Beginners Guide To Carb Counting

There are a lot of different types of diets from which to choose for people in Massachusetts. Some diets are for people with special dietary needs and others are for those trying to lose weight. It can be pretty confusing for beginners and those who have never seriously tried to eat healthier. One of the more popular weight loss diets that people are turning to is a low carb diet, such as the Keto diet. That type of diet requires carb counting. This guide can help determine if it’s right for you.

It’s all about balancing macronutrients.

Instead of thinking calories, think protein, fat and carbohydrates. Those are the three macronutrient groups. Traditional diets get approximately 45 to 65% of the calories from carbohydrates, where the keto and low carb diets can be as low as only 10% from carbohydrates—carbs. It uses carbohydrate restriction to train the body to burn fat. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbs include things like sugar, which digests quickly and enters the bloodstream rapidly. Complex carbs take longer to digest. Most don’t contain added sugar and are higher in fiber, which also slows how quickly the sugar enters the bloodstream, so it doesn’t spike, leaving you feeling fuller.

You need some carbs in your diet.

It still requires cutting calories if you want to lose weight, but it’s all about how you cut those calories. To lose weight, a person who normally eats 2,000 calories a day would cut that calorie count to 1500. To make up that 1500 calories, a low carb diet would get 25% from carbs or 375 calories based on a 1500 calorie diet, with 40% from fat and 35% from protein. The conversion is approximately 50 carbs to every 200 calories of carbohydrate food, so if you consume approximately 88 grams of carbs a day, you’ll be cutting down to 375 calories in carbs.

It’s all about avoiding simple sugars.

Fruits and vegetables are carbs, but low calorie carbohydrates. It takes almost 12 cups of broccoli, 26 cups of celery or almost 54 cups of fresh spinach to make up the 88 gram count. Now consider sugary treats like Starbucks specialty drinks, which are high in carbs. There are 63 grams of carbs in a peppermint mocha, almost 40 grams of carbs in a can of Coca-Cola and an ounce of jellybeans, which is basically flavored sugar, contains about 28 grams of carbs. Even some vegetables can be higher in carbs, like peas, which contain 21 grams of carbs per cup.

  • After looking at the carb content of most foods, you can tell that eating healthy foods can keep that count lower, although quinoa, beets, sweet potatoes, bananas and butternut squash are examples of high carb healthy foods.
  • Read labels carefully if you’re consuming packaged foods. They tell how many grams of carbs per serving. Pay close attention to the number of servings in each package. It’s often smaller than you think.
  • If you’re trying to create a low carb diet, realize that each person will have a different daily intake amount based on their activity level, gender, age, weight and goals.
  • At Pro Weight Loss, we can provide a custom, science-based diet to take the guesswork out of weight loss. We can help you start on the road to a new, healthier you. It starts by making a phone call.

For more information, contact us today at ProWeightLoss