Carbs to balance hormones, how much? page 4

[oxide]

I am working hard on increasing my carbs. I don't eat rice or potatoes.

If you want carbs without the potatoes and rice, go for sweet fruit. It's pretty easy to pile up the carbs with bananas, tomatoes, and apples and oranges. Or you could ramp up honey and maple syrup -- both delicioius.

[ChocoTaco369]

Why are you recommending she eat that much protein?

I'm not recommending she eats any specific level of protein. I'm recommending she keeps her carb intake in a specific balance with her protein. If she eats less protein, she should lower carbs in kind. Similarly, if she eats more protein, she should increase carbs in kind. I used '100g' of protein because it is a very round number and it is easy to follow the math from a logical perspective. If I were to pick an obscure number like '77g,' it would be less clear. I clearly stated that '100g' is only for purposes of example and it was not a number she should necessarily shoot for.

And BTW, that's not a lot of protein. I probably haven't eaten less than that in...God...years. I'd be more likely to double that not even trying. Mmm, meat.

It's about balance. She's as free to eat as much or as little protein as she'd like.

[Zach]

I'm not recommending she eats any specific level of protein. I'm recommending she keeps her carb intake in a specific balance with her protein. If she eats less protein, she should lower carbs in kind. Similarly, if she eats more protein, she should increase carbs in kind. I used '100g' of protein because it is a very round number and it is easy to follow the math from a logical perspective. If I were to pick an obscure number like '77g,' it would be less clear. I clearly stated that '100g' is only for purposes of example and it was not a number she should necessarily shoot for.

And BTW, that's not a lot of protein. I probably haven't eaten less than that in...God...years. I'd be more likely to double that not even trying. Mmm, meat.

It's about balance. She's as free to eat as much or as little protein as she'd like.

You specifically said to eat 1g pro to 1g cho. If she is trying for 150~g Carbs then that is certainly too much protein for a woman who is not weight lifting and has hypothyroid issues.

In this case i disagree that carb and pro should be balanced. The higher the amount of carbs then lower protein requirements will get.

[ChocoTaco369]

Carbs have been getting me bloated since reintroducing. I hope it will stop soon.

What kind of carbs are you eating? Are you trying to consume carbs through sweet potatoes like Mark tends to recommend? I don't understand his sweet potato obsession...I mean they're awesome, but there are other options. They are high in soluble fiber and have a considerable fructose component. Try white potatoes, which are "cleaner" - they're easier to digest, have better quality protein and next to no sugar. You may find yourself bloating less on them, especially if you remove the skin. Sweet potatoes make me a lot gassier than white potatoes if I decide to eat 2-3 lbs in a sitting. Which I tend to do

Other options may be mashed or fried green/less than perfectly ripe plantains and bananas and white rice. I usually find the lower the fiber content, the less you'll bloat.

You could also just be eating too many carbs in a sitting, or combining them with too much fat. Generally, if you're going to go carb-crazy, keep fat as low as possible or you'll bloat up. Similarly, you kind of want to keep your carb intake within the range that it fits into glycogen storage - if you're not a big lifter and depleting your glycogen and you carb up, you'll bloat more.

[Mireia]

ChocoTaco

Sweet potatos are most likely to cause me bloating. Are white potatoes different from yellow potatos? I have been avoiding regular potatoes for a while now.
My protein intake used to be about 110g. Now that I eat a little less fat (80-100g) and more carbs (123 grams yesterday) my protein intake went down to about 23. Not sure if that is too low. It really varies though depending on how many eggs I eat.

I am not lifting weights but a 25lbs child can get heavy. When we go out I rately use a stroller and instead just hold him. I can do anything one handed. Breastfeeding also takes away calories and energy. Not sure that counts as a workout? I don't work out aside from that really because of the baby. Once in a while I get to shoot my bow, or slap a volleyball around, or ride a horse, but its rare.

I neither want to go arb crazy nor fat crazy. Is there a way of doing this without bloating? The large amounts of fat have helped me with other things like not being rested in the morning and hypoglycemia. It is also easier to keep weight on that way.

[Mireia]

If you want carbs without the potatoes and rice, go for sweet fruit. It's pretty easy to pile up the carbs with bananas, tomatoes, and apples and oranges. Or you could ramp up honey and maple syrup -- both delicioius.

I eat a lot of honey and bananas!

[ChocoTaco369]

You specifically said to eat 1g pro to 1g cho. If she is trying for 150~g Carbs then that is certainly too much protein for a woman who is not weight lifting and has hypothyroid issues.

In this case i disagree that carb and pro should be balanced. The higher the amount of carbs then lower protein requirements will get.

Huh?

She is making a mistake focusing on carbohydrate. You should be focusing on the balance - dictating your protein consumption based on carbohydrate consumption is silly. She should be doing the opposite and basing carbs on protein. If you are eating a low protein diet, then you don't need to ingest as much carbohydrate to balance out the glucagon. Consuming so much carbohydrate over protein may be a contributor to the bloating.

And again, 100g of protein is not "a lot" of protein. That's about a pound of meat a day. Who can't eat 5-6oz of meat per meal? That isn't much.

