Someone please help me with this!!

I have such issues thinking that carbs are such the enemy. Im afraid that if I eat over 100g of carbs I will not lose weight. Please someone help me understand that you can eat healthy carbs and still lose weight! I mean whats an amount of healthy carbs you can eat and still lose weight and at the same time keepig your cals down?!

Quotes:

Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for many vital organs, including the brain, central nervous system and kidneys. The digestive system breaks down carbohydrates into glucose and the pancreas secretes a hormone called insulin to help the glucose migrate from the blood into the cells.

The notion that carbohydrates cause weight gain is misleading. Weight gain is caused by consuming too many kilojoules (or calories) whether they are from carbohydrate, protein or fat. A diet high in fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and low-fat dairy products, and moderate in fat and calories, will result in the greatest chance of weight loss and maintenance. Such a diet also assists in fullness and can reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Definitely don't put all of your hopes on low-carb being the way to lose weight! Atkins doesn't work, and thousands of people proved it by losing a good amount of weight, then gaining it back the second they touched carbs again.
What it comes down to is that... it isn't eating carbs or not eating carbs... it's eating the right carbs (high-fibre whole-grain), and balancing them in a healthy, low-calorie, low-fat diet. Also being aware that "carbs" aren't just bread and pasta, many other foods are carb-heavy as well, but... cutting apples out of your diet for their high carb-content won't be the key to weight loss! Be aware of the calories and fat content of what you're eating, and focus on fresh, unprocessed foods.

As for what you should take in in a day, try a carb calculator:
http://www.healthcalculators.org/cal...rbohydrate.asp

I'm with the great Jelbb on this one. I've lost 55 lbs and I eat carbs every day. Its about calories, not carbs.

Carbs are just as important as protien and fat. You just have to focus on eating good carbs. Whole grains, fruit, veggies. Someone told me that if you're eating the right amounts of fat, protien and good carbs, you'll probably be eating the right amount of calories. It's worked so far for me. I don't have a link, but there are tons of websites that can help you to calculate how many of each thing you need. I eat a little more carbs around workouts, and a little less on the days with no workouts.

I'm a nursing student who just finished a very rigorous Anatomy & Physiology course. I've struggled with my weight all of my life so I was very excited to learn how - physiologically speaking - our bodies use food.

Lypolysis - the breakdown of fat - cannot be accomplished in large quantities without carbohydrates in your blood stream. Long story short, the Krebs cycle is how our body uses fuel from food. A key component of the Krebs cycle (the system our bodies use to carbs, fats, & proteins, on a molecular level into energy) is oxaloacetic acid.

Here is a quote from my A&P book:

"When carbohydrates are deficient, oxaloacetic acid is converted to glucose (to fuel the brain). Without oxaloacetic acid, fat oxidation is incomplete . . . "

Bottom line, if you don't have sufficient carbohydrates in your system to fuel your brain and other organs that depend on glucose for fuel, your metabolism is unable to burn fat.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some organs prefer their fuel to come from fat . . . the liver, cardiac muscle, and resting skeletal muscle.

Healthy weight loss means a healthy balance of all food groups - just like everybody who posted before me said.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I really cant tell you how much I appreciate your input and advice. I need to just try a lower calorie diet for more than a week and see if it works. I just get discouraged and think "hey im eating lots carbs, ive already ruined it" and then fall off the wagon.

Would you all consider ezekiel bread a good carb? Its 100% whole grain? I love fruit but im scared to eat too much of it becuase of the carb and sugar content. I only have like a cup in the morning and thats it. But I would love to have more. Also, I am trying to snack on 100 calorie popcorn which is also made with 100% whole grain. Are these good carbs?!!?

OH and another question..

I know that the body burns carbs (sugar) first, then muscle, then fat. So my question is, if you are getting so much of the other stuff, how does it ever get to the fat part? Even if you are eating only 1400 cals a day, if 50% of that is carbs, how does the metabolism every get to burning the fat?? Just curious as to how the science works..

I have a very "imbalanced" diet with lots of yummy fat and protein and I'm: a) feeling better and more energetic and healthier than ever and b) I'm at my lowest weight since the age of ten. I don't care about gaining the weight back once I eat carbs again. Because I don't intend to touch bad carbs again and I don't intend to change my low good carb intake. It's simply not an issue and it hasn't been in a year. I do eat carbs every day (though they're about 15-20% of my diet). ****, I snack on dark chocolate every day! And yet I'm losing weight without feeling hungry, in fact I struggle to get over 1500 calories each day because I eat high quality protein and lots of it.

