Not eating carbs? 

I still hear of people not eating carbs to lose weight 

At the beginning of the year, I held a couple of seminars about nutrition. During these seminars, I went over the importance of carbohydrates and why and when we need them in our diet.

Firstly, with regards to changing our body shape, we need to focus on measurements, rather than weight loss.

When we suddenly drop our daily calorie intake ( eliminate carbs from our diet ), our Metabolism slows right down

Initially, we can lose weight by doing this, but it’s not good 

We start to breakdown muscle for energy, and this is something we definitely do not want ( as muscle is more metabolically active than fat )

Remember, all the activities that we do require energy. Even walking or breathing requires energy. The main source of energy required for our daily requirements is glucose. Glucose is taken from the starches and sugars that we eat. 

Starches and sugars get broken down to simple sugar with the help of insulin during the process of digestion. The sugar then gets stored in muscles, liver or other parts of the body. Any excess sugar will be stored as fat later on 

Proper selection of carbs can really contribute towards weight loss 

For me the best times to take in high GI carbohydrates are first thing of a morning and after you have trained ( if you are currently following an exercising program )

This is when your insulin receptors will be more sensitive towards building muscle glycogen ( energy ) rather than stored fat 

Taking in high GI carbs, outside these windows, can contribute towards an increase in body fat %

High GI carbohydrates include white bread, potatoes, white rice, sugary snacks 

For the rest of the day, you will then try and have low GI or fibrous carbohydrates. 
These include oats, vegetables, fruit etc 

By following this approach, you will have the required energy needed for your daily activities.

You will also have the required energy stores to participate in an exercise session, and therefore, getting the most from that session, and helping to build muscle tone and reduce body fat %

Remember, a sudden drop in calories isn’t good, and will contribute towards your body fat % going up, which certainly doesn’t look attractive 

Paul 🙂 
www.liverpoolpersonaltrainer.com