Can "good" carbs even keep the weight on?

Carbs are evil for me. I try to do under 40 grams a day. There is no way wheat is good for most people. You can get the same nutrients in other foods. Stick to Fruits, nuts and non starchy veggies for carbs. Carbs increase my appetite and makes my tummy bloated. I also dont eat sugar. Sugar cravings can derail my diet in a second.If i were you I would try to eliminate Rice and see how that goes.

No one can answer this question for you, because it depends on your own particular metabolism and how efficient it is. My doctor tested my metabolism and put my ratios at 5% carbs, 30% fat, 65% protein. I try to keep my daily carbs below 25g and eat at least my body weight in grams of protein per day. And my doctor says that there's no such thing as "good" carbs or "bad" carbs or "net" carbs. If I eat too many carbs, they will screw up my metabolism. Period. End of story. With that said, he recommended that I should try to "spend" most of my carb limit on veggies like spinach & cauliflower & mushrooms, things that are high in nutrients. But he still didn't call them "good" carbs.

Whether you should limit your carbs and how much you should limit your carbs is dependent on your own unique biochemistry. If you don't have a doctor who will do the three-hour glucose response test & give you a specific recommendation (like mine did), you can experiment on your own. Lower it a bit, see how you feel, lower it a bit more, see how you feel... that's the great value of MFP, I think, it allows you to track everything and then look back to see what you did.

People will tell you it's unhealthy; not if you do it properly, in combination with plenty of healthy fats and lots of protein. I know people who have been on low-carb diets for decades and it hasn't done them a bit of harm, it has actually helped them. If you have any sort of insulin resistance, PCOS, Type II Diabetes, or even epilepsy, a low-carb diet has proven effective in treating all of these conditions. In fact, before the pharma companies invented insulin drugs, a low-carb diet was the standard prescription for people diagnosed with diabetes.

For the record, most people do NOT need to get 50% of your calories from carbs, that's ridiculous! The fact that our US RDA standards recommend such a high carb level is a reflection of the money spent on lobbying by the corn & wheat industries; not actual nutritional facts.

Also, ANY change you make should be given a month, before you judge the full effects. Most people go through hormonal cycles that can affect their weight loss by quite a bit. I eat & exercise very consistently, yet I usually have two weeks where I appear to lose several pounds, followed by two weeks where I appear to plateau. I'm sure that's not because I do anything different on those other weeks. It's just that hormonal cycle thing. So any results, positive or negative, should be observed for at least a month to make sure it's a "real" result & not a normal fluctuation.

Hope this helps. Good luck to you!

you have to have carbs for energy. Do not cut out all carbs.... 50% of your diet is supposed to be carbohydrates. Foods with carbs like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains have tons of vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to function. Without these vitamins and nutrients your metabolism will slow down. If you want to lose weight make sure you eating foods with fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, definitely do not cute these out of your diet. Simple or bad carbs spike your insulin levels which make you hungrier and store what you ate as fat..... You need good carbs, and you need to stay away from bad carbs!!!

From your picture you look like somebody who "earns their carbs." You are likely very insulin sensative, and the carbs you eat are used as energy by your muscles. However, this isn't the case for everyone. Overweight and/or sedentary people are often insulin resistant and their bodies handle carbs differently.

Furthermore, there is absolutely no reason that carbs have to be half of anyone's diet. There is no one method that works for everyone. If carbs worked great for you in the past that's wonderful, but they don't work well for many people (probably the majority). And the glycemic index isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It's much better just to avoid any man made carbs while trying to lose weight, and focus on natural sources of carbs like veggies, fruits, yams, etc. And it's especially important to avoid anything with added sugar. As an example of how bad the glycemic index is: pure fructose has a low glycemic index, whereas carrots have a high glycemic index!

So I've obviously changed my carbs to all good ones, ..., brown rice...

Reported for ricecism

You are so funny Rock, love it!

So I've obviously changed my carbs to all good ones, whole wheat, sweet potatoes, brown rice...ect And I measure properly but I'm wondering if my body just HOLDS on to carbs. Is there a way to get through this, or do I just need to lay off the carbs period? Thoughts, anyone?

There is no such thing as good carbs or bad carbs. They all get converted to glucose.

Everyone's body holds onto carbs. They make you retain water.. They fill your muscle tissue with glycogen.

for me any carb makes me gain weight.. i try to keep my carbs around 60-80 a day.. i really should go lower than that.. i'm gonna start a new doctor supervised diets that is higher protein and fats and low-no carb. My body doesn't process carbs like it should, so for me a piece of bread is like a loaf of bread to someone else.. SUCKY bc I am a CARB LOVER!! you do it for 30 days on 2 days of eat what you what, then it's 12 on 2 off.. I think it having the splurge days helps to balance everything out..but the diet is...

Breakfast:
2 eggs
2 slices of bacon

Lunch:
salad with mean and dressing (no low or fat free dressings regular dressing)

Dinner:
Meat (how ever much you want)
veggies (however much you want)

Bed time snack:
8 oz skim milk

INSTRUCTIONS:
At any meal you may eat until you are full, and you can not eat anymore. You must eat the minimum listed at each meal.
Do not eliminate anything from the diet, especially don't skip the bacon at breakfast or omit salads. It is the combination of foods that burn the fat.
Cut down on coffee, it affects the insulin balance that hinders the burning process. Try to limit to one cup each meal.
Don't eat between meals, if you eat the combination of food suggested, you will not get hungry.
The diet may eliminate sugars and starches. Fat does not form fat, it helps burn it, so you can fry food in butter and use butter generously on vegetables.
Do not eat desserts, breads and white vegetables of sweet potatoes. You may double or triple helpings of meat, salads or vegetables. Eat till you are stuffed. The more you eat the more weight you will lose.
There may be no weight loss in the first 4 days, but you may lose 5 pounds on the 5th day. You may lose 1 and 1/2 pounds every two days until you reach your goal.
DRINK EIGHT 8oz GLASSES OF WATER EVERY DAY. 1/2 GALLON.

