Hey guys,
I have a question regarding my diet.So since I started dieting I was really scared of eating carbs b/c I thought I could never lose weight eating them,so i didnt(except some ''good'' carbs occasionally).Anw now I'm in Thailand,I'll be here for a month and I live at a host family so I dont get to really choose what I eat.Even though they eat healthy meals, they always eat rice or noodles at every meal. So if for the one month i stay here I eat carbs and limit them to one cup for lunch and one for dinner and just pay attention to the calories I consume,will I be ok and still lose weight??
I didn't cut out carbs at all and I lost weight. It might be tougher for you, since you did cut out carbs, so reintroducing them might cause you to gain a little, but that's likely just water retention.
If there's no medical reason for you to be cutting out carbs, then there's really no reason at all to cut them. As amethystgirl said, you might gain a little back when you reintroduce carbs back to your system, but it'll probably just be water weight.
I've also lost weight without cutting carbs. I generally think it's incredibly silly to cut them out of your diet. I watched several people lose a lot of weight while cutting out their carbs and then I've watched them put it all back on, plus some. If you just watch your calories you'll lose weight without having to go without carbs.
Do some exercise!
Original Post by xoxochellee:
I think you should avoid eating. I'm same as you, carbs makes me fat. So I think you try avoid, if must then try to eat before 5pm :)
Do some exercise!
Man, how many diet myths can we squeeze into a single post?
Carbs don't make anyone fat. Eating more than you burn makes you fat.
Eating anything, carbs included, past 5pm isn't going to do anything that is detrimental to weight loss. There's no reason to avoid eating carbs past 5pm.
While exercise is great for overall health and allowing you to take in more calories while still losing weight, it's not necessary.
ootinaoo, is your host family overweight or are they at a healthy weight?
Hello Thai girl! Hope you are having a great time!
Thai cooking is a bit of a challenge for low carbers. It's not just the noodles or rice. They use sugar in their sauces, salads, soups. You have no doubt noticed that some of the foods have a spicy sweetness to them. Most Thai dishes have a relatively small amount of protein; the nutrients come from vegetables and fruits, which have carbs in them as well.
Because you can't control the ingredients, and because there is no way to know where all the carbs are hidden, my best advice to you is to try to watch calories in general, rather than being concerned about carbs.
Keep your portion sizes moderate. Eat more of the "plainer" dishes (those without a lot of sauce, and that don't taste sweet to you) and less of the rich or sweeter stuff. Limit fruits to two servings a day if you can. Limit rice or noodles to 2/3 cup per meal, and if there is a choice, choose the whole grain version. If there is a grilled fish offering, enjoy!
At least as important in your situation is to drink loads of water to help manage appetite and flush the system, and to keep moving. Walk everywhere! Move continuously! Burn off the calories you consume each and every day!
It doesn't sound like you were on a very low carb regimine, so the addition of carbs back in to your diet isn't going to create a total crisis. When your trip is over you can reassess whether carbs are your friend or enemy, and whether watching portions and exercise would be enough for you.
Meanwhile, don't forget to enjoy every moment that you are there! How very lucky you are! :)
Divasnote, You give some great advice and recommendations that I was seeking. Yesterday my MD told me she wants me on a low carb diet and no surger. My blood pressure was high my sugar too. She wanted to prescribe some high blood pressure medication but I asked if we can hold off - I know all this is due to the weight I have gained. Today I need to do further investigating make sure I do this right and lose the weight. I see her in 3 months she will do another blood test. I don't want to take or depend on meds of any kind.
Original Post by xoxochellee:
I think you should avoid eating. I'm same as you, carbs makes me fat. So I think you try avoid, if must then try to eat before 5pm :)
Do some exercise!
Wrong, wrong, wrong. I don't think anyone could be anymore wrong about anything ever.
Original Post by crittlemeistah:
Original Post by xoxochellee:
I think you should avoid eating. I'm same as you, carbs makes me fat. So I think you try avoid, if must then try to eat before 5pm :)
Do some exercise!Wrong, wrong, wrong. I don't think anyone could be anymore wrong about anything ever.
Sadly, some people are even WRONGER!
We all know its all about portion control and for me maintaining a low carb diet, and exercise.
Questions, on a low carb diet when reading the carbohydrates on items&nbs p;is 8% to high?
Original Post by longwalker57:
Questions, on a low carb diet when reading the carbohydrates on items&nbs p;is 8% to high?
I don't think 8% is too high.
Remember 3500 extra CALORIES = 1 lb fat.
CALORIES not CARBS. Those calories can come from anything you want, sugars, starches, complex carbs, white carbs, lean protein, fatty protein, fats, oils, or even the dreaded.... ALCOHOL.
Your body needs carbs, protein and fats for proper metabolism and function of your body. Since you are likely eating less meat than normal, eating more carbs than normal is OK. For you, you got to a good number of calories with less carbs. I could get there with mostly carbs (and I do) and a bit of protein or fat. We will both lose weight.
