[mars735]

Originally Posted by sarita75

Hello all. Hope everyone is doing well. So, I am curious. People are mentioning carb limits and such - can anyone provide more specifics? My coach said I could do 2000 calories per day on a non-workout day, 2300 on a workout day. I haven't been following this, and been keeping net calories around 1250-1300. I am curious about the carb limits though. Any information would be great!

My coach told me low carb on P4 is about 50-70 grams. I feel best with 70-100 carbs with 1600 cal daily total. (I'm 60).

[sarita75]

Originally Posted by mars735

My coach told me low carb on P4 is about 50-70 grams. I feel best with 70-100 carbs with 1600 cal daily total. (I'm 60).

Interesting. I will have to start looking at that to see where I am falling. I suspect it is 70-100 due to my activity level and fueling that. Thanks so much, Mars735!

[dak1lls]

I have wondered about the amount of carbs per day as well. There are a variety of sources that give different amounts, so it is all rather confusing. One web site mentioned the following:

The Institute of Medicine encourages all women to consume at least 130 grams of carbohydrates each day. A woman’s individualized carbohydrate needs are based on her recommended calorie requirements, weight management goals and physical activity level.

Further on in the article it stated this:

According to the Institute of Medicine, adult women should consume 45 to 65 percent of their daily calories from carbohydrates.

This seems like a lot of carbs to me. The web site is healthyeating.com.

[65X65]

I think it still comes down to individual metabolism...and for the most part if you are carb sensitive...you are on your own. If you are NOT...then go for it.

If you are, the hope is you have a physician who is well read enough and agrees there is NOT one set of standards that apply to all women (or men actually) and encourages you to follow a low carb diet..(not no carb).
Being gluten free for the last 8 years, my carbs were already pretty well below someone who is not gluten free. The missing piece for me was to get the low limit of carbs to run my machine from sources that are also low on the glycemic index...and the distribution of carb/protein/fat for me is absolutely not in line with the "daily recommended" food pyramid.

If I do that, with being insulin resistant, those extra carbs WILL go to fat. Quickly. I'd be up pushing 200 lbs again in no time. Trying to tailor my previous diet to those standards bought me 14 years of constant dieting ...misery and increasing weight gain.

I'm pretty active...and always have been, but size does me no favors when it comes to BMR. Those average numbers and distribution of daily carbs,fat and protein in most journal articles are for someone who is "average" in size also. Four or five inches makes a significant difference in computing daily caloric needs. And ...God bless anyone who does not have insulin resistance to deal with!

[sarita75]

How was it determined that you are insulin resistant 65x65?

[65X65]

Originally Posted by sarita75

How was it determined that you are insulin resistant 65x65?

Endocrinologist pegged it due to the weight gain in spite of compliance with medication, diet and exercise. (I kept food diaries, and had personal trainers...as well as walked on treadmill an hr every AM before heading out to work for several years with minimal results) Am on medication for high cholesterol and triglycerides and there is a strong family history of diabetes and a few other diseases that tend to strike in clusters in families, and are seen with metabolic problems. I have 2 sisters who also have it. One also has PCOS and the other has Kidney damage and may actually need a transplant. There is a whopping number of extended and immediate family with hypothyroidism. (Not Hashimotos)I have been hypothyroid for over 30 years.

[65X65]

I should add regarding the auto immune problems, some of the research relates them to each other. Diabetes and celiac are sometimes seen in the same families...and we have that as well.

[sarita75]

Thanks 65x65, I have PCOS and have always wondered if it contributes ...

[65X65]

Originally Posted by sarita75

Thanks 65x65, I have PCOS and have always wondered if it contributes ...

Sorry to hear that...that can be a rough diagnosis, and like much of this stuff happens with varying degrees of symptoms. You seem to be maintaining...but are you keeping cals/carbs lower than your BMR? I adjusted to keep my carbs at 20-25% of my intake. From how fast I gained from Dec 19-28th...I think seltzer water will be my beverage of choice! I did not eat and drink 10,000+ calories of wine over Christmas week to account for 3 pounds beyond the glycogen rebound!!

