Can anyone explain this??

Happy medium = eat normally; don't obsess.

blessings.

I think it depends on the person. Everyones body is different. I can't eat processed carbs, because my body doesn't know what to do with them. But, I can eat complex carbs. I get the majority of my carbs from fruits and veggies. But, some people can do carbs and have no problems. Just remember that you get carbs in a lot of different forms, so do eat them, but don't stress over them. Best bet is to try to change your diet to one that is more clean, not as much processed junk. If you do that, you will probably be all set.

cannibalized!?

I believe she is referring to muscle catabolism. In layman's terms... its muscle loss caused by the depletion of energy. The body needs to obtain energy from somewhere so it starts consuming muscle when no other source of energy is available.

Lol, is there a truley a "happy medium"?

I went to a doctor about weight loss and he said, don't quote me, the following to me ( and was so confident):

"I want you to eat 1,200 calories a day. I don't care what you eat. Just stay away from fast food. Eat 3 meals a day around the same time everyday and don't go over 1,200. I gurantee you'll lose weight. It make take months, it make take years. But, who cares how long it takes? You're doing it for you. When it's gone, it's gone. Don't rush it."

I can see where he is coming from I guess. I didn't do what he said but I'm sure he knows what he's talking about for the most part.

I think honestly, everyone is different as far as how many calories they can eat per day. I personally think you should start at a certain amount. If you gain or don't lose at all, maybe lower the calories. If you lose a recommended amount of weight per week then I'd stick around that amount.

I was also told once to weigh after every single meal until you're use to what you know is right for you're body. After you eat, if the scale goes up like over a lb. or more then you should cut that food out or lower the portion. If the scale stays the same then that food agrees with your diet.

I hope some of this info. helps.

cannibalized!?

Yes, Cannibalized. Your muscles break down in the search for natural sugar storage...and OMG! ITS IN YOUR MUSCLES

HAH!

Lol! In other words, our body stores our fat when it goes into starvation mode! Cannibalized made me kind of cringe. Haha.

Carbohydrates are considered simple or complex based upon their chemical structure. Both types contain four calories per gram, and both are digested into the bloodstream as glucose, which is then used to fuel our bodies for normal daily activity and exercise. The main difference between simple and complex carbs is:

Simple carbohydrates or simple sugars – These carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, but most simple carbs contain refined sugars and very few essential vitamins and minerals. Examples include table sugar, fruit juice, milk, yogurt, honey, molasses, maple syrup and brown sugar.

Complex carbohydrates – The complex carbs take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Examples include vegetables, whole grain breads, oatmeal, legumes, brown rice and wheat pasta.

When you eat (or drink) a simple carbohydrate or a simple sugar – whether it is a can of soda, a scoop of fat-free ice cream, or even a glass of orange juice – all of the ingested sugar quickly rushes into your bloodstream. You typically feel a quick rush of energy. Your body then promptly reacts to this sudden spike in blood sugar by calling on the pancreas to produce additional insulin to remove the excess sugar from your blood. And for the moment, you have significantly lower blood sugar as a result of the insulin doing its job, resulting in a sense or feeling of needing more fuel, more energy and more calories. And as you hit that residual low blood sugar, you begin to crave more of the quick-release, simple sugars, and hence you have just initiated the sugar craving cycle

Choose complex carbs over simple carbs. I also try to avoid carbs for dinner and later unless I'm working out after dinner.

I go with about 40% carbs. Sometimes I have trouble meeting that goal (in which case it's filled in with protein and/or fat). For me it's a good number. I think this is more of a personal choice. Play around and see what feels best for you.

Carbohydrates are considered simple or complex based upon their chemical structure. Both types contain four calories per gram, and both are digested into the bloodstream as glucose, which is then used to fuel our bodies for normal daily activity and exercise. The main difference between simple and complex carbs is:

Simple carbohydrates or simple sugars – These carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, but most simple carbs contain refined sugars and very few essential vitamins and minerals. Examples include table sugar, fruit juice, milk, yogurt, honey, molasses, maple syrup and brown sugar.

