Carbs vs Calories

[CardiacBeat]

Hello everyone. I have 2 questions.

1) Which is more important to watch carbs or calories? I have tried both and they both have their ups and downs. I know it is important to watch both and to not exceed one or the other, but is either one better or more beneficial to count? 

2) A few months back I lost 15lbs. I was so dedicated and, yeah, it was hard but some how I did it. I know all the steps I took to get there, however, I can't seem to do it again. I can't grasp the self motivation and self discipline again. My question being, how do I kick my butt in gear again? It took me 3 months to lose the 15lbs and it's been almost double that trying to get myself to do it again. I have kept the weight down, I just can't convince myself to try for another 15!!!

Thanks for the help! 

[Knowledge]

Thought I'd chime in here as well. Have always been a low-carb fan and this is because it works (in addition to other health benefits).

Started Atkins January 3rd (6 weeks) at 306 lbs and 45% body fat. I'm 5' 9" and 24 years old and have lost 35 lbs so far of which 30 lbs is fat (using a BF Aria scale). Now I'm at 37% body fat. Goal is 10%!

I do a strict 20 grams of Carbs per day, although a few days go up to 25g or 30g and a few days will be around 15g so it averages to 20g a day at the end of the week.

I do count calories however because you CAN overeat on a low carb diet (its just a lot harder because you'll have a high fat intake and that makes you very full!). I average 1500-1800 calories a day with a few days going over to 2500 calories. I try to maintain no more than 2000 calories a day but will allow 1 or 2 days a week to go to 2500 calories and haven't had any issues on that. I've also had a few days where I stayed at around 1000-1200 calories but this is because I was totally full and didn't feel hungry at all!

My macronutrients on Fitbit Premium average the following: 75% Fat, 20% Protein, 5% Carbs

Has worked for 6 weeks for me and hope to get it to work until I'm down to 10% Body Fat 🙂

Also for working out I do workout 2-3 times a week but mostly strength training to preserve muscle mass. I do very little cardio, maybe 5-10 minutes during those workouts but this is mainly to get my heart rate pumping and give it a little workout. As others have said, exercise for health but not for weight loss. Diet is #1 when it comes to weight loss, exercise helps but doesn't do much in the short run but is necessary for good health. When it comes to diet, go low-carb and you won't want to turn back!

[christina1956]

Having trouble counting CARBS

PLEASE Help

I eat salads (mustard and lemon dressing)

Fish

Chicken-no skin

Veggies (raw preferably)

Boiled Eggs

and drink lots of water and coffee (half and Half -less sugar than skim milk)

No more artificial sweeteners

Have begun eating handfuls of raw Pumpkin seeds and tiger nuts for snacks

Thats It !!!!

But Have not lost weight and Need to know how to count carbs

as I have Diabetes Type !

[Heybales]

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@christina1956 wrote:

Having trouble counting CARBS

PLEASE Help

I eat salads (mustard and lemon dressing)

Fish

Chicken-no skin

Veggies (raw preferably)

Boiled Eggs

and drink lots of water and coffee (half and Half -less sugar than skim milk)

No more artificial sweeteners

Have begun eating handfuls of raw Pumpkin seeds and tiger nuts for snacks

Thats It !!!!

But Have not lost weight and Need to know how to count carbs

as I have Diabetes Type !

---

You don't so much as count carbs as you merely log the food you are eating as accurately as possible - and carbs being in the nutrition label will now be available to view.

You might try www.myfitnesspal.com to sync with Fitbit and track and manage the eating side.

While the database is bigger and can be better for many things, it can also have a bunch of wrong entries, so confirm with labels if you have one.

If non-labeled, use the entries that are NOT user submitted for fruit and vegetables.

But until you count calories and have a clue if you are eating less than you burn, you have no reason to expect to lose weight.

You can be doing all you said and overeating still.

[christina1956]

I dont buy things with Labels

I dont eat prepared-processed
Just fresh produce fish eggs chicken
and pumpkin seeds and shredded coconut and tigernuts...

[Heybales]

---

@christina1956 wrote:
I dont buy things with Labels

I dont eat prepared-processed
Just fresh produce fish eggs chicken
and pumpkin seeds and shredded coconut and tigernuts...

---

That's great for nutrition.

But are you eating less than you burn daily?

That is - if you want to lose fat weight.

[Tracon]

Congrats on your achievement!!

[Dominique]

---

@Knowledge wrote:

Started Atkins January 3rd (6 weeks) at 306 lbs and 45% body fat. I'm 5' 9" and 24 years old and have lost 35 lbs so far of which 30 lbs is fat (using a BF Aria scale). Now I'm at 37% body fat. Goal is 10%!

---

@Knowledge: I know this is an old thread, but since it’s being revived and I saw your post from February 2015, I thought I’d ask whether you’ve been able to stick to Atkins / low carbs, and if so, with what results?

[liversb]

I have been on the LCHF since May 2014 and lost total of 23 Kg (51 lbs) of
fat - most of it in the first six months - I still need to lose about 20kg,
and although I do restrict carbohydrate to around 20-30 gm per day, I have
found that I have allowed a calorie creep to set in, where I don't
specifically count calories, the MtFitnessPal App does show up to 2400
calories on some days - this is usually in the form of extra butter, cream
and cheese.
I have started strict counting from 1 Oct, so we will see where this takes
me:-)
--
Bill
"Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters,
lives their doctor." - Egyptian pyramid inscription, 3800 B.C