When it comes to losing weight, reducing your overall calorie intake is key. However, the source of those calories – including how many come from carbohydrates – can also impact your ability to lose weight.
Most experts recommend moderating carbohydrate intake for weight loss, rather than following extremely low-carb diets. The right amount of carbs for you will depend on many factors like your weight loss goals, activity levels, health conditions, food preferences, and more.
How Carbs Affect Weight Loss
Carbohydrates are one of the main macronutrients found in food, along with protein and fat. Carbs provide the body with glucose, which is converted into energy.
However, eating too many carbs can lead to excess glucose being converted into fat and stored in the body. This may contribute to weight gain over time.
When you eat fewer carbs as part of a reduced-calorie diet, your body can reach a metabolic state called ketosis. In ketosis, your body becomes efficient at burning fat for energy, which can accelerate weight loss.
That said, very low-carb diets are not necessary for weight loss for most people. Moderating carbohydrate intake to be in line with your daily calorie needs is likely sufficient to lose weight.
Recommended Carb Intake for Weight Loss
Most experts recommend consuming 30-50% of your total daily calories from carbohydrates when trying to lose weight. This equates to:
- 150-250 grams of carbs per day for a 2,000 calorie diet
- 120-200 grams of carbs per day for a 1,600 calorie diet
- 90-150 grams of carbs per day for a 1,200 calorie diet
However, some lower carb diets like the keto diet recommend limiting carbs to just 5-10% of total calories, which would be 25-50 grams of carbs per day on a 2,000 calorie diet.
In general, the fewer calories you eat per day, the lower your carb intake should be to facilitate weight loss.
Factors That Affect Carb Needs
The optimal carb intake can vary significantly from person to person. Some key factors that affect carb needs include:
Weight Loss Goals
If your primary goal is losing body fat quickly, you may want to reduce carbs further since very low-carb diets can accelerate fat burning. However, this may not be sustainable long-term for some people.
More moderate carb intakes around 30-40% of calories are likely sufficient for most people to lose weight while still eating balanced meals.
Activity Levels
Active individuals can often tolerate more carbs in their diet. If you exercise regularly, you may be able to eat more carbs while still creating a calorie deficit for weight loss.
Lower activity levels mean you’ll likely need to reduce carb intake to stay in a calorie deficit.
Metabolic Health
Those with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or type 2 diabetes may benefit from lower carb diets for weight loss and blood sugar control.
For those who are metabolically healthy, moderate carb diets around 100-150 grams daily are likely sufficient.
Food Preferences
Low-carb diets eliminate many foods that are high in carbs. If you enjoy eating grains, fruit, starchy vegetables, and other high-carb foods daily, a very low-carb diet may be difficult to stick to.
Choosing a slightly higher carb intake around 40% of calories can allow room for some of these foods in moderation.
Quality of Carbs
Not all carbs are created equal when it comes to weight loss. Focusing on nutrient-dense, minimally processed sources like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds can help boost fiber and nutrient intake to aid weight loss.
Tips for Reducing Carbs
Here are some simple tips to reduce carb intake when trying to lose weight:
- Limit sweets and desserts like cakes, cookies, ice cream, and candy
- Cut out sugary beverages like soda, juice, sports drinks, and sweet tea
- Reduce starchy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, crackers, and pretzels
- Limit high-carb fruits like bananas, grapes, mango, and apples
- Swap out potatoes and corn for non-starchy vegetables
- Choose lower carb treats like berries, avocado, olives, nuts and seeds
- Read nutrition labels to compare carb content
- Avoid packaged, processed foods that are high in carbs
Sample Low-Carb Day for Weight Loss
Here is an example of what a moderate low-carb day may look like on a weight loss diet with around 100-150 grams of carbohydrates:
Breakfast
– 3 eggs cooked in 1 tsp olive oil
– 1/2 avocado
– 1 oz cheddar cheese
– 1/2 cup blackberries
Total carbs: Around 15 grams
Lunch
– 4-6 oz grilled chicken breast
– Large salad with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, 1 tbsp ranch dressing
– 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
Total carbs: Around 15 grams
Dinner
– 6 oz broiled salmon
– 1 cup roasted asparagus
– 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
– 1 tbsp olive oil
Total carbs: Around 45 grams
Snacks
– 1 serving low-fat Greek yogurt with cinnamon
– 1 oz mozzarella cheese stick
– 1/4 cup blueberries
– 12 almonds
Total carbs: Around 25 grams
Sample Higher-Carb Day for Weight Loss
Here is a sample higher-carb day with around 150-200 grams of carbs that still promotes weight loss:
Breakfast
– 1/2 cup oatmeal cooked in water with 1 tsp honey
– 1/2 cup blueberries
– 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
– 1 cup low-fat milk
Total carbs: Around 50 grams
Lunch
– Turkey and avocado sandwich on 2 slices whole-grain bread
– Carrot sticks
– 1 apple
Total carbs: Around 60 grams
Dinner
– 4 oz grilled salmon
– 1 cup quinoa
– 1 cup roasted Brussels sprouts
Total carbs: Around 60 grams
Snacks
– 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
– 10 whole-grain crackers
– 1 plum
Total carbs: Around 40 grams
Conclusion
Finding the right carbohydrate intake for weight loss requires some experimentation. Most experts recommend starting with a moderate carb diet and adjusting up or down from there based on your weight loss progress and personal preferences.
Focus on getting your carbs from nutrient-dense whole foods as part of a reduced calorie diet to successfully lose weight and improve health.
