Too Many Carbs ?

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I'm eating about 200 carbs a day , give or take , but they are mainly healthy carbs like fruits & veggies & whole grains ( but barely much of whole grains , mostly just fruits & veggies ) . so is this a bad thing or a good thing , considering also that i would like my stomach to be flatter & to lose some additional weight . i also workout everday to a nice moderate effort , probably even a bit harder than that . please give me answers . (:
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  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I'm eating about 200 carbs a day , give or take , but they are mainly healthy carbs like fruits & veggies & whole grains ( but barely much of whole grains , mostly just fruits & veggies ) . so is this a bad thing or a good thing , considering also that i would like my stomach to be flatter & to lose some additional weight . i also workout everday to a nice moderate effort , probably even a bit harder than that . please give me answers . (:
    200 grams of carbs is 800 calories. That can be good or bad considering your overall caloric intake.

    How many calories are you consuming per day?
  • HealthierAndFitterMe
    HealthierAndFitterMe Posts: 52 Member
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    i'm consuming about maybe the most 1,050 , if i'm lucky .
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    i'm consuming about maybe the most 1,050 , if i'm lucky .
    Increase your calories.

    What is your activity level?
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Focus on hitting your calorie target and getting plenty of protein. Carbs will fall into place when everything else is in place. Agree 1050 total calories is way low unless you are bedridden.
  • HealthierAndFitterMe
    HealthierAndFitterMe Posts: 52 Member
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    i do pilates , jogging & running , biking , cardio workouts . it varies from day to day , but i at least get 30-40 minutes of exercise everday doing one of these workouts .
  • shuckerlove
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    I agree .. You need to eat at least 1200 calories Or your body will begin storing your food as fat to save fuel. Many people think eating less means losing less but you can't deprive your body of what it needs.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I agree .. You need to eat at least 1200 calories Or your body will begin storing your food as fat to save fuel. Many people think eating less means losing less but you can't deprive your body of what it needs.

    1200 not much better. did you see her reply - 30-40 mins exercise per day. my guess would be somewhere around 1500. but don't know her height, weight...
  • HealthierAndFitterMe
    HealthierAndFitterMe Posts: 52 Member
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    i weigh 128 & i'm 5'10 . & i eat only about maybe 8 grams of fat a day . i'm also a vegetarian & i keep trying to add food so my calorie goes higher , but my carbs keep going too high & i heard you shouldn't be eating anymore than 150 carbs .
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    In general, I don't have much of a problem with carbs (I eat lots of them and don't think people should restrict them unless they have a medical need to). But, if you are eating 200g (800 cals) of carbs in a total of 1000 cals/day then that is 80% carbs which seems way out of balance for anybody.

    Really though, before you start worrying about macros, it seems to me as though you should be eating more of anything. 1000 cals is a pretty small amount to keep an adult person healthy and if you are 5'10" tall, then that seems ridiculously low.

    Try for a variety in your diet - fruit, veggies, diary, nuts, beans, fish (if you eat it), grains. If you eat a wide variety of foods you will get a better range of nutrients and macros.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    i weigh 128 & i'm 5'10 . & i eat only about maybe 8 grams of fat a day . i'm also a vegetarian & i keep trying to add food so my calorie goes higher , but my carbs keep going too high & i heard you shouldn't be eating anymore than 150 carbs .

    For one thing, 5'10" / 128 lbs is darn close to being underweight. What is going on here?

    Secondly, by the Harris Benedict formula, your maintenance level is around 2228 calories per day. So with a reasonable deficit of 500, that would put you at around 1728 cals per day.

    But the bigger question is why would you be trying to lose weight at this point?

    ETA: possibly you have a high body fat percent even at your low-to-normal weight. If this is the case, you ought to focus on body composition. Eat your maintenance level, around 2228 cals/day, get plenty of protein - 100g/day minimum, and get into strength training. Don't fall into the starvation vortex. It leads to eating disorder.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    i weigh 128 & i'm 5'10 . & i eat only about maybe 8 grams of fat a day . i'm also a vegetarian & i keep trying to add food so my calorie goes higher , but my carbs keep going too high & i heard you shouldn't be eating anymore than 150 carbs .

    For one thing, 5'10" / 128 lbs is darn close to being underweight. What is going on here?

    Secondly, by the Harris Benedict formula, your maintenance level is around 2228 calories per day. So with a reasonable deficit of 500, that would put you at around 1728 cals per day.

