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are carbs really the enmy
exum235
Posts: 30 Member
in Debate Club
I think not its the bodys fuel source
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Replies
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I believe it is the quality of the carbs that matter. You always want to choose the healthy carbs and you want to have them earlier in the day.
However, I do know that some people opt to start their diet/workout plan by completely eliminating carbs or at least having very very little carbs. Seems to help some people. I believe that has to do with wanting to see a quick visual change (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Lack of carbs can really sap your energy.
Hope that helps!2 -
I like carbs, I like proteins and fats and fibre too. It's all balance. If I have these all balanced, I also like ice cream or beer.2
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Carbs are basically broken down to sugar then converted into glucose and glycogen for the body to use. You have simple and complex carbs and the main difference is going to be the absorption time usually due to fiber content. The body doesn't distinguish "good" from "bad" carbs (there really isn't such a thing). It just breaks down to simplest form and is absorbed.I believe it is the quality of the carbs that matter. You always want to choose the healthy carbs and you want to have them earlier in the day.
However, I do know that some people opt to start their diet/workout plan by completely eliminating carbs or at least having very very little carbs. Seems to help some people. I believe that has to do with wanting to see a quick visual change (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Lack of carbs can really sap your energy.
Hope that helps!
The whole eating carbs early in the day is a myth. It's based on preference. Someone who has a carb loaded meal before bed can have all the glycogen they need to work out on an empty stomach the next morning.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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How many carbs should one have a day. I am a pre-dietabic ?0
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Midland0il4 wrote: »How many carbs should one have a day. I am a pre-dietabic ?
You should talk to your doctor or (ideally) get a referral to a registered dietitian certified in diabetes management. You will get some conflicting information here, although I know jignatca and earlnabby are two posters who have put their T2D completely under control with weight loss and diet, so I would recommend seeking out their posts (I know you are just pre-D, but I would imagine similar approaches would help).0 -
No, carbs are not the enemy and it really irritates me how there always seems to be some macro that gets singled out -- we did fat, now we are on to carbs. Traditional diets (with healthy results) are all over the place when it comes to macro percentages and the US diet isn't particularly high carb, so my take-away is that macro percentage isn't the issue, food choice is. One can have a healthy or terrible (or in-between) diet at almost any level of carbs. Rather than worrying about macro percentage, I mostly just focus on eating a good, nutrient-rich diet with enough protein, healthy fats, and lots of vegetables, and usually go for more fibrous sources of carbs like legumes and whole grains (although if I want some potatoes or white pasta with a complete meal including protein and vegetables, I go for it).
I do think macro percentage can make a difference for some for satiety (I don't find it matters for me so long as I eat healthfully in general), and I am trying to experiment with somewhat higher carbs as I've heard it helps with training for cardio events (Matt Fitzgerald's stuff and studies he cites, as well as some other sources), but I haven't really changed how I naturally eat yet to try this (I seem to naturally eat around 150 g).0 -
Not for me, but I have no medical conditions where minimizing carbs would help.0
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Food isn't the enemy. Period.1
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Nope, not the enemy. It's all about balance.1
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No...overconsumption in general is the enemy. Most people eating the SAD could stand to reduce their carbs as well as their fat as both are over consumed in the SAD...and people could definitely stand to make better choices...I mean 40oz Big Gulps aren't exactly providing your body with nutrients...but carbs provide the body with awesome energy and there are numerous sources of carbohydrates that also provide the body with awesome nutrition. I personally think that a lot of people forget that...or they don't know it and just perceive carbs as "junk" food...there are a lot of very nutritious sources of carbohydrates out there.0
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Do these guys look like your enemies?
Now the guys on protein shakes, they look more like your enemies, they even say combat:
Clearly protein is the enemy.
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Carbs are not the enemy. No more so than other macros so long as they're from a healthy food source. And the whole 'cutting carbs' to lose weight fad really gets to me. You hear it so much, "I need to lose weight, gotta cut out the carbs!" Drives. Me. Nuts. Especially when people go on to say they don't feel great without them and then give up on whatever health endeavor all together because it was 'too hard'.
Don't make it hard. Eat the carbs, seriously. There is a difference between donuts and french fries vs rice and potatoes.
