Before diving into this sweet topic, you first need to forget most of what you've heard up until now. Truth be told, most of it's simply bad advice, and if you don't believe me just take a look around you. The bottom line is that our society is facing it's most obese generation to date, and the number one reason: over consumption of carbohydrates, (sugar) and processed ones at that. Six meals a day? That's not realistic for many people, especially those with with severely under active and sedentary lifestyles. Consuming six meals a day of "heart healthy whole grains" which often times consists of *genetically modified and gluten packed versions of wheat, is not only bad, it's essentially a fast track to obesity! Of course if you're climbing trees for food and hunting animals, then you may get away with more, but even the most active lifestyles will experience road blocks en route to ones fitness goals when not seeking out quality sources of carbs.
Timing is equally as important as the quality of carbs you are consuming. We've all heard it before, "don't eat carbs at night," but before setting strict guidelines we need to first understand the reasons for such statements, and whether or not it's even applicable to you. In general, consuming a high amount of carbs is not ideal for someone already carrying a large amount of body fat. However, if you're an athlete or a male or female under 18% or 25% body fat respectively, then it's beneficial for more efficient muscle mass development on your already leaner physique. Eating carbs with dinner rather than breakfast does in fact have some strategies that I will soon explain, but perhaps the best time is post-workouts. After a workout, (assuming we are all working out to some degree) your blood sugar is at its lowest, and your body is craving the sugar (glucose) that it just expended during your intense workout. In a sense, it's "preoccupied" with re-establishing heart rate, and leveling off hormones as the body seeks to recover from its catabolic state. In lehmans terms, the carbs you eat after working out will not be stored as body fat, but instead rerouted to be used for immediate energy…a much better option than burning muscle, which is why every gym in America is shoving a "recovery" drink down your throat! Your best food options at this time, are starchier carbs that are broken down more quickly. A **spotted banana, berries, rice (yes, even white rice), squash, and pumpkin are a few good options here. At all other times your carbs should come predominantly from vegetable sources.
To get the bigger picture, we need to first understand the roles of insulin and cortisol in the body. Insulin is the hormone responsible for regulating metabolism and energy from ingested nutrients, particularly carbs, while cortisol is often referred to as the "stress hormone." In a nutshell, carbs cause insulin to spike in an effort to regulate blood sugar. If you don't eat carbs, you don't have insulin being released into the blood. When people eat too much sugar, the blood spikes over and over again causing a yo-yo effect that over time decreases insulin sensitivity, and can lead to pre-diabetic conditions. Despite this, carbs are still essential to the body as they provide energy to our muscles and help maintain brain function.
As mentioned, cortisol plays an equally important role in controlling body fat. Cortisol is released in response to stress, and occurs naturally higher in the morning than the evening. The function of cortisol is blunted by the presence of insulin which supports the theory for a protein dominant breakfast over one rich in carbohydrates. Eating oats or cereal for example will essentially throw off your hormone levels, which not only inhibits fat burning (due to insulin presence) but often sets us up for the tired and lethargic "mid-day slump" that many people experience. Instead, it's most likely more advantageous to essentially fast in the am (aside from black coffee, tea or water) as long as you are not working out. If you're working out in the morning, be sure to follow up your workout with a protein shake and a small amount of easily digested carbs like fruit for example. By fasting, and avoiding carbs throughout the morning we are putting our bodies in what is knows as a sympathetic state, sometimes referred to as the "fight or flight" mode. Have you ever felt like you were "wired" after an extended period of not eating or sleeping…case in point. When we eat a lot of carbs, we are in a parasympathetic mode which often causes a more relaxing/tired effect. Just think of how you feel after gorging on a large meal, like Thanksgiving for example. By eating most of your more nutrient dense carbs (such as the ones previously mentioned) with dinner when cortisol is at its lowest levels, you are following the bodies natural hormonal pattern, and are more likely to sleep more soundly and therefore recover more efficiently from your training.
If your a numbers kind of person, a general guideline to follow would be 50-75g or 200-300 calories for females trying to lose weight and 100g or 400 calories for men trying to lose weight. Obviously if your a "hard-gainer" type or a marathon runner you can forget what I just said, as you will need significantly more. There are many factors that will effect daily in take. First, you need to determine your total daily caloric requirements as far as protein and fat, and you can then figure out carbs from there. I personally would recommend having a professional (trainer, nutritionist, etc...) determine this for you, although there are many online tools to give you an idea. Speaking of daily intake, I should also mention that the amount of carbs you eat should vary from day to day. Let's face it, we aren't all working out 5 or 6 days a week, so take in more carbs on the days you are training, and lower it on the days you are not.
So to accurately answer the question of whether carbs are good or bad for you, one would have to look deeper into the individual and his/her lifestyle. In general, do we need carbs? Absolutely. How much? Well now you can probably answer that better now. How active are you? Are you already lean? Are you diabetic? Are you an endurance athlete? In any case, don't ditch them. They are one of the main macronutrients of the body, and you simply can't function optimally without them.
*over the last 50 years the government has allowed the genetic modifications of wheat sources in an effort to increase yield and production and feed the hungry. Unfortunately as a result, the question of whether or not it's even suitable for human consumption has often been ignored. As a result the genetic make up of wheat today does not even, resemble the wheat our ancestors ate many years ago which was of higher quality and more nutritious.
**when a banana becomes spotted the sugar profile has converted from fructose to glucose which is the exact sugar you want post-workouts)
Carbs. Love or hate them, you still need them!
