Hi everyone, I'm inputting my info regarding my meals into fitday and noticed that most of my calories are coming from carbs. I'm not consuming alot of breads, but I'm not sure if this is bad or good If anyone can help, I'll truly appreciate it.

Carbs aren't the enemy. You lose weight when you burn more calories than you take in. With that said, to stay healthy, it's important to eat good carbs, which are fruit, vegetables and whole grains. If you're exercising a lot, particularly weight training, then getting more protein is important plus it will help you feel full longer (as will good fats like avocado, olives, etc.). Avoid processed carbs, which can wreak havoc with your blood sugar and cause you to crave more food.

Thanks Shelia53, I get most of my carbs from fruit, I have a protein shake every morning after a workout for breakfast, I try and consume around 40-80g of protein/day, I've been doing good with that. I don't like vegetables too much, but have incorp. baby spinach in with my romaine lettuce to add more veggies and help with the extra vitamins. Thanks for the quick response. I workout at curves 3 days/wk and do exercise videos and hand weights, as well as walking videos.

Like I just said in another thread - carbs don't make you fat, excess calories make you fat.

When I decided I wanted to be healthier and lose weight, I looked at how I ate normally. I didn't eat a lot of meat, my meals at night were usually pretty vegetarian. I ate a lot of pasta, a lot of stir fries/curries over brown rice, a lot of soups with bread on the side and a lot of quesadillas. These were the foods I liked and enjoyed having for dinner.

I knew that I could never stick to any sort of diet long term that did not include these foods on a regular basis. So, I looked at how I normally ate and decided to eat the same thing, just healthier versions.

1. I switched (as much as possible) from "white" carbs to more complex carbs. That meant sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, whole wheat pasta intead of white pasta, brown rice instead of white rice and whole wheat tortillas and whole grain breads (carefully reading labels to ensure the first ingredient said "whole grain").

2. I looked at serving sizes. It was kind of a shock to realize how small a serving of 2.0 oz of pasta was. I used to eat a HUUUGGE plate of pasta with some sauce. Now I eat a single serving of pasta with a ton of healthy sauce and sometimes a salad on the side. Instead of eating 5 slices of sourdough bread with soup, I now have 2 pieces of chewy whole grain bread. I measure out the brown rice that I eat with stir fries. I am now aware of how much I am eating.

3. I made changes I could stick with. I add spinach leaves to pasta sauce, I cook with less butter/oil, I try to eat a wide variety of fruits/vegetables every day. I imagine my plate divided into quarters. 1/4 for carbs, 1/4 for protein, 1/2 for veggies.

4. I completely gave up crap. Packaged baked goods (home made treats are still okay, in limited amounts), chips, crackers (unless they are whole grain), white bread, fast food, sugary stuff (chocolate still okay, in limited amounts), pretty much all packaged foods (as much as possible).

In my experience, eating carbs didn't stop me from losing weight in any way. I ate several servings of fruit every day, I ate sandwiches, I ate toast, I ate brown rice, quesadillas, I ate a TON of sweet potatoes.

Now that I've reached my goal weight, I still eat exactly what I ate when I was losing weight, I just allow myself more calories a day. I picked something I could stick with - can you live a life without carbs?

My body is extremely sensitive to "simple" carbs. Bread, cake, sugary desserts, potatoes, pasta--my blood sugar spikes, I get a quick crash, and I fall asleep.

That being said, I don't avoid carbs. Yes, I do avoid THOSE kinds of foods, but I eat lots of veggies, the occasional fruit, I have protein shakes with skim milk. I get lots of fiber (from the veggies). I have noticed that the weeks that I have lost the best I've had fewer than 60 grams of carbs a day (that's 3 cups of milk, 3 cups of leafy veg, and ~5 servings of non-starchy veggies).

So I have "cut out" a food group--the useless group. There's really no nutritional value in bread that you don't get much better in veggies. Of course, it helps if you like veggies a lot.

So many people think low-carb diets are the way to go and I just don't see it. The problem is that when we think about carbs, we usually think about the ones made up with simple sugars (white bread, candy, cookies, cake, etc). Bread, pasta, rice and lots of other carbs are good for you; they're the body's fuel. I can't believe so many people thought the Atkins diet was revolutionary when it's really nothing new: eat less junk, lose weight. Okay, end rant!

That said, you can still eat "bad" carbs every now and then, just be sure that most of your calories are coming from the wholesome choices. And don't underestimate the power of protein, fiber and water!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Ann

I've lost 31lb since July eating a diet that is 60% carbs. It's all good stuff - from fruit and veg, and the weight may have come off slower than if I was low carbing but I know it's genuine fat loss and gone for good, as I can live without fat in my food - quite happily thankyou - but I could never have sustained forever a diet with no bread or whatever fruit and veg I fancy! I do eat spuds - low fat oven chips (french fries), or baked potatoes. I hate rice so that's no loss. I eat bread most days - and pasta occasionally. Both wholemeal.

I think the low carb thing is dying away now - or it is in the UK.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful replies. I try and keep my meal plan as portioned as possible. I'm not a big veggie eater, nor do I care for meat that much. The bread I learned to reduce along time ago. When I do eat a sandwich ,It's with whole wheat, or the flatout breads(multigrain has 14g of fiber in it),I try and make sure that I'm within the limits of everyday eating. I eat cereals hi in fiber, but the carbs are hi as well, but I believe that it will balance out. I'm having some problems with just knowing that I'm doing the right thing all the time. It's easy to continue eating what you think is good for you, only to find out later that you have to change it. I make sure I get enough protein in and fiber(if it kills me). I'm glad I have all my new friends here to keep me heading in the right direction, DOWN! Thanks, you all are beautiful people.

I get about 60% of my calories from carbs, according to Fitday. I've never worried about it - I'm more concerned about fat intake. But if you're that worried, the advice already given about switching to more complex carbs seems good.

Honestly, I eat whatever I want - I just eat a very small amount. I realize that approach doesn't work for everyone. I pay far more attention to the Fitday function "are you buring the calories you eat?"

What is fitday?
Thanks,
Jen

Fitday is a website that is a free daily journal for you to log in your activities and food. Once you enter your foods for the day, it breaks it down into %'s of carbs, protein and fat (and total grams). So if you are trying to follow a 40/30/30 breakdown, it is very easy to see by the aid of a pie graph. You should try it out. I've been using it now for over a month and can't believe how easy it is and why I didn't start it before!!

Well said! I don't do dairy but I eat a lot like you describe and have cut out "useless" foods as well. If it's not nutritious, why eat it?

Also, Mousie, I'd like to invite you to my Plus-Sized Yoga class in North Park

Oooooh, give me more info. When where how much? Can you OM me please? Thanks!

Okay, I'm editing, I SWEAR I did NOT intentionally just ask you to "OM" me! I SWEAR it was a typo! PM! I meant PM, but OM is SOOOOOOO appropriate!! :LOL

if your debetic you have to watch the carbs for sure. more then sugar really. or this i was told this year just finding out i was one. have a good day to all. LaDean