Frustrated about all of the mixed messages about carbs and fat loss!!

[Petite Powerhouse]

I don't agree that a calorie is a calorie—not completely. I can see differences in myself when I spend weeks indulging in too much sugar, for example, compared to weeks when I am eating right. My body is leaner when I concentrate on getting proteins and good fats and carbs into my diet. My weight doesn't change necessarily—I eat what I am able to without gaining—but I look better on better food.

I can also eat more: my body uses healthy food better than it does that which is not nutritious.

The last time I went on vacation, I was so nervous about gaining weight that I ate completely clean the whole time. When I came back, I looked better than ever. My abs especially were really defined. And I ate more than I normally would because I was eating right.

[sontaikle]

Originally Posted by Petite Powerhouse

I don't agree that a calorie is a calorie—not completely. I can see differences in myself when I spend weeks indulging in too much sugar, for example, compared to weeks when I am eating right. My body is leaner when I concentrate on getting proteins and good fats and carbs into my diet. My weight doesn't change necessarily—I eat what I am able to without gaining—but I look better on better food.

I agree with you. A calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss, but if you concentrate on the nutrients you can see differences in other areas.

I don't necessarily notice a difference in how I look, but rather how I feel. If eat less carbs and more protein I have so much more energy and I just feel awesome.

I love to start my day with a protein-packed breakfast. It fills me up and I feel like I can take on anything!

[Dianne042425]

Wow so much great advice. I have adjusted my food journal so I have more like 140-160g of carbs and and a little more fat. My protein looks pretty good! Thank you everyone for all of your help.

How long should I be making my weight training workouts? I want to lift everyday since I left my running shoes at home. Weight lifting will be my only source of exercise so I plan on doing it everyday till I get my running shoes back.

Any advice?

[Dianne042425]

Originally Posted by Kara

Don't lift every day.

Ideally you need a full day off between lifting - your muscles need time to recover. What builds muscle and strength is the recovery process. When you don't give them recovery time, all you do is build damage upon damage and you will eventually stall out and injure yourself. Also a big part of weight lifting is building the neurological connections to allow your body to lift more weight ... those also take time to build.

Lift every other day, but not every day.

If you want to do stuff in the inbetween days, you can do any type of cardio, or yoga, or dancing .. pretty much anything except lift more weight.

As far as how long .. a good beginner workout would be a full body routine that should take you around 30-40 mins. Squats, Presses (overhead or bench), Rows, things like that.

Ok that makes sense! I will left every other day for about that long. The only problem is, I dont have my gym shoes so I cant do any type of cardio :/ I have NO sneakers here. They are all at home. Wondering what I can do for exercise aside from weight lifting that doesnt need sneakers?

Chickiechiks I really feel like my body would do well on a moderately high carb/low fat diet. I think Ill try it. Do you know your blood type? lol

[ChickieChicks]

Dianne- I am blood type B+. I don't really subscribe to the blood-type diet, or really anyting along those lines, but you never know! All I know is that for my body, lowfat, high protein has made me sculpted, and I ony workout 3-4 times a week. And my metabolism is really amped up, so I love it!

[Veela]

I am going to chime in on the argument of a calorie is a calorie argument. There have been studies done where people eat their calories required for maintenance in just sugar/protein/fruits and veg/fats. As it turns out those who ate only high GI carbs and sugar gained weight. The others either maintained or lost weight.

The reason behind this has to do with how your body reacts to certain types of foods. Assuming your body treats protein the same way it does a carbohydrate doesn't make a lot of sense. Most carbohydrates create an insulin response in the body and if the response is high enough the body will choose to store the energy as fat. This is why is is better to focus on foods that do not create an insulin spike or drastically raise blood glucose levels.

Protein, healthy fats and low glycemic index fruits, vegetable and grains are really the best way to lose weight. Starchier/refined foods will signal your body to store fat.

Ideally for weight loss one of the best things you can do is keep your blood sugar levels at an even keel. If they drop to low you become hungry and tend to over eat on less nutritionally dense foods, if it goes to high the body has to remove it, produce more insulin and storing it as fat. This can also lead to the blood sugar dropping low again creating a horrible chain reaction.

I think that is the majority of your carbohydrates should be coming from vegetables and a small percent from fruit and grains (fruit has quite a lot of sugar). The best time to have your high GI carbs is in the morning or before/after a work out since that's when your body is most able use the energy.

[Petite Powerhouse]

Originally Posted by Veela

I am going to chime in on the argument of a calorie is a calorie argument. There have been studies done where people eat their calories required for maintenance in just sugar/protein/fruits and veg/fats. As it turns out those who ate only high GI carbs and sugar gained weight. The others either maintained or lost weight.

The reason behind this has to do with how your body reacts to certain types of foods. Assuming your body treats protein the same way it does a carbohydrate doesn't make a lot of sense. Most carbohydrates create an insulin response in the body and if the response is high enough the body will choose to store the energy as fat. This is why is is better to focus on foods that do not create an insulin spike or drastically raise blood glucose levels.

Protein, healthy fats and low glycemic index fruits, vegetable and grains are really the best way to lose weight. Starchier/refined foods will signal your body to store fat.

Ideally for weight loss one of the best things you can do is keep your blood sugar levels at an even keel. If they drop to low you become hungry and tend to over eat on less nutritionally dense foods, if it goes to high the body has to remove it, produce more insulin and storing it as fat. This can also lead to the blood sugar dropping low again creating a horrible chain reaction.

I think that is the majority of your carbohydrates should be coming from vegetables and a small percent from fruit and grains (fruit has quite a lot of sugar). The best time to have your high GI carbs is in the morning or before/after a work out since that's when your body is most able use the energy.

I completely agree with the calorie argument herein and the advice about when to eat your healthy carbs.

As I say, I have seen this at work with my own body. I can eat more without gaining weight when I eat the right foods because my body efficiently uses that fuel.