Why are carbs so bad?
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http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10490&page=941The AMDRs [Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges] for adults are 20 to 35 percent of energy from fat (including 0.6 to 1.2 percent of energy from n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and 5 to 10 percent of energy from n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids), 45 to 65 percent of energy from carbohydrate, and 10 to 35 percent of energy from protein.
I have mine set at 55% carbs, 20% protein, and 25% fat, which is working really well for me. I've tried slightly different variations, but anything in that ballpark is what feels right to me.0 -
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10490&page=941The AMDRs [Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges] for adults are 20 to 35 percent of energy from fat (including 0.6 to 1.2 percent of energy from n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and 5 to 10 percent of energy from n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids), 45 to 65 percent of energy from carbohydrate, and 10 to 35 percent of energy from protein.
I have mine set at 55% carbs, 20% protein, and 25% fat, which is working really well for me. I've tried slightly different variations, but anything in that ballpark is what feels right to me.
If this works for you thats great but 55% carbs and 20% protein with an extensive workout & weight training exercise will do nothing but promote a catabolic scenario where you body will not gain or be able to repair or grow muscle and even in some instances deplete muscle.0 -
2 of the biggest carb myths are:
1. You should eat a high carb breakfast, to kick start metabolism and give you energy
2. You should not eat carbs at night
This is completely wrong, I first want to say that yes you can lose weight by eating a high carb diet as long as you have an overall deficit of calories, but there is a better way.
Here's why the above is a myth.
1. Carbs have a very small thermic effect, if you want to increase metabolism eat protein.
2. You don't need carbs fore energy, your body can burn stored body-fat and glycogen for energy all day long.
3. We are more insulin sensitive in the early hours, so if you have high carbs when you wake up your body will produce more insulin which can lead to fat-storage and diabetes.
4. We are the least insulin sensitive at night, meaning you can eat more carbs without the risk of storing fat. Especially when you factor in your 7-8 hour fast while your sleeping, and and excess carbs will go to re-storing muscle and liver glycogen.
I promote eating high protein morning until 5pm, and then a balanced diet after that. You can eat a normal dinner with carbs and even a snack before bed. This way you spare muscle waste, increase fat-burning, and get ripped.
I've lost around 130lbs and this is part of what I have done to lose the weight. Carbs do hinder fat-burning but they are also important for muscle building. This way I get what I need from carbs and avoid the bad effects.
I do believe that energy balance is the key to weight-loss, but we can not ignore the effects of hormones and macro-nutrients on weight-loss. Sure it's calories in versus calories out, but not all calories were created equal.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10967612
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9463022
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19038501
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26660580 -
Just a couple responses from reading the thread -
1) Low carb isn't a fad diet. It's been around since the 1800's (1869, to be exact) and the only reason people don't follow it any more is because of our governments' insistence that fats are bad for us. So, someone please explain how my great-grandmother lived to 96 without ever worrying about eggs, butter or saturated fats? We need to go back to eating like THAT. And no, it wasn't high carb, or ever very low carb, just mostly low.
2) Just because carbs are burned by the body first doesn't make them the body's preferred fuel. If that was the case, we would all need to exist on alcohol - didn't you know, that's what the body actually REALLY burns first, whenever it is in the system? The body burns carbs first because they are literally toxic when they are around in excessive amounts. This is the same reason they are stored as fat or glycogen and not sugar. The body's goal is to get rid of them, not have more of them!
3) Eating low carb doesn't hurt the muscles of your body. As long as you get enough carbs from the veggies you eat, you will have enough glycogen to work out and make new muscle. If anything, low carb promotes muscle growth, not the other way around.
4) Protein does cause an insulin response - when eaten to excess - and at drastically reduced levels to what carbs do. ALL carbs cause an insulin response. Even fake carbs (sugar substitutes) can cause an insulin response!
5) Any glucose your body needs can be manufactured from other foods in a process called gluconeogenesis. So no matter how low carb you go, your brain will have fuel and so will your muscles. As a matter of fact, it has been proven that a brain running on ketones and the glucose from GNG will actually run better.