There is actually a "cluster" of mostly auto immune diagnoses , and a lot can overlap..causing mega confusion when not full blown, and the final diagnoses (if some one is persistent) is often a while coming. My other daughter has lupus, also auto immune. We went through *#4@!#! with my daughter's health issues who has celiac before confirmatory tests were finally done. She had problems from celiac which contributed to infertility..but we do have beautiful granddaughters because they were willing to try IVF to have a family. Years ago a lovely young female internal med MD told me she had only seen Atkins work for someone like me...I tried it...but it was way too restrictive. I did lose...The endocrinologist she sent me to was sympathetic that WW did not work and I gained...but all she said was..."Yes...you would gain on that...your family history and your own symptoms suggest a lot of things going on" Well gee...thanks.
I think it's better now...more research and modifications to low carb have reputable sources taking a step back and reevaluating.

[sarita75]

My BMR is about 1400 at my current weight and I eat keep my calories at about 1250 per day (net, if exercising; gross, if not). Admittedly I have not been adjusting the formula in MFP to have the carbs be anything.

I just adjusted to 25% which allows me about 78 grams of carbs per day. That is a little low, I think, given my levels of activity (running about 12-20 miles per week, cycling). I am going to see about hitting 25-30% (the latter increases it to 94 grams and see about sticking within those. I had somewhat cycled off P4 to P3 a little bit as I was worried about the carbs, but perhaps I just need to use more moderation, rather than to simply follow the coach's advice of 1-2 servings of carbs at dinner, which can easily 40 g of carbs, or more.

Thanks 65x65!

[lisa32989]

A LOT of what I'm learning from the natural health community is that much of the autoimmune issues can be eased, if not completely reversed, by gluten free and low carb living.

I've heard from several sources (recently on Dr Oz) that when new research shows something, it takes mainstream medicine an average of SEVENTEEN YEARS to incorporate it. That is WAY.TOO.LONG.

[65X65]

Originally Posted by sarita75

My BMR is about 1400 at my current weight and I eat keep my calories at about 1250 per day (net, if exercising; gross, if not). Admittedly I have not been adjusting the formula in MFP to have the carbs be anything. I am going to play around with their stats now!

I use it periodically for the P2 days ...it helps me see what I'm doing with the distribution. Don't like MFP overall because my exercise is not one of their standards. The circuit at my gym changes the timing and resistance of each station week to week...there are 11 stations with cardio recovery pads in between and the strength training on MFP log requires one to enter # of reps for each type of exercise.....just not worth it! I do it for 45-60 min ...and that's good enough!

[65X65]

Originally Posted by lisa32989

A LOT of what I'm learning from the natural health community is that much of the autoimmune issues can be eased, if not completely reversed, by gluten free and low carb living.

I've heard from several sources (recently on Dr Oz) that when new research shows something, it takes mainstream medicine an average of SEVENTEEN YEARS to incorporate it. That is WAY.TOO.LONG.

You are SOO right. I have a friend with an adult son with severe Juvenile Diabetes who was suggested to go GF a few years ago to help slow his progression.

The unbelieveable (good) thing for me though, is how fast my body got rid of excess holiday weight ...Like you and others, I think I probably needed the break this fall...but as soon as I re-started strict P1-2 like whoosh! Seriously...not even 2 weeks and I dropped 4 of the 6 lbs I gained?!! And that did include 1 night of a cooking class my DH had previously signed us up for last Wednesday evening..."Lo carb, GF High flavor". {Same place we took the Paleo class last fall. }

It is too bad though that there are still so many in the medical community who think there is one answer to obesity. Obesity is the result of a cluster of diseases...and they have not begun to unscramble the omlette for that!

[dak1lls]

From a very "un" scientific perspective, I definitely notice a big difference when I reduce refined carbs, and adhere to a gluten free diet. It impacts me in so many ways, joint pain and swelling, stomach discomfort (acid reflux), headaches, etc....With my family history of diabetes it is good to know the association. Thanks for the info ladies.

[FitMom02]

I am up to about 1400-1500 calories, with about 120 to 130 carb grams per day! Hmmm...maybe I'm too high?? I read on Maintainers Vol 9...that it was recommended to eat between 100-150 grams of carbs per day...with 55 to 65 grams of fat per day ( for someone similar to my height). So I have been almost doing that this past week. My weight SEEMS steady.

However, I am 5'5"...39 years old; and I have been doing p90X3 workouts daily...with some added incline walking. Tonight I added more sprouted grain to my meal (bringing calories to almost 1500)...we'll see how that affects the ole scale tomorrow.