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Author: Kathleen
Date: 09-06-01 06:03
Does anyone have a good source of information on what % of a diet should consist of carbohydrates based on a persons' activity level? I ask this because I have recently started counting calories to keep up with what I'm eating and also increased my aerobic activity from 3 hours per week to 1-1.5 hours per day (broken up over morning and evening) in an attempt to burn off some fat. This is in addition to weight training about 3 times per week. I was aiming for around 60% carbohydrate but I have found that I have had spells of weakness and slight nausea which dissipate after the consumption of something sugary. Any information would be appreciated!
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Author: Melanie
Date: 09-07-01 07:51
I don't think the percent of carbohydrates that you need to consume depends on your activity level. It's the total calories that your body consumes is based on your activity level - but I think the recommended proportions of fat, carbohydrates, etc. remain the same.
Here are the figures recommended by American Heart Association:
Consumption of 30% or less of the day's total calories from fat
Consumption of 8% to 10% of total calories from saturated fatty acids
Consumption of up to 10% of total calories from polyunsaturated fatty acids
Consumption of up to 15% of total calories from monounsaturated fatty acids
Consumption of less than 300 mg/d of cholesterol
Consumption of no more than 2.4 g/d of sodium
Consumption of 55% to 60% of calories as complex carbohydrates
You can read the full article where I got these figures here: http://www.americanheart.org/Scientific/statements/1996/1001.htm
If you have weakness and nausea that disappears with the consumption of something sugary, you might be eating too little calories for your activity level. To find out the number of calories that you need, use the calculators on our site.
Also, if eating something sweet helps you - there is no reason to suffer trying to not eat when you don't feel good - just eat something sweet, but make you it's a HEALTHY sweet snack... like for example raisins or dried appricots - they are sweet but still good for you, and they don't have that many calories.
Best regards,
Melanie
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Author: Renee
Date: 09-10-01 08:06
Hello, what your doing sounds a bit heavy, there seems to be a lot of exercise and a lot of cutting down on carbohydrates. It sounds like you should be careful. you could draining your body of energy and thats why you may feel dizzy after consuming sugar because its pure energy. If you are exercising as much as you are then you dont need to cut down on carbohydrates as they will provide you with the energy you need. I would just cut out additional sugar from my diet if I were you and you will probably be OK. Sugar is a major fat source, we get plenty of it in prepared foods that we dont really need to add it to anything, espacially coffee or tea.
Good Luck!!
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Author: Jeanine
Date: 10-01-01 15:34
Thank you so much, it was very very helpful. What I'm looking for is what types of foods, like what types of foods have saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats, monosaturated fats, etc. Something that confuses me is, doesn't fat mean cholesterol? When something has no choloesterol, but has 6 grams fat, isn't that cholesterol? I'm trying to figure a balanced diet and which foods I should eat to loose a little weight. I know avoiding white sugar and high fat, but what foods contain the above? Should I stick with baked chicken (no skin), tuna, boiled ham, etc? I'm confused. I have been working out so long and haven't lost any weight, and it is getting a bit depressing. I have varried my routine, but I'm afraid that I am not varying it properly. I change the way I workout, like instead of doing 4 sets of arm works in the beginning of my routine, I change it to the end. But I don't know if this is what they mean by varying a routine, can you help?
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Author: Melanie
Date: 10-01-01 16:36
Fat and cholesterol are totally different things. Labels on foods list them separately, and one thing (fat) does not mean another (cholesterol).
To find out fat and calorie content in foods, read their nutrition label. To cut out the fat, eat boiled, steamed and baked foods instead of fried. If you don't cook, learn how to cook - cooking your own healthy meals is the easiest way to lose weight. There are tons of cookbooks on the market that have tasty low fat recipes.
Regarding excercise - have you tried aerobics? Cardio type exercise like aerobics burns a lot of calories. Join a class if you can - it can be very motivating and makes it easier to stick to regular exercise.
Melanie
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