Another focus is the type of protein. Not everything should be muscle meat. Focus on adding some eggs and high protein dairy to your diet. Probably 1/3 of my protein comes from eggs, dairy and cheese. I try not to eat ridiculous sums of phosphate-rich muscle meat because it depletes calcium (dairy will balance that).

If you want to consume less dairy, another option is to shift your meat to gelatinous cuts like shanks and oxtail because they are richer in calcium.

[ChocoTaco369]

Sweet potatos are most likely to cause me bloating. Are white potatoes different from yellow potatos? I have been avoiding regular potatoes for a while now.

Yes. Sweet potatoes and white potatoes are in two entirely different families. White potatoes are a nightshade, while sweet potatoes are part of the morning glory family. White potatoes are closer to a tomato than a sweet potato. If by "yellow potato" you mean a "white sweet potato," they are entirely different.

You want a cheap bag of russet potatoes. They're usually about $2/5 lbs

My protein intake used to be about 110g. Now that I eat a little less fat (80-100g) and more carbs (123 grams yesterday) my protein intake went down to about 23. Not sure if that is too low. It really varies though depending on how many eggs I eat.

That sounds okay. I assume you are not counting carbohydrate from fibrous vegetables? I wouldn't count carbs from any greens or vegetation. The lowest-carb carbs I'd count are squashes, if that makes sense.

I am not lifting weights but a 25lbs child can get heavy. When we go out I rately use a stroller and instead just hold him. I can do anything one handed. Breastfeeding also takes away calories and energy. Not sure that counts as a workout? I don't work out aside from that really because of the baby. Once in a while I get to shoot my bow, or slap a volleyball around, or ride a horse, but its rare.

I neither want to go arb crazy nor fat crazy. Is there a way of doing this without bloating? The large amounts of fat have helped me with other things like not being rested in the morning and hypoglycemia. It is also easier to keep weight on that way.

Try experimenting with different carb sources first. I have my preferential starch list and I go as follows:

Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, plantains, white rice, nixtamilized non-GMO corn tortillas (they MUST be non-GMO and nixtamalized, meaning they're "treated with lime (calcluim carbonate, not lime juice)" which makes them a clean starch). Sweet potatoes are my favorite based on taste, but bloat me the worst. White potatoes and white rice bloat me the least. Try them I'd say.

[NDF]

My protein intake used to be about 110g. Now that I eat a little less fat (80-100g) and more carbs (123 grams yesterday) my protein intake went down to about 23. Not sure if that is too low. It really varies though depending on how many eggs I eat.

I am not lifting weights but a 25lbs child can get heavy. When we go out I rately use a stroller and instead just hold him. I can do anything one handed. Breastfeeding also takes away calories and energy. Not sure that counts as a workout? I don't work out aside from that really because of the baby. Once in a while I get to shoot my bow, or slap a volleyball around, or ride a horse, but its rare.

I neither want to go arb crazy nor fat crazy. Is there a way of doing this without bloating? The large amounts of fat have helped me with other things like not being rested in the morning and hypoglycemia. It is also easier to keep weight on that way.

You are only eating 23g of protein?? Up that! Especially if you are breastfeeding.

Protein should be at about .8-1g/lb LBM for those who are sedentary to active. There isn't really a huge need in eating more than that. 100g is probably about right.

You should aim for a minimum of 100g of carbs a day (not counting those from fibrous veggies). That's your base. Fill in the rest of your calories with fat and carbs depending on how they make you feel. If you feel better higher fat, do it. If you feel better higher carb, do that. Just try not to go below that 100g of carbs a day.

[magicmerl]

I am not eating rice or potatoes atm. But I get lots of carbs from fruits, veggies, tubers and roots. There shouldn't be a difference between carbs from rice and carbs from plants right?

I'm confused. Isn't a potato a tuber?

Anyway, just wanted to chime in and say that I had a similar thing to you, which I self-diagnosed as a thyroid problem. My solution was to add rice, potatoes and kumara back into my diet, along with taking Brazil Nuts and Nori (for Selenium and Iodine respectively). We don't really eat rice much at all, but we definitely eat more potatoes and kumara more days than not.

I find that my diet right now lines up almost exactly with the perfect health diet.

I find a lot of confusing information out there. Some are totally against carbs, some are pro carbs, some say to only eat good, paleo carbs, while others eat rice...it is hard to tell who is right and wrong tbh.

Yeah, and at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is how you feel when you eat the foods. So experiment and see. Have different configurations of 'safe' foods and try them in month long blocks. That will give you an idea if there are combinations that don't work for you. It sounds like you've already realised that low carb doesn't wotk for you, so I guess the alternatives are:
1. Include bananas and Kumara
2. above, plus potatoes
3. above, plus rice
4. above, plus other grains

I can't really say what 'how much' is, but don't be afraid of carbs. We tend to go for even splits of protein, carbs and fat on our plate.

In terms of gaining weight, I would recommend increased fat rather than more carbohydrates (although there's nothing wrong with carbohydrates). My wife struggled a little producing milk for our first, and when we switched from margarine to butter (pre-primal) her milk production shot up.