carbs

OK, got a question regarding carbs and macronutrient ratios.

First, when I’m counting carbs, what the heck does it mean when it talks about net impact carbs. If the nutrition label says 25 carbs, but only 3 impact carbs do I add 25 grams to my food log or 3 grams?

Second, what’s a good percentage breakdown for P,C,&F? Does it depend on what type of phase you’re in and your total caloric intake? Currently I average about 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fat. I’m not in a major cutting phase, but am trying to drop a little extra fat.

Try sticking to a nice, rounded whole food diet…most of those products that start talking about net impact carbs are just junk food…If you want/need carbs in your diet just make sure you eat them at the right times,and stick with the tried and true oatmeal, yams, veggies etc…If you are serious about shedding body fat then you will just have to cut the “feel good” foods out…now while bulking that is another story…

Thanks for the reply. I am on the go a lot and sometimes I’ll eat a protein bar for a snack. Some of them list net impact carbs. I’m just wondering what to record on my food log, the total carbs or the net impact carbs.

Ehhh protein bars, ok well if it were ME, being a strict kinda guy, I would just look at the TOTAL carbs,and then subtract fiber,and count the rest as carbs in my food log…Alot of companies play games and subtract for whatever they can get away with and make people who don’t knw any beter say “Wow this thing taste great and look only 2 Net carbs!!”…Just curious but what kind of bars do you eat?

I don’t have just one that I eat. There’s a few different ones that I like: Nitro-tech, U-turn, Protein Eight are a few.

protein bars are just candy bars in sheeps clothing. eat real food.
if you are serious about your goals you will find a way to eat real whole foods. beef jerkey, nuts, tuna packets, etc… are all easy to eat travel foods. another option is to buy a small travel cooler and fill it every morning with the days meals.

protein bars are just candy bars in sheeps clothing. eat real food.
if you are serious about your goals you will find a way to eat real whole foods. beef jerkey, nuts, tuna packets, etc… are all easy to eat travel foods. another option is to buy a small travel cooler and fill it every morning with the days meals. <~~~~Well put!! These are they types of foods that I eat on the go as well…If you are a newbie then we will let ya slip for now!! Haha seriously though what he said are all great food choices and besides I’d rather have some beef jerkey over a pro bar ANYDAY

Thanks for the replies, I haven’t been a T-member very long. I used to lift when I was younger but I knew very little about training or nutrition.

I’m now getting back into lifting. I don’t have a gym membership - don’t have the money or time. I work out with a weight machine and dumbbells in my basement. Since I don’t have great equipment I want to make sure I get the most out of my training by trying to eat good, periodize my training, and mixing up exercise movements.

In the beginning it was frustrating even trying to get motivated to start working out again knowing I don’t have very good equipment to work with, I wondered if I’d even see minimal results. But I finally did it and I’ve been pretty surprised with my results so far. After four months, I’ve gone from 201 to 183 and can tell a big difference in my physique and strength. My friends and family have seen a difference too.

I still have a lot to learn that’s why I post the questions. I appreciate all your feedback.

Congrats on your progress so far.

It took me for ever to figure out the diet part, the followng should make up the bulk of your diet if your trying to lose fat and keep muscle.

Lean meats, low GI fruits, fibrous veggies, nuts, flax oil and fish oil.

I found that a 50%Pro, 20%carb, 30%Fat split works well for me, but you will have to experiment and see what works best for you.

As far as daily calories a good place to start is 15 x body weight, and adjust calories up or down every two weeks or so.

yeh man. i am in a cutting phase right now and i eat very strict diet. usually i have a small tupperware container i take with me full of two scoops of protein powder (usually isolate) and i always have my mixer with me. then, all i need is water which is found in every building. as for carbs i keep mine around 80-120 a day since i am around 188 lbs. my favorite is dry oatmeal with a sip of water. now, the anabolic diet (you can find it under CT’s OVT article: the beast evolves) looks like it works and also would be a much easier diet to adhere to. i have never tried it but i am hoping someone will respond to my thread so i can get some feedback. hope this helps.

supsaiyan, congratulations on your progress so far!

I think that even the supposedly “non-impact” carbs have calories. The “impact” here is the effect on blood sugar. So, counting only the “net” carbs is assuming that ONLY insulin matters, calories don’t matter. But obviously, we know that calories do matter. Also, I’m skeptical of anything like these low-carb products that seem to explode into a huge industry practically overnight. Remember the low-fat foods that cranked up the sugar instead? You hardly ever win with processed foods.

so are you guys saying that protein bars are not worth the money, nutritionally? it would be better to eat beef jerky than a protein bar?