So, those of you trying to bash low carb - do your research on it. Don't just believe what you read the most often, and for pity's sake don't believe the government. There is much more to this then just the types of things most people on here are repeating over and over again.0 -
If carbs are so unnecessary, why do Olympic athletes need so many? Of course they are.
Fuel.....Their workouts are like 4-6 times more demanding then ours. They burn anywhere from 4000-10000 calories a day dependent on what sport they do!
I know a sprinter with 4-5% body fat's metabolism eclipses most anyone on MFP. Think of a long distance runner. His body is muscular but lean. He eats certain types of carbs for endurance. Complex carb for a long run. Simple carb for short bursts of energy. Most serious runners have a decent protein intake but their carb intake is as much if not higher then their protein intake because they need that stored energy from a complex carb for a long run and why? because they have such a low body fat percentage and what is body fat? Body fat is stored energy!
A sprinter needs more of a simple carb for the burst of energy BUT an Olympic sprinter that trains for hours a day needs both because the body will deplete simple carbs quickly so they rely on some complex carbs in their diet for the whole day but a constant amount of simple carbs as well for instant energy.
So now lets take that sprinter that weighs 150-160lbs and tell him to go do 2 hours of hard and heavy lifting on his high carb mid level protein diet. He will falter quickly and the reason being is his body is not conditioned for this. His body is light and muscles are defined but not dense like a body builders would be.
It's like taking Mike Tyson and telling him to go do the tour de france and then telling Lance Armstrong to go 6 rounds with Lennox Lewis.
Protein=the material needed to build & rebuild muscle
Carbohydrates=the material that is fuel to move the muscle
Exactly. So we need carbs. Thanks.0 -
For that matter, how many athletes do you know who do low carb?
A low carb diet isn't going to necessarily work for some types of athletes. When you say "athlete" you are painting a broad picture. If you're talking a distance runner, sure their body WILL require more carbs than say someone who is a "short burst" type of athlete. Aaron Rodgers (QB Green Bay Packers) is an athlete and I believe he eats paleo.
If you look at some of the proponents of low carb/paleo type nutrition, these people DON'T advocate going "low carb' and trying to run a marathon. Heck, one of my fellow Beachbody coaches was instructed by Mark Sisson himself to take in more carbs due to the type of workout he was performing. If you look at the advocates of Paleo/low carb, most prescribe brief, intense workouts (Crossfit, etc) where you are lifting heavy things, running sprints every 7-10 days and perhaps walking, slowly for distance. They aren't saying "don't eat carbs and now go out and run a marathon."
That's why Paleo works for me. My workouts are under 35 minutes (20 an intense weight session, 15 a Beachbody ab dvd) and I'm typically burning 600-800 calories in that span. I'm fueling my body with 55-60% healthy fat, 25-30% protein and 10-20% carbs (from veggies and periodically fruit). I don't lack energy. I'm 238 lbs and strong. If you're spending HOURS in the gym, you likely ARE going to require more carbs.
This way of eating may NOT be everyone's "cup of tea" but for those who DO it, it IS effective.0 -
No, we don't. Just because most athletes eat a ton of them doesn't prove that everyone needs them. Your argument makes as much sense as saying that everyone should drink because alcoholics need so much alcohol. There are plenty of high-end athletes that don't eat ridiculously high amounts of carbs. There is no way for you to base your judgements on what to eat by looking at someone else's food intake because there is no way to know what everyone eats. Base it off of the science.If carbs are so unnecessary, why do Olympic athletes need so many? Of course they are.
Fuel.....Their workouts are like 4-6 times more demanding then ours. They burn anywhere from 4000-10000 calories a day dependent on what sport they do!
I know a sprinter with 4-5% body fat's metabolism eclipses most anyone on MFP. Think of a long distance runner. His body is muscular but lean. He eats certain types of carbs for endurance. Complex carb for a long run. Simple carb for short bursts of energy. Most serious runners have a decent protein intake but their carb intake is as much if not higher then their protein intake because they need that stored energy from a complex carb for a long run and why? because they have such a low body fat percentage and what is body fat? Body fat is stored energy!
