The 5 Rules of Carbs
These are five simple and easy rules to follow when it comes to carbohydrate intake. In general, many people are not educated enough on carbohydrates making them an easy part of your day to well…screw up. I am not saying that these are the only 5 rules you should follow for your diet to be 100% on point but it will be a solid place to start. Whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle, carbs play a key roll and these rules can help you stay on track.
Carbs are not evil.
A lot of people associate carb intake with getting fat…now while this is not a totally false assumption if the circumstances are right, carbs are not something you want to totally take out of your diet. I am not going to get too far into the ketogenic diet, but I can tell you the average person who doesn’t seriously know what they’re doing should avoid any kind of keto diet- they can be dangerous without extreme monitoring of your body and knowledge of the subject. It is not as simple as just eliminating carbs and eating bacon. Carbohydrates are your body’s go to energy source. This means if you have carbs in your system they will be used first to burn as energy. Carbs will help you feel energized enough to crush your workouts and get through your day without feeling drained- as long as they are timed right and are the correct type of carbs. This leads us to rule number 2…
Common Sense Rule.
I’m calling this the common sense rule because if you have the option between Skittles and whole wheat pasta and you chose the Skittles…you know that was a poor choice. You don’t need to be a nutritionist to understand that. Carbs aren’t just carbs…the quality of everything you put in your body does make a huge difference. I’d rather someone have 3 servings of healthier carbs than one serving of carbs through Pepsi or candy. This goes for your macro and micro nutrients across the board. Protein from chicken nuggets is not the same as protein from lean chicken breast, you need to choose quality macros. So, what are good carbs? Onto rule number 3…
Know Your Carbs.
Carbs will be placed in one of two groups which are both important for your body. They are placed in these groups depending on how much and how quickly they elevate your blood sugar or “Glycemic Index”. Group one, fast digestive. (Examples: white rice, grapes, watermelon, cereal, white bread, chocolate, sour patch kids). I’m going to refer to rule number 2 and let you figure out which of those are the better choice in that group. Fast digestive carbs will give you an energy supply that you need to burn within 1-3 hours.
Group two, slow digestive carbs. (Examples: brown rice, nuts, beans, whole grain foods). Right off the bat you can see these examples are little “healthier” sounding. Slow digestive carbs will stay in your system longer, without raising your blood sugar levels as much as fast digestive. Regardless, slow digestive carbs will give you an energy supply that you need to burn within 2-5 hours. Don’t make the mistake of crushing unlimited amounts of slow digestive carbs, overflow in this group will be just as detrimental as fast digestive.
Why do you need to burn that energy supply? Carbs that you do not work off simply elevate your blood sugar levels, stay in your system leading to your body to turn that sugar to fat. Carbs are your body’s go to energy supply for a reason. It wants to use them. Rule number 4 incoming…
Will you burn your carbs?
Timing, timing, timing. Timing your carbohydrate intake is just as important of choosing the correct type. Pretty much everyone can have carbs in the morning. Throughout a normal day most average people will burn those carbs they have in the AM. If you’re going to hit a workout in the morning, take the fast digestive route. They’ll give you a boost of energy to crush your workout and you’ll burn those off quickly. If you’re just going to work or having a normal day, have some slow digestive. That’ll keep your body energized for normal activity for a longer period. You can have slow digestive carbs pre workout. However, make sure you’re getting those in 1-2 hours prior. Slow digestive won’t hit your system for use as quickly as fast digestive. Personally, when I have fast digestive 20-30 minutes prior to working out I always feel a bit stronger/more energized than slow digestive.
I will say that if you’re a “hard gainer” meaning you have an extremely difficult time putting on weight/muscle even when you eat a ton of food, your carbohydrate intake can be a lot higher and less regulated. When I’m seriously trying to bulk I eat a ton of carbs, fat and protein because it’s really the only way my body responds quickly to food. With that being said I highly recommend people avoid carbohydrates at one specific time regardless of their goals- onto rule number 5…
No Carbs at Bedtime.
Once you are back home for the night and aren’t going to be doing any more physical activity, carbs have become totally non-essential. Remember, this is a short term energy source. You’re not going to be burning anything during your sleep or watching T.V. on your couch. Even if I am trying to bulk up, I usually try to stick with no carbs and healthy fat alternatives at night time. Healthy fats (almonds, avocados, salmon- to name a few) will help you build energy for the next day and also keep your body from breaking down muscle overnight. If you’re like me and you can’t sleep at night if you’re hungry, healthy fats will help you feel full without the massive pasta dinner side effects.
Avoiding carbs at night will be a huge game changer especially for weight loss clients. Unfortunately, because of this “rule”…dessert is totally out. Eating a huge amount of sugar (fast-digestive carbs) before bed is one of the worst concepts when it comes to weight loss…you’d honestly be much better off eating dessert for breakfast and giving yourself time to work them off. Sorry sweet toothers :(