Low/Moderate Carb Advice!

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Sharyn913
Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone... I am doing a low/moderate carb diet (around 70g per day) and had a few questions for people who have done the same.

At what point after starting did you allow yourself a "carb up" day? How often would you do this?

My average day goes like this:

Protein Shake for breakfast (whey, almond milk, berries)
Fruit for snack
High protein meat for lunch (lots of chicken)
Fruit and veggies for afternoon snack
High protein meat for dinner
Small protein shake for snack or more fruit/veggies

To give more information on myself, I did this in the beginning of the year as well. I lasted for about two weeks doing low carb (less than 30g) It was all basically meat and cheese. The third week I started eating fruits and vegetables again. After three weeks, I felt it was too restricting, and one carb up day became two... and so on. I lost 10 lbs in three weeks and kept it off.

I tried it again in March, and only lasted four days. In those four days I lost 4lbs, but went into carb over load and gained those back.

I think I am going about this in a better way this time so I just wanted some advice from others who are also doing this!

Replies

  • sthrnchick
    sthrnchick Posts: 771
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    I limit my carbs, well, sorta....I do not eat processed food...no bread, no sodas, nothing outta a box or package( hardly ever anymore)....but do eat a fair amount of fruit- in its natural form...I do not think fruit or veggie carbs are bad, at least thats my opinion.... If you prepare and cook what you are eating...it is fairly easy to watch your carbs( and protein, and fat, and fiber)- much easier than eating out or grabbing a microwave meal.

    30 grams of carbs is WAY too low for me...but I do keep mine around 100 grams a day, again, most of my carbs come from fruit. Hope this helps...
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
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    I started out doing low carb. For 2 days I had less than 20g of carbs per day and I felt so horrible. Zero energy, just felt sick and not healthy. I realized that I'm not in this for quick results. I want to change my lifestyle and I knew that restricting my carbs that much is not something I can live with. I switched the focus on trying to stay away from pasta, rice, white potatoes, and sugar. I have been doing this for two weeks and I don't miss them but if I really want pasta one day, I'm going to have it. I try to keep my carbs less than 100g per day, but sometimes I go over. I'm still losing either way. Just experiment and see what feels the best for you. You've done it before so maybe low carb is the way to go for you.

    Good luck!
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
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    I limit my carbs, well, sorta....I do not eat processed food...no bread, no sodas, nothing outta a box or package( hardly ever anymore)....but do eat a fair amount of fruit- in its natural form...I do not think fruit or veggie carbs are bad, at least thats my opinion.... If you prepare and cook what you are eating...it is fairly easy to watch your carbs( and protein, and fat, and fiber)- much easier than eating out or grabbing a microwave meal.

    30 grams of carbs is WAY too low for me...but I do keep mine around 100 grams a day, again, most of my carbs come from fruit. Hope this helps...

    Thanks for the reply! 30G is what I dad in the beginning of the year, and that is more than likely why I only lasted three weeks. Now, I am doing similar to you. No breads/pastas/rice etc, maybe a small bite here and there to satisfy the craving. But I have fruit and vegetables through out the day. I'm just wondering if anyone "tricks" their body by having a normal 200-300 carb day once in a while.
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
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    I started out doing low carb. For 2 days I had less than 20g of carbs per day and I felt so horrible. Zero energy, just felt sick and not healthy. I realized that I'm not in this for quick results. I want to change my lifestyle and I knew that restricting my carbs that much is not something I can live with. I switched the focus on trying to stay away from pasta, rice, white potatoes, and sugar. I have been doing this for two weeks and I don't miss them but if I really want pasta one day, I'm going to have it. I try to keep my carbs less than 100g per day, but sometimes I go over. I'm still losing either way. Just experiment and see what feels the best for you. You've done it before so maybe low carb is the way to go for you.

    Good luck!

    On 100G per day, roughly how much do you lose per week? I feel what I am doing now is MUCH more sustainable than the 30G per day. It is also teaching me to eat better, as in the past I wouldn't eat much fruits and veggies and now they are like treats! =)
  • ipag
    ipag Posts: 137
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    When I first started out, I waited 30 days in order to have a carb up day. The day after the carb up day I felt horrible.A couple weeks later I had another carb up day and I felt horrible again. It's gotten to the point where I don't feel the need or want to do them anymore because of the negative consequences that will follow.

