Is carb counting for me?
 

Maybe not "counting" but "lowering." Currently I eat OK. I eat smaller meals, smaller portions throughout the day, and I try to eat some sort of vegetable or fruit at least 4 times a week (every other day if I can help it.) I'm losing weight. Steadily but slowly.

Livestrong is showing me that with my sodium, my carb intake is a lot higher than anything else. I was wondering if lowering that slightly would help. (I mean, why wouldn't it, right?) I mean, come on. I've eaten breakfast and lunch today so far, and I'm at 101 carbs, but Livestrong says I should only be eating 186g of carbs. So I'm kinda confused.

But here's the thing... I have no idea how to do that lol. My "diet" (I say diet, but really it's just "the foods in the kitchen we have that I eat") is already pretty limited as it is. But I think I'm willing to make some changes; nothing TOO drastic.

So.. is there like, a carb calculator so I can see how many I need, roughly, or what? I know this question has been asked a million times probably but... any advice, info or suggestions would be great.

do you hate veggies? there are lots of low or no carb veggies. maybe you could try preparing them in different ways to find something you like.

i'm so glad other people know more about carbs than me.

Originally Posted by katy trail:
do you hate veggies? there are lots of low or no carb veggies. maybe you could try preparing them in different ways to find something you like.

i'm so glad other people know more about carbs than me.

I LOVE veggies, actually. Can't stand fruit, though. I eat broccoli almost daily lol, and I love carrots, too. We also eat a lot of corn. But all our veggies are homegrown. I usually eat them with a LOT of garlic because I don't use butter.

I ignored carbs for the longest time, but I just want to lose these last 2lbs so I can finally reach my super-mini goal of 170lb.

You can use this calculator to determine the macronutrient breakdown for various food plans. You can see the difference in carb grams from "Moderate" to "Very low carb."

And you can use this calculator to determine how many fruits and vegetables you should be eating. You need fruits & veggies every day....not just 4 times a week! (And certain fruits & veggies - corn, carrots, peas, bananas, oranges - are relatively high in carbs, so you should moderate your intake of those and choose lower carb options.)

If you're getting 100+ grams of carbs in just two meals and not eating fruits and veggies, you're obviously eating a lot of bread/pasta/rice/potatoes.

Sounds like you need to work on balancing your diet as much as you do lowering your carbs.

Originally Posted by Rochester:
You can use this calculator to determine the macronutrient breakdown for various food plans. You can see the difference in carb grams from "Moderate" to "Very low carb."

And you can use this calculator to determine how many fruits and vegetables you should be eating. You need fruits & veggies every day....not just 4 times a week! (And certain fruits & veggies - corn, carrots, peas, bananas, oranges - are relatively high in carbs, so you should moderate your intake of those and choose lower carb options.)

If you're getting 100+ grams of carbs in just two meals and not eating fruits and veggies, you're obviously eating a lot of bread/pasta/rice/potatoes.

Sounds like you need to work on balancing your diet as much as you do lowering your carbs.

Thanks for the links! Regardless of what I NEED, I have to work within the limitations of what I HAVE. It's a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless. 4 times a week is more realistic than every day with the budget we're on. Especially since we have a garden in the summer, and can and freeze most of our veggies. I've been putting out applications like crazy, so maybe when/if I become employed and start pulling in money, we'll have more for food.

I need to find a better alternative to fruit. I just can't stand it. Veggies are no problem, but fruit... ugh.

Originally Posted by yhahmd:
I need to find a better alternative to fruit. I just can't stand it. Veggies are no problem, but fruit... ugh.

Many people do not eat fruit because of the high sugar (fructose) content. Everything I have read shows that eating lots of veggies is perfectly satisfactory and better overall, especially during the weight loss portion of an eating plan.

Originally Posted by CJZee:
Many people do not eat fruit because of the high sugar (fructose) content. Everything I have read shows that eating lots of veggies is perfectly satisfactory and better overall, especially during the weight loss portion of an eating plan.

WHEW! Because I REALLY do NOT like fruits.:carrot: