Carbohydrates and Weight Loss
There is a big misconception when it comes to carbohydrates and weight loss, that eating carbs of any kind, at any time, is going to leave you bloated, and result in fat gains.
The truth is that this is only true if you don’t know what you are doing, or how to make carbs work for you.
Honestly, if you are smart, you can actually use carbohydrates to help weight and fat loss.
It is true that all carbs are not created equal, and there are some that will hinder rather than help your weight loss efforts.
It’s all down to one important hormone – Insulin.
Insulin is a bit like a delivery man within your body. It picks things up (nutrients such as proteins, fats and carbs) and delivers them to the cells in your body that need them.
Insulin is vital for your body to function properly and do what its meant to do. But when your insulin gets knocked out of shape, this is when problems arise. These deliveries start going to places you don’t want them to go and this can cause issues.
Your body will start to store energy as fat, as the lean muscle tissues will no longer accept the packages from the insulin.
The good news is that you can control the insulin within your body through diet and exercise.
You can synchronize carbohydrates and weight loss workouts, and really set your far burning efforts into overdrive.
This is why so many low carb diets fail to get you the results you want. The lean muscle tissues that burn up far stores, need fuel. Without carbs, and insulin, they aren’t going to get enough fuel. You may see short term fat loss, but this won’t last as the muscle tissues won’t have the fuel needed to keep your metabolism high, and keep your body burning fat.
This leads to energy loss, muscle loss and a really unhealthy looking body. Its a vicious cycle that can be difficult to get out of if you don’t know what you are doing.
There is an easy way to fix this however. The 3 key tips below will help you synchronize your carb intake with your workouts:
1. Match moderate carb intake with resistance training days
On the days that you are working out your muscles, either through lifting weights or bodyweight training, its important to feed the muscles properly. Your muscles will be most sensitive to insulin on these days, and will store the carbs in the muscle tissue. This will set up your body and your metabolism for fast fat burning.
Stay with carbs that will be absorbed at a moderate rate. Fruits, yogurts, beans etc are good choices.
2. On cardio days, have low carbs
You’re goal on these days is to lose fat, so keep the carbs you eat low. Quality proteins should be the basis for your diet on these days, along with lots of green vegetables. Healthy fats are also important on these days, especially if you are choosing lean meats.
3. 1 High carb day a week
Don’t go nuts on this day, and eat everything in sight! But one day a week with a high carb diet can really help your fat loss efforts. This will allow your body to restore the vital hormones needed for fat loss and general healthy living, your muscles will get a chance to refuel and your also give yourself a much needed break from eating all the right things.
The best plan is to eat whole carbs sources such as rice, quinoa, sweet potato, bananas, whole grain breads etc. Many people have issues with gluten without even knowing it, so you might want to stay away from wheat based foods.
Follow the above tips and you’ll get the right balance for carbohydrates and weight loss, by giving your muscles exactly what they need, when they need it. You’ll also set up the fat burning machine at a cellular level, by depriving the body of carbs at the right times.
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Carbohydrates and Weight Loss
