Sugary carbs

Steve_Rance
Steve_Rance Posts: 30
in Food and Nutrition
Hellos,

New to this whole fitness thing and was after a bit of advice on carbohydrates.

Anyone peeking at my food diary will see I'm generally low on carbs, but way high on sugar (thanks coke!).

I'm under my calorie goal and will stay that way, treats and snacking are not a problem - hunger if it comes along is negated by a carrot (might start treating my self to the odd apple too)neither is exercise, I get at least an hour a day in cycling at least 20k.....the weight is coming off for now, and don't feel tired or hungry even after a couple of weeks.

So the question is can I get the majority of my carbs through sugar or do I need starchy/complex carbs?

My very limited understanding is that sugary carbs are short chain molecules and easily broken down, starchy ones are long chain and take a bit more effort to be turned into energy.

Is there any downside weightloss/fitness wise to having a massive sugar intake as long as the work is being done to use it up quick?

Replies

  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    You're pretty low on fats and protein would be my only con. I'm also not sure what your micronutrient intake looks like but with that much coke, I'm guessing it's pretty void.

    Sustainability is important and yes, it's calories in vs out for weight loss but for health, I would dig deeper and maybe make some room for more fats and protein in your diet. Protein helps maintain lean body mass, it's typically recommended 1g per pound of lean body mass and I would treat your fat goal as a minimum.

    The positives of fruit and veggies as a majority of your carb intake would be for the vitamins and minerals. You might feel fine now, but long term I wouldn't recommend ignoring your nutrients. Worse case scenario, multivitamins to help.
  • Steve_Rance
    Steve_Rance Posts: 30
    Thanks for the reply :)

    The fat/protein issue will be getting a lot better in the coming days, gonna be a lot more chicken and kidney beans making appearances!

    Chicken will also help greatly with my general fitness as I got to move fast to get there before the cat does :grumble:
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    Hehe, my cats hound me from the sound of tuna cans opening at my house xD

    And ya, that's really the only thing I'd look into is making sure you're getting your nutrients for health and maintaining a deficit for weight loss or whatever your goal may be :)

    If a few weeks pass and you're not losing, I'd possibly invest in a food scale to weight foods. It was truly shocking for me to find out what serving sizes really were compared to eyeballing. But some people are really good at doing the opposite and don't need one. Something to think of in the future though :)

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