Are carbs really that bad?

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Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Glycemic index is completely irrelevant for people without medical conditions related to insulin.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    go away!

    Haha, no. Not going anywhere. You can ignore me if you want, but I'm not leaving.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    The problem with the white stuff is that they are very high on the glycemic index. That measures the effect of the carb on your blood sugar level. Some carbs burn very fast and flood your bloodstream with sugar which causes your body to produce a flood of insulin to clear it out. Insulin is produced by your liver and it is the liver's job to "clean it up". The liver also regulates fat storage and fat burning.

    Can you lose weight and eat white carbs? Yes. But you can lose it faster if you avoid them, and your liver and body in general will run more efficiently.

    Insulin is actually produced by your pancreas, not your liver. GI is meaningless unless you have diabetes.
  • fluffball1
    fluffball1 Posts: 9 Member
    just been reading this topic (sorry it's a late reply) but I've just started a low carb low cal diet called 'Weight to Go' where meals are supplied and you get shakes, bars, soups etc. It's 850 cals per day and as a vegetarian, I have finally found one of these plans I can follow with sufficient variety.

    I have realised that the way the plan gets to be so low cal but still lets you feel fullish is due to the fact there are virtually no carbs apart from what you might add by way of veggies and fruit. (2 portions on top of food supplied).

    As a fully confessed carbaholic, I have been worried that I would have intense carb cravings but these disappeared much more quickly than I expected after only 2 days of doing the plan! I have occasionally given in and had the odd piece of brown bread but otherwise I've managed to virtually avoid carbs which is nothing short of a miracle.. however I must stress I am only day 5 on the plan! lol

    The main problem is just the habit of getting something to eat! Cooking for the family at a weekend has been hard too, knowing that I'm not going to be eating with them but assume I will get used to it. Very quickly I have adapted to eating less, I've been a little hungry and sometimes lack of energy in the afternoons but feel great in the mornings and much more active.

    I have been recently diagnosed as suffering from insulin resistance and was even prescribed meds such as Metformin to help with this even though I'm not a diabetic and this is a diabetic drug. I have had horrible side effects with this medication so I needed to find another alternative to help me with my insulin resistance problem , my weight has been piling on so quickly and I was getting way too heavy too quick. I'm really hoping this diet will be the answer although I realise that long term I still need to find a way of having small amounts of carbs but without going mad. My body simply can't use refined carbs well and I store them immediately as fat.
  • pfeiferfit
    pfeiferfit Posts: 138 Member
    Sorry if this was already answered-

    Re White Potatos and other white starches and why they're bad...


    Because they cause your blood sugar to spike right away, vs a slower digested carb. For me, with a metabolic issue, it's bad. For a weightlifter or someone who's young it may not be an issue. But sooner or later, it's not the body's preferred food unless we're talking fat storage.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    I ate a lower carb diet and had great results. I think the key to that diet though was the fact that everything I ate I made myself. I didn't have all of the extre chemicals and salt that are in packaged foods. I was getting all of the nutrients from foods that were deficient in what I was eating before. I had <gasp> white potatoes every day! I didn't have any pasta or breads, but that isn't a great portion of my diet normally anyway. I do think more than anything, the key was that I was getting more protein than normal and I really needed that.
  • SolidGoaled
    SolidGoaled Posts: 504 Member
    When I was very obese, I could not even LOOK at a carb without gaining 10 lbs - seriously - it was a viscious, snowballing cycle - I'd eat bread, gain more weight, crave more bread, gain more weight, etc etc etc!

    I had to limit my carbs when I was in that pre-diabetic state in order just to lose some of that stubborn weight.

    Now that I"ve lost a lot of weight, I can actually eat bread/potatoes, even occasional sweets without it affecting my weight loss. Why? Because now that I am at a more healthy weight, my prediabetes has gone away (some may say "cured!") and my body now can tolerate carbs like a 'normal' person.

    The goal for me is: keeping your body in good balance and if you have a genetic predisposition to diabetes (which I do) then carbs are definitely something to look at and consider (the reduction or elimination of).

    Just my opinion.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    I could never give up carbs. I just make healthier choices when I eat them. Whole grain low carb breads, pasta, sweet potatoes, whole grain rice. I try to stay away from refined sugars,watch portion size and make sure it fits into my goals for the day.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    No scientific data here, I just think the key here, as it is in many things, is to know your body and how you respond to different foods. For some people, carbs like white bread, pasta or rice can lead to over eating... now whether this is due to habit or not, I couldn't say.