A sprinter needs more of a simple carb for the burst of energy BUT an Olympic sprinter that trains for hours a day needs both because the body will deplete simple carbs quickly so they rely on some complex carbs in their diet for the whole day but a constant amount of simple carbs as well for instant energy.
So now lets take that sprinter that weighs 150-160lbs and tell him to go do 2 hours of hard and heavy lifting on his high carb mid level protein diet. He will falter quickly and the reason being is his body is not conditioned for this. His body is light and muscles are defined but not dense like a body builders would be.
It's like taking Mike Tyson and telling him to go do the tour de france and then telling Lance Armstrong to go 6 rounds with Lennox Lewis.
Protein=the material needed to build & rebuild muscle
Carbohydrates=the material that is fuel to move the muscle
Exactly. So we need carbs. Thanks.0 -
Just a couple responses from reading the thread -
1) Low carb isn't a fad diet. It's been around since the 1800's (1869, to be exact) and the only reason people don't follow it any more is because of our governments' insistence that fats are bad for us. So, someone please explain how my great-grandmother lived to 96 without ever worrying about eggs, butter or saturated fats? We need to go back to eating like THAT. And no, it wasn't high carb, or ever very low carb, just mostly low.
2) Just because carbs are burned by the body first doesn't make them the body's preferred fuel. If that was the case, we would all need to exist on alcohol - didn't you know, that's what the body actually REALLY burns first, whenever it is in the system? The body burns carbs first because they are literally toxic when they are around in excessive amounts. This is the same reason they are stored as fat or glycogen and not sugar. The body's goal is to get rid of them, not have more of them!
3) Eating low carb doesn't hurt the muscles of your body. As long as you get enough carbs from the veggies you eat, you will have enough glycogen to work out and make new muscle. If anything, low carb promotes muscle growth, not the other way around.
4) Protein does cause an insulin response - when eaten to excess - and at drastically reduced levels to what carbs do. ALL carbs cause an insulin response. Even fake carbs (sugar substitutes) can cause an insulin response!
5) Any glucose your body needs can be manufactured from other foods in a process called gluconeogenesis. So no matter how low carb you go, your brain will have fuel and so will your muscles. As a matter of fact, it has been proven that a brain running on ketones and the glucose from GNG will actually run better.
So, those of you trying to bash low carb - do your research on it. Don't just believe what you read the most often, and for pity's sake don't believe the government. There is much more to this then just the types of things most people on here are repeating over and over again.
Access glucose is blood sugar that the liver converts to Glycogen.
I will agree that the government has no clue about the diet and the FDA and it's daily nutritional requirements are a joke to say the least.0 -
No, we don't. Just because most athletes eat a ton of them doesn't prove that everyone needs them. Your argument makes as much sense as saying that everyone should drink because alcoholics need so much alcohol. There are plenty of high-end athletes that don't eat ridiculously high amounts of carbs. There is no way for you to base your judgements on what to eat by looking at someone else's food intake because there is no way to know what everyone eats. Base it off of the science.If carbs are so unnecessary, why do Olympic athletes need so many? Of course they are.
Fuel.....Their workouts are like 4-6 times more demanding then ours. They burn anywhere from 4000-10000 calories a day dependent on what sport they do!
I know a sprinter with 4-5% body fat's metabolism eclipses most anyone on MFP. Think of a long distance runner. His body is muscular but lean. He eats certain types of carbs for endurance. Complex carb for a long run. Simple carb for short bursts of energy. Most serious runners have a decent protein intake but their carb intake is as much if not higher then their protein intake because they need that stored energy from a complex carb for a long run and why? because they have such a low body fat percentage and what is body fat? Body fat is stored energy!
A sprinter needs more of a simple carb for the burst of energy BUT an Olympic sprinter that trains for hours a day needs both because the body will deplete simple carbs quickly so they rely on some complex carbs in their diet for the whole day but a constant amount of simple carbs as well for instant energy.
So now lets take that sprinter that weighs 150-160lbs and tell him to go do 2 hours of hard and heavy lifting on his high carb mid level protein diet. He will falter quickly and the reason being is his body is not conditioned for this. His body is light and muscles are defined but not dense like a body builders would be.
