Can you eat a lot of carbs and still lose weight?
lucky2702
Posts: 23 Member
I'm on day 9 of my diet. So far i've stopped all sweet food, no sodas, no juices, hardly any milk, all i've been drinking is: water, green tea, coffee. no take outs, no fatty foods.. I haven't been going over my calories or anything like that. The thing i've been struggling with most is carbs. I can't seem to give up breads, pasta, rice etc... I eat a lot of carbs and a lot of food high in carbs. I don't know how to stop. Can I still eat carbs and lose weight?
Any advice?
Any advice?
3
Replies
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As long as you log and they’re in your daily calorie limit then yep, you can eat anything you want16
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I lost 120ish lbs while eating mostly carbs so yup! I'd say so.14
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I love starchy carbs too - bread, rice, pasta - they are all fine in moderation!2
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Yes, you can eat carbs and lose weight. You can also eat fatty foods and lose weight. You can even eat sodas and sweets and lose weight.
And I would strongly advise that you do, because unless you intend to eat your current limited diet for the entire rest of your life you're going to have to learn how to eat all those things in moderation or you'll put back on anything you lose the moment you stop 'dieting'.
Make the changes you can live with, and keep your calories within limits. That's all you need to do.22 -
Definitely u can, as long as u stay under ur calorie deficit.. And limiting urself in food choice will just backfire, I would advise you to not ever go that way, it s simply not sustainable on long run.. Yes, it's great that u choose healthier food and drinks for ur diet but as long as u don't make changes that u can stick to and make it part of ur lifestyle u could end up in magical circle of weight drop and gain full of frustration3
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Yes, you can. Weight loss is about calories, nutrition is about nutrient variety, successful dieting is about sustainability. Don't confuse these three. They're synergetic, not interchangeable. Cutting carbs falls under the third statement for some people. Some people simply find their diet is more sustainable with fewer carbs (less hungry, able to stick to their calories better...etc). It looks like cutting carbs is more stressful than helpful in your case, and that's fine, you don't need to cut them out. If you're eating so much of them that it's affecting your protein intake, simply replace a portion of your carb-rich foods (doesn't mean you have to cut them out, just slightly reduce them) with protein-rich foods.
The question you should be asking yourself is not "what do I cut out?" (this includes sugar, juices, and milk), but "how do I eat to make dieting easier?" and "what do I add for better nutrition?". Generally, people tend to feel less hungry on a diet when they eat enough protein, at least some fat, and vegetables. If you add a variety of nutritious foods to your diet, whatever else you eat in addition to that does not compromise your nutrition.
I personally feel better eating carbs and they're satisfying and satiating to me, so my carbs are higher than the average dieter, and it did not prevent me from losing a whole lot of weight. This includes occasional or portion-controlled snacks like sweets and salty snacks, and take out every now and then. I drink milk nearly daily and eat bread every single day without fail. There is always a starchy carb or two on my plate for my main meal, like pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, legumes, other grains, or whatever starchy carb I feel like eating that day, in addition to non-starchy carbs.13 -
I'm on day 9 of my diet. So far i've stopped all sweet food, no sodas, no juices, hardly any milk, all i've been drinking is: water, green tea, coffee. no take outs, no fatty foods.. I haven't been going over my calories or anything like that. The thing i've been struggling with most is carbs. I can't seem to give up breads, pasta, rice etc... I eat a lot of carbs and a lot of food high in carbs. I don't know how to stop. Can I still eat carbs and lose weight?
Any advice?
No problem there, thou i am not a fan of cutting out a macro nutrient. (Fatty foods are ok too)
When people ask me if they can lose weight while eating carbs, i always respond with an example.
Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate nothing but twinkies for 10 straight weeks, stayed under his calorie maintenance threshold and lost 27lbs.
(Don't do what he did BTW)
But this is just an example of why what you eat doesn't matter for weight loss.
It matters, however, for health.
It also matters for curbing addiction.
So, if you really have a problem with processed carbs (thou rice would not really be part here), I would cut it out.
But if you can manage it and stay under your calorie count, you should be fine.
(BTW - I eat rice, beans, lentils and other cereals and legumes everyday - Either cutting or bulking. It doesn't matter)
3 -
I'm on day 9 of my diet. So far i've stopped all sweet food, no sodas, no juices, hardly any milk, all i've been drinking is: water, green tea, coffee. no take outs, no fatty foods.. I haven't been going over my calories or anything like that. The thing i've been struggling with most is carbs. I can't seem to give up breads, pasta, rice etc... I eat a lot of carbs and a lot of food high in carbs. I don't know how to stop. Can I still eat carbs and lose weight?
Any advice?
I ate all the foods you have cut out and are trying to cut out, stuck to my calorie goal, and lost weight. I just ate less of them. My advice would be to focus on getting enough protein, fat, and fiber and then just eat the foods you like. If a specific food (like chips or chocolate ice cream) is too hard for you to eat a weighed out portion without going overboard, avoid it for the time being. But no reason to cut out all the foods you used to eat entirely.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p15 -
i eat 350-450g of carbs of day and losing weight when in a calorie deficit with no issues7
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When I was in Costa Rica, I dropped over a size without even trying. I ate mangoes all day long, plus lots of other tropical fruit, and lots of rice and beans.
However, overall I had a calorie deficit, and that is why I lost weight.
I also know plenty of healthy and fit vegans who eat high carb.7 -
As others have said, it comes down to calories in vs calories out. As long as you're in a deficit, you will lose weight, no matter what you eat. For health reasons of course, it is recommended that you eat a variety of foods (including carbs!) and fruit & veg. You have to ask yourself if the diet plan your on is really sustainable in the long term, especially given the foods you've cut out. If you're happy to continue like that, more power to you. But as you mentioned, carbs are struggle and what I'm saying is there is no reason for you to miss out on any foods you like. Just get your portions under control and stay in a calorie deficit and you can pretty much eat what you like.
