Worrying about carbs..

[laurenmay]

I'm doing my best to just concentrate on calorie intake, but I can't help but worry about my carb intake too..

Carbs are given such a bad rep that I panic when eating them & if I see my carb intake on MFP creeping over 100g then I freak out!

Should I be trying to restrict carb intake along with calories?

 

[TracyGWill]

Seriously, Lauren, don't worry about carbs! Don't think I could eat more carbs if I tried (within my calorie allowance of course, lol) and I've lost 7.5 stone so far. Where weight loss is concerned it's all about calories, the rest is just fine tuning your nutrition. xx

 

[laurenmay]

Seriously, Lauren, don't worry about carbs! Don't think I could eat more carbs if I tried (within my calorie allowance of course, lol) and I've lost 7.5 stone so far. Where weight loss is concerned it's all about calories, the rest is just fine tuning your nutrition. xx

Hi Tracy, thanks for replying!
I'm doing my best to just focus on the calories and ignore the carbs, it is hard though when every other diet out there seems set against carbs & restricts them so much to the point of removing them altogether..
I'm a bit concerned that 1700 calories is too high for me. My TDEE is lightly active so apparently I burn 2464 calories daily, and I'm not exercising at the moment due to bad knees so won't be burning any extra cals... 30% less than my TDEE is 1700, so that's what I thought I'd start at, but that only creates a deficit of 764 calories daily which over the course of a week is only a projected weight loss of 1-1.5lbs.
I'm desperate to get this weight off, and I don't wanna resort to faddy diets or quick fix VLCD's because I wanna lose this healthily & keep it off, but want to at LEAST shift 2lbs a week!
So in order to do that I'd need to create a deficit of 1000 calories per day, meaning my calorie intake would need to drop down to 1460 rather than 1700.. what do you think? xx

 

[TracyGWill]

Hi Tracy, thanks for replying!
I'm doing my best to just focus on the calories and ignore the carbs, it is hard though when every other diet out there seems set against carbs & restricts them so much to the point of removing them altogether..
I'm a bit concerned that 1700 calories is too high for me. My TDEE is lightly active so apparently I burn 2464 calories daily, and I'm not exercising at the moment due to bad knees so won't be burning any extra cals... 30% less than my TDEE is 1700, so that's what I thought I'd start at, but that only creates a deficit of 764 calories daily which over the course of a week is only a projected weight loss of 1-1.5lbs.
I'm desperate to get this weight off, and I don't wanna resort to faddy diets or quick fix VLCD's because I wanna lose this healthily & keep it off, but want to at LEAST shift 2lbs a week!
So in order to do that I'd need to create a deficit of 1000 calories per day, meaning my calorie intake would need to drop down to 1460 rather than 1700.. what do you think? xx

Hiya! What I would do is start off on the 1700 and see how you do. Hopefully the weight should come off pretty quickly at first, then when it slows down you can reduce your cals, just by 50 or 100, and re-assess how it's working. Just be patient and stay focused! A very good book I found is by Gillian Riley (think it's Stop Overeating or similar), I can highly recommend it. xx

 

[TracyGWill]

There are good carbs and bad carbs.

GoodCarbs.org - Good Carbs for Health & Weight Loss

My main meal every day is a potato topped ready meal (Tesco Light Choices), which i think would class as "bad" carbs, but as I said, it hasn't stopped me losing a load of weight. I'd say concentrate on your calories first and foremost, the healthy eating can follow gradually. xx

 

[laurenmay]

Hiya! What I would do is start off on the 1700 and see how you do. Hopefully the weight should come off pretty quickly at first, then when it slows down you can reduce your cals, just by 50 or 100, and re-assess how it's working. Just be patient and stay focused! A very good book I found is by Gillian Riley (think it's Stop Overeating or similar), I can highly recommend it. xx

I'm confused because I've always thought you're not meant to restrict calories gradually when losing weight, as then your body adjusts and you'll end up on an extremely low calorie amount just to maintain your weight? Jillian Michaels says to start low, and keep low until you hit goal, and if you plateau along the way then to have one or two high calorie days then drop low again to kick start things.. and then when at goal gradually increase calories by 10% each week until you're eating your maintenance calories so TDEE. It's so confusing because I've always believed in her method with her being one of the worlds best personal trainers, but then there's conflicting information out there? She's always advocated people eating between 1200-1400 even if they're obese or morbidly obese even & she gets weight off people at a super fast speed, and 87% of them keep it off because along the way they're doing the mental work to learn to deal with their overeating issues.. So do I put my faith in her 100% and just follow her methods & cut down to 1400? xx

 

[TracyGWill]

No, ignore her, don't think there's likely to be many people om the biggest loser that keep the weight off, they lose it too quickly! You must start high and have room to reduce, or you're almost doomed to fail - believe me, I've been there!! Ms Michaels just wants to sell more books and DVDs, and if people lose weight and keep it off she's not going to do that, lol.

