How many carbs do you maintainers eat daily?

[Scarlet]

I am just wondering how many carbs do people eat daily when they reach maintenance. Also, after veggies which carbs do you use the most?

Thanks all!

[Natrushka]

Scarelt, I'm pretty sure the numbers will vary with each individual - the more active and the less IR the person, the higher the number of carbs they will be able to tolerate.

While I'm not in Maintenance yet, I consider myself pre-maintenance material :) I've increased my carbs with foods like steel cut irish oats, sweet potatoes, 100% whole wheat fajita shells, apples and the odd non LC protein bar. At the outset there was some gas while my body adjusted - but with a little help from beano and about two weeks of time everything is back to normal.

I spent some time pouring over a list of low G.I. foods, picking ones that I could work into my menus and experimenting with some new ones I'd never tried before.

I've been thinking that Schwarzbein and the Zone might be good "Maintenance" reads over the next few months.

Cheers,
Nat

[Kristine]

Hi Scarlet! Honestly, I haven't really been keeping track lately, but last I checked, it varied widely, from 40-110. It depends on what's going on in my day. On an inactive day, it would be on the low end. If I was eating at a restaurant, it would be higher. I might have croutons on a caesar salad, or barbecue sauce on my wings. Little splurges like that. Of course, there's beer on Saturday nights, too. :D

...but now that I pretty much have the drill down pat, I don't count anymore. It also might be worth mentioning that I didn't do Atkins, or the build-up-to-maintenence thing.

[nsmith4366]

from 20 to about 50 I'd guess. It took me 3 months not to be afraid to get up to that many carbs...silly me. No weight changes. I enjoy life.

[AngelaR]

I'm like Nat, in pre-maintenance, working my carbs up as I get closer to goal. I range anywhere from 30 to 70

What carbs do I choose after veggies...
apples
more berries
higher carb veggies like sweet potatoes, beets, turnip
more veggies...right now in the form of home made soups stuffed full of veggies.

[annieo]

Let me tell you ... the BEST THING about this WOL is that you don't have to count for the rest of your life. Honestly, I have no idea how many carbs I eat in a given day. I know the general carb levels of the foods I eat, and the only foods I put in my mouth are those that I know to be reasonably low in carbs. Past that, I don't keep track.

I joined my mom once on Weight Watchers with those point-thingies. I swear, there was NEVER a time when I wasn't plotting and planning about how to cram some more/better food into my day without 'going over' my points limit. Forget that! Now I just eat what I'm hungry for (luckily for me that does NOT include the high sugar treats that I used to go for!). And BOOM! Still at (a little under) my goal weight and feelin' fine!

Does this make me a bad LC'er? I don't think so. I think it makes me someone who has found an eating strategy she can live with!

:)

Annie

[OrchidC]

Like many, I don't really count carbs anymore. I reckon I stay between 30-100 depending on the day and how my clothes fit. This is a hard time of year for all of us controlling what we eat. Even on maintenance we are aware of what we eat, and have to remember that just that one cookie can cause a craving.

The best way, IMO, to add carbs is through veggies or other natural foods. I think the processed stuff, even the LC food bars are detrimental. I know when I ate the LC bars, I seemed to be bloated and maybe predisposed to gain a bit?

Keep it natural (easier said than done) and keep it simple. Once you maintain for a while, you learn what your body will tolerate, and what it won't!

[nsmith4366]

I'm right there with you!

If Atkins meant for us to be counting all day - well - heck, we might as well be counting calories instead!

I'm all non-processed - don't count (just know what looks like a low carb meal and what doesn't now)....using my common sense or as I say "My carbin' sense"!!!

I don't dive into fat or spend alot of time in the kitchen contriving the next great low carb thing I can have. I guess I've arrived.
Feeling good.

N :)

[Alexoc949]

I don't count daily carbs but I make sure what I'm eating through out the day is low carb. If the weight slides a bit, which it rarely does, I put ephasis on tougher workouts and cut carbs very low for a couple days.

[csj]

I'm with those who have counting phobia. I'm also like those who focus on the low carb foods and watch the clothes and scale to see what's going on. I have added pinto beans and garbanzo beans. I missed those more than pasta, bread and sugar. (Call me weird?) I don't eat fake foods, artificial sweetners, or "diet" anything and so far it's working pretty well.

Good luck to all!
Cindy

[hippygal]

Well I am a little scared to add carbs. See my problem is that I want to add all of the wrong carbs. Icecream is my biggest problem. I never went off induction so I think I need to add 5 grams a day. Is that true?Or do you think I can add 10 grams a day and still be fine?

[pepsi max]

i have between 30 and 50 depending on my bgs and activity but i don,t count religiously anymore.i know the gi and c-counts of the things i eat now and just stick with what i know works.

[Frederick]

I've been on Maintenance for a couple of months now.

Like most here, I haven't counted carbs either since I've reached goal; and, even during OWL, I was never very meticulous about it either.

Now, I eat anywhere from 80 - 120 carbs. Some days higher, while other's lower. I've found that once I've cut out the breads, pastas, sugars, and all the high carb foods, it's impossible for me to eat higher than 100 carbs with veggies and fruits. Right now, I'm eating so many veggies and fruits--more than I ever have at any point in my life--I don't even need the multi-vitamin since I easily get all the RDA nutrients.

When I do have the occasional treat, I'll use the extra carbs on chocolates or ice cream.

