Are carbs bad for you?

Welcome back to week two of our four-part series of my best nutrition tips.

Last week, my number one nutrition tip was to balance your blood sugar.  

If you missed it, you’ll want to be sure to catch up here before reading on.

If you’re over a certain age, then you’ve been through every food macronutrient being demonized at some point in your life.  

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap.  Who here remembers the Atkins diet?

Let’s examine the different types of carbohydrates and why understanding them is crucial to balancing blood sugar.

Carbohydrates are important because they help to stabilize hunger, energy, and cravings. 

They are your body’s primary energy source.  

The fiber in them helps to keep you feeling full, feeds your good gut bacteria, and stunts the blood sugar response.

You’ll have steady energy when you keep your blood sugar in check.

When you eat carbohydrates, you want to utilize them and store them in the liver and muscle cells instead of your fat cells.

The key is to understand your carbohydrate threshold.

How many carbohydrates can your liver and muscle uptake at each meal?

If fat loss is your goal, it depends on how much muscle you have.

Most importantly, do not eat naked carbohydrates. (I take no credit for inventing this term!)

Pair carbohydrates with protein and fat - put some clothes on your carbohydrates.

When eaten on their own, especially the simple carbohydrates, you’ll be on the blood sugar roller coaster ride.

Have you ever had toast and coffee, and then two hours later, you were sleepy and ready for another muffin?

You’ve jumped on the blood sugar roller coaster ride.

There are different types of carbohydrates:

Simple carbohydrates include: crackers, chips, cookies, cake, muffins, bagels, bread, pasta, pancakes, granola, snack bars, and candy.   

Why are these not a good choice?  

• They’re easy to overeat because they’re engineered to be highly palatable.  
  
• They have little to no fiber, giving them no nutritional value.  
  
• They are empty calories, leaving you feeling hungry, tired, and irritable.
  
• The average person eats a whopping 133 pounds of refined flour per year. 
  
• 65% of the total food we’re eating today comes from these ultra-processed foods
  
• Ultra-processed foods are stripped of nutrients, covered in chemicals, and have lots of added sugars, artificial colorings, and flavorings.
  
• The average American eats 80+ pounds of added sugar per year.
  
• The average adult eats 22 teaspoons, and the average child consumes 34 teaspoons of sugar daily.
  
• 25% of our population has non-alcohol fatty liver disease caused by consuming too much sugar.
  

Vegetables: Non-starchy complex carbohydrates with high water content: salad greens, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, bell peppers, etc.  

You can eat as many vegetables as you like, raw, roasted, sauteed, or steamed.  

They’re filling, have fiber and water, won’t spike your blood sugar, and you can’t overeat them. Enjoy as many vegetables as you’d like.

Starchy complex carbohydrates are whole-food carbohydrates that either contain water or, when cooked, absorb water: Grains, beans, oats, lentils, corn, and potatoes 

Fruit: Whole fruit has fiber and phytonutrients that help to feed your gut microbiome.  

Skip the fruit juices, which have no fiber and will spike your blood sugar.

As you build a meal, you want to add as many non-starchy vegetables as you like.

Choose either a starchy complex carbohydrate like rice or potatoes OR a piece of fruit.

Experiment with your carbohydrate threshold:

• One serving of starchy carbohydrates: 30-40 grams
• Strength training less than 3x/week: 1 serving of starchy carbohydrates/day
• Blood sugar control issues (PCOS, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes): 1 serving of starchy carbohydrates/day
• Menopausal and post-menopausal women: 1 serving of starchy carbohydrates/day
• Strength training 3+/week: 2 servings of starchy carbohydrates/day
• Athletes, pregnant and breastfeeding women: 3+ servings of carbohydrates/day

Life is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated.  

Enjoy the cookie or piece of cake now and again.  

If you do so, have it at the end of a meal and consider taking a 10 minute walk afterwards.  

This will help you to avoid a big blood sugar spike and crash.

Your sugar cravings will likely decrease as you incorporate more non-starchy vegetables into your meals.

I hope this removes your fear of carbs and helps you understand how to make them work for you.

Keep track of your hunger, energy, and cravings after each meal.

This is how to evaluate if you have balanced blood sugar.

I love hearing from you.  Open to your questions.

Be sure to come back next week for part three.

If you'd like my help learning how to eat rather than diet, please reply. I'd love to support you.