Carb question

On 9/30/2003 4:38 PM, myrrha wrote:
How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is there an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or is as
little as possible best?

That depends on who you ask and what kind of carbs they are. I think
that most people agree that refined carbs (white flour, white rice,
etc.) are bad for you and complex carbs are not. Also, it depends on
what you plan to eat instead of the carbs.

"jmk" wrote in message
...
On 9/30/2003 4:38 PM, myrrha wrote:
How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go
without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is there
an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or is
as
little as possible best?

That depends on who you ask and what kind of carbs they are. I think
that most people agree that refined carbs (white flour, white rice,
etc.) are bad for you and complex carbs are not. Also, it depends on
what you plan to eat instead of the carbs.

Right. Try to limit the simple carbs like jmk indicated - they cause an
insulin spike (like a sugar high) then it drops and you crave more. Other
things like sugar based drinks (even fruit juice), white bread, potatoes,
etc. I try to eat lower carb, around 100-150g per day, but I never worry
about carbs from things like vegetables and whole wheat based foods.

det

myrrha wrote:

How many carbs does a person generally need daily?

three.

How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is there an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or is as
little as possible best?

myrrha

--
You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because
thorns have roses.
Ziggy



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That depends on who you ask and what kind of carbs they are. I think
that most people agree that refined carbs (white flour, white rice,
etc.) are bad for you and complex carbs are not. Also, it depends on
what you plan to eat instead of the carbs.

I've done a little research and have found numbers varying from 60g/day for
say the Atkins diet for optimum ketosis, or up to 300g/day if you follow the
food pyramid. Quite a wide range and a little confusing. I'm thinking that
maybe playing with it, watching the numbers, and letting my hunger and
energy level decide if it's enough, start small and add as I feel like I
need to

myrrha
190/130


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On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 14:15:32 -0700, "myrrha"
wrote:


That depends on who you ask and what kind of carbs they are. I think
that most people agree that refined carbs (white flour, white rice,
etc.) are bad for you and complex carbs are not. Also, it depends on
what you plan to eat instead of the carbs.

I've done a little research and have found numbers varying from 60g/day for
say the Atkins diet for optimum ketosis, or up to 300g/day if you follow the
food pyramid. Quite a wide range and a little confusing. I'm thinking that
maybe playing with it, watching the numbers, and letting my hunger and
energy level decide if it's enough, start small and add as I feel like I
need to

myrrha
190/130



As other posters have said, I don't think it is critical unless you
have a sensitivity to carbs. If you avoid the refined carbs, you can
certainly lose weight on a diet that has 300g of fruit, veggies and
whole grain products. I should know, I did, last time I was in a
weight loss mode. I think getting plenty of fiber helped as well.

However, that said, I also think I tend to do still better if I up my
protein intake and drop the complex carbs to 200g or below.

Right now, I've been upping fats and protein and eating in the 150g
range for carbs, primarily getting them from fruits and veggies...
with occasional whole grains. I'm not sure it is quite as effective
for me, but I'm getting in the one pound a week range loss... and it
is getting me more used to the idea of possibly taking on Atkins for a
bit. I don't think I need to get as drastic as Atkins myself, but I
think my fiancee may have to, and I want to make things easier on him.

Though I am going to go through veggie/fruit withdrawal on induction
for sure! Oh well, not going to start this until after my wedding. So
for now, I eat lots of veggies. And at least 2 servings of fruit a
day.

As I told George last night... forget the traditional broccoli beef
stir fry... I gave him Cynthia's Cruciferous Veggie and Beef Stir Fry
last night. Broccoli, collards, cabbage, onion, garlic and red bell
pepper with steak. Yum.

myrrha wrote:
How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is there an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or is as
little as possible best?

Carbs are easy. I let them take care of themselves. Whenever I'm hungry
a carb magically appears. I can always reach for an apple or a yogurt.

I concentrate on getting enough lean proteins, a good balance of healthy
fats and just fill out the rest of my calorie load with veggies and high
fiber foods to fill me up and give me energy along with nutrients.

My advice is to turn your question around. What is your calorie
budget? How much protein should you have? (In my case it's around .7 g
of protein per pound.) What percentage of your calories are you happy
with coming from fat? (I find around 25% is good for satiation and just
inevitable when getting all that protein.) Then fill the leftover
calories with carbs and alcohol.

Tonight I broiled a pork loin on the grill then reheated some leftover
brown rice & veggies in some sesame oil in a fry pan and added the grilled
pork to make pork-fried rice. I knew how much oil and how much pork I had
and just put it with enough brown rice & veggies to make a filling (but
not over-stuffing) meal. I also had a few sips of wine. Hint: dry white
wine doesn't go with pseudo-chinese food.