Before diving into this sweet topic, you first need to forget most of what you've heard up until now. Truth be told, most of it's simply bad advice, and if you don't believe me just take a look around you. The bottom line is that our society is facing it's most obese generation to date, and the number one reason: over consumption of carbohydrates, (sugar) and processed ones at that. Six meals a day? That's not realistic for many people, especially those with with severely under active and sedentary lifestyles. Consuming six meals a day of "heart healthy whole grains" which often times consists of *genetically modified and gluten packed versions of wheat, is not only bad, it's essentially a fast track to obesity! Of course if you're climbing trees for food and hunting animals, then you may get away with more, but even the most active lifestyles will experience road blocks en route to ones fitness goals when not seeking out quality sources of carbs.
Timing is equally as important as the quality of carbs you are consuming. We've all heard it before, "don't eat carbs at night," but before setting strict guidelines we need to first understand the reasons for such statements, and whether or not it's even applicable to you. In general, consuming a high amount of carbs is not ideal for someone already carrying a large amount of body fat. However, if you're an athlete or a male or female under 18% or 25% body fat respectively, then it's beneficial for more efficient muscle mass development on your already leaner physique. Eating carbs with dinner rather than breakfast does in fact have some strategies that I will soon explain, but perhaps the best time is post-workouts. After a workout, (assuming we are all working out to some degree) your blood sugar is at its lowest, and your body is craving the sugar (glucose) that it just expended during your intense workout. In a sense, it's "preoccupied" with re-establishing heart rate, and leveling off hormones as the body seeks to recover from its catabolic state. In lehmans terms, the carbs you eat after working out will not be stored as body fat, but instead rerouted to be used for immediate energy…a much better option than burning muscle, which is why every gym in America is shoving a "recovery" drink down your throat! Your best food options at this time, are starchier carbs that are broken down more quickly. A **spotted banana, berries, rice (yes, even white rice), squash, and pumpkin are a few good options here. At all other times your carbs should come predominantly from vegetable sources.
To get the bigger picture, we need to first understand the roles of insulin and cortisol in the body. Insulin is the hormone responsible for regulating metabolism and energy from ingested nutrients, particularly carbs, while cortisol is often referred to as the "stress hormone." In a nutshell, carbs cause insulin to spike in an effort to regulate blood sugar. If you don't eat carbs, you don't have insulin being released into the blood. When people eat too much sugar, the blood spikes over and over again causing a yo-yo effect that over time decreases insulin sensitivity, and can lead to pre-diabetic conditions. Despite this, carbs are still essential to the body as they provide energy to our muscles and help maintain brain function.
As mentioned, cortisol plays an equally important role in controlling body fat. Cortisol is released in response to stress, and occurs naturally higher in the morning than the evening. The function of cortisol is blunted by the presence of insulin which supports the theory for a protein dominant breakfast over one rich in carbohydrates. Eating oats or cereal for example will essentially throw off your hormone levels, which not only inhibits fat burning (due to insulin presence) but often sets us up for the tired and lethargic "mid-day slump" that many people experience. Instead, it's most likely more advantageous to essentially fast in the am (aside from black coffee, tea or water) as long as you are not working out. If you're working out in the morning, be sure to follow up your workout with a protein shake and a small amount of easily digested carbs like fruit for example. By fasting, and avoiding carbs throughout the morning we are putting our bodies in what is knows as a sympathetic state, sometimes referred to as the "fight or flight" mode. Have you ever felt like you were "wired" after an extended period of not eating or sleeping…case in point. When we eat a lot of carbs, we are in a parasympathetic mode which often causes a more relaxing/tired effect. Just think of how you feel after gorging on a large meal, like Thanksgiving for example. By eating most of your more nutrient dense carbs (such as the ones previously mentioned) with dinner when cortisol is at its lowest levels, you are following the bodies natural hormonal pattern, and are more likely to sleep more soundly and therefore recover more efficiently from your training.
If your a numbers kind of person, a general guideline to follow would be 50-75g or 200-300 calories for females trying to lose weight and 100g or 400 calories for men trying to lose weight. Obviously if your a "hard-gainer" type or a marathon runner you can forget what I just said, as you will need significantly more. There are many factors that will effect daily in take. First, you need to determine your total daily caloric requirements as far as protein and fat, and you can then figure out carbs from there. I personally would recommend having a professional (trainer, nutritionist, etc...) determine this for you, although there are many online tools to give you an idea. Speaking of daily intake, I should also mention that the amount of carbs you eat should vary from day to day. Let's face it, we aren't all working out 5 or 6 days a week, so take in more carbs on the days you are training, and lower it on the days you are not.
So to accurately answer the question of whether carbs are good or bad for you, one would have to look deeper into the individual and his/her lifestyle. In general, do we need carbs? Absolutely. How much? Well now you can probably answer that better now. How active are you? Are you already lean? Are you diabetic? Are you an endurance athlete? In any case, don't ditch them. They are one of the main macronutrients of the body, and you simply can't function optimally without them.
*over the last 50 years the government has allowed the genetic modifications of wheat sources in an effort to increase yield and production and feed the hungry. Unfortunately as a result, the question of whether or not it's even suitable for human consumption has often been ignored. As a result the genetic make up of wheat today does not even, resemble the wheat our ancestors ate many years ago which was of higher quality and more nutritious.
**when a banana becomes spotted the sugar profile has converted from fructose to glucose which is the exact sugar you want post-workouts)