On my own. Need weight loss buddy

ive been on my own on this diet thing for nearly 8 months. i was at 250, now im down to 200, i just stopped eating the fast food, pop, sweets, not eating past 7 at night.  I drink alot of water.  I walk 2 to 3 miles a day, i do jazzercise 3 times a week, i do my stomach crunches before i go to bed im up to 100. 

Now im at the state of confussion, i dont know how many carbs i should be eating in a day. what are good carbs?  i eat anywhere between 30 to 50 carbs a day. like today i ate 51 carbs today.I normally like to eat plan chicken, or a hamburger pattie, special k cereal in the mornings, or scrambled eggs, yogart, sherbert instead of icecream,  i drink nothing but water. id like to know what kind of fruits are safe to eat without all the carbs.  I love banannas, but thats out, i havent touched one in about a month now, after finding out how many carbs were in them.  I like strawberries, and blackberries, those are my favs.  anyone can help me email me.  winter0564@aol.com, id like to lose another 40 by the middle of june.

andra

I personally am not a big carb fan either, but with that said, you need carbs in your diet..  I believe the rule of thumb is that you should be getting around 50% of your calories from carbs (good carbs such as oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, brown rice, etc) and then 25% protein, and 25% fat.  I actually tend to do 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat.  But I am doing a lot of weight training now too.  ( had a total of 193 carbs today)

I eat a banana just about every day prior to a workout.  fantastic energy.....

I can tell you I did atkins and southbeach diets on and off for like 3-4 years and sure, I lost weight, but the moment I incorporated carbs back in my diet, I would gain weight. (which is why i am now here).  For a short term fix, its fine, but think about what happens to your body when you go back to eating carbs that you have restricted severly in your diet?

The best thing to do is try to get a proper balance of all.  And if you do that along with atleast a 500 calorie defecit daily, then you will lose weight. 

hey andraa, if you are really worried about having good carbs which are called "complex carbohydrates." I think you should follow a Glycemic index.

Bananas actually are good for you as they have a GI of 51 which is pretty low. It keeps you feeling full and gives a boost of energy as hairgurl said.

Carbs are important for you as you get most of your energy from them, just dont have white rice, pasta, pineapples, grapes etc. Avoid these as they are full of sugar.

Also, i think your carb intake is too low for a healthy diet. You should atleast have 40-50% of daily nutrients from whole grain and whole wheat carbs, fruits, vegeatbles.

here is a link to a GI chart: http://www.bodyforlife2.com/glycemic.htm

LEt me know if you have any questions.

Hi!  My analysis the last week splits out to 23% fat, 17% protein, and 60% carbs.  It works out to 95 g of protein, 338 g carb - including 86 g fiber! and 59 g fat daily.  If I lower my carbs without changing anything else, I will decrease calories and increase the % of protein.

hairgurl, is the 500 cal deficit the difference between calories burned and calories consumed?  My work is heavy labor.  Sometimes it calculates out to 2800 calories burned, if I throw in some aerobics, walking, and use the estimated burn at rest arrived at by Calorie-Count .com.  For instance, this entry shows about a 900-calorie deficit:

Total Calories Consumed   1,970

Activity Minutes Calories
Walking - Grass Track 20 135
Bakery - Light Effort 220 740
Aerobic - Low Impact 50 336
Vacuuming 10 47
Normal Calorie Expenditure (?) 1,140 1,641
Total Burned Calories   2,899

Is that deficit what you are talking about?  Then I'm okay.

Louise :)

Louise,

Yes you are right about the deficit of calories burned verses calories consumed.  However, I log myself as sedentary on calorie count, and this is why.  I am very active myself.  I can hardly sit still.  However, with that said, my body has adapted to my "everyday" work.  ( I am a hairdresser, so Im constantly moving around and on my feet and then I also go to school and have to walk across campus in record time in order to make it to class on time) So its used to it.  I only count activities that I do "working out"/"excercise". For me, Im afraid that I would overestimate my daily activity otherwise and not make any losses.....

But you definetly have the right idea... 500 calorie defecit for a 1 pound loss of weight a week, 750 for a 2 lbs loss per week.

Also Louise,

I would aim to get some more protein in your diet.  Try .8 x your body weight and this is a rough estimate about how much protein you need in your diet..... (this is what has been taught to me in my fitness class) :)