Protein bars are glorified candy bars are they??? I’m on a week long ecological study starting next week and will have no access to my own cooking facilities! I’m going to be provided with 2 cooked meals a day and various other snacks (cakes and crisps etc…) for during the day whilst out in the field. I’m going to take a lot of protein bars with me because personally I would rather eat 3 or 4 high protein MRP bars than 3 or 4 adipose creating Mars bars. What would you do? I’m sure that some protein bars are slated in this forum because they are not Grow! or because they are not made by Biotest. Biotest may be the best, but it isn’t the only reputable sports supplement company.

Protein bars are glorified candy bars are they??? I’m on a week long ecological study starting next week and will have no access to my own cooking facilities! I’m going to be provided with 2 cooked meals a day and various other snacks (cakes and crisps etc…) for during the day whilst out in the field. I’m going to take a lot of protein bars with me because personally I would rather eat 3 or 4 high protein MRP bars than 3 or 4 adipose creating Mars bars. What would you do?

WTF? Sorry to say but 3 or 4 high protein MRP bars are just about as “adipose creating” as the Mars bars; it’s called sugar alcohols, glycerin, etc. What would I do and what do I do? Beef jerky and nuts; nice P+F meal. Those handy tuna packets and nuts; another nice P+F meal. If you think you’re eating “healthy” cuz you’re munching on MRP bars you need to do a lot more self-education on dieting.

I’m sure that some protein bars are slated in this forum because they are not Grow! or because they are not made by Biotest. Biotest may be the best, but it isn’t the only reputable sports supplement company.

What the hell does this have to do with anything? Do you think all the forumites care if you buy Biotest products or not? I certainly don’t. Actually most serious athletes here don’t eat protein bars period whether Biotest made them or not! A much better choice would be to bring powdered protein (which I do) in a container that I can mix with water to get my protein throughout the day than eat junk bars.

Here’s some links to previous article which have discussed pros/cons of protein bars in a bit more depth:

I think the consensus has generally been consuming bars from time to time probably won’t have much affect on body comp, but you don’t want to rely on them to heavily. Over all the actual nutrient content is probably pretty negligible despite increasingly creative labeling. I think in a pinch, though, they’re a better choice than some other crap you could eat.

The bar that i’m going to be using on this week does contain glycerine. So what? I count the carbs. 35g of carbs per bar is not going to make me fat if I eat at maintainance for the week. The bar doesn’t contain any gelatin so at least the protein it contains does have biological value. The bar also contains some potassium carbonate and will not produce as much as an unfavourable PRAL score as a meal consisting of beef jerky and nuts. During this week I have nowhere to refrigerate my food so I can’t take my own supplies (I am taking lots of nuts to make sure I get enough fats). Finally, correct me if I’m wrong but I haven’t seen beef jerky or those tuna packs in the UK so I couldn’t do that anyway!

Just advice take it or leave it.

3-4 protein bars a day!!! I would hate to be your digestive track.

If you can post here you can find jerkey, tuna packets and just about anything else online…

Beef jerky is around in the UK but can be hard to find. Although I have seen it in Sainsburys. And it is fairly expensive. Beef jerky and nuts wouldn’t be much cheaper than a protein bar if at all. Likewise the pouches of tuna may be available in the bigger supermarkets. Although a camping tine opener that can be found cheaply in any camping store can be quite handy. Before I knew anything about nutrition I used to eat a can of pineapples in lectures.

try power peanut butter…it’s got flax seeds for fiber, some good fats and protein.
powerbutter.com

The bar that i’m going to be using on this week does contain glycerine. So what? I count the carbs. 35g of carbs per bar is not going to make me fat if I eat at maintainance for the week.

Again, do what you want but ingesting 35 grams of glycerin 3 or 4 times per day will basically spike your insulin response through the roof each time you eat one which results in favorable environment for fat storage. It’s not just total calories per day that makes the difference, its the type of calories you eat. Read any one of Berardi’s articles on this site for a more thorough explanation.

The bar doesn’t contain any gelatin so at least the protein it contains does have biological value. The bar also contains some potassium carbonate and will not produce as much as an unfavourable PRAL score as a meal consisting of beef jerky and nuts.

You’re missing the forest for the trees. Let’s do a survey here. What’s much more important? The macronutrient breakdown/types of you’re food or PRAL score? If you say PRAL score (i.e. measures the acidity of a meal), go ahead and reread every one of Berardi’s articles and come back to talk to me.

During this week I have nowhere to refrigerate my food so I can’t take my own supplies (I am taking lots of nuts to make sure I get enough fats).

Excuses for not making better food choices!

Finally, correct me if I’m wrong but I haven’t seen beef jerky or those tuna packs in the UK so I couldn’t do that anyway!

I don’t care where you’re from. I gave you a few meal examples to take with you. The list wasn’t meant to be exhaustive. There are additional choices. But again, if you’re completely in a state of bliss eating you’re glorified candy bars, have fun!