Trying to get my carbs down...

[purplepumpkin]

Hi all,

I am trying to follow a "low carb" diet, and I am keeping track of my calories (and % of proteins, fats, and carbs) with caloriecount.com

However, I have noticed that it's REALLY hard for me to get the carbs down. I always thought that eating fruit as a snack was a great way to keep myself stuffed in between meals and that eating lots of fruit and veggies was part of a healthy weight loss plan.
But when I entered everything into my calorie tracker, I noticed that most of the "healthy things" I eat are, indeed, carbs, and so I end up eating 60-70% of my calories in the form of carbs.

Should I not eat 4-5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day?

[Michou]

i am like you my carbs are good healthy carb, no sugar, no starch, no processed food, nothing with white flour, so I figured that I am eating healthy my main source of carbs come from vegetable. i do not eat meat therefore impossible to avoid vegetable.

There are many approach to loosing weight, I do what works for me, good luck

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by purplepumpkin

Should I not eat 4-5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day?

I don't think there's an answer that is universal for everyone. Your starting weight, the rest of your diet, and your carb sensitivity are going to factor into your personal answer.

For one thing, 5 servings of asparagus is very different from 5 servings of avocado or banana (both in calories and carb count).

I've found that I can eat almost unlimited low-calorie/low-carb vegetables without impacting on my weight loss, but fruit is another matter. More than 2-3 servings of fruit (especially higher sugar fruits) and it can trigger the same (but slightly weaker) hunger/binge response as less healthy carbs. I've actually stalled my weight loss on diets of just fruit and vegetables, because of the amount of fruit I would eat..


You'll just have to experiment with different fruit/veggie proportions.

[martinimouse]

Your percentage ratios for a low carb diet are going to be different than a standard low fat diet, with fat and protein being higher when the carb intake is lowered. There are many lists on the internet with the lower carb fruits and veggies suggestions to help you with meal planning. You'll soon find the right levels for your body to lose weight.

[saraRae]

Fruit is pretty easy to figure out when eating low carb. Any tropical fruit is high in sugar, and should be eaten sparingly. Berries are much better and have less sugar. Remember sugar = carbs. Here's a link to what fruits are low and high: http: // lowcarbdiets . about. com /od/ whattoeat /a/ whatfruit.htm (no spaces).

Also, I believe in the book Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson he mentions a chart of how many grams of carbs to lose weight. 0-50 grams for fast weight loss (only recommended if you have more than 100 pounds to loose), 50-100 grams for steady weight loss, 100-150 grams for maintaining body weight, and after that it's a steady rise in weight gain. Current American diets are nearly at 300 grams.