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Let’s talk about carbohydrates!
There has been a lot of confusion around carbohydrates over the past few decades. No carbs, good carbs, bad carbs and the list goes on.
The truth is, carbohydrates are a really powerful tool. Carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source. This means, it will use carbohydrates as it's first source of energy. This is really good when we are trying to build muscle as our body uses carbohydrates to get the protein we eat to the muscle we are building. It's also really helpful for replenishing glycogen stores directly following a hard workout. However, if we over consume carbohydrates without enough exercise, it can be turned into fat. To simplify:
Active = glycogen stores depleted = carbs will replace used glycogen
Not active = glycogen stores full = carb will be stored as FAT
As long as you follow your macro plan, you will be eating the right amount of carbs to support energy levels and reach your goals.
High Glycemic Index VS. Low Glycemic Index Carbs
One of our main goals is to teach everyone the importance of keeping their blood sugar levels as even as possible. The Glycemic Index is a way to measure how fast a food will raise your blood sugar levels after you eat them. There are high and low glycemic index carbs and we need to know the difference between them.
High Glycemic Index (Simple) Carbs: are very fast digesting and raise your blood sugar quickly. They typically have less nutritional value (less vitamins and minerals) and less fiber. Because of their fast digestion, they won’t keep you full as long. There is a time and place for these. ***The only time we want these types of carbs is immediately post workout.*** They spike your blood sugar and therefore your insulin, and will lead to quick restoration of muscle glycogen helping us recover faster.
Examples of high glycemic index carbs we like:
Fruit
Rice
Baby food
Ones to avoid:
Candy
Pop
Bread, bagels
Processed carbs… chips… crackers
Low Glycemic Index (complex) Carbs: are slower digesting and don’t raise your blood sugar as quickly as simple carbs. They are often rich in fiber, keep you full longer, and are packed with more vitamins and minerals.
These complex carbs usually contain much less carbs by volume than simple carbs.
As an example…
Broccoli 100g = 7 carbs + 2.6 Fiber
White Rice 100g = 28 carbs + .4 Fiber
So, clearly Broccoli is a much better choice over white rice as for the same amount of food you are getting less carbs and more fiber! Choosing broccoli and similar foods will keep you full longer AND you can eat way more of them which will obviously keep you satisfied even longer…. I dare you to try to eat too much broccoli
Examples of Low Glycemic Index Carbs:
Lentils
Beans
Yams
Broccoli
Berries
Veggies
If you have any questions about this post or would like to see any specific Nutrition or Fitness related topics reach out to us below!