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As I've said before, carbs are not evil. They do not travel through your system with little pitchforks stabbing the fat to keep it in your system.
I think the biggest issue is it's currently one of the Things To Avoid™ list, and I personally can't figure why. Maybe it has to do with Celiac disease become well known and people are self-diagnosing? I know years ago that I thought gluten made my allergies worse, but that didn't last long. Mostly because I really REALLY wanted bread, and I figured as long as I take my allergy meds, I'll be ok. Then realized it wasn't making any difference one way or another. I dunno, it seems to go back to what 'they' say will help you lose weight and people buying into it because they either want a quick fix or don't want to blame themselves for getting into the habit of overeating.0 -
As I've said before, carbs are not evil. They do not travel through your system with little pitchforks stabbing the fat to keep it in your system.
I think the biggest issue is it's currently one of the Things To Avoid™ list, and I personally can't figure why. Maybe it has to do with Celiac disease become well known and people are self-diagnosing? I know years ago that I thought gluten made my allergies worse, but that didn't last long. Mostly because I really REALLY wanted bread, and I figured as long as I take my allergy meds, I'll be ok. Then realized it wasn't making any difference one way or another. I dunno, it seems to go back to what 'they' say will help you lose weight and people buying into it because they either want a quick fix or don't want to blame themselves for getting into the habit of overeating.
Actually, it's a bit funny that gluten itself isn't even a carbohydrate - it's a protein. Some gluten free stuff has more carbohydrates as a percentage of calories because the protein from gluten is gone.
Carbohydrates being the enemy goes back as far as the Banting diet system, with the most recent trends being in the 1970s with Atkins, with a late 90s revitalization that came about as a push back against the low fat movement of the 80s.0 -
I would suggest diet doctors.com as a source to find the answer to your question.0
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Of course carbs aren't "the enemy"; too many calories is. Carbs are one potential fuel source, along with fat and protein. Finding the right mix of macros to promote satiety is IMO pretty important to long term success, for some people that means a diet higher in protein, for others a diet higher in fat, for others still a more "balanced" approach, but focused on fiber and food volume. I find hflc works best for me, from my own trial and error. Yes, I can (and have) lost weight by only restricting calories, paying no mind to carbs (I've also lost weight restricting fat, increasing fiber, etc), but I find the satiety level of a hflc diet most sustainable for me. I always found myself super hungry and struggling on lower fat diets or simply calorie controlled diets and over time my resolve would wane and I'd have to eat all. the. things. And of course regain whatever I had lost. But everyone has to find what works for them.0
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Inherently, they're not the enemy. But like everything else, moderation is key, especially for those who are prone to high blood sugar levels. In some cases, those who have a tendency to have elevated blood sugar (not necessarily at the level of diabetes initially) could eventually run into problems from high carb consumption even if one is maintaining weight.0
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mattyc772014 wrote: »
No, she's not just carbs, she's sugar syrup, and sugar definitely is the debil.0 -
mattyc772014 wrote: »
No, she's not just carbs, she's sugar syrup, and sugar definitely is the debil.
Well played, sir. Well played.0 -
mattyc772014 wrote: »
No, she's not just carbs, she's sugar syrup, and sugar definitely is the debil.
Fake maple syrup is the debil0 -
Carbs are basically broken down to sugar then converted into glucose and glycogen for the body to use. You have simple and complex carbs and the main difference is going to be the absorption time usually due to fiber content. The body doesn't distinguish "good" from "bad" carbs (there really isn't such a thing). It just breaks down to simplest form and is absorbed.I believe it is the quality of the carbs that matter. You always want to choose the healthy carbs and you want to have them earlier in the day.
However, I do know that some people opt to start their diet/workout plan by completely eliminating carbs or at least having very very little carbs. Seems to help some people. I believe that has to do with wanting to see a quick visual change (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Lack of carbs can really sap your energy.
Hope that helps!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This isn't exactly correct. Not all carbs are broken down and converted to glucose/glycogen. These carbs that we can eat without absorbing them not only provide zero calories but some have proven health benefits and help to keep us regular. IMO these are the 'good carbs'.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
Carbs are basically broken down to sugar then converted into glucose and glycogen for the body to use. You have simple and complex carbs and the main difference is going to be the absorption time usually due to fiber content. The body doesn't distinguish "good" from "bad" carbs (there really isn't such a thing). It just breaks down to simplest form and is absorbed.I believe it is the quality of the carbs that matter. You always want to choose the healthy carbs and you want to have them earlier in the day.
