CARBS FOR
DUMMIES (PART 1)
Carbohydrates for dummies
I am not calling you a dummy!
However, we do not get taught this stuff at school, so I am helping to educate you myself.
Poorly educated choices and too much of these choices without actually burning any of it off explain why I was overweight until I was in my late twenties.
Anyhoo, carbs are another nutrient that has come under a lot of stick over the past few years... and it's completely wrong to categorise a whole nutrient group as bad.
What is a carb?
It’s a type of macronutrient, so it sits with fat and protein. (Macronutrients are fats, proteins & carbs)
A carb typically consists of starch, sugars or fibre.
Yep that means sugar is a type of carb, if you look at the side of any food label it will say carbohydrates followed by 'of which sugars'
So if its 50g carbs of which sugars 25g
...half its carb content is sugar.
Make sense?
What foods are carbs
I cover this in the Nutrition Simplified article, but i'll go over it again.
There are loads of crap quality carbs (simple carbs/highly processed) out there that I would recommend you try and drastically cut down on.
Things such as:
- Waffles
- Donuts
- Cake
- Crisps
- Chocolate
- Sausage rolls
- Pastries
- White pasta
- Pizza
- Garlic bread
- Normal bread
- Breakfast cereals
- Biscuits
When you eat the above they are broken down by your body into glucose REALLY QUICKLY - not good.
They are processed (not many good quality natural ingredients) and some of the energy is broken down and stored as fat.
Then you have the good quality carb group (complex carb) which are actually ok for us.
Things like:
- Sweet potato
- White potato
- Brown rice
- Porridge
- Lentils
- Beans (not heinz)
- Quinoa
Why do we need carbs?
Carbs are ENERGY, nothing else, literally just energy.
You can not use it for other stuff
Cool fact: We can turn protein and fats into carbs but we CANNOT turn carbs into protein and fats
Carbs can go one of two ways
To be used.
To be stored.
It's a bit like money, if you do not spend it, it's left in your bank.
Where are my banks?
Good question. 2 places, fat cells and muscle cells.
Muscle cells, we store carbohydrate in the form of glycogen in muscles ready to be used, because carbs fuel muscle. Every time you move one of your muscles, you are using carbohydrates.
Once we use it all up we get fatigued.
This why you WANT carbs for optimal performance
More muscle = more storage of carbs
This is why bodybuilders can eat a lot of junk food and still look lean.
The other place.
Fat cells.
So if you're Mr or Mrs Cardio gettin' your sweat on each day and you do not have much muscle mass you have limited storage capacity in those muscles and you'll store it in fat cells
Also if you're a couch potato and eating too many carbs you're forcing your bodies ability to store it.
Moving more empties muscles and allows space to put that stored stuff
Are all carbs equal?
Nope, they affect our blood sugar level differently. They have been given a GI index which is how fast they spike our blood.
To keep it stupid simple, we do not want to spike it too fast.
Sugary foods do this so avoid or drastically reduce them when you can.
Prime example >> have you ever had a spike of energy after munching on a chocolate bar that is soon followed by a crash about 45 minutes later - that is why.
and generally another reason that we look for the next fix.
Stick to veg carbs! Potatoes and rice are the best bets.
They are much more nutritious and are broken down much slower by the body.
So are a great source of steady energy.
Where do carbs fit into your daily diet?
Your carb intake really does depend on:
- Goals ie: fat loss or muscle gain
- Activity level ie: sedentary or strength train
- Carb source ie: processed or starch
- Genetics ie: body types
Bottom line: EARN them first
Pre workout is a good time to eat some type of carb and post workout is the ABSOLUTE best time, you have a small window to eat some quality carbs with some protein – your body will be craving it as well.
Ie: Chicken with veggies and brown rice
OR
Porridge with milled chia seeds, ground flax, crushed walnuts and berries
I hope this has shown how crucial getting the right nutrition is?
Especially if fat loss or putting on lean muscle is your overall goal!!!
