Today's message

[1q2w3e4]

This morning I open my app and get this Nutritional message:  "Don't skip those healthy carbs."  it goes on to tell me to eat 6 servings of bread and/or rice a day!   REALLY?  I'm so surprised - according to their statement that would translate into 6 slices of bread or 3 cups of rice a day.  Eating that way is why I needed a Fitbit in the first place so maybe it's some sinister strategy?  🙂  

[Dominique]

Overweight is caused by eating too many calories in relation to your activity, not by eating healthy carbs. That being said, if you think you know better what’s good for you, just ignore Fitbit’s suggestion and eat according to your own plan.

[1q2w3e4]

Having tried numerous weight loss programs that restricted calories, I have seen very little success and certainly nothing that improved my overall health.  Eating low-carb, high-quality fat type meals has lowered my blood pressure and allowed me to lose 40 pounds.  The myth of the food pyramid is being dismantled but not fast enough.   Everyone should do what works for them.  

[WendyB]

I think you are putting to much i to it. It a message and thats it

[1q2w3e4]

It's the first message on nutrition I have received as I am a fairly new user.  I found the "advice" a total antithesis to the way of eating that has worked for me.  Sorry if you consider it an over-reaction.  

[WendyB]

Then hit the X to close it

[1q2w3e4]

Wow - that is SO helpful, Wendy.  I had NO idea!   

I thought this was supposed to be a "Discussion" forum but I make my first and only comment on nutrition and receive nothing but snarky or negative messages.  It happens that there is quite a lot of debate about what is a healthy diet.  Just in this weeks' news - it was found that a very old study was covered up because the results did not match the agenda of the researchers. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/records-found-in-dusty-basement-undermine-decades-of-diet...

But please, just ignore my attempt to discuss nutrition and go eat your 6 pieces of bread! 

[Julia_G]

Hi, @1q2w3e4 , I think perhaps what folks were reacting to was the implication that there was a ‘sinister’ element to the message.  Over the internet it can be hard to distinguish a light-hearted joke from a conspiracy theory...

There is growing research that individual bodies do react to different nutrients differently.  You might be interested in this recent radio programme on the BBC : ‘Is there a perfect diet just for you?  The future of personalised nutrition’:   https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0006sgv

While it may be fine for the average person to eat 6 servings of bread/rice a day, it may very well not work for you.  (It certainly wouldn’t work for me!) That doesn’t mean the advice is ‘wrong’, except for the implication that this is good advice that everyone can benefit from. 

It does sound like a lot to me, but Fitbit is only following the official health.gov advice.  The American Heart Association gives similar advice.  UK official guidance is that “starchy foods” (rice, potato and grains) should make up a little over a third of one’s daily diet.

[Julia_G]

Here’s some more info about that very interesting study which suggests that this kind of one size fits all, pyramid eating, calories are everything sort of advice is just too crude to be really beneficial.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-06/mcg-lsn060719.php

More and more scientists are understanding that our gut biome is super important.

But I don’t think Fitbit can be blamed for following official advice!

Thanks for raising this interesting issue!

[Kohkie]

I'm a low carb/dirty keto dieter and it has been successful for me. I am currently down 35 lbs.

I am responding to your comment:

"While it may be fine for the average person to eat 6 servings of bread/rice a day, it may very well not work for you."

That kind of thinking (not your's but the government's) is what has fueled the obesity/diabetes crisis we are currently in. So perhaps Fitbit should look into what they are recommending and what many studies indicate that way of eating will do to you. I do wish they had an option, so instead of letting me know how many calories I've consumed they would let me know how many carbs I have consumed. I don't care about calories because I have never been able to maintain a low calorie diet.

[Baltoscott]

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@Kohkie wrote:

I'm a low carb/dirty keto dieter and it has been successful for me. I am currently down 35 lbs.

... I do wish they had an option, so instead of letting me know how many calories I've consumed they would let me know how many carbs I have consumed. I don't care about calories because I have never been able to maintain a low calorie diet.

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I’m glad low carb/dirty keto is working for you.  A 35 lbs drop is great.  Maybe check out this thread and share your story with the community?

Given your preference to track carbs, you might want to try MyFitnessPal.  It is easy to link MFP and Fitbit accounts and you can track your food on that app, and your activity on Fitbit.  

@1q2w3e4 — did the posting about ‘6 servings of bread/rice a day’ actually state it that way, without any  context or links?  I haven’t received that particular message, but when I searched for ‘healthy carbs’ in the Fitbt Blog, the advice was a lot more nuanced, and did not mention bread or rice at all.  

[1q2w3e4]

Do you know if Carb Manager can be linked to Fitbit?  I've been using that app and it has a lot of my choices and personal recipes already stored and measured.  Thanks!

[Dominique]

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@Kohkie wrote:

I don't care about calories because I have never been able to maintain a low calorie diet.

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"Caring about calories" isn’t necessarily synonymous with "eating a low calorie diet". As I see it, caring about calories is simply eating the right amount of calories for your activity level and your goal in terms of weight management, whether it’s losing, maintaining or gaining weight. Someone with a low activity level (sedentary person) who wants to lose weight will have a eat a low calorie diet. Someone who’s very active can lose weight while eating a relatively high amount of calories.

Even though you did not consciously "care about calories", you did so indirectly: eating a low-carb "dirty keto" diet caused you to be in a caloric deficit, which is what resulted in losing 35 pounds so far.

As to the cause of the obesity epidemics in America (and most other rich countries), the following graph sums it all:

No way that increase could be matched by a corresponding increase in activity level. Hence Fitbit’s popularity among those people who want to do something about it.

[Baltoscott]

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@1q2w3e4 wrote:

Do you know if Carb Manager can be linked to Fitbit?  I've been using that app and it has a lot of my choices and personal recipes already stored and measured.  Thanks!

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@1q2w3e4 - generally you link to your Fitbit account FROM the other application.  I don’t have Carb Manager and have no experience trying to link it, but according to their website you can do it with a premium account.  Check here.

Let us know how it works.

[Kohkie]

I have Carb Manager and yes I have it linked to my Fitbit. The food I log shows in Fitbit, and any exercise I do shows up as calories used in Carb Manager. I linked them from the  Carb Manager Settings.