I'm not advocating anything, but I'm just saying... there is no such thing as one size fits all.

Dianne -

Fruits, although high in sugar, are incredibly nutrient dense and have fiber. Blueberries alone are nearly a miracle for all their wonderful antioxidants. I think the key in choosing fruits is to avoid super starchy fruits, like bananas, when you're trying to lose weight. If you choose to eat a starchy fruit, just eat less bread that day. Pineapple, berries, applies, oranges . . . they are VERY healthy. Just consider the sugar (and calories the fruits have) when you total your calories for that day.

I believe fruit, like vegetables, are part of a balanced, healthy diet.

As for fat burning . . .

It really is calories in / calories out (burned). If you have excess "energy" or calories - it's converted to fat.

If you burn more calories than you consume, then your body will burn fat.

From a physiologic standpoint, every part of the body functions best when it's getting what it needs from the food we eat. I'm not knocking vitamins because I think they have their place, but eating healthy, natural foods is really the best way to get what our bodies need.

In my opinion . . .

I lost weight last semester in France eating 2-3 pieces of bread with EVERY meal. Everyone is different, but I don't believe that carbs are the enemy. Often times when people eliminate carbs, they eliminate refined carbs and that leads to weight loss. Complex carbs are good and refined ones should be consumed minimally. Just my little two cents...

I agree with you - I'm on the IP diet (low carbs) and I've always just done a balanced diet before. Now after menopause, I'm trying low-carb because it seems I'm not as hungry. My appetite stayed the same, while my ability to burn off calories has declined over the years. So this is my attempt to try to control appetite. Wish me luck!

Maybe you can lose on 100g of carbs daily or more. Maybe you can't. The only way to learn for sure is to experiment.

It took me nearly 40 years to realize that low-carb dieting was not only the right way for me to lose weight, it was the only way I could keep weight off, and the only appropriate "treatment" for my fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, arthritis, and rosacea.

For most of my dieting life (since age 5, and I'm now 44). I thought "only calories" mattered, and I also thought that low-carb diets were unhealthy and unsustainable (I was wrong on the first count, and I'm trying very hard to make sure I disprove the second).

If I exceed 100g of carbs per day, I don't lose weight unless my calorie level is well below 1500 calories (and even so, I lose at a snail's pace). If I eat fewer than 50g of carbs, I can lose more rapidly even when I exceed 1800 calories per day. Even more than the calorie difference, on high-carb eating I feel starved 24/7 (yes, even with no processed carbs and only whole grains, fruits, and vegetables as my carb sources). On low-carb, I find it easier to stay within a reasonable caloric level without feeling hungry.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss, but finding your weigh isn't rocket science, it's just experimentation (and you're stuck being your own guinea pig). Document carefully, and you'll learn what's true for you.

I would never have tried low-carb dieting, if my doctor hadn't recommended it (To be honest, I didn't try it until a SECOND doctor recommended it - a doctor who lost nearly 100 lbs herself on a modified Atkins). I would have never tried it, because I thought only calories counted, and I thought that low-carb was extremely unhealthy and unsustainable.

By using my food and wellness journal. I documented my symptoms, as well as my food, as I was also trying to find the triggers for my autoimmune disease, skin issues, and fibro. I was astonished to find that I could eat more food (calories), lose more weight, AND be less hungry on low-carb eating, but I was even more surprised for my autoimmune disease to go into apparent remission (it's not just the weight loss either, because when I've added carbs back into my diet, the AI flares even if I've gained no weight).

It is a difficult diet to follow and stay on - and I struggle with that (or I'd be losing much more quickly), but I can either choose the diet that makes me sick - or I can learn to stick with the diet that makes me well.

I AM NOT saying that low-carb is for everyone. If you're in good health, and you can control your weight without reducing carbs - more power to you. Although if you have any inflammatory disease, or risks for inflammatory disease at least consider trying a reduced-carb, grain-free diet (try it for a couple months and see if your symptoms improve).

1. There is a difference between a ketogenic low carb diet (10%) and a low carb diet (25%).

2. There is a difference between "good" carbs and "bad" carbs. Good is fruits, veggies, whole grains. Bad is everything else.

3. Everyone's body is different, and they metabolize nutrients differently.

My body hates carbs. Too many carbs and I gain weight like crazy and I have blood sugar issues (I'm insulin resistant). I do low carb, but break my 25% down even further to 18% fruits/veggies and 7% grains. This wouldn't work for everyone, but it's perfect for me.