Should I eat less carbs?

Slu13
Slu13 Posts: 44 Member
So my friend has lost 2 stone but cutting out carbs, she has lots of weight to loose whereas I only have 1 stone. Should I be reducing my carb intake to help speed weight loss? I do like my mash and jacket potatoes :(
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Replies

  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    Your friend didn't lose weight from cutting carbs, she lost weight by cutting calories. Cutting carbs helped her weight loss to happen quickly initially as lowering her carb intake would have made her lose water weight. Her lower carb intake had no impact on her rate of fat loss... Except for reducing her calories.

    This! Also, don't compare yourself to anybody.
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
    I wouldn't worry about too much about limiting a particular macro (carbs, proteins, or fat). Just make sure you're eating a balanced diet with a reasonable (read: not too large or too small) calorie deficit and sufficient exercise, and you'll be fine. I can understand getting frustrated because your friend is losing at a faster pace, but that only means that she has found what works for her. Apparently, something different works for you, and since you say you love certain carbohydrate-rich foods, trying to cut them sounds like it would be a losing proposition for you. I know it was for me, lol. I'll give up cake and ice cream, etc., but no one had better touch my potatoes!
  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 275 Member
    I have been in a similar situation. Simply reducing fats and increasing vegetables has not worked well for me. I am now working on cutting carbs and going with some fats, protein foods, vegetables and fruit. I just got going on this a few days ago and I don't want to weigh more than once weekly. I guess, I would say to try it and see what works for you. Some people do well on vegetarian/vegan diets, others do well on paleo and other plans that allow more fats and less carbs. Try cutting carbs for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Just make sure you are getting enough fats and proteins.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    JanetBiard wrote: »
    I heard a talk from an NHS dietitian early this week, who said the amount of carbs on your plate should be the size of your clenched fist, so very little if you are eating pasta but probably about the size helping of potatoes I would choose. Her recommendation was the portion of protein should be the size of the palm of your hand, and the thickness of your little finger. And then fill the rest of your plate with veggies. This struck me as really easy advice to follow.

    I would find it really hard to restrict the quantity of pasta to such a small helping, so I have found it easier to just not eat it. I think it is about finding what works for you. Personally I have found it easier to reduce carbs and eat more protein, as it seems to keep me full, but this might not be the same for everyone. I have not cut carbs completely as on the few days I have done this without intending to, I have felt very odd.

    Ya, it's easier for me to reduce rice than pasta, so I have pasta less. I can be satisfied with 50-100 g of cooked rice, depending on what all else is with it, but for pasta I want at least 113 g (4 oz) and more like 142 (5 oz).

    Meals also feel odd to me if they don't have the "right" (for me) macro mix, most notably when I lived in vegetarian yoga communities for three years and had to really work to get in enough protein for me.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    It won’t hurt to reduce your carbs, just ensure you are covering your micro nutrients

    you don't even know how many carbs the OP is eating and yet you are advising them to cut carbs?

    The OP is clearly eating a reasonable level or they wouldn’t be questioning reducing the levels - you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that my friend!

    As long as they are covering their micro nutrient requirements it doesn’t matter how little carbs they eat. Remember carbs are the non essential macro

    Not necessarily...

    FWIW I always questioned the ‘non-essential macro’ since fiber which is essential to a good diet is a carb (yes our bodies process different) but it’s a carb...so doesn’t that actually make at least some carbs essential?

    Carbs and fibre (particularly soluble fibre) is optimal for a healthy diet, but neither are essential for survival. For an optimal diet no more than 100g of carbs are required!

    I’m pretty sure if the OP is a fan of her mash and jacket potatoes she’s probably consuming more than 100g. Besides apart from some quick burning fuel, there’s little micro nutrient benefit from mash or jackets! So straight away there’s some candidates for carb reduction!


    Really? A 100g carbs is optimal...please show me some scientific studies supporting this hypothesis published in a peer reviewed journal with more than 50 participants

    Yes, I would like to see that also.
  • brochali
    brochali Posts: 1 Member
    It won’t hurt to reduce your carbs, just ensure you are covering your micro nutrients

    you don't even know how many carbs the OP is eating and yet you are advising them to cut carbs?

    The OP is clearly eating a reasonable level or they wouldn’t be questioning reducing the levels - you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that my friend!

    As long as they are covering their micro nutrient requirements it doesn’t matter how little carbs they eat. Remember carbs are the non essential macro

    Not necessarily...

    FWIW I always questioned the ‘non-essential macro’ since fiber which is essential to a good diet is a carb (yes our bodies process different) but it’s a carb...so doesn’t that actually make at least some carbs essential?

    Carbs and fibre (particularly soluble fibre) is optimal for a healthy diet, but neither are essential for survival. For an optimal diet no more than 100g of carbs are required!

    I’m pretty sure if the OP is a fan of her mash and jacket potatoes she’s probably consuming more than 100g. Besides apart from some quick burning fuel, there’s little micro nutrient benefit from mash or jackets! So straight away there’s some candidates for carb reduction!


    Really? A 100g carbs is optimal...please show me some scientific studies supporting this hypothesis published in a peer reviewed journal with more than 50 participants