pinenuts). Fast, nutritious meal, so I'd like to know why it would be verboten in the advice.

Most foods that are normally meant by low nutrient, highly refined foods, btw, are really as much fat as carbs, like cookies, so it would be extra stupid to mean those if you said carbs.

Carbs in fruits and vegetables are fine as they're natural - these are 'fiber' carbs and needed.

No, they are not merely fiber carbs, but also sugar and starches. Most of the calories in fruit, obviously, are from sugar.

They ARE fine, of course -- as are the starches in potatoes and grains which are also natural. (How would they not be natural? Where do you think they come from?)

Just like sugar in a banana is natural when compared to sugar in sweets, natural carbs are full of nutrition (such as fibre) and are a much better choice when compared to processed carbs.

Again, do you imagine that the carbs in potatoes are added in? Or the carbs in grains, like say oats or, again, bread? (Some bread has a bit of sugar added, but it need not, and anyway the sugar isn't actually different in kind from that in fruit, it's a matter of dosage and what it comes with.)

There may be a reason for OP to do a low carb diet, but as others would say, recommending it without explaining what is being recommended or the reasons for it is extremely irresponsible.

DamieBird

French_Peasant wrote: »

Ben_there_done_that wrote: »

Carcomymrates are like spaghetti, breads, paper towels...

This is one of the best posts I have EVER seen on MFP. It *is* true that paper towels are carbs. Or carcs, as the case may be.

ETA: I believe it is actually "pasketti" that is a carc.

ETA ETA: Are popscockles carcs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85wujdlSSYI

Thank you. Just . . . . thank you for posting this, lol.