How many carbs do you shoot for?

[Thinside 155]

So, I've been reading a lot about trying to eat a low carb diet. What do each of you consider "low carb"? How many grams do you strive for, and how far out are you? Thanks a bunch!

[Daisee68 2,493]

I am 3 1/2 months out and my NUT just keeps saying to target carbs which are "less than your protein". Having said that, I am generally less than 50g carb per day with 80-90g Protein, but I think I might need to increase it some as I don't really have energy to exercise.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I don't do low carb. I look at the source of the carb. I eat complex carbs and avoid things like breads, pastas, and processed "white" carbs. I also try to have my carbs earlier in the day when I am most active, particularly around my workouts when I am more likely to burn them off. I'm a year out today and my calories vary from 850 -1,050, I get a minimum of 100gms of Protein a day and my carbs run anywhere from 40 -70 gms.

[rgodfrey09 98]

I eat anywhere from 65-100g Protein, depending on if I work out that day. Carbwise, I take in 30g net carbs or less. I've only exceeded this number one day so far, and I think it was like 32g net carbs but I worked out REALLY hard that day. Haven't had an issue with energy or anything working out. My nutritionist doesn't allow any breads, grains, fruits or anything. My carbs almost all come from fiber and vegetables and the small amounts in Protein Bars that aren't fiber.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I'm much too lazy to figure put net carbs vs what the number says on MFP. I work out 5 - 6 days a weeks. I include small amounts of fruit and whole grains like rolled oat and quinoa. On rare occasions I've even had brown rice.

[rgodfrey09 98]

I guess it would be best to say also that I'm 3 months out. As I get closer to maintenance my NUT allows more carbs. The easiest way to track net carbs in MFP is to add Fiber to the things you track. Then you can just take total minus fiber and voila!

[terrydumont46 1,954]

being a diabetic and no longer on insulin I have to be real careful I have discovered. the 3 times I had carbs such as breading on fish or the pirates bounty puffed rice treat I thought I could eat instead of popcorn I must have had a real spike in blood sugar and the other side of that is low blood sugar. one time it fell to 48. it makes me feel so awful I only get carbs from vegetables now.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I try to keep my carbs lower than my Protein intake which is between 75 and 100grams of Protein. Very rarely do I hit the 100.

I get the majority of my carbs through vegetables and fruit with the occasional whole grains.

I limit the amount of white sugar, rice, Pasta and bread. Occasionally I will try a bite of rice but steer clear of bread and Pasta, they make me feel like crap.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I don't "shoot for" a particular number of carbs. I focus on my Protein and avoid starches (like rice, Pasta, bread, starchy vegetables, and potatoes) for the most part.

[RickM 1,747]

Generally, anything less than 150-200 gm/day (depending upon the source) is considered to be low carb. It's not something I paid any attention to while I was losing as our Protein minimums and calorie limits keep both carbs and fats very low.

[AngelaWilliamsMD 290]

I generally like to stay below 20 g. The weight just seems to come off faster that way.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I guess it would be best to say also that I'm 3 months out. As I get closer to maintenance my NUT allows more carbs. The easiest way to track net carbs in MFP is to add Fiber to the things you track. Then you can just take total minus fiber and voila!

Took a quick gander back. I seem to average between 8 - 15 gms of fiber daily.

[DavidK 19]

Depends on my strategy. For a while I was just limiting my calories and ignoring everything else(other than making sure I was getting enough protein). This took a lot of tracking work and diligence though. In the last month or so I have stopped tracking calories and just started avoid carbs. I would estimate that I am below 40 grams of carbs per day as I avoiding all the obvious sources like Pasta, bread, rice, fruit etc. I know I still get some carbs from sauces on the things I eat though.

[Thinside 155]

@@AngelaWilliamsMD that is amazing. I don't know how you did that! I'm struggling to stay below 50 or 60! I'm not eating any bread, crackers, Pasta, rice, corn, peas, potatoes (usually), but there seem to be carbs in so many things! My drinks, Protein bars (only eat 1/2 a bar about twice a week), fruit, even 3 apiece in my veggie sausages. I just checked my food tracker from yesterday. 4 grams of carbs in my 2% cottage cheese, 3 in the tuna packet I ate, 3 in tofu. By the end of the day, those all add up!

Edited September 19, 2015 by Thinside

[rgodfrey09 98]

@@AngelaWilliamsMD that is amazing. I don't know how you did that! I'm struggling to stay below 50 or 60! I'm not eating any bread, crackers, Pasta, rice, corn, peas, potatoes (usually), but there seem to be carbs in so many things! My drinks, Protein bars (only eat 1/2 a bar about twice a week), fruit, even 3 apiece in my veggie sausages. I just checked my food tracker from yesterday. 4 grams of carbs in my 2% cottage cheese, 3 in the tuna packet I ate, 3 in tofu. By the end of the day, those all add up!

Quest Bars are about the lowest carb high Protein option I've found. A LOT of other bars have a bunch of carbs. Fruit, also, yes. That is why my nutritionist says no fruit at first. If you absolutely gotta have fruit, stick to raspberries peaches plums as they are lower in carbs.