How many carbs should i eat a day calculator

Determines the recommended daily carbohydrate intake for your age, height and weight, whether you want to lose, maintain or gain weight.

Refer to the text below the tool for more information about the formulas and rules used in determining the daily carbs.

Daily Carbohydrate Intake

Carbohydrates, along with proteins and fats, form the macronutrients we require in our daily diets. Carbs are present in most foods or fruit and comes either as starches, fibers or sugars. The recommendation for a balanced diet states that carbs should form approximately 45% to 65% of daily calorie intake. It is also important to note that 4 grams of carbohydrates produce 4 kcalories.

Different diets may account for different carbohydrate percentages out of the total calories, for example:

• Ketogenic diet – 10%;
• Zone diet – 40%;
• Low fat diet – 60%;
• Low carb diet – 25%.

Upon determining the daily calorie recommendation based on the Mifflin-St Jeor gender specific formulas, a percentage of 45 to 65% can be applied to determine the necessary of daily calories from carbohydrates. If this value is divided by 4 (because 1 g of carb = 4kcal) then the daily grams of carbs can be obtained.

• BMR (Females) = 10 x Weight (kg) + 6.25 x Height (cm) - 5 x Age (years) + 5
• BMR (Males) = 10 x Weight (kg) + 6.25 x Height (cm) - 5 x Age (years) – 161

This determination can be further customized by accounting for the activity level, so that the daily calories can be accurately estimated (the BMR value is indexed based on the activity level variable). The activity level options are:

• No or little exercise/sedentary;
• Easy exercise (2-3 times/week);
• Moderate exercise (4 times/week);
• Active exercise (5 times/week);
• Very active exercise (5 times intense/week);
• Day by day exercise;
• Day by day intense exercise/twice daily;
• Daily exercise and physical activity/job;

The daily carbohydrate calorie intake or grams, determined by the BMR formula indexed by level of activity is best fitted for maintaining current weight. In some cases, the subject may require to first determine their ideal weight, to check whether they require to lose or gain weight to reach it.

Weight loss and weight gain recommendations for the daily calorie and grams of carbohydrate are also provided, accounting for the rule of thumb that healthy weight loss means losing 1 lbs/week.

However, it is important to note that the type of carbohydrate ingested, not only the quantity, will influence the rate and success of weight loss, so one should steer clear from refined grains or added sugars.

References

Slavin J, Carlson J. Carbohydrates. Adv Nutr. 2014; 5(6):760-1.

Brand-Miller J, McMillan-Price J, Steinbeck K, Caterson I. Carbohydrates--the good, the bad and the whole grain. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008; 17 Suppl 1:16-19.

Thompson ME, Noel MB. Issues in Nutrition: Carbohydrates. FP Essent. 2017; 452:26-30.

Merchant AT, Vatanparast H et al. Carbohydrate intake and overweight and obesity among healthy adults. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009; 109(7):1165-72.

Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105(5):775-789.

How Many Carbs Do You Need?

Carb Calculator (Carbohydrates)

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates, just like proteins or fats, are macronutrients. They come in many different forms, such as sugars, starches, or fibers, and are present in most of our foods. You can come across them in bread, potatoes, and pasta, but also in fruits, milk, or cookies.

One of the possibilities to group carbohydrates is to split them into simple and complex carbohydrates.

• Simple carbohydrates are monosaccharides and disaccharides. As their chemical structure is fairly uncomplicated, they are easy to digest. They provide a lot of energy, but you will soon feel hungry again. Some sources of simple carbohydrates include white bread, cookies, and white sugar.
• Complex carbohydrates are polysaccharides – more complicated chains of sugar molecules. They are considered healthier and tend to fill you up for longer. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain a lot of complex carbohydrates.

How many carbs should I eat a day?

No golden rule dictates how many carbs per day you should eat. However, our carb calculator can provide you with some general guidelines that you can use.

• The minimum recommended percentage of carbohydrates in your diet is 50%. It means that at least half of your energy should come from carbohydrates.
• The maximum recommended percentage is 70%. If you eat more carbs, you probably lack other macronutrients, such as proteins.

These percentages apply to calories. If you want to recalculate the recommended number of kcal in carbs to grams, you should use the following equation:

4 kcal = 1 g

Our carb calculator uses this exact formula to give you the optimum range for carbohydrate consumption. You should remember, though, that consulting this calculator is not equivalent to a visit at a dietitian; consult a professional for a personalized diet plan.

Source: https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/carb

Simple Sugars

Even though it is quite important to keep your carbs intake between 50% and 70%, it is essential to limit the simple sugars (or simple carbs). We recommend to never exceed 10% of your total calorie intake.

Why are these carbs bad for you? Most of them have a high glycemic index (GI). It means that they break up faster and rapidly enter your blood system, increasing blood sugar levels. If you don’t limit the intake of such carbs for a long time, it may even lead to diabetes!

How do you calculate how many carbs I should eat?

How many carbs should I eat per day for my weight?

Is 30 carbs a day enough?

Is 75 carbs a day low?