All I can re-iterate is that I've lost 7.5 stone in the last year and a bit by doing exactly what I'm advising here - starting out at a higher calorie level and gradually reducing it. And I'm still losing and not struggling in the slightest, so something must be right. xx

 

[TracyGWill]

I meant ignore Jillian Michaels, not gettingfit, by the way, lol. xx

 

[TracyGWill]

That book's called Eating Less, by the way - you'd think I'd remember that as I've read it three times, lol. xx

 

[linski24]

Hi

After reading this thread iv downloaded this book ..!!! Looks fab already
Lauren I'm trying not to look at at the daily carbs ..!! And I was pre-occupied with it ..!!
I'm doing brilliant ... But I'm doing ok .. Going over BMR but keeping under tdee .. So I'm tootling along ..
Iv just read the bit in the book about low self esteem ... This is so me ..!!! I think that people will like me better if I'm slimmer and prettier ... I always thought in the back of my mind that I was being self indulgent but actually it's just another symptom of low self esteem .. And Like being extra caring in my job as nurse .. Or Going that extra mile to help sometime ... To look slimmer and prettier with the people that I consider "matter" will help me feel good about myself ...
I need to get out of this way if thinking ..!!!!

Good luck on your journey Lauren .. We have communicated on another thread ... Re: higher calories ..!!! I can understand your worries ... But it's something that is really big at the moment .. As dieting has only been around for the past 40-50 yrs and its only just being understood that too fewer calories is crap and unsustainable .,!! (In my opinion)
Regarding Jillian michaels I don't follow her diet tips at all .. But I do her DVDs that are ace ..!!! Love them lol xx

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[MissAmy]

I would echo Tracey

I am a carb monster. I have either bread or potato with every meal.
I've lost 48lb since August.
All i count is calories - nothing else.
I do try and eat a little more sensibly, having carbs and protein together to stop big ol' insulin spikes. But i really pay no attention to the numbers.
Restriction my calories mean i do eat less carbs than if i wasn't dieting. I can't eat monster bowls of pasta of chip butties like i used to.
I still have them occasionally, but build the day around them, lighter lunch/brekkie and then my treat tea.

I don't really exercise, although i do walk quite a bit as i don't drive and live a mile from town/station. I've been on 1700 calories since the start and have averaged a good consistent healthy 2lb loss a week.

Currently I'm having two weeks off and eating at my TDEE (around 2500) covering Christmas, my Birthday and NYE.
I know I'll put on a couple of pounds, but I'm hoping the 'holiday' will help me mentally. I have a fixed back-on-it date of 6th January and will hopefully lose any gain in the first week. I was slightly losing motivation and drifting over calories regularly so think this will work for me.

This is the first diet thats ever worked for me. Its easy i can have what i want.

I think the JM plan works when you have the support teams like they have on BL, a Dr on campus, daily contact with nutritionist and trainer, someone who provides food etc.... Most people in the real world have to work full time, look after family/kids, run house, etc etc and need to keep our bodies strong and healthy.

 

[TracyGWill]

Hi

After reading this thread iv downloaded this book ..!!! Looks fab already
Lauren I'm trying not to look at at the daily carbs ..!! And I was pre-occupied with it ..!!
I'm doing brilliant ... But I'm doing ok .. Going over BMR but keeping under tdee .. So I'm tootling along ..
Iv just read the bit in the book about low self esteem ... This is so me ..!!! I think that people will like me better if I'm slimmer and prettier ... I always thought in the back of my mind that I was being self indulgent but actually it's just another symptom of low self esteem .. And Like being extra caring in my job as nurse .. Or Going that extra mile to help sometime ... To look slimmer and prettier with the people that I consider "matter" will help me feel good about myself ...
I need to get out of this way if thinking ..!!!!

Good luck on your journey Lauren .. We have communicated on another thread ... Re: higher calories ..!!! I can understand your worries ... But it's something that is really big at the moment .. As dieting has only been around for the past 40-50 yrs and its only just being understood that too fewer calories is crap and unsustainable .,!! (In my opinion)
Regarding Jillian michaels I don't follow her diet tips at all .. But I do her DVDs that are ace ..!!! Love them lol xx

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

To me, Gillian Riley just makes so much sense - it's real world advice, not some fad nonsense. I don't follow all her advice, as I'm still focused on losing weight, which she says shouldn't be your priority, but I've incorporated a lot of her ideas into my life. xx

 

[Baby_Cakes]

Calories in my opinion should purely relate to healthy calories. I am not going to count carbs, sugar, protein. just the calories.