However, I do know that some people opt to start their diet/workout plan by completely eliminating carbs or at least having very very little carbs. Seems to help some people. I believe that has to do with wanting to see a quick visual change (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Lack of carbs can really sap your energy.
Hope that helps!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This isn't exactly correct. Not all carbs are broken down and converted to glucose/glycogen. These carbs that we can eat without absorbing them not only provide zero calories but some have proven health benefits and help to keep us regular. IMO these are the 'good carbs'.
Actually, those good carbs are probably, in a sense, worse than "bad carbs". Pure sugar is going to be a problem to overeat, but I imagine you could eat a lot more of that on a per gram basis than you could fiber. Enough fiber and eventually you'll cause intestinal distress, distention, and possible perforation.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
Carbs are basically broken down to sugar then converted into glucose and glycogen for the body to use. You have simple and complex carbs and the main difference is going to be the absorption time usually due to fiber content. The body doesn't distinguish "good" from "bad" carbs (there really isn't such a thing). It just breaks down to simplest form and is absorbed.I believe it is the quality of the carbs that matter. You always want to choose the healthy carbs and you want to have them earlier in the day.
However, I do know that some people opt to start their diet/workout plan by completely eliminating carbs or at least having very very little carbs. Seems to help some people. I believe that has to do with wanting to see a quick visual change (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Lack of carbs can really sap your energy.
Hope that helps!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This isn't exactly correct. Not all carbs are broken down and converted to glucose/glycogen. These carbs that we can eat without absorbing them not only provide zero calories but some have proven health benefits and help to keep us regular. IMO these are the 'good carbs'.
Actually, those good carbs are probably, in a sense, worse than "bad carbs". Pure sugar is going to be a problem to overeat, but I imagine you could eat a lot more of that on a per gram basis than you could fiber. Enough fiber and eventually you'll cause intestinal distress, distention, and possible perforation.
It depends on the type of fiber and I would imagine that's very rare. We aren't really going to label 'good' and 'bad' as too much = bad, are we? If so, I imagine we could just toss 'good' in the trash bin.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »mattyc772014 wrote: »
No, she's not just carbs, she's sugar syrup, and sugar definitely is the debil.
Fake maple syrup is the debil
This has actually been scientifically proven. The rats ran away in terror.0 -
Carbs are the current enemy (who knows what will be the next). If all nutrients and food ingredients co-existed peacefully, how else would nutrition books sell and articles attract readers? Nutritional kumbaya is boring and scapegoating is profitable. There will always be an enemy.
Beyond personal preferences and circumstances carbs are no more an enemy than gluten is.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
Carbs are basically broken down to sugar then converted into glucose and glycogen for the body to use. You have simple and complex carbs and the main difference is going to be the absorption time usually due to fiber content. The body doesn't distinguish "good" from "bad" carbs (there really isn't such a thing). It just breaks down to simplest form and is absorbed.I believe it is the quality of the carbs that matter. You always want to choose the healthy carbs and you want to have them earlier in the day.
However, I do know that some people opt to start their diet/workout plan by completely eliminating carbs or at least having very very little carbs. Seems to help some people. I believe that has to do with wanting to see a quick visual change (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Lack of carbs can really sap your energy.
Hope that helps!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This isn't exactly correct. Not all carbs are broken down and converted to glucose/glycogen. These carbs that we can eat without absorbing them not only provide zero calories but some have proven health benefits and help to keep us regular. IMO these are the 'good carbs'.
Those are some of the good carbs when eaten in a package with other things or when medically called for. On the other hand, I don't think Metamucil is particularly "a good carb" (as in let's avoid sweet potatoes and eat fiber supplements instead, yum, yum) or the carbs in vegetables or whole grains or fruits and veg or potatoes, among other foods, are not "good carbs" merely because they have calories. In fact, on the whole calories are an important part of why we eat food, so I say they are good.1 -
We all know what opinions are like.
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