Answers to Everyday Questions : How many carbs should you eat on a low carb diet?

How many carbs should you eat on a low carb diet?

3 Responses to “How many carbs should you eat on a low carb diet?”

1. Karen J said :
   November 27th, 2010 at 3:09 am

   When I went on the Atkins diet, I started out with 20g of carbs a day. It can be pretty hard, but I stuck with it and lost 10 pounds in the first week. I stayed at that 20g for 2 weeks. After that, you should add about 5 more grams as each week progresses, until you get to the maximum amount that you can eat and still lose weight. Some people are able to eat 100g of carbs, and still lose weight. But you have to remember that just because you can lots of meat, it doesn’t mean you should eat a lot of animal fat, so pick lean meats. I ate lots of fish and vegetables. You should also drink a lot of water. Try to get 64 oz. or more. And if you get tired of water, Crystal Light is great and doesn’t have any carbs.
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   November 27th, 2010 at 3:23 am

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3. cyn_texas said :
   November 27th, 2010 at 4:08 am

   Anything less that 9 grams of carbs per hour controls insulin and is considered low carb (up to 144 grams per day). If you want to maintain weight & achieve optimal health, as long as you remain <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control, and shouldn't gain weight no matter the calories, because insulin the only fat storage hormone is not triggered. If you want to lose weight, then you have to determine your personal carb level for losing.

   I highly recommend Atkins program for anyone interested in a low carb way of eating. It guarantees that you get past the carb addiction & into burning fat as fuel the quickest. You start out with 20grams per day & after 2 weeks, increase your daily allotment by 5 grams per day every week til you gain weight, then deduct 15 grams to continue losing or 10 grams to maintain weight.

   You can lose more body fat eating protein & fat (don't eat protein alone) than not eating AT ALL. To lose weight fast, eat all you want, but nothing but meat, eggs, healthy oils, mayo, butter & half an avocado a day (for added potassium). Keep the calories high & the fat percentage high, at least 65% of calories. Green vegetables & some cheese will continue weight loss but at a slower pace.

   The first 2 weeks eat several cups a day of (mostly) lettuce & celery, cucumbers, radishes, mushrooms, peppers & more variety of vegetables thereafter - add 5 grams per day additional every week (20 grams day first 2 weeks, 25grams 3rd week, 30grams 4th week etc) til you gain weight, then subtract 10grams. That will be your personal carb level (everyone is different & depends on how active you are.)

   Start with meat, fats & salads for 2 weeks and then slowly add in more green veg, wk4 fresh cheeses, wk5 nuts & seeds, wk6 berries, wk7 legumes, wk8 other fruits, wk9 starchy veg, wk10 whole grains. You will learn how your body reacts to different foods.

   The first week is just water weight but fat is lost thereafter if you keep your calories high enough. Otherwise the body will strip it's own lean tissue for nutrition. Although that may look great on a scale it will make it MUCH easier to accumulate fat in the future (since all that pesky lean tissue burning up calories will be gone). The body won't release fat stores if you lower calories below what it needs. It will slow metabolism to compensate & store every spare ounce as fat. If you continue lowering calories, it will continue lowering the set point, til it can survive off nothing & store fat on anything. The body will only release it's fat stores if it knows there is plenty of nutritious food.

   Eating carbs while trying to lose body fat is terribly inefficient. When in glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) you have to lower your calories (which slows your metabolism) & exercise heavily to deplete your glycogen stores before burning body fat.

   The core of Atkins program is converting the body from glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) to ketosis (burning fat as fuel). Dietary fat levels need to be at >65% of total calories, if not, the body will still remain in glycolysis by converting 58% of excess protein into glucose (via gluconeogenesis).

   It takes minimum of 3 days to convert a body to ketosis, (but only one bite to convert back to glycolysis). People feel sluggish the first week but most feel better than ever thereafter.

   Simple carbohydrates (sugar, flour, bread, cereal, pasta, potatoes, rice) trigger the fat storage hormone insulin. The more protein the more the fat burning hormone glucagon is released.

   High insulin levels promote inflammation, weight gain, hunger & unbalance other hormones. Controlling insulin levels will balance out other hormones & allow human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so lean muscle will be gained even without exercise.

   Ground flax seed (2 Tbsp) 1/4 cup water, artificial sweetener, mix in a raw egg – let sit 10 min. to absorb liquid, put some cream cheese in the middle & nuke 2 min for daily fiber needs.

   As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories because insulin, the fat storage hormone is not activated. Many people gain weight on high carb, do low carb to lose weight & then are shocked when they return to high carb & gain weight. Many people can return to moderate carb levels but very few can really eat all they want of sugar & maintain weight or health.

   I am adamantly opposed to low calorie dieting because most people lose a good portion of lean tissue (including vital organs like the heart) along with fat stores. There is no nutrition in fat stores, only energy. Most people get impatient and lower their calories and increase their exercise to a point where they lose so much lean tissue that when they return to what was maintenance level eating they are now accumulating more fat stores because their caloric needs have dropped due to the loss of this tissue as well