It's like taking Mike Tyson and telling him to go do the tour de france and then telling Lance Armstrong to go 6 rounds with Lennox Lewis.
Protein=the material needed to build & rebuild muscle
Carbohydrates=the material that is fuel to move the muscle
Exactly. So we need carbs. Thanks.
Athlete is a very broad term. As stated before. It's more about how much exercise, how often, is it what they do for leisure or as a career and the biggest thing everyone is missing is these "athletes" most likely have little to NO body fat so their body is reliant on carbs and protein, protein to substain the muscle they have and also for a minimal amount of fuel but carbs for real fuel.0 -
no nutrient is bad....carbs are as essential as proteins and fats. You need to focus on eating quality carbs and balancing them with the rest of yor diet. If you balance the proteins and fats and carbs you will do great...just eat wonder bread all day long and you will puff up....0
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Just a couple responses from reading the thread -
1) Low carb isn't a fad diet. It's been around since the 1800's (1869, to be exact) and the only reason people don't follow it any more is because of our governments' insistence that fats are bad for us. So, someone please explain how my great-grandmother lived to 96 without ever worrying about eggs, butter or saturated fats? We need to go back to eating like THAT. And no, it wasn't high carb, or ever very low carb, just mostly low.
2) Just because carbs are burned by the body first doesn't make them the body's preferred fuel. If that was the case, we would all need to exist on alcohol - didn't you know, that's what the body actually REALLY burns first, whenever it is in the system? The body burns carbs first because they are literally toxic when they are around in excessive amounts. This is the same reason they are stored as fat or glycogen and not sugar. The body's goal is to get rid of them, not have more of them!
3) Eating low carb doesn't hurt the muscles of your body. As long as you get enough carbs from the veggies you eat, you will have enough glycogen to work out and make new muscle. If anything, low carb promotes muscle growth, not the other way around.
4) Protein does cause an insulin response - when eaten to excess - and at drastically reduced levels to what carbs do. ALL carbs cause an insulin response. Even fake carbs (sugar substitutes) can cause an insulin response!
5) Any glucose your body needs can be manufactured from other foods in a process called gluconeogenesis. So no matter how low carb you go, your brain will have fuel and so will your muscles. As a matter of fact, it has been proven that a brain running on ketones and the glucose from GNG will actually run better.
So, those of you trying to bash low carb - do your research on it. Don't just believe what you read the most often, and for pity's sake don't believe the government. There is much more to this then just the types of things most people on here are repeating over and over again.
1) How does your anecdotal evidence of your great-grandmother prove anything about what the population of the world should do? And I'm pretty sure the anti-fat campaign stopped back in the 1990s. We're in 2011 in case you forgot.
2) Alcohol isn't an essential nutrient. Our bodies view it as a toxin, that's why it is burned first, not because it is preferred. It can lower testosterone in moderate quantities, and in extreme excess, it can destroy muscle mass. Not to mention dehydration.
3) Muscle Stimulation with adequate protein in a generally hypercaloric diet promotes muscle growth.
4) Insulin response and the fat stored by it is irrelevant in a hypocaloric state when looking at people who aren't insulin sensitive/resistant. You're staring at a tree instead of the forest.
5) Source? You fail to mention the positive or negative effects of kinetic performance on high protein/low carb or high fat/low carb diets. You should also realize that dietary fat is stored easily as body fat without the presence of carbs or insulin. Either way, energy balance is the most important factor.0 -
Athlete is a very broad term. As stated before. It's more about how much exercise, how often, is it what they do for leisure or as a career and the biggest thing everyone is missing is these "athletes" most likely have little to NO body fat so their body is reliant on carbs and protein, protein to substain the muscle they have and also for a minimal amount of fuel but carbs for real fuel.
This I will agree with. These "freaks of nature" are fat burning/energy machines. A marathon runner would "bonk" on <100g's of carbs per day. A pro football player, on the other hand, I think could get away with it.
As you said in an earlier post, some of these elite athletes are training 4-6 hours per day. I have no doubt they WOULD need more carbs than the average everyday "Joe" like the rest of us.
