Caution with Carbs

Carbohydrates... friend or foe?  I imagine many of us have a love-hate relationship with them.  But what exactly comes to mind when you think of eating carbs?  Are you thinking pancakes, heaping plates of pasta, and pastries... or are you thinking fruits, vegetables and whole grains?  This could be the determining factor of your relationship with carbs and your success (or struggles) with weight management.

How much should I eat?
We've previously discussed that it can be kind of difficult to know how many calories you should be eating a day - without having specific metabolic testing done.  In addition, you may have heard me suggest that the recommended daily amount of carbohydrates should be 50-55% of your total caloric intake.  But if you don't know how many calories you should consume, then this percentage isn't very helpful.  Likewise, the truth is that the amount of carbohydrates you should consume is going to vary depending on your body size, health status, and also your level and type of physical activity (duration, intensity, frequency, etc).
Taking this information into consideration, let's calculate the following:
1. Take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms.
2.  Select your level of physical activity:
*recreationally active (exercise 30-60 minutes most days of the week / not training for an event): 3-5 g/kg.
*moderately active, but low endurance (such as football players, and other sports that do not require continuous activity for long periods of time without breaks): 5-7 g/kg.
*highly active, high endurance (training for a long distance event, frequently training for 2+ hours a day): 7-10 g/kg.
3.  Multiply your weight in kg times the number of g/kg of carbs for your activity level.  I suggest starting with the low to mid number in the range.
I imagine most of my readers will be in the 3-5 g/kg range.  I personally aim for 4 g/kg.

Here is my personal example:

125 lb / 2.2 = 57 kg

57 kg * 4 g/kg = 225 grams of carbohydrates/day

I have actually met with a nutritionist and was given this recommendation.  But it doesn't stop there.  We still need to look at the type and timing of the carbohydrates.

What kind should I eat?

We have all heard of simple and complex carbohydrates.  I have always used their name as an explanation for how your body breaks them down (simple are more easily digested, give you a quick sugar spike, and then leave you hungry/tired... complex take longer to digest, keep you full longer, and give you a steady level of energy).  But I have recently learned that this is not correct!  The name is merely describing the structure of each carb.  Complex carbs have a more "complex" chemical structure and tend to be less processed and higher in nutrients and fiber than simple carbohydrates.  So in the end, it is still a better idea to pick complex carbs such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains (bread, cereal, pasta) and legumes (beans, peas, lentils) over simple carbs such as sweetened cereals, breakfast bars, candy, soda and dessert.

There is another way we can categorize our carbs: by the glycemic index.  This categorizes foods as having a high glycemic response (quick rise in blood sugar and insulin), moderate, or low glycemic response (slow rise in blood sugar and insulin).  It is better to consume more foods that are low-moderate glycemic index in order to keep from having insulin spikes that could potentially lead to issues with insulin resistance.  Here is a GI index list of some common foods:

Additionally, CLICK HERE for a website where you can search any food item you would like, to see the glycemic index and also the grams of carbs per serving (click the tab on the left for GI database).   

Of course it can't really be this clear cut and easy.  As you start to mix carbohydrates together, or add protein and fat to the meal, that can alter the glycemic index of a food.  But this at least gives you a good idea of which foods to make "all the time foods" and which foods should only be "sometimes foods" (as explained to me by my darling niece and nephew).  And as we'll discuss below, there are certain times you might want to focus on lower GI foods and other times that high GI foods are beneficial.

When should I eat them?

It is a good idea to spread your nutrients out throughout the day.  Keep in mind that the main purpose of eating is to fuel your body.  If you consume too much at once, it may go to fat for storage.  If you don't consume enough - you may run out of energy.

As a general rule, try to consume about 20% of your carbohydrate grams at every meal, and 10-15% during three snacks spread throughout the day.  

For example, the suggestion I received for myself from the nutritionist was as follows:

Consume 225 g/kg of carbs per day

Aim for 45 g for each meal

Aim for 30 g for each snack

(3 meals + 3 snacks = 225 g)

This is a good way to ensure that your blood glucose and insulin will stay more stable throughout the day.

However we should also consider your carbohydrate intake in regards to your activity level.  Here are a few pointers:

* It is good to eat a pre-exercise meal or snack 1-3 hours before your exercise session to make sure you have energy.  Since we want to sustain energy, aim for low-moderate glycemic index foods here.

* If your exercise session lasts an hour or less, you don't need to be concerned with consuming carbohydrates during your workout.

* If your exercise session lasts well over an hour, you may want to consider some carbohydrate supplementation along the way - through sports drinks, sports beans, gel packs, etc.  This will help maintain your endurance for a longer duration.

* Since glucose is the primary source of fuel used during exercise, it is good to replenish after an exercise bout.  In fact, if you had a strenuous endurance session, it is very important that you aim to replenish your carbohydrates within 30 min - 2 hours after your exercise session, otherwise you may not actually be able to refill your glycogen stores as fully.  Since we are aiming for quick absorption here - high glycemic index foods are actually best.  Interestingly, fructose is digested slowest of all of the sugars, so it may not be best to use fruit or fruit juices for replenishment purposes.

This certainly is not an exact science.  It will be different for each individual, and your guidelines may need to be a little different each day - depending on your level of activity.  Use this information (and the information to follow on protein and fat in the weeks to come) as a guideline, and feel free to adjust your numbers up or down a little to meet your needs.

I'll end with a few more tidbits that I picked up from my meeting with the nutritionist:

1. Everyone should consume at least 1/2 cup of either nuts or beans every single day.

2. Better cereal choices include whole grain varieties like Total or Wheaties, and you can mix in your own fresh fruit.

3. From a sugar standpoint, she perfers "no sugar added" ice cream over frozen yogurt.  

We didn't discuss simple sugar too much in this post... and that is because those are not the types of carbohydrates we are aiming for.  When you are reading a nutrition label, look at how many grams of carbs are in a serving, and then look below to see the sugar content.  Try to aim for food choices that don't have all of their carbs coming from simple sugars.  If you stick with the whole grain variety, you'll be doing much better.  Save your simple sugars for the natural sugars in fruits and veggies.  And remember: items like pasta and rice should be a SIDE DISH, not your main entree.  A serving should be no larger than the size of your computer mouse (so cute and tiny, right?!).

I hope this will make you a little less fearful of carbohydrates, and help you gain confidence and responsibility in your food selection.  As mentioned, stay tuned for similar information on protein and fats!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt