Question:
How many carbs should we have?

I am confused as to how many carbs we should have. I am 16months out (down 118lbs.) and still need to lose 30 more. I have been battling the "grazing", but have done well the last couple of days. anyway, I have read anywhere from 20 to 160 carbs a day are ok. which is right? 20 seems WAYYYY low, but 160 seems way high. Also, I LOVE watermelon and have been eating it regularly... I just looked today to see how much carbs are in it, and it is fairly high? Are these considered "good" carbs? Do they count in the total? HELP! I'm totally confused on the carb issue. I know to eat mostly protein (have been doing that!) and get plenty of water (done!), so how about the carbs??? thanks!    — Kay W. (posted on July 15, 2003)

July 15, 2003
here's what I do - but YMMV: I do not count the carbs in good green, red or white (cauliflower, cabbage) veggies, meat, cheese or eggs. I do count them if they are from starch (yellow veggies, roots and all grains), fruit, sugar, and/or dairy (other than cheese). I try hard not to exceed 20 to 25 grams of what I consider the not-really-good-for-me carbs. This means I can eat a LOT of veggies and very little whole grain breads, tortillas, cereals, potatoes, etc. It also means I can enjoy a tortilla occasionally...but if I do then I don't have toast that day. It's a trade-off for me to keep it under that 20/25 limit. Good luck to you as you'll get many various answers to this question!
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 15, 2003
I usually try to keep my carbs below 40 grams a day; but, b/c I use baked beans and chili to help with protein and fiber, I end up balancing my carbs over a 2-3 day period. It has seemed to work as I have been able to avoid plateaus of longer than a few days. Good luck-- you've done a great job keeping your weight off for so long.
   — SteveColarossi

July 15, 2003
Since diabetes was a concern before my surgery, and there is a lot of different information out there on carbs.... Here is what I do, based on talking with my surgeon and my endcrinologist. Have you heard of the Glycemic Index. It is a really useful tool for me. My surgeon wants a low fat healthy unrefined protien enriched diet. My endocrinologist wants me to steer clear of "bad" carbs or those high on the glycemic index. (pretzels white bread banana's cornflakes rice cakes bagels tortilla etc) These types of carbs just don't react well in my system and become sugar quickly. It can throw any diabetics sugar out of whack when eating too much. Instead, I use pita bread, pastas pinto beans etc. I like what the post before mine was. It really is what I do to.
   — dimpkd

July 15, 2003
The reason the number varies is because, well, it varies! I think Protein Power (Drs. Eades) has a really good explanation of it. They recommend that you start low (40 grams of non-fiber carbs) a day. When you get to within 15% of your goal, start upping your carb intake 10 grams per week until you start to gain weight. Then you bump back to the last "good" number and that is your maintainance level. That's why you get such a variance in what people consider an acceptable level: The level depends on where you are in the process and, most importantly, on YOUR OWN BODY CHEMISTRY. Stick with a low but not uncomfortable level until you are about done and then you can relax things a bit. BTW, for me, the best carb count seems to be about 125 non-fiber carbs. I have been at goal for over a year.
   — ctyst