Question about Carbs.

I have seen several people post on the main board recently that they were advised to only eat between 20 and 30 grams of carbs per day.  I have never paid much attention to how many grams I eat, I just know that if I eat things really with really high carbs I feel yucky.  So anyway, I went to Fitday and checked mine out and I'm averaging around 70 per day.  Some days are lower but most are around 70.   I haven't lost any weight in a year.  Had a hysterectomy one year ago tomorrow and haven't lost since then.  I didn't know if my body was just happy where it was, or if it was hormonal, but is it possible that I'm eating too many carbs?  And if I am, then how do people do it with only 30 grams?  For example, today I had a banana with breakfast - (17 grams) and 1/2 cup of baked sweet potato with lunch (24 grams)  That's already more than 30 grams and I always have a veggie or fruit with dinner.    Sorry for the rambling post, but hopefully someone will be able to interpret what I'm trying to ask and help me.  Christy

I hope the nutritionist replies, but,  While I count carbs (good carbs like yours, mostly bananas, sweet potatoes, salad fixin's etc.) I am more interested in maintaining  a consistant % of my diet.  I try to get as close to 50% protein, 30% carbs , 20% fats in my diet as possible.  That ratio works best for me, may not be for you though.  I need good carbs to fuel my exercise habit of 1 to 2 hours a day of cardio plus 3X week weight training.  So what that means is, for example, on a day that I eat 1000 calories I want to have 75 gms of carbs (1000 X30% = 300 / 4cal per gram = 75 grams).  I plan my meals a head of time (mostly ) . Hope that helps, Carla

Abby, First of all, it is difficult to eat a healthy diet  over the long haul that contains only 20-30 grams of carb per day.  Although everyone has a different medical history, I usually recommend about 40-50% of calories from carbohydrate i.e. ( if you eat 1200 calories per day, multiply 1200 x .4= 120 grams per day).  If you are sticking to healthier carbs such as fruits, veggies, whole grain breads, cereals & crackers, this is about 8 servings per day as each carb is about 15 grams per serving).   After all,  carbohydrate's main function is to serve as fuel to the body; it also spares protein and serves as a primer for fat metabolism and is used almost exclusively by the brain for energy.  I don't know about you, but given the importance of carbs in basic energy functioning and metabolism, I would rather not alter these intricate systems.    In terms of feeling "yucky" when you eat foods high in carbs (likely higher in sugars versus fiber) you may be experiencing a "sugar rush", which may result in either dumping or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which makes one feel wiped out. In terms of not losing weight after a hysterectomy, many women experience weight gain after this sugery but at least you have maintained.  It may be due in part to hormones, eating too little with regular exercise, a plateau or a combination of these and many other factors.   I do not think you are eating too much carbohydrate.  In fact, just the opposite.  Remember to focus (sounds like you are) on your fruits, veggies, whole grain breads, crackers & cereals verus higher sugared things for the majority of your carb intake.   Hope this gets you on the right track!

Thank you so much for your reply.   While I definitely try to stay with healthy carbs.  I do occasionally have the bad kind.  Those are the ones that cause the "yucky" feeling that I attribute to mild dumping.  I don't like the feeling so I try to avoid them most of the time or just eat a smaller portion.  etc.  I will try watching my percentage of calories from carbs rather than focusing on the number of grams and see if I'm staying within the right range. 

As far as not losing over the last year, I have a feeling that if I would exercise more I could get jump start the losses again.  My workouts have been sporadic because I have small children in sports programs with busy schedules.  Although I wouldn't mind losing more I'm happy maintaining where I am, and I think it's important to keep the kids active so that they aren't sitting around learning bad habits .  So far they've had no weight issues and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

Thanks again for the information.