How low is low?
 

Hey all,

When you say you are on a "low carb" diet, exactly what does that mean? How LOW is LOW for you?

I've been tracking calories and carbs for the last two weeks and found I feel fine as long as my calories are over 2,000 and my carbs are UNDER 200 grams.

Well, *IF* you are following Dr Atkin's .... 20 grams of carbs a day low.

Other diets vary.

holy cracky!!! lol
 

200 grams of carbs Rodney? wow thats awesome. Because I am in maintainence I dont really do a daily gram count but more a weekly one. I know some days I would be up tp 60 but other days maybe only 10. Everyone is different and men can certainly handle more carbs in most cases than women can. 200 gram? wow...lol

One of the perks of being male, Rodney :) 200g is great. Will make maintenance a breeze for you. I keep my carbs low at 30g and high is 75g. If you're following Atkins' Induction level, below 20g is recommended; but many keep lower than that believing that lower is better - it usually isnt however.

Nat

Hello Natrushka,

My carbs WOULD be under 100, but when I add in a Balance or Zone Bar, plus a few "hidden" carbs in my peanuts or yogurt and BOOM, I'm up around 150 grams of carbs! I don't start to feel bad unless I get over 200, so there it is. That works out to about 40% of calories from carbs with a 2,000 calorie diet. Can you tell I started as a Zone diet fan?

When I'm down around 60-80 grams of carbs, I feel wonderful, but I just don't get enough calories. At that level, I loose weight too fast and risk having a nasty low calorie crash. Managing my muscle problems is just too tricky at that low calorie level.

It's interesting that you and the others can keep your carbs so low. Amazing. Well done. Who else keeps them really low?

I was thinking Body For Life actually. Perspective is everything, is it not?

Nat

LOL! Female Atkins and PP followers will be in the 0-40 range for OWL. Few can go above 40.

Karen

My carbs are between 20 and 40 a day usually, almost all from veggie and LC fruit sources. If it was from nuts and cheese I wouldn't lose weight at that level (especially as one teaspoon of peanut butter invariably led to 10, putting carbs thru the roof)
Angela

My daily carbs are between 90-130 (usually around 100) depending on activity level. I do have tapioca, quinoa or chickpea flour products once or twice a week - but all the other baddies (grain, potatoes, sugar, sweeteners) are completely stricken from the menu.

It's nice to not feel tempted by ice cream and cookies anymore :D

confirming Karen and all else I've ever heard that women--especially those over 35 and/or who have had children and/or who have been overweight since childhood--will probably stop losing somewhere between 25 and 50 g.

Good for you, tho, Rod, for being able to eat a lot of grams and still lose. Have you looked into the paleolithic diet? Might be the ideal woe for you

30 max
 

I keep my carbs below 30 at the absolute most... normally I am below 20. I've noticed that if I go more than that I actually feel sluggish and have trouble thinking straight.

It reminds me of a quote from A Course In Miracles :
"I must have chosen wrong, for I am not at peace."

My body tells me if I'm eating wrong, because it just don't work right. ;)