NUTRITION ADVICE-THE TRUTH ABOUT CARBS

Are carbs good or bad when trying to lose weight?

Here's all you need to know

 

Carbohydrates have a bad rap when it comes to muscle-building and fat loss. Bat although they spike insulin levels which can result in your body storing more energy as fat, rather than using fat for energy, manipulating your carb intake is one of the most effective ways to get leaner. You just need to be lean enough in the first place to deserve those carbs.

 

ARE CARBS GOOD OR BAD FOR ME?

It depends on the type, source and, in some cases, the time you consume them, based on your ultimate training aims.

 

SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I EAT CARBS?

Carbs are degested and processed at different rates depending on their structure. In basic terms, the simpler the source - such as suger - the faster it's digested, with the result being a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels. This in turn prompts your pancreas to release the hormone insulin, which carries glucose - an energy source - into your body's cells where it can be used.

 

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CARBS?

Carbs are defined by the number of sugar molecules they contain. Complex carbs have three or more sugar molecules. This means they take longer for your body to break down and therefore help to maintain a steady blood glucose level. Simple carbs, on the other hand, elevate blood glucose quickly. Exessive consuption of these can cause short-term problems such as exessive eating and weight gain, as well as serious health issues in the long term.

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CARBS ARE COMPLEX OR SIMPLE?

The glycaemic index (GI) tells us how quickly each type of carb causes blood glucose levels to rise. Foods are rated one to 100, with 100 causing the fastest rise and the more complex carbs below 60. But this index is only really relevant if the carbs are consumed alone, because eating protein, fats and fibre at the same time will change a carb's GI value. So basing a diet on the GI alone is not advisable.

 

DO CARBS MAKE YOU FAT?

Not if you eat the right tipes in the right quantities. Problems arise when too many simple sugars are consumed too regularly. Processed sugars provide a lot of calories but few other nutrrients and can block the body's absorption of other essential nutrients.

 

WHY ARE SIMPLE CARBS SO BAD?

It's easy to eat a lot of simple carbs very quickly and therefore consume too many calories. In addition, eating too many simple carbs results in too much insulin being released regularly into your system. This affects your insulin resistance and is a precursor of type 2 diabetes, when you have constantly elevated levels of glucose in your blood. Over time, glucose builds up in your organs and nerve endings, which can have serious health implications.

 

ARE CARBS VITAL TO A FAT-LOSS PROGRAM?

for elite athletes and those with intense training schedules, carbs have a big role to play, but for the average person wanting to lose weight, consuming the right amount of quality protien, fats, essential nutrients and fuilds is far more important. The body can metabolise protiens and fats into glucose in the absence of carbs, if necessary.

 

WHIWH CARBS SHOULD I GO FOR?

Vegetables provide the best bang for buck. Packed with dense nutrients and fibre, they cause a very stable and manageable rise in blood sugar. If you're training intensively, complex carbs such as rice and potatoes can also help energy levels. Treat wheat with caution - many people have problems digesting it efficiently.

NUTRITON RULES FATING FOR FAT LOSS

Here's everything you need to know about eating for fat loss

 

If losing body fat is your main aim, what you do in the kitchen is as important to your chances of success as what you do in the gym.

   It doesn't matter how hard or effectively you train if you're are not as disciplined when sticking to the nutrition plans detailed in this blog. Each one is designed to give you the nutrients you need at the right time so you have the energy to train hard and recover well.

   The good news is that eating for fat loss isn't complicated, as long as you are disciplined stick to a number of key rules. Each meal plan has been built around these considerations, so following them exactly will result in reduced body fat and increase muscle mass. Here are the seven fundamental rules behind the plan.

 

1 GREEN IS GOOD

Vegetables should be the foundation of your diet and every time you sit down to eat half your plate should be covered in a variety of veg, which contains crucial fiber and lots of other healthy elements. Vegetables do contain carbs, but far less than bread, pasta or potatoes - you'd have to eat half a kilo of asparagus to get the same amount of carbs as in a single whole-meal pita bread. For more about carbs click here

 

2 FOCUS ON PROTEIN

Protein is one of the most important components of this nutrition plan. When you eat a high-protein diet, you're generally less hungry, so you eat less and lose weight as a result. It's difficult to eat too much protein but not to get too little, so stick to the serving suggestions in the plans.

 

3 DON'T FEAR FAT

Fat does not make you fat. In fact, you need to consume good-quality fats if you want to burn body fat because this macronutrient has a role in energy expenditure, vitamin storage and making the hormone testosterone, which also increases muscle mass. There's no need to avoid the fats in red meat, avocado and nuts, but you shouldn't eat hydrogenated and trans fats - those found in cakes, biscuits and other processed foods - because these will derail your  
fat-loss mission. Plus they're really bad for you.

"It may seem strange to eat steak and broccoli first thing, but this will get your metabolism firing to burn body fat"

 

4 START THE DAY SMART

Think of breakfast like any other meal : you need a blend of protein, fats and veg. It may seem strange to eat steak and broccoli first thing, but such a breakfast will start the supply of quality nutrients to your muscles and get your metabolism firing to burn body fat.

 

5 CALORIES DON'T COUNT

Still locked into the old-school 'calories in, calories out' rule for fat loss? Here's a quick question: which will make you fat, 2,000 calories from ice cream or 2,000 calories of chicken and veg? Be honest - you know the answer to this already. The intake of the correct macronutrients is ultimately more significant than mere calorie counting. That said, you can't just scoff thousands of calories worth of healthy food - 5,000 calories from steak is still a lot of calories. The aim is to hit the correct macronutrient numbers to build muscle and burn fat without eating any extra unnecessary calories. So stick to the portion sizes in the meal plans.

 

6 FREE RAGE IS KEY

Free range animals have a more varied diet and obtain a lot more exercise, which allows the development of more muscle, which in turn means they contain more zinc, vitamin B, A and K, amino acids, iron, selenium, phosphorus and zinc. Farm-raised salmon have also been found to contain up to eight times the level of carcinogens as the wild sort, thanks to cramped conditions and poor-quality feed, while grass-fed beef tends to have much more conjugated linoleic acid and omega 3s than the kind fed on grain and beef tallow. In fact, free gange meat and fish is so nutritionally dissimilar to cage-reared that it's basically different food.

 

7 FAT REAL FOOD

If you follow the meal plans in this blog you'll follow this by default, but it's a useful rule to remember at all times. Aim to eat only food that grows out of the ground or that once had a face. Alternatively, think like a hunter-gatherer. Ask yourself if a given food would have existed 5,000 years ago. If not, you probably shouldn't eat it. Avoid things containing preservatives that you can't spell or ingredients you wouldn't keep in the kitchen. And eat things that will not eventually, so that you know they're fresh.