    I think that if the carb comes from leafy greens or fruit, I don't think you need to worry about it. That's my philosophy anyway, where I don't feel restricted at all. It just naturally falls somewhere between 50-100 carbs a day.
  • Dragon101
    Dragon101 Posts: 18
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    Despite what people say, carbs are not bad. The key is to stay away from the "bad" carbs. You want to stick to complex carbohydrates, ie wheat or whole grain pasta, brown rice, wheat or whole grain bread. Carbs fuel your body. This is where you get your energy. You want to stay away from white rice, white bread, white pasta. Those are the carbs that turn to sugar. Also, the carbs you get from fruit are good. Staying away from processed foods will help too. I used to eat frozen dinners all the time but after I learned how bad they are for you because they are processed, I stay away. You want to be sure you balance your carb, protein and fat intake. When you work out, the carbs will fuel your body and the protein will help repair your muscles. I have found adding a protein drink helps. Especially if I'm working out with weights. I feel less sore. I hope this helps.
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
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    Despite what people say, carbs are not bad. The key is to stay away from the "bad" carbs. You want to stick to complex carbohydrates, ie wheat or whole grain pasta, brown rice, wheat or whole grain bread. Carbs fuel your body. This is where you get your energy. You want to stay away from white rice, white bread, white pasta. Those are the carbs that turn to sugar. Also, the carbs you get from fruit are good. Staying away from processed foods will help too. I used to eat frozen dinners all the time but after I learned how bad they are for you because they are processed, I stay away. You want to be sure you balance your carb, protein and fat intake. When you work out, the carbs will fuel your body and the protein will help repair your muscles. I have found adding a protein drink helps. Especially if I'm working out with weights. I feel less sore. I hope this helps.

    I've been at this on and off for a while, trying every different technique you can think of. Limiting carbs seems to be the only thing that will take the weight off. I drink my protein shakes each morning and have over 120g (Usually around 150g) of protein per day. I have plenty of energy and feel fine. I know carbs are not bad, but I would like to stick this out for a little while again and monitor results....
  • LLRider
    LLRider Posts: 65
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    Sharyn -

    I've been eating a lower carb diet for a year or so to control high blood sugar without medication. Last year I took a month long course through a Diabetic Wellness program. I followed the advice of a diabetic nutritionist. For me it was - 1,600 Cal with 25- 30g carbs per meal and 10-15g per snack. The goal being to stay under 150g carbs and to spread the carbs evenly throughout the day (each person attending was given goals based on their age, weight, activity level, health conditions, food preferences...etc.).

    Since I have 10 - 15 stubborn pounds to lose, I am TRYING 1,400 calories and very low carbs for the next two weeks. I've felt 'carb flu-ish' ... but have heard that it will pass :)

    Feel free to look through my diary.
  • ag2ut
    ag2ut Posts: 20
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    I don't know what the point of a "carb up" day is...You suggest that having 200-300g carbs on that day, but that seems excessive to me, granted our stats may be vastly different. I try to keep my carbs around 30-40% of my calories, which is probably in that 100-150g range. Just find a minimum that you feel okay doing and try to stay near that, rather than going too low for a short time period and bingeing on a "carb up" day, and really, not being able to sustain it long-term, thus repeating this cycle. Unless your goal is to cycle...in which case...good luck?
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
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    I don't know what the point of a "carb up" day is...You suggest that having 200-300g carbs on that day, but that seems excessive to me, granted our stats may be vastly different. I try to keep my carbs around 30-40% of my calories, which is probably in that 100-150g range. Just find a minimum that you feel okay doing and try to stay near that, rather than going too low for a short time period and bingeing on a "carb up" day, and really, not being able to sustain it long-term, thus repeating this cycle. Unless your goal is to cycle...in which case...good luck?

    The purpose of this is not only get down to maintenance, but also ween myself off of a lot of processed crap and control myself more around starchy meals. If I do it long enough, it will become much more natural and sustainable long term. The 200-300g of carb was because my former trainer (based on BMR/TDEE stats and exercise levels) suggested being around 250g, hence the variants. I know when doing low carb or moderate carb, sometimes you need to "trick your body"

    I'm not a pro and I certainly don't have all the answers, that's why I was asking.....
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
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    Bump to see if there are any other replies!
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
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    Bump to see if there are any other replies!

    For me, I don't 'carb up', I try to hit around 15% of my diet in carbs daily and let the rest sort itself out.

    As long as I eat as natural, whole, foods as I can find it all just works for me.

    Occasionally I'll have a bit of garlic bread or something but I keep it to a minimum.

    I can't see me getting any benefits from much more carb in my diet (energy is good, mood is good, etc) so I think I'll just stick to the path :)

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