ALL SOFT DRINKS NEED TO BE DIET AND CAFFEINE FREE.

YOU MAY NOT HAVE: White onions, potatoes, celery, peas, cereal, carrots, corn, starchy vegetables, bread, noodles, rice, potato chips, pretzels or fruit or diet dressing.

YOU MAY HAVE: Red onions, bell peppers, radishes, broccoli, cucumbers, green onions, leaf spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, chili (no beans) mayonnaise, any cheese, hot dogs, cole slaw, regular salad dressing, green vegetables,

What kind of low carb plan are you on that you can't have celery, onions, carrots, YET hot dogs, cole slaw (which has added sugar) and cheese is allowed?

i don't know but it would be awesome if i could do that and still lose.

My nutritionist told me that fiber can make you feel bloated, especially if you didn't eat much and then you added a bunch of fiber intake. You have to do it gradually. Also, carbonated drinks can make you bloated. Drink lots of water!

There's no such thing as "good" carbs or "bad" carbs. Carbs are carbs. Don't fall for the myths. That said, if you have a metabolic issue, carbs can be an issue, but that has nothing to do with whether they are "good" carbs or "bad" carbs. Best advice would be to see a doctor and make sure you don't have an underlying issue.

Just cutting back on carbs may not give you a real answer, as carbs, when stored in the body as glycogen, need a lot of water to be stored with them, and to suddenly cut back on carbs would lead to less glycogen storage and an automatic loss of water weight, and would then lead to gaining that water weight back as soon as you reintroduce the carbs and your body increases its glycogen stores. So just cutting back carbs to compare isn't a good indicator on its own.

Awesome post! Yep typically it's 3 grams of water per 1 gram of stored glycogen. You burn through your glycogen stores when carbs are limited resulting in a water weight drop.

Also works reverse with Spike Days, you have a carb loading day, you store glycogen and gain back some water weight. People freak out and think they just gained 3lbs of fat but it's just water. I have to remind people it takes a 3,500 calorie surplus to store fat and that doesn't even count for the energy used up restoring glycogen first.

So basically, it's IMPOSSIBLE to gain fat with one bad day.

you have to have carbs for energy. Do not cut out all carbs.... 50% of your diet is supposed to be carbohydrates. Foods with carbs like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains have tons of vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to function. Without these vitamins and nutrients your metabolism will slow down. If you want to lose weight make sure you eating foods with fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, definitely do not cute these out of your diet. Simple or bad carbs spike your insulin levels which make you hungrier and store what you ate as fat..... You need good carbs, and you need to stay away from bad carbs!!!

There is no biological need for carbs. PERIOD. They are purely a want - NOT a need. The body can function just fine on 0 carbs when ingesting enough protein and fat.

Besides the fact that your brain requires glucose for proper function you mean, right?

The classic example is a certain population of Eskimo's, who literally eat zero carbs and are just fine. The brain is a scavenger and will use any energy source. It prefers glucose, but you don't need much of it. Regardless, eating zero carbs is a very extreme example. Most people recomend eating natural sources of carbs like veggies.

Not true. Your brain needs FAT for proper function, not carbs/glucose.

Stop making things up.

Your brain doesn't use fat at all. It can use ketone bodies, but only when glucose is unavailable and it can only use them for up to 70% of its energy needs.

Fats Build Your Brain.


About two-thirds of your brain is composed of fats. But not just any kind.

Your brain cells require very specialized fats – the same ones that built the brains of your prehistoric ancestors and enabled them to learn and evolve at such a fast rate. These same fats are even now being incorporated into the very structure of the brain.

you have to have carbs for energy. Do not cut out all carbs.... 50% of your diet is supposed to be carbohydrates. Foods with carbs like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains have tons of vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to function. Without these vitamins and nutrients your metabolism will slow down. If you want to lose weight make sure you eating foods with fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, definitely do not cute these out of your diet. Simple or bad carbs spike your insulin levels which make you hungrier and store what you ate as fat..... You need good carbs, and you need to stay away from bad carbs!!!

There is no biological need for carbs. PERIOD. They are purely a want - NOT a need. The body can function just fine on 0 carbs when ingesting enough protein and fat.

My body absolutely DOES need carbs. They help curb my urge to smack people that tell me I don't need carbs.

Not true. Your brain needs FAT for proper function, not carbs/glucose.

Stop making things up.

Your brain doesn't use fat at all. It can use ketone bodies, but only when glucose is unavailable and it can only use them for up to 70% of its energy needs.

Fats Build Your Brain.


About two-thirds of your brain is composed of fats. But not just any kind.

Your brain cells require very specialized fats – the same ones that built the brains of your prehistoric ancestors and enabled them to learn and evolve at such a fast rate. These same fats are even now being incorporated into the very structure of the brain.

Your brain is made of fat, that doesn't mean it uses fat for energy. Your heart is made of muscle, does that mean it catabolizes muscle for energy to function?