Low Carb

[Sixguns]

Okay, Ive read over so many health postings over the last year and I get confussed over this one still. Some places it talks about low carb is the way to go if you are trying to lean up, which I am. Ive lost 70lbs but trying to get rid of the little gut I still have. Than other places ive read that it doesnt really matter as long as you are not stuffing your face with carbs all day.

My question is what makes a "low" carb diet? I see different numbers and get confused.

Also, Is there a better time of day to have them? I get most of my carbs in the morning with my breakfast smoothie. Other than that my carb intake is rather low.

 

[JellyBaby]

How many grams per day of carbs do you consume on average? Are you just looking to get lean or are you also trying to build muscle?

It's good to get some carbs in the morning to replenish glyocgen lost during sleep. Toss in some protein and a bit of fat and you're good to go. Low GI carbs are best (e.g. whole grains instead of bleached flour). This should be fine unless you do some serious workouts early on in the day.

 

[Sixguns]

Well for breakfast most of my carbs come from milk, blueberries, and a banana. Other than than everything else I eat carb is wheat bread, buns and so on. Trying to get the wife to change to wheat pasta when we do have it. I am still trying to get lean. Im not really wanting to ever bulk up. I just was tired of being a fatty!

 

[Atty]

E: So I of course did not read the thread, so feel free to ignore all that below. The way I understand it is, low carb = body burns fat stores more often for energy. Which leans you up. However, if you excercise, keep your carb count in check (not low but reasonable), and stay at a caloric deficit you will also lose weight (fat). I guess a "low" carb diet would be any significant deficit over what the FDA claims is the daily amount you should eat. If its 200 for your weight, 150 or 100. I'd say 25%-50% reduction would mean "low" for the average person. For a bodybuilder looking to cut down, and quickly at that, I'd say 50%-75% would be "low". Depends on the person and goal, I suppose.

When I switched to low carb it meant cutting out most breads. I switched to low carb wraps (normal wraps have just as many, if not more carbs, than their bread counterparts) as well as cutting out any juices, fruits, or other sources of sugar.

When I was really aiming for low carb days, under 50, my biggest source of carbs came from a greek yogurt at lunch, 20g.

Lately my carb intake has been much higher, especially with my new job and lack of motivation early in the morning to actually make food so I resort to restaurants.

Best way to start: Cut out breads as much as possible, including breading on meats. Look at the nutritional facts of everything you normally eat, start cutting out most any snack type item that has a lot of sugar, especially considerably more than it has fiber. Switch to sugar free or un-sweet drinks (coffee creamer, juices, soda, etc).

The whole grains theory, if I understand it correctly, is just that the carbs break down into glucose in your blood stream slower so you stay full longer and don't get a blood sugar spike, which in turn triggers your body to start storing fat.

Remember that during a low carb diet or life style you'll need to make sure you're eating fats. Fat free food usually means "more sugar to make it taste better" so stay away from them. You also can't do low-carb and low-fat and expect to have any energy. You need one or the other, especially after you're body starts getting rid of your fat stores, if you aren't eating either you'll just stall.

Hopefully this rant of low carb advice helps you.

 

[SP33Demon]

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Remember that during a low carb diet or life style you'll need to make sure you're eating fats. Fat free food usually means "more sugar to make it taste better" so stay away from them. You also can't do low-carb and low-fat and expect to have any energy. You need one or the other, especially after you're body starts getting rid of your fat stores, if you aren't eating either you'll just stall.
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Yep, I replace low carbs with more good fats/fiber from mainly almonds, milk, and an egg yolk. Also, I eat a ton of protein in the morning because studies have shown that protein will make you more alert (I also mix in an apple as well for the fiber). I save the rest of the carbs for pre/post workout, and a small amount for dinner since a protein/carb balance is supposed to help you get to sleep better than just straight protein.