3 Ways
Carbohydrates Can Make You Fat
Can carbohydrates make you
fat? Are carbohydrates essential for fueling the body and having it
run efficiently? Do I need to watch my intake of carbohydrates to
prevent fat storage? The answer to all 3 questions is Yes!
So
what does all this mean? Am I not to eat carbs or am I supposed to
eat carbs? How many carbs should I eat? What types? The entire
carbohydrate craze has gone from one extreme to the other and back
again. It's no wonder you may be confused, frustrated, mad or all of
the above.
There is a ton of information flying around and
much of it is garbage. Here are the facts about carbs and how you
should use this information.
1. Your body can store all carbs
as fat when the muscles and the liver are already full of glycogen.
So if you continuously eat a high carbohydrate diet this can lead to
increased fat storage. Also, you can store more of your carb
calories as fat when you eat too many processed and refined carbs.
The key is to consume moderate carbs and choose carbs that have at
least 2gms of fiber per serving. This will help control insulin
spikes, which leads us to number 2.
2. Eating too many carbs
at one sitting without enough other nutrients to counteract its
effect will cause insulin spikes, which then triggers your body's
fat storing mechanisms. This is why I suggest you eat whole grain
carbs, vegetables and fruits with skin when possible because they
will provide good sources of fiber to help control these insulin
spikes. Also, make sure you balance your carb intake with lean
protein to further counteract the effects of carbs in the body in
regards to elevating your insulin levels.
3. Through a
process known as de novo lipogenesis your body can directly increase
fat storage by converting carbohydrates to fat. So I will reiterate
why you need to eat carbs. Eat whole grain, high fiber carbs as well
as lean protein to control blood sugar rise, which then controls
insulin spikes and helps prevent you from storing carb calories as
fat.
So now that you have the facts about carbs should
you be eating them or not. To summarize you do need carbs. Your body
does need carbs to function properly and maintain optimal
efficiency. The body doesn't need as many carbs as we feed it
though. It also doesn't need the refined flours and process carbs we
have become accustomed to eating. As we have gotten lazier and our
lives have become busier we tend to lean towards convenient foods
and they are usually not the healthiest of foods.
We have
consumed too much of those foods and then blamed it all on carbs as
to why we are fat. Carbs are not the main culprit. They do play a
part as I describe above as to how they can make you fat. I also
mention how to eat carbs so that they don't make you
fat.
Click here for more quick
weight loss tips and fast easy
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Jayson Hunter
RD, CSCS is the author of the Carb Rotation Diet. To discover the 5
absolute truths Every Serial Dieter Who Seeks Rapid-Weight loss MUST
come to grips with visit The Carb Rotation Diet.