As I stated earlier, the low carb/paleo way of eating doesn't advocate training for long periods of time (marathon's, etc). Mark Sisson refers to this as "chronic cardio."
It's really all in the "type" of exercise you're doing. If you're training for hours on end, I'd think carbs would be pretty essential. But if you're training in a short burst/intense type fashion (<40 minute workouts) I don't think additional carbs are a necessity to perform VERY well.0 -
Yes--and a low carb or no carb diet does serious kidney damage over time!! I'd like to keep my organs healthy!0
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Athlete is a very broad term. As stated before. It's more about how much exercise, how often, is it what they do for leisure or as a career and the biggest thing everyone is missing is these "athletes" most likely have little to NO body fat so their body is reliant on carbs and protein, protein to substain the muscle they have and also for a minimal amount of fuel but carbs for real fuel.
This I will agree with. These "freaks of nature" are fat burning/energy machines. A marathon runner would "bonk" on <100g's of carbs per day. A pro football player, on the other hand, I think could get away with it.
As you said in an earlier post, some of these elite athletes are training 4-6 hours per day. I have no doubt they WOULD need more carbs than the average everyday "Joe" like the rest of us.
As I stated earlier, the low carb/paleo way of eating doesn't advocate training for long periods of time (marathon's, etc). Mark Sisson refers to this as "chronic cardio."
It's really all in the "type" of exercise you're doing. If you're training for hours on end, I'd think carbs would be pretty essential. But if you're training in a short burst/intense type fashion (<40 minute workouts) I don't think additional carbs are a necessity to perform VERY well.
How much of a performance decrease is there? When I run my 6 miles ( about 50-55 minutes) on low carb I would feel like i had a terrible run. On high carb i blazed right through it. Also on low carb i had incidents where i had fainted after my run... could that be due to the lack of carbs or just coincidence?0 -
Yes--and a low carb or no carb diet does serious kidney damage over time!! I'd like to keep my organs healthy!
Low carb diets do not do any serious kidney damage. Point to a study that has shown low carb = kidney damage. While not an "essential" nutrient, there are times for carbs, and its essential to know when and how to use them.0 -
Just FYI people carbs are essential food source for our brain. Since our brain does not have the ability to store fuel it relies 100% on glucose...the breakdown of carbs to feed it!! Ever did the atkins diet and start to feel "high, out of it, forgetful?" Its because your brain is starving!!!!
Just go by your food pyramid and eat in control CARBS ARE NOT BAD in fact their required for neural functioning!0 -
Yes--and a low carb or no carb diet does serious kidney damage over time!! I'd like to keep my organs healthy!
WRONG! Try again...0 -
Just FYI people carbs are essential food source for our brain. Since our brain does not have the ability to store fuel it relies 100% on glucose...the breakdown of carbs to feed it!! Ever did the atkins diet and start to feel "high, out of it, forgetful?" Its because your brain is starving!!!!
Just go by your food pyramid and eat in control CARBS ARE NOT BAD in fact their required for neural functioning!
Glucose can be made by other means than the breakdown of carbs.0 -
Just FYI people carbs are essential food source for our brain. Since our brain does not have the ability to store fuel it relies 100% on glucose...the breakdown of carbs to feed it!! Ever did the atkins diet and start to feel "high, out of it, forgetful?" Its because your brain is starving!!!!
Just go by your food pyramid and eat in control CARBS ARE NOT BAD in fact their required for neural functioning!
That's strange. I have sleep apnea and even when I got the CPAP machine I was still foggy. Since I started to eat paleo I'm more focused and alert than I've EVER been. Hmmmm....0 -
Just FYI people carbs are essential food source for our brain. Since our brain does not have the ability to store fuel it relies 100% on glucose...the breakdown of carbs to feed it!! Ever did the atkins diet and start to feel "high, out of it, forgetful?" Its because your brain is starving!!!!
Just go by your food pyramid and eat in control CARBS ARE NOT BAD in fact their required for neural functioning!
glucose can be made without carbs actually.. just not as readily
and the food pyramid is not a good thing to follow at all. I do not support it one bit xD0
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