Complex carbohydrates – The complex carbs take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Examples include vegetables, whole grain breads, oatmeal, legumes, brown rice and wheat pasta.

When you eat (or drink) a simple carbohydrate or a simple sugar – whether it is a can of soda, a scoop of fat-free ice cream, or even a glass of orange juice – all of the ingested sugar quickly rushes into your bloodstream. You typically feel a quick rush of energy. Your body then promptly reacts to this sudden spike in blood sugar by calling on the pancreas to produce additional insulin to remove the excess sugar from your blood. And for the moment, you have significantly lower blood sugar as a result of the insulin doing its job, resulting in a sense or feeling of needing more fuel, more energy and more calories. And as you hit that residual low blood sugar, you begin to crave more of the quick-release, simple sugars, and hence you have just initiated the sugar craving cycle

Choose complex carbs over simple carbs. I also try to avoid carbs for dinner and later unless I'm working out after dinner.

This.

However, I don't always choose complex carbs though - at the advice of a trainer and nutritionist, I do eat a simple carb after my workout to replace glycogen stores, followed by an easily digestible protein. If I don't have a reason for needing the simple carb however, then I stick to complex carbs

I'm with everyone else who's said "it's different for everyone". I do fine following MFP's suggestion. I eat about 95% clean, so it's almost all unprocessed, complex carbs. If I don't eat them, my blood sugar crashes. If I eat too many, my blood sugar also crashes.

I know my gf can kill carbs because she has no problem with insulin. I'll have my blood checked too and see how low on sugars I actually am but considering i have "love handles" i don't think i am that great with insulin so i just cut down on carbs to under 80g that usually comes from vegetables or complex carbs. if i am not planing on heavy exercises I eat more protein and whatever fat comes from meat and little extra from fish oil and flexseed .
But if I eat a whole cake once in a while it doesn't really do anything on my weight loss, loosing around 1kg per week constantly. And considering muscle loss I am sure i didn't loose any significant amount because my biceps didn't drop in size and my strength is much better.

I've been on an unfortunate weight gain trend, not a ton, but enough to be disturbing. So I entered all of my data into a spreadsheet and did some back tracking. When I wasnt paying attention to anything at all but calories, I lost steadily. When I started watching macros I started losing slower. When I cut back my carbs to less than 40%, I've been gaining.

So looking at my personal trends, and factoring in that my nearly sole form of exercise for many months has been running, with increasing intensity and distances, I've redone my macro settings to up my carbs again. But I'm also not going to stress out if I go over my carb setting every now and again.

Other people can't seem to lose at all unless they're on really low carb plans. As folks have said, it really all comes down to the individual. If you search/read enough you will find positive medical articles on pretty much any kind of diet - high carb, low carb, high fat, low fat, high protein, low protein, zone/balance, etc. There's even a book out there that recommends eating about one load of bread per day. (yes, really)

Your best bet is to just try different things. Make sure you track everything closely, note when you make the change and give your body enough time to adapt to said change before making the decision if it working for you or not. I tried cutting carbs to reduce some of my stubborn belly fat since it seemed a popular theory, but after a couple of months of that I'm able to see that isn't working, so I'm making a new adjustment. Nothing is black and white, so we just have to all forge ahead trying to do the best we can.

I know there are many schools of thought out there on carbs. I have heard that not eating enough will result in muscle being cannabalized for energy. I have also heard that eating too much causes insulin issues and for the energy to be stored as fat as the liver has limited storage capacity.

Soooooooo.... what is a happy medium??

Carbs are neither good nor bad but there are bad carbs if that makes sense. Lookup informaton on the glycemic index and that will help steer you in the good carb direction.

Carbs are a double-edged sword. Carbs are good for energy and get burned for energy in-place of protein or muscle. However, carbs also increase insulin which limits the metabolism of fat but also channels nutrients into your muscles. Try and find a happy medium if you're going to maintain a traditional diet. One recommendation is to eat most of your daily carbs around workouts, before, during, and after.