    But the bigger question is why would you be trying to lose weight at this point?

    ETA: possibly you have a high body fat percent even at your low-to-normal weight. If this is the case, you ought to focus on body composition. Eat your maintenance level, around 2228 cals/day, get plenty of protein - 100g/day minimum, and get into strength training. Don't fall into the starvation vortex. It leads to eating disorder.
    I couldn't have said it any better.
  • shuckerlove
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    I agree .. You need to eat at least 1200 calories Or your body will begin storing your food as fat to save fuel. Many people think eating less means losing less but you can't deprive your body of what it needs.

    1200 not much better. did you see her reply - 30-40 mins exercise per day. my guess would be somewhere around 1500. but don't know her height, weight...
    .

    Oh gosh I did not mean to account for that .. Oops. I kinda assumed she used this website enough to see that she needs to eat what she burns or at least most of what she burns ... 1200 would be ok of she sat around all day lol.
  • shuckerlove
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    i weigh 128 & i'm 5'10 . & i eat only about maybe 8 grams of fat a day . i'm also a vegetarian & i keep trying to add food so my calorie goes higher , but my carbs keep going too high & i heard you shouldn't be eating anymore than 150 carbs .

    Whoa there is a problem here ... Have you ever asked your doctor or read online what your healthy weight should be for your height? I'm 5'7 and I weigh 143 pounds ... And I am NOT overweight. Now you are much taller than me and also a woman ... Usually height adds weight, especially of your body is more athletic like mine ... Not every woman has a "petite" frame.
  • oOTaraOo
    oOTaraOo Posts: 29
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    I am 5ft 9 and my goal is 154 (possible a little lower).

    Is there a reason you want to lose more weight - it really doesn't sound healthy to be 128 let alone wanting to lose more. I would up your calories with nuts, beans.
  • HealthierAndFitterMe
    HealthierAndFitterMe Posts: 52 Member
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    I just went to the doctor like 2 months ago & she told me , i might be a bit underweight , but she didn't seem concerned whatsoever & i've been going to her for years & she would tell me if she was concorned . i don't have a petite frame though , i'm big-boned , so that's why she might have not have stressed to me . i don't look anorexic . don't get me wrong , i haven't been eating the best over the past few months & i know that , but i have been eating everyday a bit over 1,000 calories .
  • oOTaraOo
    oOTaraOo Posts: 29
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    Was your doctor aware though that you wanted to lose more weight? If they already told you they thought you were underweight then I don't think they would be happy to know you were dieting :(

    We are just looking out for your health so please don't take this the wrong way.

    You should be eating a minimum of 1200 calories but with the amount of exercise you are doing you really need to up this to a lot higher.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    i haven't been eating the best over the past few months & i know that , but i have been eating everyday a bit over 1,000 calories .

    and we're in agreement (rare for this forum) that it's WAY too low. doctor's aren't the best consultants of nutrition. i think you have a problem and i hope you can sort it out.

    consider any day under 1700 calories a bad day.
  • HealthierAndFitterMe
    HealthierAndFitterMe Posts: 52 Member
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    Was your doctor aware though that you wanted to lose more weight? If they already told you they thought you were underweight then I don't think they would be happy to know you were dieting :(

    We are just looking out for your health so please don't take this the wrong way.

    You should be eating a minimum of 1200 calories but with the amount of exercise you are doing you really need to up this to a lot higher.



    i'm definitely not taking this the wrong way . i really appreciate the concern & i am trying to aim to higher calories . i'm looking to more people who are vegetarian/vegan food diaries & seeing what kinds of foods they consume & start to add them into my food diary . thanks again for the help . (:
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,699 Member
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    The misconception you have is FAT is bad. You want to up your calories easily as a vegetarian? Add in more healthy fatty foods like avocados, nuts, etc.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • oOTaraOo
    oOTaraOo Posts: 29
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    My husband is vegetarian and he eats a lot of mexican food - refried beans, cheese (we buy the vegetarian cheese without animal rennet). Pasta is good too though I know you are concerned about the amount of carbs you are eating.

    He follows up most meals with eating peanuts and almonds.

    He also eats a lot of chocolate :P

    I think you need to up your calorie intake and start weight training if you are unhappy with how you look. This will help tone the body. I don't think you need to lose anymore weight though!