Wendy

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 13:38:54 -0700, "myrrha"
wrote:

How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is there an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or is as
little as possible best?

myrrha

You will get all sorts of answers to this. Atkins dieters will tell
you you need almost none. Followers of the USDA food pyramid will
advocate quite a lot of carbs, as will many endurance athletes. You
will have to sort through the various opinions and reach your own
conclusions. Whatever amount of carbs you decided to eat, try to have
lots of them be "good" carbs -- fruits, veggies, whole grain breads,
etc. There's not a lot of nutritional merit in white breads and
sugars.

My personal approach is to try to keep protein fairly high (around
140-160g) and to keep calories low (daily target 1600). I tend to end
up with around about the same amount of carbs as protein -- 140-160g
-- most days. Fat tends to work out to around 25-30g most days.

This has been working fine for me, and is a diet I feel I can maintain
for life.

(If you've been following another thread on this list, you'll note
that there's also a lot of debate about how much protein people need.
I am a fairly serious weightlifter and tend to hang out with others
who are as well, and we believe in getting a fair bit of protein. I
know I feel better when I keep my protein levels up.)

Chris
262/177/??? (Female, age 55 -- started July 2002)

"Chris Braun" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 13:38:54 -0700, "myrrha"
wrote:

How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go
without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is
there an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or
is as
little as possible best?

myrrha

You will get all sorts of answers to this. Atkins dieters will tell
you you need almost none. Followers of the USDA food pyramid will
advocate quite a lot of carbs, as will many endurance athletes. You
will have to sort through the various opinions and reach your own
conclusions. Whatever amount of carbs you decided to eat, try to have
lots of them be "good" carbs -- fruits, veggies, whole grain breads,
etc. There's not a lot of nutritional merit in white breads and
sugars.

My personal approach is to try to keep protein fairly high (around
140-160g) and to keep calories low (daily target 1600). I tend to end
up with around about the same amount of carbs as protein -- 140-160g
-- most days. Fat tends to work out to around 25-30g most days.

This has been working fine for me, and is a diet I feel I can maintain
for life.

(If you've been following another thread on this list, you'll note
that there's also a lot of debate about how much protein people need.
I am a fairly serious weightlifter and tend to hang out with others
who are as well, and we believe in getting a fair bit of protein. I
know I feel better when I keep my protein levels up.)

Chris
262/177/??? (Female, age 55 -- started July 2002)

Again though I think it is important to point out what type of carbs you
are saying are used here in your higher carb % WOE

We are not talking about the carbs you get in pancakes with syrup,
potato chips and breaded/fried chicken strips with fries and white
gravy. The carbs you are taking in are complex carbs that you are
getting from vegetables, whole grain breads, nuts, energy bars etc. No?

Susan
260/219/160
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On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 07:14:35 -0500, "Susan Jones-Anderson"
wrote:


"Chris Braun" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 13:38:54 -0700, "myrrha"
wrote:

How many carbs does a person generally need daily? I know we can go
without
and then you get into burning your own glucose, fat stores, but is
there an
upper and a lower limit which is generally considered reasonable? Or
is as
little as possible best?

myrrha

You will get all sorts of answers to this. Atkins dieters will tell
you you need almost none. Followers of the USDA food pyramid will
advocate quite a lot of carbs, as will many endurance athletes. You
will have to sort through the various opinions and reach your own
conclusions. Whatever amount of carbs you decided to eat, try to have
lots of them be "good" carbs -- fruits, veggies, whole grain breads,
etc. There's not a lot of nutritional merit in white breads and
sugars.

My personal approach is to try to keep protein fairly high (around
140-160g) and to keep calories low (daily target 1600). I tend to end
up with around about the same amount of carbs as protein -- 140-160g
-- most days. Fat tends to work out to around 25-30g most days.

This has been working fine for me, and is a diet I feel I can maintain
for life.

(If you've been following another thread on this list, you'll note
that there's also a lot of debate about how much protein people need.
I am a fairly serious weightlifter and tend to hang out with others
who are as well, and we believe in getting a fair bit of protein. I
know I feel better when I keep my protein levels up.)

Chris
262/177/??? (Female, age 55 -- started July 2002)

Again though I think it is important to point out what type of carbs you
are saying are used here in your higher carb % WOE

We are not talking about the carbs you get in pancakes with syrup,
potato chips and breaded/fried chicken strips with fries and white
gravy. The carbs you are taking in are complex carbs that you are
getting from vegetables, whole grain breads, nuts, energy bars etc. No?

Susan
260/219/160

Sure, for the most part. I think I actually mentioned that, at least
indirectly, in my first paragraph :-). I do eat the occasional
potato, English muffin, or whatever, without worrying about it. And
actually my carb % -- while certainly higher than Atkins-type dieters
eat -- is not "higher" in the general sense. It's well below the food
pyramid recommendation.

Chris