Similar to how cholesterol was long vilified as the cause of all heart diseases, carbohydrates have received a lot of bad press. What was the outcome? Many people have conflicting feelings about carbohydrates. They enjoy eating them and find it difficult to survive without them, on the one hand. However, some fear that consuming carbohydrates will result in obesity or worsen their general health.
But most people don't need to avoid carbs. Additionally, they can deprive you of the energy and recuperation you need to advance significantly in the gym and throughout the day.
So let's clarify the role of carbohydrates in your diet and dissect GOOD carbs from BAD carbs, assuming there is such a thing.
What the devil is a carb?
In simple terms, carbs equal sugar. Sweetener is also referred to as a carbohydrate. All of the sugar molecules that are produced when carbohydrates are broken down by the body are absorbed into the bloodstream and are subsequently consumed or stored as energy. Sugar is used as an energy source by skeletal muscle and the brain.
Our bodies will store excess sugar as either fat or glycogen when it exceeds our energy requirements. Whereas fat is stored in adipose tissue throughout the body, glycogen is stored in muscle and the liver.
How may carbs make you fat?
You may think that if you want to get leaner, it's horrible to learn that carbs = sugar = fat.
But hold on!
Understanding that carbs won't be stored as body fat until you are overeating to meet your current energy needs is crucial. The amount of calories that you consume in the form of carbohydrates does not matter if you require 2000 calories to sustain your current daily energy output.
You won't gain any weight as long as you consume fewer calories than that.
Now consider your first thoughts when you hear the word "carb." Something like pizza, pasta, breads, cookies, chips, or even donuts?
All of these have a significant calorie count in common. Large caloric bursts can easily cause people to consume more energy than they require each day, which can result in weight gain.
Better-Tasting Carbs? An Improved Question
Rather of classifying foods as Good or Bad, the following is a better question to ask about carbohydrates:
Which foods facilitate overindulging in calories, or the opposite?
Imagine a huge bowl filled with candies and another filled with blueberries. Which would be simpler to overindulge in? Alternatively, how about placing a dish of apples and carrots next to a dish of cookies and donuts?
The following characteristics of carbs affect how full they make you feel and how simple it is to eat too many of them:
• Density of nutrients against calories: more calories or more micronutrients?
• High vs. Low Volume: Eat a lot of food for a little amount of calories or a lot of food for a large amount of calories.
• High vs. Low Fiber: How much and if any fiber is present in the carbohydrate? In essence, fiber is an indigestible substance that doesn't add calories and is beneficial for gut health.
• Slow vs. Fast Digestion: Does the carbohydrate break down quickly, making you feel hungry sooner, or does it break down more slowly?
• No Added Sugar vs. Added Sugar: Is the source of carbohydrates processed with added sugar to increase its sweetness and crave-worthiness?
• Simple vs. Complex Carbs: Do you consume complex carbohydrates or carbohydrates that are mostly found in whole foods?
• Low vs. High Glycemic: How quickly and slowly does a carbohydrate digest and absorb, affecting how rapidly your blood sugar rises or falls?
Some of these features of carbohydrates will more or less align depending on the situation or your objectives. For example, choosing less filling and faster-digesting carbohydrates could be beneficial if you are attempting to gain muscle and are having trouble eating enough. However, high-volume, slow-digesting, high-fiber carb sources are your key to success if you're wanting to shed body fat and don't want to overeat.
Recall that any kind of carbohydrate can help you shed body fat. You can lose body fat even if you eat Skittles every day. All you need to do is practice greater self control and make sure the rest of your food doesn't exceed your daily caloric intake targets.
Most people just eat the "good" carbohydrates in order to lose fat because they find this to be challenging. However, if you consistently deny yourself the carbohydrates you want, you'll eventually revert to old behaviors and probably overeat.
Thus, keep in mind that this is merely a balancing of the two. Since many of you wish to reduce your body fat, you should consider which carbohydrates are better or worse for achieving your objective.
Key Takeaways
Most people find that an 80/20 or 90/10 carbohydrate strategy is the most effective, long-term way to lose weight or keep it off. Consume carbohydrates high in fiber, high volume, and mostly one element. Have occasional cravings for carbohydrates.
Keep in mind that:
• Calorie intake, not carbohydrate intake, determines body transformation.
• Carbs are not always harmful. If we don't consume more calories than we need, these are used by our body as fuel and aren't stored as fat.
It's more difficult to resist overindulging in carbohydrates in several ways.
Certain characteristics of carbohydrates facilitate moderation in eating. The key is to find the carbohydrate ratio that both makes you happy and helps you accomplish your objectives.
Author Michael R. Grigsby is one of the news editors for LCTI, LLC. He is passionate about the outdoors, photography, strength sports, and powerlifting, and he is dedicated to bringing you accurate and insightful news reports on a wide range of topics. He loves connecting with readers and is always happy to answer any questions you may have. If you have any questions about this news article, please feel free to contact Michael at lctillc@outlook.com or by leaving a comment below.
Copyright 2024 LCTI, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without attribution to the author. If you use any quotes from this article, please credit LCTI, LLC.
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