How many grams is "low carb"?

erikakoop
erikakoop Posts: 6
edited October 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I have lost 23lbs, but I am down to my last 10lbs. I know that last 10 are the hardest to get off. I am just looking revising my calorie intake, and my daily nutritional goals and wondering what % my carbs, protein and fat should be set at?

How many grams of carbs is considered a "low" carb diet?

Thanks for the help figuring this out!

Erika
«1

Replies

  • campi_mama
    campi_mama Posts: 350 Member
    Generally 20-60g is considered low carb
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    >50g I've heard. Definitely >100g
  • 10KEyes
    10KEyes Posts: 250 Member
    I understood low carb to be under 100 grams per day.

    MDA's Mark Sisson says the sweet spot is between 75g and 100g daily.
  • erikakoop
    erikakoop Posts: 6
    Oh great , thank you!

    Any idea on the % of carb, protein, and fat should be set for ideal weight loss?

    Thanks again,
    Erika
  • ijustmightbecrazy
    ijustmightbecrazy Posts: 37
    Anything under 100g of carbs a day qualifies as triggering the ketogenic process in adults, and is where the term keto came from. It refers to causing the body to turn to fat stores for energy in lieu of carbs you're not eating, which causes ketone bodies to be released into the blood stream by the liver, which can also be measured in your urine and breath.

    Physicians who are regulating a patients diet will often check for the presence of ketones in the urine or breath as a means of verifying that the patient is in fact sticking to their meal plan and causing ketosis in their body.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    No clue about no carb percentages for weight loss

    The generally recommended percent is 40% carb/30%fat/30% protein.

    I'm guessing low carb would be like....20% carb/ 50%fat/30% protein....or something.
  • 10KEyes
    10KEyes Posts: 250 Member
    Oh great , thank you!

    Any idea on the % of carb, protein, and fat should be set for ideal weight loss?

    Thanks again,
    Erika

    As for percentages on here I would select a total calorie count that fits your BMR and activity level, then set the carb percentage to a number that gives you at least 75g but no more than 100g. The find your lean body mass and plug in a percentage for protein to match .8 to 1g of protein for each lb of body weight and then let the fat fill the rest.

    Well, that is what I did.

    for my 2000 calories, my macros for F/C/P are 60% / 15% / 25%
  • ijustmightbecrazy
    ijustmightbecrazy Posts: 37
    Oh great , thank you!

    Any idea on the % of carb, protein, and fat should be set for ideal weight loss?

    Thanks again,
    Erika

    As for percentages on here I would select a total calorie count that fits your BMR and activity level, then set the carb percentage to a number that gives you at least 75g. The find your lean body mass and plug in a percentage for protein to match .8 to 1g of protein for each lb of body weight and then let the fat fill the rest.

    Well, that is what I did.

    If you're using your lean body mass instead of your total weight, you can have 1-1.5 times your LBM in protein, varying on whether or not you weight train and if so how heavily. Fats are 0.5-1 times your lean body mass based again on weight training and/or if you're wanting to induce ketogenesis, and need to drop your carbs under 100g a day.
  • stroken96
    stroken96 Posts: 436 Member
    bump
  • 10KEyes
    10KEyes Posts: 250 Member

    If you're using your lean body mass instead of your total weight, you can have 1-1.5 times your LBM in protein, varying on whether or not you weight train and if so how heavily. Fats are 0.5-1 times your lean body mass based again on weight training and/or if you're wanting to induce ketogenesis, and need to drop your carbs under 100g a day.

    I am not going really heavy, just my own body weight (That is plenty heavy LOL). However, the grams on the carbs and protein are rather defined so the fat just kind of fills up the gap in calories.

    In fact I believe I used .8 for protein. Although, if I go over my macros on fat and protein, I don't mind as long as the calories are close to or slightly above my calorie target AND as long as my carbs at least hit the 75g and does not go over 100g. I have been known to eat a cup of grapes to fill that carb gap before bed because my grams were too low.
  • taniachevrier
    taniachevrier Posts: 2
    How do u calculate lean body mass?
  • ijustmightbecrazy
    ijustmightbecrazy Posts: 37
    How do u calculate lean body mass?

