carbs in fruits and veggies

nicolestaiti
nicolestaiti Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I love fruits and veggies and that's where I'm getting a lot of carbohydrates from, and going over my daily budget on carbs while still maintaining or staying below my calorie budget. I know cutting carbs has worked for a lot of people, but I can't really see cutting out the key nutrients that are in fruits, veggies, and whole, unprocessed grains. Does anyone here have experience with both types of diets (with and without carbs) and can share their experiences with both?

Thanks

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited December 2017
    I got about 50-60% of my calories from carbohydrates for the entire time I was losing weight and I'm still doing it today. It never seemed to slow me down. I've been maintaining a 40+ pound loss since fall of 2015.

    I have never done a low carbohydrate diet, but I have done a diet that restricted types of carbohydrates (South Beach). I lost plenty of weight, but I found it much more difficult to sustain and I struggled with cravings way more than I do now. Eventually I went off South Beach and put all the weight back on because I hadn't learned anything about how to maintain weight loss while eating a wider variety of foods.

    Cutting carbohydrates is just another way to get yourself into a deficit. Some people find it to be an easier way to get into a deficit, but if you like what you're doing there is no reason to change.
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  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    I love carbs but if for whatever reason you're trying to control yours to a certain amount, the place they're probably adding up is in the fruits (depending upon the fruit) and higher-carb veggies, often potatoes and the like. You should be able to see where the higher-carb costly foods are on your Food diary.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    nicolestaiti wrote: »
    I love fruits and veggies and that's where I'm getting a lot of carbohydrates from, and going over my daily budget on carbs while still maintaining or staying below my calorie budget. I know cutting carbs has worked for a lot of people, but I can't really see cutting out the key nutrients that are in fruits, veggies, and whole, unprocessed grains. Does anyone here have experience with both types of diets (with and without carbs) and can share their experiences with both?

    Thanks

    When you say that cutting carbs has worked for a lot of people, what do you mean? Worked for what? What are your goals? Do you have a medical reason to restrict carbs?

    If your goal is weight loss, then being in a calorie deficit is what matters. You can create that calorie deficit eating any type of diet - low carb, high carb, paleo, vegan, etc. As you rightfully pointed out, a lot of nutrient dense foods are made up of carbohydrates - so if you enjoy eating these foods, and don't have a medical reason to restrict them, then I would focus more on setting a reasonable calorie goal and logging accurately, and not worry about exceeding your carbohydrate goal. Many people focus on protein first, then fat, then just let carbohydrates fall where they do - as long as within a calorie appropriate goal you will still lose weight.
  • Iamnotasenior
    Iamnotasenior Posts: 235 Member
    edited December 2017
    I've lost 41 pounds going over my MFP carb suggested total every day. I eat lots of veggies and fruits, and enjoy either oatmeal, whole wheat bread, peanut butter, beans, rice, potatoes or pasta every day (in measured portions).
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited December 2017
    Cutting carbs is a very popular method of weight loss, and works because many people (in the English speaking world at least) overeat certain kinds of carbs - they're generally cheap and tasty and not especially filling, so you can eat a lot of them without your body telling you to stop. Fruits and vegetables are not the concern here*, but "low carb diet" just rolls off the tongue better than "low refined or highly processed carb diet."

    *Although maybe they are an issue for medically necessary low carb diets, I honestly have no idea.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I lost about 75 pounds eating lots of carbs but starting under my calories.

    Everybody who has ever lost weight did it by staying under their calories.
  • tess5036
    tess5036 Posts: 942 Member
    edited December 2017
    I try to stick to 30/30/40 protien fat and carbs. I focus on the protein, but invaribltiy gi over oin carbs and under on fat. It seems to be workin as I've lost 85+ lbs. I eat at a calorie deficit, and find high protien helps
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I've done both and had significantly better results when limiting carbs; and the best results when eliminating carbs entirely (eating practically no plants). This is at the same calorie intake, so macros seem to be more important for my success than calories.

    Many on these forums have had much different results than me, so I would suggest trying different things - for several weeks or months at a time in order to get a good measure of results - and stick with whatever ends up working best.
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    I differentiate carbs and starch carbs such as bread and processed carbs, which is a personal decision for me. I’ve chosen to eat clean within my calories for the most part. But what has worked for me is consuming more protein not only satiates me the way carbs did in the last but I i also have less of a craving for them. In my own personal opinion, I think eating carbs the way you are is fine.
  • nicolestaiti
    nicolestaiti Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks everyone, you've been super helpful and super positive! Congrats on all of your success, I hope to have my own success story as well. Happy Holidays!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,806 Member
    I've eaten boatloads of fruits and (especially) veggies all the way through losing 50+ pounds and maintaining a healthy weight for almost 2 years since. I almost never eat fewer than 5 servings daily, usually eat more than 10, and have occasionally eaten as many as 22.

    I'm one of those who always hits her protein & fat goals, and lets carbs fall where they may. While losing, I went over my MFP sugar goal every day while literally the only added sugar I ate was a tiny bit of fruit juice concentrate well down the ingredient list in a daily single 30-calorie tablespoon of all-fruit spread (the rest was inherent sugars in fruit and no-sugar-added dairy foods). Lost weight just fine.

    Weight loss is all about calories. Balanced nutrition is also important, but for health. Fruits and veggies are part of balanced nutrition.
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