1 cup at lunch and dinner should be OK for sure, especially if you are eating less meat.
I am also going to assume you are pretty active walking everywhere in Thailand, so you also may have raised your daily calorie limit by being more active than normal.
I say go ahead and monitor the situation, if you find you are gaining weight, then cut back on total quantity of what you eat, not just carbs.
Also - eating a high protein and fat diet with minimal carbs results in extra work for your liver and kidneys. You can cause serious damage that way, so make sure you are getting reasonable amounts of carbs every day. Many people on the Atkins diet who had other factors (i.e. alcohol) have had renal failure
Before I introduced more protein into my diet, I have always eaten primarily carbohydrates and lost 80+ pounds (when I was in weight-loss mode). "Good" carbs and "bad".
Original Post by longwalker57:
Yesterday my MD told me she wants me on a low carb diet and no suger. My blood pressure was high my sugar too. She wanted to prescribe some high blood pressure medication but I asked if we can hold off
I really wish the whole carbs question wasn't so darned controversial. But, it is. Therefore its extra important that there be science based, opinion free information available to people as they contemplate the role of carbs in their diets.
Your situation - obese, high blood sugar and high blood pressure - is the perfect profile for a low carb approach. The big "tipping point" is what your body does with sugars, and how hard your pancreas is working to produce insulin that in turn stores calories in fat cells with incredible efficiency. The insulin resistent body does very badly with the usual "balanced diet", but can make real progress on a very low carb diet (low as in less than 50 grams of carbs daily). Combine that with daily exercise of some type and both the blood pressure and sugars will normalize.
It's actually freaking miraculous to watch it happen. You don't even have to lose all of your weight before you start seeing lower numbers. You do, though, have to make sure you exercise. There's a scientific reason behind that; message me if you want the reference.
If you don't have that profile, but you have just become "gun shy" of carbs because of something you have heard or read, that's a different story. If your metabolism functions normally there is no reason to cut entire food groups from your diet. A well constructed, low calorie, balanced diet in combination with regular exercise should get you to your goal point while continuing to enjoy your favourite foods. Portion control and exercise will work for the vast majority of people.
Bottom lines - carbs, especially nutrition dense whole foods based carbs, are nothing to be afraid of (unless you have a metabolic disorder).
On the other hand, low carb is nothing to be afraid of either. For some people it is the solution to a real health risk. The myth that your kidneys will shut down or you'll have a heart attack is just that. A myth. It's not necessarily the most enjoyable of diets, but it isn't "risky".
If you want the refences, I'll be happy to provide.
Back to the OPs question - unless there is a specific medical condition present that requires a low carb approach, watching portions, making good choices, and lots of exercise should be a good option.
bierorama : well they could be thinner..but they eat more than i do..and the children are skinny
amethystgirl, crittlemeistah, divasnote, longwalker57,wtfrail, sn0wcherry
thank you sooo much!! really you were all very helpful! I guess i'll just have to try and not overdo it:) thanks again everyone !!
Original Post by ootinaoo:
bierorama : well they could be thinner..but they eat more than i do..and the children are skinny
If they are average-sized people then don't you think it's safe to assume that their carb-heavy diet doesn't lead to weight gain?
Thank so much for the information, I have notice change in just these three days of exercising, and changed to small portions. Yes, Please send me where you cited this information
Original Post by longwalker57:
Thank so much for the information, I have notice change in just these three days of exercising, and changed to small portions. Yes, Please send me where you cited this information
I'm not sure what information you are referring to. Smaller portions and exercise isn't something I've researched; it's more like common knowledge at this stage.
What I do have is references regarding a very low carb diet approach, but I'm not sure that's what you are really after.
If you are looking for low carb information, perhaps this web site will be a good place to start.
Original Post by longwalker57:
Questions, on a low carb diet when reading the carbohydrates on items&nbs p;is 8% to high?
That depends on what your doctor told you.
Usually you don't measure your carb intake by looking at the estimated daily percentage in your diet. That's actually not a very useful number. You should be looking at the number of grams of carbohydrates that is in each serving of the item you are considering.
Your doctor should have told you how many grams of carbs daily he wants you on. If he/she did not, then you have some research and experimenting to do to discover how many grams of carbs a day will allow you steady weight loss.
Some people can manage very nicely on 2-300 or so grams of carbs as part of an overall lower calorie diet, accompanied by about 1/2 hour of movement at least 5 days a week (or 60 minutes if you are past menopause).
That won't work for me. I consume less than 50 grams a day - for purposes of understanding what that means, 1 cup of brown rice has about 43 grams of carbs. There is lots to learn about low carb diets: again, this link may be helpful.
The link below has a simple carb calculator to help you to get a sense of how many carbs there really are in various foods:
http://www.carbohydrate-counter.org/
Good luck learning about the low carb approach!
Thank you so much for this information, and come to think about she did not explain anything about grams only thing she said stay on a low carb diet. Well I am doing GREAT today I started at 222 today 214.00
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