Tips to get in my carbs? Usually coming up short

W_Stewart
W_Stewart Posts: 237 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm using MFP to lose weight. Generally I'm hitting or sometimes exceeding my protein and fat goals but usually coming up well short hitting my carb goals. My nutritionist has stressed that getting my carbs in is important.

Awhile back I was exceeding my sugar goals, but some food swaps helped me dial out some of that excess sugar. I think this is a big contributor to not hitting my carb goals. Any suggestions to getting in more carbs without it being sugar?

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Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,892 Member
    edited November 2021
    Carbs with few sugars, my first thoughts are: bread, rice, potatoes?

    But I'm also wondering why your nutritionist think fewer carbs are an issue, unless you have blood sugar issues or are fueling extensive exercise?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited November 2021
    Yeah, I agree with Lietchi. Unless you're struggling with feeling lethargic or getting a lot of headaches or other physical complaints, carbs are the easiest (and probably the least problematic) way to cut calories. You're hitting at 100-200 on most days. That's sufficient. Why did your nutritionist tell you to eat more of them? Are you neglecting fruit and vegetables? That's important.

    Fruit and vegetables are mostly carbs. Have a banana and cereal with milk as a snack. Toast. Peanut butter sandwich.

    "Sugars" in and of themselves are not inherently bad. It's just that on MFP all sugars are counted equally. So, lactose, fructose and sucrose all get the same accounting. I try to keep mine below 128g total which is the suggested total sugars for women (that I read somewhere!?) That includes milk, fruit, vegetables and added sugars.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    Vegetables. Make a list of those you like and that fit the low-sugar profile (ie, less likely carrots, corn, and white potatoes) and draw from them to make your meal plan. Or, if you’re someone who doesn’t particularly like veggies, download a list from online and choose ones you don’t hate. Try preparing them in different ways to bring out different flavors, ie, roasting them, broiling them with bacon or bacon grease, adding them to your soups or smoothies, etc.

    Oats, quinoa, barley, cracked wheat (think of tabbouli), lentils and beans, hummus are other ways of increasing carbs without added or processed sugars.

  • noel2fit
    noel2fit Posts: 235 Member
    Half a sweet potato or add a baked potato side are great ways to get low sugar carbs. Beans are also good. Add 1/4c beans to your dish (taco meat, soup, dump on a salad) to increase carbs. Also load up on stuff like roasted cauliflower and broccoli. You can have bigger servings of roasted veggies than you'd think to fill out that carb category.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    1. Talk more with your nutritionist about why they think your need more carbs if you are getting the calories you need and are feeling good.

    Carbs are your body's basic source of energy...so yeah they are important...but if you are not like...significantly restricting carbs then I don't know how it'd be an issue unless there is some sort of health concern related to having too little carbs.

    And...are you restricting sugar for any particular reason...? If not, then eat some sugar too - like are you cutting out fruit?

    Other carbs: sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, rice, bread, grains.....starchy veggies like carrots, corn, peas/legumes, beets, root veg.
  • W_Stewart
    W_Stewart Posts: 237 Member
    I was routinely exceeding my daily MFP recommended sugar value so I made some food swaps to only meet (or sometimes be below) the sugar value.

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