how many carbs?

Question
hi. i'm a 30 yrs old female. i don't workout at all and my working day is mostly stationary. all of my life i've been eating A LOT of carbs, such as pizza, bagles ,maffines, pancakes, pastas cookies and cakes. i usually weight around 142 pound. carbs never seemed to do me any harm... (i'm 5"7). but lately i gained about 12 pounds in 2.5 months (!) due to my eating going completly out of control. (i had days i would eat over 5,000 calories - sometimes WAY OVER that, all of that from "bad" carbs & fats!). but then i have "good" days that i would eat around 1000 - 1200 calories. even on good days most of those 1200 calories would come from carbs. a menu for example : i would eat a little snack every hour or 2 hrs or when i feel hungry. usually ,at least 2 granola bars a day, 3 cups of coffee w\ milk , 1 low fat yogurt, fiber rich cereal and some fruits. fruit is usually a banana (also high in carbs..). if u add up all of those calories a day u would get around 1000-1200 cl a day, but if u add up the CARBS, they can reach almost 200 gr a day. if i do a week of that menu i can easily loose around 4 pounds in 7 days, without working out. MY Q' IS - 1. if i do count my CALORIE INTAKE, and eat low amount of calories and low fat foods, is it wrong for me to eat so many carbs? (i like carbs...). i know that on the atkins diet people go down to 30 gr carbs a day! in 1 snack that i eat there are around 29 gr of carbs! (most of them come from granola and cereal). 2. my schedual doesn't really allow me to cook and also, to be hounest, i don't really know how to cook... that's why i pass most of my days w\ snacks or food that is "ready to go". can u give me some ideas of such foods that will be lower in carbs so i can replace it with my daily granola bars? 3. do u think my diet is highly unbalanced? my problem has always been that i DO NOT cook and i'm lost when it comes to picking up healthy protein on the go. 4. i would like to point out that i would like to loose around 30 POUNDS as quickly as possible. how long would that take ,if i start working out? thank u for your time, ayelet.

Answer
In my opinion low carb works well because it eliminates a lot of the junk foods, but high carb, low fat can be just as effective.  ANY diet that limits junkfood and calories will work well.  Frankly, the diet I would recommend is on that is high in fresh fruit and vegetables (you don't have to cook these), modest amounts of lean protein (chicken, fish, lean meat), and modest amounts of complex carbs (rice, beans, pasta).  The key is low calorie and low fat, not necessarily low carb.

It sounds like your diet has a lot of processed foods, which would translate to a fair amount of salt, fat, and simple sugars.  Try substituting some fresh fruit or veggies for your snack instead of granola.

There is always a way to incorporate exercise or increased activity into your day: take the stairs, park farther away, walk at lunch.

Loosing weight quickly, in my opinion, is not the way to keep it off.  You should shoot for 3-5 pounds a month.  

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