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In my experience, many people find a food program consisting of 55 percent carbohydrates an intimidating amount. This is because many of the popular diet books out there have caused people to shift their dietary fears from fats to carbohydrates. The key is not to be afraid to eat carbohydrates, but to learn how to manage your intake of carbs relative to your activity level. We all know of people who have lost a great deal of scale weight on low-carbohydrate diets, but it’s a sure thing that they felt irritable, headachy, and fatigued while on that diet. To maintain the brain and central nervous system, the body needs a certain amount of glucose, which it gets from sugars and starches, the byproducts of carbohydrates after digestion. The body stores this glucose in the liver and in the muscles. When you do not ingest a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in your daily diet, the body has to get its supply from somewhere. At that point, the body will begin breaking down its own muscle protein to synthesize glucose to provide your vital organs with an adequate supply. The weight you will lose on a low-carbohydrate diet will be muscle tissue, not fat, because your body cannot break down its fat stores into glucose.
The goal of any good weight loss program should always be to lose as little muscle as possible in comparison to fat loss. For every gram of muscle tissue you lose, you lose 4 grams of water. For every gram of fat lost, you lose only 1 gram of water. Water weight is not true long-term weight loss, because water is the easiest thing in the world to gain back. If, after losing weight on a diet, you start eating a larger amount of carbohydrates during times of stress, the body will quickly regain its lost muscle tissue and its associated water weight.
Remember, the goal of any nutrition program should be to spare lean muscle tissue at the expense of excess body fat. Keep in mind also that a pound of fat is four times the volume of a pound of lean muscle, so losing pounds of fat will create the greatest transformation in your physical appearance. So don’t be afraid of carbohydrates. This does not mean, however, that you can eat all the carbohydrates you want. A recent study at Stanford University School of Medicine showed that eating a diet extremely high in carbohydrates caused triglycerides (bad fats) to go up. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. The key is balance.
Remember, all carbohydrates are not created equal. Complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice, and whole grains will be utilized more efficiently by the body than simple sugars such as candy and cakes. I’m not saying that you can never again indulge your sweet tooth, but it is important to eat desserts in moderation. Make them a special treat, not a daily occurrence.
Another factor to consider when choosing appropriate carbohydrates is their rating on the Glycemic Index. Foods with a high glycemic rating stimulate a higher than normal production of insulin in the body and tend to stimulate fat storage. Foods that have a low glycemic rating do not significantly elevate insulin or stimulate fat storage. High glycemic foods should be avoided or eaten in moderation.
In my experience, many people find a food program consisting of 55 percent carbohydrates an intimidating amount. This is because many of the popular diet books out there have caused people to shift their dietary fears from fats to carbohydrates. The key is not to be afraid to eat carbohydrates, but to learn how to manage your intake of carbs relative to your activity level. We all know of people who have lost a great deal of scale weight on low-carbohydrate diets, but it’s a sure thing that they felt irritable, headachy, and fatigued while on that diet. To maintain the brain and central nervous system, the body needs a certain amount of glucose, which it gets from sugars and starches, the byproducts of carbohydrates after digestion. The body stores this glucose in the liver and in the muscles. When you do not ingest a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in your daily diet, the body has to get its supply from somewhere. At that point, the body will begin breaking down its own muscle protein to synthesize glucose to provide your vital organs with an adequate supply. The weight you will lose on a low-carbohydrate diet will be muscle tissue, not fat, because your body cannot break down its fat stores into glucose.
The goal of any good weight loss program should always be to lose as little muscle as possible in comparison to fat loss. For every gram of muscle tissue you lose, you lose 4 grams of water. For every gram of fat lost, you lose only 1 gram of water. Water weight is not true long-term weight loss, because water is the easiest thing in the world to gain back. If, after losing weight on a diet, you start eating a larger amount of carbohydrates during times of stress, the body will quickly regain its lost muscle tissue and its associated water weight.
Remember, the goal of any nutrition program should be to spare lean muscle tissue at the expense of excess body fat. Keep in mind also that a pound of fat is four times the volume of a pound of lean muscle, so losing pounds of fat will create the greatest transformation in your physical appearance. So don’t be afraid of carbohydrates. This does not mean, however, that you can eat all the carbohydrates you want. A recent study at Stanford University School of Medicine showed that eating a diet extremely high in carbohydrates caused triglycerides (bad fats) to go up. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. The key is balance.
Remember, all carbohydrates are not created equal. Complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice, and whole grains will be utilized more efficiently by the body than simple sugars such as candy and cakes. I’m not saying that you can never again indulge your sweet tooth, but it is important to eat desserts in moderation. Make them a special treat, not a daily occurrence.
Another factor to consider when choosing appropriate carbohydrates is their rating on the Glycemic Index. Foods with a high glycemic rating stimulate a higher than normal production of insulin in the body and tend to stimulate fat storage. Foods that have a low glycemic rating do not significantly elevate insulin or stimulate fat storage. High glycemic foods should be avoided or eaten in moderation.
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