    Get your body fat % measured (calipers, BodPod, hydrostatic dunk tank, iDXA scan), if you're at 24% body fat for example, your lean body mass therefore is 76%. If for example, your weight were 100 lbs, time 0.76 = 76 lbs of lean body mass.
  • SpydrMnky27
    SpydrMnky27 Posts: 381 Member
    It's my understanding that under 100 is low carb. I usually eat around 60-75 a day.

    I aim for 50% Fat 20% carbs 30% protein
  • erikakoop
    erikakoop Posts: 6
    You all have been so helpful! Thank you very much!!

    I think I have made some adjustments, so hopefully this will help get the last 10 off!

    Thanks!
    Erika
  • taniachevrier
    taniachevrier Posts: 2
    OK great! Thats what I'm doing too :)
  • ailoros1
    ailoros1 Posts: 3
    I'm a little confused; some people are referring to the number of grams of net carbs, and some people are referring to a percentage of your total calories. Which is better? Or does it matter? For example, if I'm eating 100g net carbs per day, but I'm on a 1,000 calorie a day diet, that's 10% of my diet. I'm wondering if just restricting the number of grams is enough, regardless of total calories, or if it's more beneficial to increase total calories so that the percentage of carbs in my diet is lower. Does that make sense?

    Thanks! :)
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I ask this in all sincerity - if you don't know the answers to those questions, what are you doing trying to eat low-carb?
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I'm a little confused; some people are referring to the number of grams of net carbs, and some people are referring to a percentage of your total calories. Which is better? Or does it matter? For example, if I'm eating 100g net carbs per day, but I'm on a 1,000 calorie a day diet, that's 10% of my diet. I'm wondering if just restricting the number of grams is enough, regardless of total calories, or if it's more beneficial to increase total calories so that the percentage of carbs in my diet is lower. Does that make sense?

    Thanks! :)

    Sorry sunshine your numbers are wrong. At 1000 cal 10% carbs is 25 grams. Your 100g of carbs for 1000 calories is 40%.
    Use the formula ... Calories / 4 x % = grams.
  • ailoros1
    ailoros1 Posts: 3
    AH! Thank you for clearing that up for me, Kevalicious!

    However, this doesn't really clarify whether it's better to restrict carbs to a certain number of grams per day or a certain percentage of your calories per day. Which method will give you better weight loss?
  • meghanner
    meghanner Posts: 180 Member
    I think it really depends who you ask. Mark Sisson defines low carb at 20-50g/day (total not net) and he qualifies this as the "sweet spot" for weight loss. Above that ,50-100g is slow steady loss and 100-150g is maintenance for active people.

    Anytime I feel a bit pudgy I drop my carbs to around 20% (50-70g/day with about 30g being fiber) and lean right back out again. Be sure to replace these macros with plenty of FAT not necessarily protein as too much protein may overload your kidney and not nourish your body. A good macro would be 20%carb/ 50%fat/ 30% protein.

    Hope this helps.
  • jsuaccounting
    jsuaccounting Posts: 189 Member
    Try taking out all bread, pasta and added sugars to see how it works for you. That will probably put you at moderate to low carb without having to think about it too much.

    I think of low carb as < 75 grams per day (think Slow Carb diet, Southbeach Phase II)

    I think of Moderate carb as 75-100 grams per day but I've seen it defined as 150 grams or less.

    A Ketogenic diet is something unique. It is not just doing low carb. If you want to go for Keto you should do some research (not on this site - try reddit for more accurate advice on Keto http://www.reddit.com/r/keto). Ketogenic is usually under 25 grams of carbs per day (think Adkins). It will flush the excess salt and water out of your tissues and can make you a little woozy for a few days. To attain a predominately ketogenic state - someone usually has to eat high fat (65%+) and moderate protein.

    Good luck - the last 10 pounds is difficult. Keep us posted on how you do it.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,193 Member
    Scientifically anything below the RDA for study purposes. Low carb would have quite a range, on the other hand very low carb would probably be where ketosis exists and for most that would be under 100 g's.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    However, this doesn't really clarify whether it's better to restrict carbs to a certain number of grams per day or a certain percentage of your calories per day. Which method will give you better weight loss?

    I would go with grams, as there are factors like the brain's daily glucose consumption that are grams per day and not a % of what you eat. Atkins phase 1 is <20g/day of net carbs, Dr Westman's ketogenic diet is <20g of total carbohydrate, etc.

    Usually when you see a % of daily calories number it has started life as grams per day and been turned into a % of a typical 2000 calorie or similar diet.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,193 Member
    I think it really depends who you ask. Mark Sisson defines low carb at 20-50g/day (total not net) and he qualifies this as the "sweet spot" for weight loss. Above that ,50-100g is slow steady loss and 100-150g is maintenance for active people.

    Anytime I feel a bit pudgy I drop my carbs to around 20% (50-70g/day with about 30g being fiber) and lean right back out again. Be sure to replace these macros with plenty of FAT not necessarily protein as too much protein may overload your kidney and not nourish your body. A good macro would be 20%carb/ 50%fat/ 30% protein.

    Hope this helps.
    But then again Mark also states that 300+ is where insidious weight gain occurs, so basically we can discount anything he says about weight loss and carbs.
  • ailoros1
    ailoros1 Posts: 3
    However, this doesn't really clarify whether it's better to restrict carbs to a certain number of grams per day or a certain percentage of your calories per day. Which method will give you better weight loss?

    I would go with grams, as there are factors like the brain's daily glucose consumption that are grams per day and not a % of what you eat. Atkins phase 1 is <20g/day of net carbs, Dr Westman's ketogenic diet is <20g of total carbohydrate, etc.

    Usually when you see a % of daily calories number it has started life as grams per day and been turned into a % of a typical 2000 calorie or similar diet.

    Yeah, that's what I was kind of leaning towards, too. And that's how I started out, just counting the net grams. I think I just started overthinking it. ;) Thanks! :)
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
    If you only have 10 lbs left to lose and choose to lose it with low carb but not stay low carb once they are gone - you need to lose 15 lbs. As soon as you raise your carbs you will gain 5 lbs of water weight back.
  • tyralicious
    tyralicious Posts: 12
    I went to a dietitian and she told me that a low carb diet would be best for me. She stated that 50 grams of net-carbs or less a day would be ideal. Basically 50-75 or 100 grams is moderate, and I think anything higher is well, you know, not moderate. And this is all net carbs, not carbs all together.

    Net Carbohydrates = Carbs - Dietary Fiber

    Like for instance:

    If I have 67 Carbs, and I have 29 grams of fiber, my net carbs would be at 38 net carbs.

    Low-carb is hard at first, but it gets easier. I think... I'm only on my third day of it. But it's gotten easier each day.

    Not to mention, I don't feel bloated, I haven't had heartburn, etc. I'm actually getting more protein in than ever.
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
    I consider 100g or less low-carb for me. I usually only do 1 or 2 low carb days a week.


    :p
  • ajay900
    ajay900 Posts: 3 Member
    I have been on the no grain, low carb diet for the last 10 months and on the ketogenic diet for the last 3 months. I have lost 23 pounds and my blood work had improved vastly. I maintain a ratio of 75% fat, 10% carbohydrates and 15% protein. Do not have those hungry moments hardly at all any more, if I am a little hungry I have a few almonds. The foods that I eat are as follows: eggs, butter, full fat mayonnaise, full fat sour cream, olive oil, 2-3 oz. protein per meal, large salad with homemade ranch dressing at noon, full fat cheese, lots of cooked veggies, 1 oz. of 88% dark chocolate and lots of water. Feel great and don't miss the highs and lows of high carb eating. This program works for me.
  • lseed87
    lseed87 Posts: 1,105 Member
    20-30g
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