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What constitutes a low carb diet?

I've been trying to limit daily intake of of carbohydrates in my diet to under 100g. Would limiting it even lower improve results in terms of weight loss?

Also, how many grams of carbohydrates does a normal male and female take as recommended by USDA guidelines?

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<SoapBox>The USDA has a history of being absolutely HORRIBLE about making proclamations of what's "healthy". The US "Food Pyramid" is one of the only ones in the world (there are a few others, though) that have breads, pastas, and grains as the largest section. Most other countries have fruits and vegetables as the largest section, with grains and meats sharing the second. They teach it to you in school, and that's the recommendations that our parents feed their children (there are programs to help parents buy "healthy" food for their kids), and then look at our obesity rates.</SoapBox> – Nathan Wheeler♦ May 29 '12 at 16:02
+1 Thanks for helping to erase this common misconception. – Mike S Aug 13 '12 at 6:26
This question is off topic now, regarding the FAQ. – Informaficker Sep 12 '12 at 18:26

1 Answer

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Depends on which low-carb diet you ask.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet#Practices_and_theories

Normal guidelines aim for 45-65% of calories from carbohydrates.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/364372-what-is-the-usda-total-intake-for-carbohydrates-per-day/

Personally, I think you should just measure and see what works specifically for you--by definition, diet is really personal, and what works for any number of other people may not work for you.

I'm also leery of weight loss being a specific, absolute goal, but that's a separate issue.

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Downvoter: reasoning behind downvotes, while not required, is appreciated. – Dave Newton Aug 14 '12 at 0:26
my apologies its me. I didn't mean to though :/. It won't let me vote up unless your 'edited' it apparently. If you want - switch a few words around or add a sentence and I can fix it. – Mike S Sep 14 '12 at 6:00

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