By Derek Bye | B.S. Exercise Science, ACSM-CPT
For years carbohydrates have been viewed as the plague that has led to an epidemic of people becoming overweight or obese. In some aspect, this is true but it’s likely not for the reasons you’ve previously been taught to believe. Carbohydrates are one of three macronutrients that the body can use to produce energy (carbohydrate, fat, protein). Right now I want to help educate you in understanding what carbohydrates are and how they work. My goal is to give you the information you need so you can make the lifestyle changes necessary to reach your goals.
As stated earlier, a carbohydrate is simply a molecule found in food that our body uses to produce energy. This energy is broken down into glucose (sugar in its most simple form) and is either used right away by the body or it’s stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver (glycogen=stored glucose). So now you may be wondering, how can carbohydrates make us fat? Well, the body will initially store glycogen in the muscle cells because it’s assuming that we’re going to need that energy in the near future. This glycogen will be converted to fat if we don’t end up using it (lack of exercise) or we ate more calories than our body needs to satisfy our energy requirements.
Have you ever wondered why foods that are bad for us taste so good? Well, there’s a reason for that. Many of the foods that we end up overeating are loaded with simple carbohydrates and sugar (I’ll explain the difference shortly). These carbs are very stimulating to our taste buds and they make us crave more of it. The reason for this is that it’s actually an evolutionary adaptation that humans have evolved throughout time. Many years ago, humans had to hunt and gather to receive food. Foods that are high in sugar are typically higher in calories, which means that your body would naturally crave sugar because it knows that it holds a lot of energy and you don’t know when you’re next meal will be. Today, we have the option of walking up to a refrigerator or going out to eat whenever we want and it’s much easier to overfeed ourselves. The sugar that our ancestors once had to gather was typically found in natural foods like fruit, and were not highly condensed in the food that we find today (think pop tarts, cookies, muffins, donuts, etc.). Sugar is just one example of a carbohydrate and it is very easy to come by in today’s society.
Carbohydrates: Simple vs Complex Carbs
Simple carbohydrates – Simple carbohydrates are carbohydrates that are either a sugar or can be very easily converted into sugar. They are digested very quickly by the digestive system, which means that they are not good at keeping us full and satiated. The result of this is that we keep eating more and more, causing us to eat more calories than we desire. Common foods that contain simple carbs are starch foods (pasta, white bread, white rice), and foods that contain sugar (soft drinks, candy, milk).
Complex Carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates are composed of many glucose molecules bonded together. In chemistry, we would call this a polysaccharide. While simple carbs are either monosaccharides (meaning 1 sugar molecule) or disaccharides (meaning 2 sugar molecules bonded together), a polysaccharide will have many sugar molecules bonded together that need to be broken apart to produce energy. This means that it’s going to take much more time for the digestive system to break these molecules down. Some examples of complex carbohydrates include brown rice, whole grains, and vegetables. These carbohydrates contain much more nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Now that we understand the difference between different types of carbohydrates, I want to explain how you can use this information to make better nutritional decisions. As I said earlier, simple carbs are digested rapidly and will leave you hungry after. Imagine if you decided to have lunch and all you did was drink a large Coke. Well, you probably consumed nearly 400 calories but you’re still going to be starving. You’re going to end up eating more until you feel full. This is where complex carbohydrates play a vital role in helping us lose weight. By eating these carbs, we can slow down the digestive process and prevent us from wanting to keep eating more food. I can guarantee you that eating 400 calories worth of brown rice (which is probably close to 2 or 3 bowls) will fill you up much longer than one large soda.
Now that we understand what carbohydrates are and how they work, let’s summarize the things we talked about so we can apply this information and get the results we’re looking for. The key to preventing the overconsumption of carbs is to eat carbohydrates that are slow to digest. This prevents you from getting hungry and eating more carbs. You’ll also want to look to cut out any types of juice and soda from your diet. These carbs are unnecessary and will keep you hungry and wanting to eat more food. Foods that are slower in digestion will have more complex carbs and/or more fat and protein. Healthy fats are a great alternative to eating carbs because they take very long to digest and don’t result in a spike of insulin. While carbs typically get a bad rep amongst fitness advocates, it’s actually okay to consume them. Take small steps to find foods you like that are whole grain/complex carbohydrates and replace them with other options that aren’t as healthy for you. It’s okay to consume sugar and other types of simple carbs, but we don’t want to have them with every single meal and we definitely don’t want to snack on them all throughout the day. I hope you found this helpful and I’d love to hear any feedback or questions on this topic!
D-BYE Lifts 