Do we need carbs?

 Hello all! I am about 3 1/2 months out, and must say, I am pretty happy with my success.  I've been having lots of stalls, of course (you can't escape it), but today, the weight loss started again.  I find that when I am only eating protein and veggies, my weight loss will stop. But when I add in moderate carbs (1 whole wheat tortilla, or 1 serving of potatoes), my weight loss will go faster. So my question is, do we need carbs in our diet for weight loss? Is there any reasoning behind this, and has anyone else experienced anything like this? 
Steph

Yep! We need some complex carbs for our bodies to function. As long as they are complex good carbs, there is nothing wrong with eating them in moderation.

Read this please!
 

http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/03/bf-basics-carb-confusion.html

I love you dearly but that statement you made hurt my heart...

 We DO need simple carbs (fruit) and complex carbs (vegetables, whole grains). I see many posts where others cut out carbs altogether. I feel this is a big mistake and creates health consequences down the road. Eating a purely non-carb diet may accelerate you weight loss temporarily. If you follow the rules of protein first, vegetables or fruits, then whole grains you are training yourself for a lifestyle of healthy eating. I choose not to eat refined carbs. Please see my profile page for an example of the eating plan I created that has led to my success.

Fruits are simple carbs. This is why I tell people not to demonize simple carbs.

Simple carbs = carbs our bodies can burn quickly for energy
Complex carbs = carbs that take longer to convert to energy

Simple carbs are not bad. REFINED carbs (cake, chips, cookies) could be called bad, but generally I'm not inclined to demonize food.

If I have to say this until the day I die, I will!!!! We need simple AND complex carbs!!!

 I stand corrected. I will now state I eat simple and complex carbs...LOL

You make me so proud...

We do need complex carbs to be able to have a diet that is balanced in nutrients. My program recommends that we get 800 to 900 calories a day to ensure that we getting enough calories to keep our metabolism from going into 'starvation mode', but few enough to maximize our weight loss efforts. It is very normal for our weight loss to follow a drop and stop pattern versus the downward slide we would like to see. However, sometimes if we aren't getting enough calories you can find that your weight loss will stop. You may be seeing the weight loss resume just because it's a coincidental part of the cycle, but you also may be seeing it resume because you are increasing your caloric intake. If you aren't doing so already, it would probably be a good idea to use something like www.mydailyplate.com or www.sparkpeople.com to log your intake and activity and then share the results with your program to see if you need to do any tweaking. 

 

Your veggies are carbs. There are more carbs in some veggies than in
others. It is likely due to the fact that if you're adding a tortilla or potato,
you are increasing your calories and that sometimes helps with weight
loss, particularly if you are keeping your calories in the low range.  But
the short answer is...yes, our bodies use carbs for available energy.

Our brain and body needs some carbs to get by.  Maybe it's not the carbs your body is reacting to, but the increased calories that they provide.  Low calorie is great for weight loss, but there's a happy medium... too low and your body stops responding.  Perhaps that's what is happening here?