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I eat 3-4 servings of grains per day along with beans/legumes, veggies and fruit. Tons of carbs actually. And for me this has been the easiest and most sustainable way to lose weight.
Losing weight is about calories and as long as you stay in a deficit you will lose weight regardless of what you consume.2 -
Different types of grains, rice, bread, porridge, all the fruit and veg.
I'm always a little bit baffled by this, I don't even know what I would eat if I wasn't eating carbs.
The total amount is what is important, exactly how you cut that between different things is up to you.4 -
Carbs are not evil, they don't make us put on weight, and if you're active, your body needs them.
That being said, I HIGHLY recommend using a food scale and weighing all those carbs to the gram, because, in my experience, they are pretty high calorie for the volume, and it is very easy to under estimate how much you're actually consuming (and package weights are often less than what they actually contain).8 -
I carb loaded Thurs/Fri/Sat (plenty of rice, pasta and potatoes plus fruit, veg and cereal) and on Sunday drank 60g of glucose/fructose mix and ate a 90 calorie malt loaf bar every hour for six hours. For dinner I had a huge plate of homemade lasagna.
Yep - I've lost weight.
Don't stop eating the foods you love, just stop eating an excessive amount of them.2 -
Yes, you can eat carbs and lose weight. You can also eat fatty foods and lose weight. You can even eat sodas and sweets and lose weight.
And I would strongly advise that you do, because unless you intend to eat your current limited diet for the entire rest of your life you're going to have to learn how to eat all those things in moderation or you'll put back on anything you lose the moment you stop 'dieting'.
Make the changes you can live with, and keep your calories within limits. That's all you need to do.
^^^^
Yes you can!!! I have tried low calorie diets that included an apple a day, to Atkins, where apples (at least in the early stages) were taboo. In both cases diet combined with exercise (I can't create enough of a deficit through food alone given my height) led to a calorie deficit and I lost weight. Only problem was that the weight came back because I could not stick to their maintenance plans.
I don't like sweets, but do like pasta, pizza, tortilla chips, rice, and bread on occasion, so this time around I am incorporating all of them in moderation as long as they are in my calorie budget - mainly this has involved portion control (weighing pasta, trying to limit myself to one serving of tortilla chips, or eating less pizza but adding a big salad) - hopefully I can maintain long term. It has taken some time to overcome my Atkins carb phobia, but I really am enjoying eating more or less what I want and losing weight. Since I was pre-diabetic (will see if that has changed in a couple of weeks) I did need to eat lower carb (but around 37%) with plenty of healthy fats and protein, but even that level allowed me to enjoy my favorite foods in moderation. Finally, don't worry about hitting a certain macro percentage if you are getting plenty of healthy foods and staying within your calorie budget!0 -
Absolutely. Weight loss is all about calories in vs. calories out. You do not need to go low carb to lose weight.
That being said, a good macro balance is important for overall health and muscle retention (protein) so if you are eating so many carbs that you are neglecting fats and proteins, that could be something that may be beneficial for you to change. But you can still have a lot of carbs. 50-60% of calories from carbs would be no problem. Much more than that and you might start crowding out other important macro nutrients.3 -
I appreciate a well balanced diet. Of course, that means including carbs.2
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[Edit: oh, MikePTY said this already -- what he said!]
Sure you can.
I would recommend thinking about balance, though (not saying you aren't, you may well already be doing this).
What I mean by this is eating sufficient protein, some healthy fats, and making sure you have some of your carbs from veg and fruit and other foods that provide fiber. If you do this, you may not feel like you are "struggling" with sticking to a reasonable carb or cal amount.
That said, you seem to think that you SHOULD cut out carbs, even if you aren't having issues with your calories, and that's just trendy bad advice that's all too common. There's nothing wrong with starchy carbs so long as they don't take up such a big share of your diet that you don't get enough of the other foods you need (and the same thing goes for most foods that people call "bad").0 -
yes you can but I keep my carbs on the lower side of things because of pre-diabetic diagnosis but still enough to keep me satisfied. I cut them very low when I first started, but now things are a bit more balanced with fat and proteins. I keep carbs around 125-150 g , net after fiber3
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It comes down to CICO but also, you don't need to cut out all the things you've listed. You'll have more success long term if you work those things into your diet whilst maintaining a deficit.1
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Not only is it fine, but some people need them for their lifestyle. I love bread, white bread in particular, I won't give it up. If I don't have some starchy carbs my energy suffers and I won't get my workouts done.3
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I feel incredibly hungry without carbs. Using mfp is the only thing that has ever worked for me to lose weight, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I can have all the foods that I love, but in more sensible portions than I was eating before.2
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I just lost a bit of weight while on holiday in France while still eating chocolate croissants, burgers, pizza, whatever the hell I wanted. Because I was walking a lot, I had more calories to play with, so it was easier to fit those things into near maintenance calories.3
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Caloric deficit= weight loss.2
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How did we ever get to a point where people believe you can't lose weight if you eat carbohydrates?
Anti-carbism is a cult.8 -
yes. Next question?0
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Yes, and French Fries are my Patronus.1
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I have far too many carbs and nowhere near enough protein. I've tried limiting my carbs, especially bread, but I just don't last very long. I don't think I could cut them out long term, I'd just end up binge eating all the stuff I've stopped having. I stick to my calories and I know I can lose weight doing that. Too many rules just make things difficult.0
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Short answer, yes.0
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