Carbs

What are your thoughts on carbs?

For the past few months I have had it engraved into my mind that CARBS ARE EVIL, when I infact know that carbs provide energry that I will need throughout the day, so that going on a low carb diet may not be such a good idea for permanent weight loss.

Anyways, my real question, is what is your target daily carbohydrate intake and how do you figure that? I really am not sure where/if I should set my goal.

Thu. Jul 20, 4:10pm

I disagree with the hype that people need a large amount of whole grains. I limit myself to ONE serving of grains a day, and have only seen health increase and weight decrease since then. (And it is always a whole grain product- either whole spelt bread, sprouted grain bun, or brown rice)

However, things like bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes and root vegetables are all high carb and I eat those regularly. You have to look at where you get the carbs from.

So I limit my grain intake, but I don't count carbs (cuz that would involve cutting out my chocolate and strawberry obsession, and that's not going to happen...)

Thursday, July 20, 2006, 4:22 PM

I eat about 200g of carbs/day but like the pp said I get alot of those from fruit and veggies. I rarely eat bread or pasta but eat steel cut oats on a daily basis, sweet potatoes a few time/week, 2-3 pieces of fruit/day, etc...

Thursday, July 20, 2006, 4:42 PM

I don't focus on the amount of carbohydrate so much as I do on the quality of what I eat. I do focus on avoiding added refined sugar (particularly in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup) and going for things that have more fiber. Generally, I focus on getting lean protein, vegetables, fruit and whole grains. I avoid "diet products" as much as possible because they all seem to either have added sugar (to make up for reduced fat) or chemical sweeteners that interfere with my digestive system. Carbs aren't evil, but the more refined sugar and starchy stuff I put in my body, the more I crave sugar and starch, and there are better ways to get more sustained energy from carbs by focusing on complex carbs rather than simple sugars (whch, for me, set up a vicious cycle of sugar high-crash-sugar high-crash...).

Friday, July 21, 2006, 11:02 AM

Carbohydrates are your body's best natural fuel source. General guidelines are 40-60% of your calories from carbs. That's about 180-270g on an 1800 calorie/day diet.

This is figured by taking your calorie goal and multiply by the percent of calories you want from carbs.

1800 x 50% from carbs = 900 calories from carbs.
Carbs have four calories per gram, so divide by 4. (900/4 = 225g of carbs)

Here's a great article:

Link

Friday, July 21, 2006, 11:41 AM

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