If I did 30 carbs a day, is that a low amount? Would I lose fat at a faster rate than if I were to just do calorie counting?

30g carbs a day is VERY low carb and will put you in ketosis easily. I would consider 100g or less per day low carb, though I try to aim for 30g-50g at this point.

I eat primally, so this page is helpful for me when figuring how many carbs is too many: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-p...#axzz2IGOx0kme

I do a combo- I do high protein, low carb and grain free. I keep my carbs under 60 a day (this number seems to work for me) and allow myself 70 – 75 on days I have a fruit option twice a week.

Yep - my take in it to. 30 is VERY, VERY low.

I was just about to send you to the same link merilung did.

The most important thing about setting your carb level is how you feel. Give yourself a full two weeks to detox, you can go through "carb flu" which is your body withdrawing from high levels, and you can feel tired and foggy, but it passes. If you go more than two weeks and you're lethargic, tired and have brain fog, or if you notice other issues, you need to up your limit a little.

Anything under 100g a day is low. 50-75 is probably a good range for "induction" or the beginning phase of a diet. 30 is very low, so make sure you feel ok doing it.

I personally do 20g per day and feel fine. I'm also grain free and high protien/fat. Make sure your carbs are coming from veggies!

I'm eating 20 g after fiber (so really about 30 or 40), but I'm going to up them once I can exercise again. I find I'm not hungry on 20 g and I feel best, but I can tolerate more the more I exercise.

I eat 20g - 30g a day (net carbs). I agree, anything below 100g is basically low carb. It might not be a ketogenic level for everyone, but low carb doesn't necessarily mean ketogenic.

For me personally, 50g a day is pretty much the max I can do before I regain some water weight and get really bad cravings.

Your rate of fat loss is pretty dependent on your overall calories, not matter what your carb intake is. Going lower carb tends to naturally reduce appetite, and thus overall calorie intake, potentially leading to a higher rate of loss.

So reducing your carbs from 30g to a lower amount isn't directly going to do anything by itself, unless you eat less because of it.

I'm on induction and haven't been over 20 g's since 1/1/13.

I'm doing the Dukan Diet which is low fat as well as low carb, and the way it's structured, you also carb cycle. I generally range from about 30-80. You eat a small amount of oat bran (different from oatmeal) so the carbs come from that, vegetables and dairy. No other grains or starches, which is what keeps it that low.

But I know I personally couldn't go any lower than this - sometimes I forget to eat and end up feeling lousy and I always feel better once I have the oatbran or something like greek yogurt, and I get a dose of carbs into me!

Whether you'd lose faster, I don't know, but I'd be surprised if you'd feel very good doing it.

20% or less of Total Daily Calories would be what I would consider "low carb" and I believe it's what the AAFP goes by as well...

My weight loss clinic told me to stay in ketosis you need to eat 75 gms of carbs or less.

Hi, I did Atkins for a fortnight several years ago and lost a stone under 20g a day but I couldn't keep it up! Now, I've made a great basis in Intuitive Eating, and am tracking numbers to steer myself away from mindless stress eating. I found I was going naturally for low-ish carb, high-ish protein & fat. I'm now hardly ever hungry and have wound up under 1000 cals a day by accident more times than I can count. I think my body is now TOO confused, because I've been bouncing around the 196-204 box for longer than I care to remember.

Trying to put some structure into things. Stuff I was going for was, say... Bacon for breakfast (couldn't care less about roll & sauce), grilled pork chops for dinner, or pan fried salmon with baked veg (peppers, carrots, onions, that kind of thing). Omelettes. Bits of cheese. It looks and feels pretty low-carb. All the numbers confuse me though...

In MFP, I've aimed for less than 100 carbs. I have 89 total, 7 fibre, 55 sugar. What is my "real" carb number, do I take the 7 fibre off the 89 total? Or, is it the full 89? Or do you only count the sugar? (I ask because that's the ONE thing that screws me up completely, so glad I forced myself to cut back on it before starting IE).

Basically I think what I'm asking is... Does this sound like a low-carb diet to you? And how do I calculate my relevant carbs from the numbers I have? And maybe any advice on whether it would be worth aiming for... say, below 50? If I can get into ketosis sustainably for a while I'd be very happy, as I think it'd break the stall I've been having.

Thanks, low-carbers!

I stay between 20-60, depending on if I go out for lunch or bring a bag. Prior to mother natures monthly hello, I was losing about 3 lbs a week. Never did check to see about ketosis, but you don't have to be in ketosis to lose. Anything less than 100 is considered low carb, but everyone has different ranges of what helps them lose the best.

Hmm. Thanks. Seems it's going to be another experiment for me! I might try 75 for a few days and see how I feel

I think of anything under 150/day as "moderate carb" (compared to the SAD's "normal" of 300/day), anything under 100 as "moderate/low", under 50 as "low" and under 30 as "very low".

But those are my definitions, based on reading many posts on many LC boards.

Eat to your plan at 75 for a few weeks (not just days). See how you feel and how you lose. You lose and feel good, stay there. You don't lose, try lower. You don't feel good, try higher.