Healthy Carbs

MST318 · May 2012

Is there such thing as "healthy" carbs? It seems for so long the "new thing" is to avoid carbs and restrict them in all possible cases. What about carbs from fruit? Are these bad as well?

I've increased my fruit and vegetable intake and with that my carb count has increased, as well. I do not want this to counteract any progress I'm making.

Any thoughts on this?

MST318 · May 2012

bump

Spanaval · May 2012

IMO, you don't have to worry too much about the carbs you get from fruits and vegetables. Remember that there is more to nutrition than protein/fat/carb, and the microingredients are also important for sustaining health.

Sidesteal · May 2012

Is there such thing as "healthy" carbs? It seems for so long the "new thing" is to avoid carbs and restrict them in all possible cases. What about carbs from fruit? Are these bad as well?

I've increased my fruit and vegetable intake and with that my carb count has increased, as well. I do not want this to counteract any progress I'm making.

Any thoughts on this?

If you don't have any insulin related conditions that would necessitate a significant limitation on carbs, then I wouldn't stress out over avoidance of carbs.

I DO think you should do the following:
Hit your calorie intake for the day.
Consume adequate protein and fat as these are physiologically very important, more-so than carbs, micronutrients aside.

And as far as good and bad, I'd try not to think of food that way. You should absolutely try and consume foods that are nutrient dense. Fruit and vegetables will typically be more nutrient dense than bread, but this doesn't mean bread is bad.

Elizabeth_C34 · May 2012

Is there such thing as "healthy" carbs? It seems for so long the "new thing" is to avoid carbs and restrict them in all possible cases. What about carbs from fruit? Are these bad as well?

I've increased my fruit and vegetable intake and with that my carb count has increased, as well. I do not want this to counteract any progress I'm making.

Any thoughts on this?

If you don't have any insulin related conditions that would necessitate a significant limitation on carbs, then I wouldn't stress out over avoidance of carbs.

I DO think you should do the following:
Hit your calorie intake for the day.
Consume adequate protein and fat as these are physiologically very important, more-so than carbs, micronutrients aside.

And as far as good and bad, I'd try not to think of food that way. You should absolutely try and consume foods that are nutrient dense. Fruit and vegetables will typically be more nutrient dense than bread, but this doesn't mean bread is bad.

^ Excellent answer and advice.

acragle · May 2012

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle is a good resource for learning about carbs and macros. I have discovered over time and by listening to my body that i am quite carb sensitive so have no hesitations on doing a low carb macro split when cutting. I went from 236 down to @ 195 before I plateaued and had to get creative ... carb split is currently right around 50p/20c/30f but I will carb up every fourth day and pretty much double my intake. The majority of these calories come from the following: yams, brown rice, oatmeal, baby spinach, some fruit (but not much), broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, whole wheat bread, steel cut oats, and black beans. I NEVER eat starchy processed carbs like white bread, pasta, white rice, regular potatoes, etc ... if it's white, it's not right

Tenster · May 2012

In my opinion..... (Im no professional I'm just a guy who has trained for 6 years and has done years of reading)

You can get as much carbs as you want from Veg, however if you are going to have carbs your best off with complex carbs such as Oats, Brown rice, sweet potato etc , personally i would avoid breads as a lot of people are wheat intolerant.

I would also recommend having Carbs first thing in the morning (such as oats) then limit your carbs to post workout only for the rest of the day.

Regards

TanyaCurtis · May 2012

U need carbs, carbs are good for u! Eat all the fruits and veggies u want! And 100% Whole grains! If u go way over on sugar and carbs from those things it's no problem. Ur body actually used that and needs it. It's a lot different then Sugary junk food, and processed food! (:

TeaBea · May 2012

How do you see yourself eating in the future (after dieting)... will you/can you be low carb for the rest of your life?

Not me ...(but I don't have those kinds of medical issues either) .... Sidesteal gave you great advice ... strive for good protein & fat numbers. Make the carbs the least processed they can be. Fruits, veggies & whole grains as much as possible. Processing takes out too many nutrients .... "empty calories"

Crochetluvr · May 2012

Being a T2, I have to avoid the carbs, so I have little choice. Right now I am working on a no whites program....no bread, pasta, rice, noodles or potatoes for a month. And without those I am already VERY close to my calorie limit (without exercise). And my carbs have dropped signifcantly. You dont need those heavy carbs to be satisfied. We tend to take them for granted.

ahamm002 · May 2012

U need carbs, carbs are good for u! Eat all the fruits and veggies u want! And 100% Whole grains! If u go way over on sugar and carbs from those things it's no problem. Ur body actually used that and needs it. It's a lot different then Sugary junk food, and processed food! (:

Actually, your body has does not need carbs. There are eskimos that have literally zero carb diets their entire lives and are perfectly healthy.

I agree that most people shouldn't worry about carbs from fruit and veggies. However, 100% whole grain products (like whole grain bread and pasta) aren't health food and are very easy to abuse. The carbs in whole wheat products usually aren't really all that "complex." Dont' get me wrong, as long as your burn the carbs off they aren't bad for you. But high carb products like whole wheat bread are often pretty high in calories and can be pretty bad if you're not burning all those calories off.

Healthy Carbs

Replies

Categories