While I haven't counted carbs, I have monitored my weight and haven't gained anything the past few months; if anything, there's been a propensity for me to keep losing weight. I'm down to 150 now, and will probably have to either eat more or add carbs. Not sure which is best, but I guess I'll just flip a coin.

[SarahO]

I am getting around 30-50 carbs a day. Most days I just keep loose track in my head, but every couple of weeks I use fitday for a day, to make sure my estimates are basically correct. I've only been in maintenance for a few weeks so I expect I'll stop doing that at some point.

Besides vegetables, my main sources of carb are:

-fruit! I'm so glad I hit my goal in early summer, it would have been a real hardship to go through a whole summer without peaches, watermelon, cherries, and pineapple.

-whole grains: Finn Crisp crackers, the occasional slice of whole grain bread, and my homemade sugar-free granola (half oats, half nuts & flax seeds, with whey protein powder and da vinci syrup to hold it together)

In restaurants I'm a little more flexible to have a few bites of the rice, eat the sauce even though it might have some thickener in it, etc.

[JV1311]

I get out of ketosis and maintain with 2 servings "starchy" carb a day - that means for me 1/3 cup oats or sugar-free cereal in the morning, and for lunch 1 cup cooked beans or sweet potato. I eat other carbs like whole wheat bread or brown rice very rarely, since they do make me slightly hypoglycemic. I feel tired after having them. So that is around 40g starchy carb on top of the 40-60g I get from cottage cheese, veggies, nuts, berries. Oh yeah, I also do the insulin spike with my post workout shake 3x a week when I maintain.

I won't eat yogurt or white carb at all, not because I can't maintain with it, but I am really hypoglycemic and react badly to it. I miss sushi, I am not gonna lie. Fruit is mostly berries, but I will have the occasional loquat, apple, cherry or peach.

[el corazón]

JV-
Just wanted to say congrats on your weight loss!! You are an inspiration :)

[mexicosun]

I am doing 40-60 and don't gain a pound. Over that I do. I can eat a little higher carb items without it affecting me-but in moderation. I don't do pop at all and won't. I eat fruit, vegetables, and plenty of meat and dairy and my weight stays the same. I basically eat half what I used to and no junk food or drinks. :Party:

[Coriolis]

I am doing 40-60 and don't gain a pound. Over that I do. I can eat a little higher carb items without it affecting me-but in moderation. I don't do pop at all and won't. I eat fruit, vegetables, and plenty of meat and dairy and my weight stays the same. I basically eat half what I used to and no junk food or drinks. :Party:Yup, same here. I stopped counting carbs when I hit my goal weight, but pretty much kept to the same diet. The only difference is that I eat more fruit (apples, mainly), some low-carb bread (Country Kitchen Oatmeal, 8g total (6g net) /slice), and low-carb beer (Amstel Light, 5g/bottle) -- stuff I didn't consume while actively losing. On most days I estimate I'm ingesting about 60-80g carbs, but probably less on some days and perhaps more on others. My weight remains between 142 and 146, depending on how much water I'm retaining (bad salt! ;)).

I still stay away from pasta and rice (and never eat white bread or junk food anymore), and don't miss them a bit.

[Anleigh]

I eat about 60 carbs day and that includes 2 - 6oz. servings of sugar free yogurt (Blue Bunny Lite).

[Anleigh]

Carbs are around 60-70 per day. I don't really count; just avoid sugar, white veggies, white breads, pastas, and rice. Most everything else is game in limited amounts depending on what it is. I love this WOE more and more everyday.

[Itty]

Hi

When I went on maintenance about two months ago, I stopped counting carbs and allowed myself a cheat once every few days. Then that became a cheat every day, then maybe two a day!

For me, I think counting carbs forever is necessary, or I am heading for pizza and ice cream! I need about 50 g carbs per day to maintain, but I have been going wild with 5 carb days and 200 carb days!

I think slow and steady might be the best way for some of us...

(What's the saying? It's not what I do, it's what I say...!)

Mary

[JL53563]

I honestly don't count my daily carbs anymore. I just make sure that everything I eat is low in carbs. Almost completely whole natural foods. I will have an occasional low carb wrap. Really, the only exception to my low carb rule is that on a special occasion I will have a treat. Like when one of my kids has a birthday, I will have a small piece of cake. Things like that. This happens about once every 2-3 months.

[Itty]

Hi

I let my carbs get out of control for a while.

You need to watch which carbs you eat (say, like Baskin Robbins Ice cream!!???!!)

Once I reach my new goal weight of 130 (target: July 1), I will try to have under 60g per day.

M

[Anleigh]

I maintain on about 60-80 carbs (rough estimate) - absolutely no formal counts.

[adkpam]

I lost on 40-60 a day, but I hovered around 40 and sometimes got down to 20.

Now I'm eating 40-60 a day, but I'm probably closer to 60 on a daily basis. I'm eating more low carb ice cream, apples and oranges occasionally, and the Smart Carb filled (with veggies & cheese) pasta with a no sugar tomato sauce.

I still have no interest in bread of any kind (I tried low carb bagels a couple of mornings last week, and even with a generous topping of cream cheese, they made me so hungry I'll never go near them again.) No interest in plain pasta, or desserts, or anything like that.

Basically, I just eat a little more food that's a little higher in carbs to maintain. And I still follow up a hungry day with a couple of not-hungry ones, it seems to be the way my body works.

[Moonwalker]

i usually have around 40net carbs per day, and around 30-40 fiber carbs.