Diet: Carbs or Low Carb?
There really is a lot of misinformation when it comes to whether a person can eat carbohydrates or not and what kinds to eat. I have gotten a lot of questions lately about eating carbohydrates and have come to the conclusion that many people are ignorant of how to utilize the macronutrient know as carbohydrate. I’ll be focusing on the following questions to possibly alleviate this ignorance:
1) Should we eat carbohydrates?
2) How many carbohydrates should we consume if we choose to do so?
3) When should we eat carbohydrates?
4) What type of carbohydrates should we consume?
First, one must grasp the meaning of diet. Diet simply means all the food that we eat. That’s pretty simple right? What people normally think diet means is a “fad” diet to lose weight. Well, doesn’t a weight loss diet fit under the header “DIET”? It does not. A weight loss diet is actually considered a dietary habit, which are habitual decisions made during the day in regards to food choices. For the sake of this discussion I’ll be focusing on the DIETARY HABIT of weight loss.
Should we eat carbohydrates?
Whether or not a person should eat carbohydrates is based on their “sensitivity”. Now, most people think they are either sensitive or insensitive to carbohydrates. They can be neither in actuality! To understand this one must realize we are either sensitive or insensitive to insulin. When a normal body consumes carbohydrates there will be a spike in blood sugar (glucose). The pancreas will then release insulin to shuttle the glucose to the muscles, liver and adipocytes respectively. If a person is insensitive to insulin glucose will continue to circulate within the blood which may cause fat gain, diabetes, atherosclerosis and a host of other metabolic diseases. You may be thinking, “How do I know if I’m insensitive to insulin or not?” Following are a few trends I like to keep in mind when deciding on how many carbohydrates to consume. Keep in mind that these trends are by no means comprehensive or even always correct.
You may need fewer carbohydrates if you answer yes to these:
1) Are you diabetic?
2) Are you overweight or obese?
3) Do you have a family history of diabetes, atherosclerosis, or other metabolic diseases?
4) Are your family members overweight or obese?
5) Do you become lethargic after consuming carbohydrates?
6) Do you tend to gain fat mostly in your sides and stomach?
You may need more carbohydrates if you answer yes to these:
1) Do you have a hard time gaining weight?
2) Do you feel energetic after eating carbohydrates?
3) Are your family members lean?
4) There isn’t any family history of diabetes, atherosclerosis, or other metabolic diseases?
5) Do you tend to not gain weight in your sides and stomach?
How many carbohydrates should we consume if we choose to do so?
Now that you have an idea on whether to start on the higher or lower end of carbohydrate intake let’s discuss the literal amount of carbohydrates by grams to consume. For most people I like to utilize a generic formula for calculating carbohydrate intake. I multiply grams of carbohydrates by weight in pounds. Here is a chart to make this more understandable.
Carbohydrate Intake
2 X BW | 1.5 X BW | 1.0 X BW | .5 X BW |
Sensitive to Insulin | Moderately Sensitive to Insulin | Moderately Insensitive to Insulin | Insensitive to Insulin |
-BW (Body Weight in Pounds)
Start on the high end if you are sensitive to insulin (handle Carbohydrates well) and start on the low end if you are insensitive to insulin (can’t handle Carbohydrates well). If you don’t know where to start just begin in the middle of the chart with 1.25 X BW. For instance if you are a 200lb man then multiply 200 times 1.25 to get 250 grams of carbohydrates per day. From there adjust your carbohydrate intake up or down until adequate fat loss per week is achieved. Keep in mind that some people will need more or less than what is presented on the aforementioned chart. Also left over calories should be divided between protein and fat with fat being divided between poly-unsaturated, mono-unsaturated and saturated fats. This may be common knowledge for most people but I must remind everyone that fat intake should decrease as carbohydrate intake increases and vice versa. Total calories, protein, and fat amounts are an entirely different discussion and will not be presented at this time.
When should we eat carbohydrates? / What type of carbohydrates should we consume?
These questions are directly related. When to eat carbohydrates is based on what type they are (simple vs. complex), what you just physically did, what you are physically about to do and whether you want to lose weight, gain weight or perform at your highest level of physical activity. What type of carbohydrates you should consume is based on the exact same things. Confusing, yes, but you will soon understand.
Let’s first discuss types of carbohydrates. There are 3 categories of carbohydrates (monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides). We’ll start with simple sugars, which are known as monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, etc.) and one step up are known as disaccharides (sucrose, lactose, etc.). These are your simplest form of carbohydrates that digest and assimilate the fastest. Complex carbohydrates, which are known as polysaccharides (cellulose, starch, etc.) digest and assimilate fairly slowly. It’s interesting to note that fructose is digested and assimilated into the liver as glycogen before being used in the body. If liver glycogen levels are full, which normally takes about 100-120 grams in a healthy body, then it is sent to adipocytes to be stored This is why “bodybuilders” sometimes have a phobia of fruit. Also of interest, most people are lactose intolerant and should be careful in how much dairy they consume due to the digestive maladies it may cause in those whom are intolerant. Now on to timing.
Timing is based off what type of carbohydrates you are consuming. Let’s discuss simple sugars first. There are two main times when simple sugars should be consumed in regards to fat loss. One is immediately after intense training to refill glycogen stores and the other time is a “refeed” or “cheat meal”. The majority of simple sugars consumed immediately post intense training will be stored as glycogen with very little being shuttled to adipocytes. Simple sugars consumed as part of a refeed or cheat meal also help in replenishing glycogen but all help increase the metabolism which can become suppressed via hard dieting. Refeeds and cheat meals may increase the metabolism by increasing thyroid output, increasing basal metabolic rate (BMR) and an increase in leptin which can cause all of the above to increase. Whether this actually happens or not is still up to debate. On another note, refeeds and cheat meals tend to psychologically help people to continue longer on their diet. Keep in mind that there are other times that simple sugars can be consumed such as before or during an intense training session to increase performance and protein synthesis.
Complex carbohydrates exist on the other side of the equation. They can normally be consumed throughout the day since they don’t cause a large spike in blood sugar and insulin though I do suggest consuming your starches divided over your first few meals and post workout. Most people usually think of starches (rice, potatoes, whole wheat products, etc.) when they think of complex carbohydrates, but they tend to forget the all important complex carbohydrates know as VEGETABLES! These bad boys are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and a lot of other important elements for good health and you can eat them practically any time of the day. Now, I’m not talking about legumes, corn, potatoes, etc., which should be eaten earlier in the day if at all. If you are sensitive to insulin then I suggest starting off with some starches in the diet and see if weight loss occurs. If it doesn’t occur then slowly switch out starches with the lowest carbohydrate vegetables you can find. Keep in mind in the beginning stages of a diet when carbohydrate amount is decreased then fat amount is increased. You do not want to drop calories to fast or you will depress your metabolism and hormone levels.
Hopefully the four questions have been answered to some extent though it may still seem vague. Despite any vagueness one should now understand that it’s highly individual. Don’t make this hard. The basic idea is to just start somewhere and go up and down in the amount and types of carbohydrates with just the right timing for you until you get the results you desire. I’ll close with this: Dieting is not a linear process. One must constantly re-evaluate their diet and make changes as they go to ensure consistent progress. Dieting at its core is a constant experiment performed on oneself to find what is optimal for them as an individual. Following this article is a chart with examples of how to space carbohydrate intake over a day through 6 meals. Let the experimentation begin!
Daily Carbohydrate Intake over 6 Meals
*For a 200lb man with 1.25 grams per pound of bodyweight| | Example 1 | Example 2 | Example 3 | Example 4 | Example 5 | Example 6 |
| Meal 1 | 50 grams simple sugars post workout | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs |
| Meal 2 | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams simple sugars post workout | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs |
| Meal 3 | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams simple sugars post workout | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs |
| Meal 4 | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams simple sugars post workout | 50 grams complex carbs | Low Carb Vegetables |
| Meal 5 | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams complex carbs | 50 grams simple sugars post workout | 50 grams complex carbs |
| Meal 6 | Low Carb Vegetables | Low Carb Vegetables | Low Carb Vegetables | Low Carb Vegetables | Low Carb Vegetables | 50 grams simple sugars post workout |
In Christ,
Rick Haven
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