    I think this is very true. For me personally I LOVE carbs... potato, white bread, white rice and pasta. But I find it very easy to over eat when I have these so when I am trying to lose weight I try and avoid them but still get my carbs from things such as friut and veg.

    If you are losing weight and eating a balanced diet which includes carbs then great, don't worry about changing it. If you find that carbs are a problem for you then yeah have a look at what you can cut out. Weight loss may speed up but it would probably be because you are including other things that have less calories or lower fat content in place of the carbs.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    The problem with the white stuff is that they are very high on the glycemic index. That measures the effect of the carb on your blood sugar level. Some carbs burn very fast and flood your bloodstream with sugar which causes your body to produce a flood of insulin to clear it out. Insulin is produced by your liver and it is the liver's job to "clean it up". The liver also regulates fat storage and fat burning.

    Can you lose weight and eat white carbs? Yes. But you can lose it faster if you avoid them, and your liver and body in general will run more efficiently.

    Insulin is actually produced by your pancreas, not your liver. GI is meaningless unless you have diabetes.

    You are right, it is produced by pancreas, but the chemical processes in converting the insulin has a lot to do with the liver, and the liver has everything to do with whether it is stored as fat or not.
  • hbmcracer
    hbmcracer Posts: 105 Member
    GI is meaningless unless you have diabetes.

    I disagree with this, GI is important if you want to avoid future diabetes as well. If you eat a bunch of high GI foods your chances of getting diabetes are pretty high. I know this from experience, I bought in to all the eat whole grain wheat bread and brown rice crap while I was in the Marine Corps. And that was fine when I was burning 1500-2000 calories a day by exercising, but when I got out and stopped running that much I didn't cut back on the carbs because they were the "healthy ones" I call BS there are no healthy carbs that come from grain.

    If you only exercise 3-5 hours a week eat less than 150g of carbs a day and you should be alright, if you want to lose weight eat less and make sure they are from fruits and veggies not grain. Your body DOES NOT need carbs at all, your liver will make glucose for energy out of protein.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,263 Member
    That still doesn't sound like someone that has any nutritional education.:wink:

    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.
    LOL at scientific journals that say carbs like potatoes and bread are bad.......science doesn't work that way.


    what are you on about? listen mate if you cant even be arsed to put a picture on here of your self, I would suggest you dont comment on this thread, mr faceless.

    here is my opinion bad carbs and seems alot of people agree with this, I avoid, white bread, white pasta,rice, etc, good carbs fruit,veg, wholemeal stuff, heres a thought....... any weight loss for a human being has been based around diet and calorie restriction in the last 40 years, but why is the population continuing to get bigger? a diet in high protein works better for me, you dont see body builders at 3%body fat, eating more carbs than protein thus the reason why I believe carbs are bad for weight loss, but thats just my opinion, everybodys body is different and each to their own.
  • hello77kitty
    hello77kitty Posts: 260 Member
    I started my diet eating no carbs from bread, potatoes, pasta etc, just from fruit and veggies. Lost weight...now I decided to add whole grain bread, cereal, fiber bars. Still losing weight!
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    you want to keep all your hard earned muscle ,while burning fat it's very important that you keep your protein intake as high as possible. Because carbohydrates are the bodys main source of energy it will always use them up first. Once there is no carbohydrates left your body will turn to it's fat storage. If you do not have enough protein intake per day, your body will start taking protein from the muscles resulting in catabolism (breaking down of muscle tissue).

    So your blow out neandthin! :laugh:
  • AmandaJoi25
    AmandaJoi25 Posts: 50
    I usually have around 4 slices of wholemeal bread a day, and pasta/spaghetti and wholemeal cereals, but how bad are carbs? I might try a low carb diet depending on the answers i get. I might have fruit and veg for lunch instead of bread.
    You wont be having much fruit if you do low carb. Your not allowed fruit at all during induction which is a minimum of two weeks.
  • Finally22
    Finally22 Posts: 305 Member
    I love carbs. I eat aboit 55% carbs. Carbs are the body s prefered fuel.

    How do you know what % of carbs works for you?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I love carbs. I eat aboit 55% carbs. Carbs are the body s prefered fuel.

    How do you know what % of carbs works for you?

    Trial and error. If you feel tired or sluggish and/or have trouble getting through your workouts you may not be getting enough total calories, or if your carbs are low that is probably what it is. If you are training for any distance event (half-marathon, 10K etc. your body will require a lot of carbs)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,263 Member
    you want to keep all your hard earned muscle ,while burning fat it's very important that you keep your protein intake as high as possible. Because carbohydrates are the bodys main source of energy it will always use them up first. Once there is no carbohydrates left your body will turn to it's fat storage. If you do not have enough protein intake per day, your body will start taking protein from the muscles resulting in catabolism (breaking down of muscle tissue).

    So your blow out neandthin! :laugh:
    Not at all. He brought up protein as an arguement, which is a basic strawman arguement. Instead of talking about carbs he made an arguement that protein is what works for him. We were talking about carbs, not protein. Sometimes it's hard to accept defeat. :devil:
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    carbs are very bad for weight loss, if you are getting carbs from fruit and veg there isnt an issue, the issue lies with bread,pasta, white potato etc. read any nutritionist books and you will learn why I have put what i have posted.
    LOL at scientific journals that say carbs like potatoes and bread are bad.......science doesn't work that way.


    what are you on about? listen mate if you cant even be arsed to put a picture on here of your self, I would suggest you dont comment on this thread, mr faceless.

    here is my opinion bad carbs and seems alot of people agree with this, I avoid, white bread, white pasta,rice, etc, good carbs fruit,veg, wholemeal stuff, heres a thought....... any weight loss for a human being has been based around diet and calorie restriction in the last 40 years, but why is the population continuing to get bigger? a diet in high protein works better for me, you dont see body builders at 3%body fat, eating more carbs than protein thus the reason why I believe carbs are bad for weight loss, but thats just my opinion, everybodys body is different and each to their own.

    People are getting bigger because people are overeating. It has nothing to do with the types of food. People are eating an average of 600 calories a day more than they were 40 years ago. The actual macro ratios haven't changed that much, although fat has gone down, and protein and carbs have gone up slightly. It's really a simple problem, people have been eating more and more, and become more and more sedentary. It has nothing to do with "ZOMG! EVIL CARBS!"
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    you want to keep all your hard earned muscle ,while burning fat it's very important that you keep your protein intake as high as possible. Because carbohydrates are the bodys main source of energy it will always use them up first. Once there is no carbohydrates left your body will turn to it's fat storage. If you do not have enough protein intake per day, your body will start taking protein from the muscles resulting in catabolism (breaking down of muscle tissue).

    So your blow out neandthin! :laugh:
    Not at all. He brought up protein as an arguement, which is a basic strawman arguement. Instead of talking about carbs he made an arguement that protein is what works for him. We were talking about carbs, not protein. Sometimes it's hard to accept defeat. :devil:


    NEANDTHIN

    Reading through your posts you have not wrote anything informative,to back up with what you say, so I dont know what your going on about in terms of accepting defeat?? you have no picture which only make me think you have something to hide, are you embarrassed by your appearance? because if I were you I would be embarrassed reading your posts, I would suggest you leave this forum to the serious peeps!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,263 Member
    you want to keep all your hard earned muscle ,while burning fat it's very important that you keep your protein intake as high as possible. Because carbohydrates are the bodys main source of energy it will always use them up first. Once there is no carbohydrates left your body will turn to it's fat storage. If you do not have enough protein intake per day, your body will start taking protein from the muscles resulting in catabolism (breaking down of muscle tissue).

    So your blow out neandthin! :laugh:
    Not at all. He brought up protein as an arguement, which is a basic strawman arguement. Instead of talking about carbs he made an arguement that protein is what works for him. We were talking about carbs, not protein. Sometimes it's hard to accept defeat. :devil:


    NEANDTHIN

    Reading through your posts you have not wrote anything informative,to back up with what you say, so I dont know what your going on about in terms of accepting defeat?? you have no picture which only make me think you have something to hide, are you embarrassed by your appearance? because if I were you I would be embarrassed reading your posts, I would suggest you leave this forum to the serious peeps!

    The orginal arguement was that eating pasta and white potatoes were bad, I suspect you believe that, or you wouldn't be argueing now........actually you said carbs were very bad, not just bad, but very bad.........I can only conclude that if you look through all my posts based on that statement, were not going to agree on much, and I'm fine with that......obviously you need a more studies to look through before we can talk about carbs. let alone protein.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    I love how his entire counter argument is "You don't have an avatar pic, so you can't know what you're talking about!" You would think that if he really had a clue he'd actually respond with some studies, some facts, anything, but no, it's just "Y U NO HAVE PIC?"

    I wonder which person makes makes more sense to the casual observer...
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