Don't be fooled into believing carbs are bad for you.
I've made the mistake myself and I can tell you from personal experience and lots of research - they aren't. This is why I get frustrated and upset when I see family members trying to quit sugar, friends cutting out fruit and clients being too scared to eat carbs after 6pm. They've also been tricked into living and eating in an unnecessary, unhealthy and definitely unenjoyable way.
So let's get one thing straight here, carbs/fruit/sugar aren't making you fatter and they definitely can't tell the time. Severely limiting or not eating carbohydrates is unhealthy and definitely unenjoyable and this is why....
What are carbs?
Carbs can be classified as either...
- Complex Carbs (Starches and Fibre) - vegetables, rice, pasta, potatoes, bread etc.
- Simple Carbs (Sugars) - fruit, dairy, honey, candy, soft drinks etc.
They can be broken down even further than this but all you really need you to know is that both complex carbs and simple carbs contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are great for our health. Complex carbs also have the added bonus of containing fibre, which our gut bacteria like to feed on to help optimise our digestive system.
No matter whether you're consuming complex carbs or simple carbs, both end up being broken down and converted to glucose. This glucose is either immediately used to help fuel the body or is stored for later use as glycogen. Glycogen stores are primarily found in the muscles and liver and every gram of glycogen stored, stores 3-4 grams of water alongside it.
Glycogen, in terms of body weight, has been suggested to contribute around 400-500 grams from muscle and 50-100 grams from the liver. So if total body glycogen (~600 grams) was multiplied by the water attached (~4 grams) we would end up with ~2.4kg worth of stored glycogen in the body. This is a fairly conservative estimate as the the upper limit for glycogen stored has been suggested to be up to 15g/kg of body weight, which for me (90kg), would suggest I have about 5.4kg worth of glycogen stored!
This is why those who limit their carbohydrate intake and deplete their glycogen stores weigh more after cheat meals - they're not putting on body fat, they're just restoring glycogen! It's also why those who go on extreme diets tend to lose 2-3kg straight away - They're not losing fat, they're just losing glycogen!
Do carbs make me fat?
NO.
Becoming "fatter" can only occur when you consistently eat in a calorie surplus. This can happen eating any types of food(s), not just carbs.
Studies that have compared simple carbs vs complex carbs, carbs vs dietary fats, ketogenic vs non-ketogenic and low carb diets vs high carb diets have all found no difference in terms of body composition (body fat and muscle mass) when calories are equated for.
In fact, it's been shown time and time and time and time and time and time and time again that carbs do not cause fat gain and can actually help fat loss when compared against any other form of macronutrient/food.
The only time you should worry about carbs is when you're drinking them. There is some strong evidence to suggest that sugar sweetened drinks are linked to body fatness (1, 2, 3, 4). This isn't because of the sugar/carbs themselves, but because these drinks make it far too easy to consume a large amount of carbs and push you into a calorie surplus.
This study sums it up perfectly...
“It is important to state at the outset that there is no direct connection between added sugars intake and obesity unless excessive consumption of sugar-containing beverages and foods leads to energy imbalance and the resultant weight gain.”
Don't drink your carbs, just eat them - they won't make you fat.
But isn't fruit different?
Fruit gets a bad rap because of a certain sugar (carb) in them called fructose.
Fructose, unlike other sugars, has to be sent to the liver for it to be converted to glucose. This "extra" step has been found to be negative for body composition should you be
- In a calorie surplus
- Consuming a high amount of fructose (~100g)
But consuming over 100g of fructose from fruit is near on impossible unless you're stupid. Let me explain...
- Bananas: 1 medium banana has 7.1 grams of fructose. You’d have to eat 14 bananas to reach 100g's of fructose.
- Strawberries: 1 cup of strawberries has 3.8 grams of fructose. You’d have to eat 26 cups of strawberries to reach 100g's of fructose.
- Peach: 1 peach has 5.9 grams of fructose. You’d have to eat 17 peaches to reach 100g's of fructose
- Apples: 1 medium apple has 9.5 grams of fructose. You’d have to eat 10 apples to reach 100g's of fructose
Can you see why avoiding fruit is a silly idea?
This article goes into great detail as to why you shouldn't be worrying about your fructose intake or avoiding your fruit and this study sums it perfectly as well...
"Fructose does not seem to cause weight gain when it is substituted for other carbohydrates in diets providing similar calories. Free fructose at high doses that provided excess calories modestly increased body weight, an effect that may be due to the extra calories rather than the fructose."
Eat your fruit, it's nutritious, tasty and won't make you fat
What about low GI and High GI Carbs?
GI stands for glycemic index, which is a numeric system that ranks carbohydrate according to how they affect blood glucose levels. If a food is considered high GI then it generally breaks down during digestion and enters the blood stream as glucose very quickly whereas low GI foods are considered to do this at a much slower rate.
Once carbohydrates are ingested, converted to glucose and then entered into the bloodstream, the pancreas fires up to release a hormone called insulin whose job it is to transport the glucose (and other nutrients when they're available) into liver, muscle and fat cells.
Once insulin has done its job of transporting the blood glucose into the necessary cells, both blood glucose and insulin levels drop back down to baseline levels and the whole process then repeats itself the next time you eat...
The argument against eating foods that are considered high GI stems from the fact that whilst insulin is doing its job, the breakdown of fat cannot take place. The logic here is that high GI = more insulin secreted = less time for fat to be broken down = fatter you will be.
Luckily, this isn't really the case as in healthy people, insulin will only rise in response to you eating a meal so when you're not eating, or asleep - the breakdown of fat will occur. This is beautifully demonstrated in the picture below and as you can see, you spend a lot more time being able to break down fat than not.
image courtesy of weightology.net
Insulin and its role in the body goes a-lot deeper than this but in terms of picking carbohydrates, you should spend more time focusing on the nutrients that are found in your carbohydrates rather than their GI value (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
So why do so many people cut out carbs?
Because it works.
Cutting out carbs is an easy way to eat a lot less food (and calories). Imagine not eating any the foods on the left hand side of this picture?!
Yes, the body can go without carbohydrates as it has the ability to convert protein and fats into glucose. This makes carbohydrates non-essential for survival, but that doesn't make not eating them a great idea....
In today's world, a drivers licence, mobile phone, clothes and a bed to sleep on aren't essential for survival, but they sure make it a little more comfortable - The same can be said about carbohydrates.
The body prefers you to ingest carbs, especially if you're lifting weights (you should be) as they're your primary energy source (1, 2). This makes eating carbs a no brainer for those in the gym as your training and thus your results will be much, much, much, much better.
Just because you COULD get away with not eating carbs or having a ridiculously low carb diet, doesn't mean you SHOULD.
So I should eat carbs?
YES
If better results in the gym isn't enough motivation to eat carbs then maybe the fact they're going to lift your mood, help you lose weight, decrease your risk of diabetes and blood cholesterol levels, increase your performance and give you a better nights sleep might help convince you a little more.
When it comes to how much and which types of carbs, keep it simple...
- Find out how much you should be eating or speak with us.
- Choose minimally processed, nutrient rich carbohydrates most of the time.
- Enjoy the odd indulgence - you deserve it.
Hope this helps!