Racer LEX

Net carbs.

But I really don't have to keep a diligent, detailed count (so total or net doesn't matter) because I avoid starchy,sugary foods like potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, candy in the first place. Once your fat adapted and the carb cravings go away it's not hard to be under 50g. My staples are meats of all type, vegetables (broccoli, greens, zucchini, squash, spinach, cauliflower) and eggs. I snack on almonds and sometimes peanuts. Most my carbs come from nuts and the few found in some veggies or what they are being prepared in. I sub low-carb tortillas in "sandwich situations" and sometimes pick up carbs there. Me and my wife have found low-carb snack alternatives (ala peanut butter fat bombs) on Facebook Keto pages when the sweet tooth rears its head. I feel fulfilled and like I'm getting enough calories. I go to the gym every other day and ride when weather permits; and don't lack energy doing so. Hope this helps.

Clyde1820

The OP's discussion question was about nutrition, essentially, and not outright performance.

True enough, short-term performance can be impacted differently than long-term, nutritionally-smarter choices might otherwise yield. A bad trade for most folks, though, particularly people just looking to be healthier, keep trimmer, lose weight.

Hondo Gravel

I’m going to hit the iron again and gradually get on my bikes. I’m almost healed enough and gained about 12 pounds so not too bad so high performance at this stage isn’t the game plan. Dropping a few pounds is what I need to do because I don’t want to be a sloppy old man that only gets exercise walking around Walmart not trying to be a meathead just want to have some muscle and good bone density. I guess adjusting carbs to activity level may be a good strategy. Haven’t seriously weight trained since 2015 so I’m starting light with a gradual increase.

YankeeRider

Scientific / medical studies show that people have lower mortality and morbidity if they eat high-fiber carbs - like beans, bran, whole grains, unsweetened oatmeal, most fruits, rather than avoiding carbs entirely. Fiber has fantastic benefits, and many healthy sources also provide beneficial phytochemicals (e.g. vitamins and antioxidants, flavonoids, etc), protein, or both.

wafflerskillme

Don't really pay much heed to diet..... Tons of carbs daily but complex carbs mainly (although a fair amount of chocolate and ice cream goes in too to be honest)..... It suits me best I think.
If I wanted to work on weight loss I'd concentrate on exercise but since cycling this last few years I'm finding I mostly am trying to get as much food in as possible so as not to lose weight.
I also cannot function well on long rides without plenty of carbs.....I can really feel the difference when fueled properly and in my case its carbs...............
I may well be wrong (again) but I think the whole reduced carb buzz popular at the moment is misplaced but I'm very often wrong anyway.........

KraneXL

Stopped reading. Diet is the single most important thing you can do for your health. Everything else is secondary. You must give it your undivided attention, especially as we age.

wafflerskillme

It's the single most important if it's particularly bad........ Context is everything. My undivided attention is better served elsewhere...

bruce19

It's the single most important thing. Now, if you have paid attention to it, going on to things like exercise is worthy of our focus. It sounds like you have done that. I am constantly tinkering with nutrition. But, since going to a low carb diet (not Keto but aiming at 100 g of carbs daily) my BP has gone from 160/95 to 125/80 on a consistent basis. My ND says it's a result of reduced inflammation.

wafflerskillme

I cannot be generic, it is impossible to cover each individuals requirements.... Some populations eat a varied and mixed diet, others don't.
Keto, Paleo, Atkins, Low carb, the Pear diet !

I've heard them all. Changing diet is useless without changing lifestyle. Both go hand in hand.
I've met a huge number of overweight people constantly trying the latest fad. It rarely lasts, you can go on such and such a plan however once you ingress too many calories it doesn't really matter where they come from, the body will convert those excess calories into fat........
Low carbs may work for some, high fat for others, low protein for others and a varied and mixed diet for most.........

Context is everything, if you're burning thousands of calories each day you need calories as fast as possible as replacement.
Everyone is different..............

Diet is only important if it is particularly bad, if its not a bad diet then generally its nothing to consider in great detail....... We have moved from a nomadic lifestyle, to nomadic pastoral, to pastoral, to sedentary.... For most of the past 10,000 years or so our bodies have mostly become adapted to digesting and using complex carbs as we became more adept at farming and harvesting grains as our primary fuel source (not for everyone, but for most people).

According to recent fads obesity was caused by Wheat and Wheat based products !!! I guess social, economic nor lifestyle causes were not responsible for obesity.....

Of course if diet is bad it has to be addressed but if it aint bad it aint a problem and if the lifestyle is good it can be a counter force for balance.

I've often found that individuals will use the excuse of "flouncing" around with diet modification for years without addressing their real problem. They don't like exercise because it requires effort and they perceive effort as pain so instead of doing any exercise they spend literally years and often their entire lives fooling themselves that by tinkering around with their food they are addressing their problems.

Having said all that these are just my own personal opinions and may well be worthless but thanks for reading......................

Everything in moderation, including moderation...... :-)

wafflerskillme

Sorry to post again KraneXL but I thought I should mention its rude to alter someone else's text and doubly rude to start with "stopped reading" and then continue with your own opinion.

Boards are for opinions I thought

YankeeRider

I spend a fair amount of time reading the medical literature, and studies show that eating healthy carbs - which is basically beans, fruits and high fiber whole grains, reduces mortality and morbidity (death and disease incidence) versus not eating them. This doesn't mean eating any old carbs, mind you, healthy carbs as specified. Most fruits, like an apple for example, have a low dose of digestible carbohydrate, and come with lots of soluble fiber (pectin in an apple) that slows down the digestion and absorption of that carbohydrate to shape the time curve to look less like a short-duration, sharp, tall spike of blood sugar and insulin response, and more like a low, gentle hill - and your blood sugar never gets into the danger zone, and there isn't a strong insulin peak or a subsequent crash, and you don't get the sugar high or the intense food cravings that follow after it passes. Plus soluble fiber helps you to eliminate cholesterol, and some types of fiber help to nourish beneficial probiotic bacteria in the gut, and fruits have lots of vitamins and anti-oxidants. Fruits, especially high fiber whole fruits are not Satan. Even the American Diabetes Association recommends consumption of whole fruits, beans, and high-fiber whole grains.

KraneXL

Its just a phrase you're seemingly unfamiliar with. I also did not alter your text since its clearly visible, and these are opinions so that part doesn't make any sense. You could try reading without being overly sensitive. I don't know you.

Serottafan

mynewnchome

So......I'm not 50, but getting there, 47. I saw this thread in a new post search and read all the pages. I hope I'm not squatting in a place I shouldn't.

I'm not keto, not even really dieting but definitely trying to change my ways. Cut out a lot of sweets, a lot of breads, not much pasta left in the diet (don't remember the last time). Drinking V8 instead of soda, water, water, water. Riding my bike on my off days, about 230 miles this month, walking a minimum a half mile dedicated while at work above all the normal walking. I try to stay quite active.I

Crappy thing is scale isn't budging. I can see toning and "less me" but that scale needs to move. I'm going to keep watching this thread, thanks to all of you for posting so much information and letting me sneak in the back door to read it.

Planemaker

Have gotten an app like MyFitnessPal to track all of your calorie intake? It's eye opening how many calories are in things we eat.

bruce19

I've posted this in another thread so apologies. I went to a low carb diet in mid-Nov. At the time I weighed 194.5 lbs and my BP was 170/100. I am now at 187 lbs. and BP of 125/80. This is low carb not Keto.

KraneXL

You need a diet and a plan. Remember, 80 percent of how you look is diet. So for now...for right now, focus all you attention there.