Carbohydrates – A Simple Guide

Carbohydrates are the food group that often cause the most confusion with trainees. Questions include; how many should I be eating? Won’t eating them after 6pm make me store fat? If I cut them out completely won’t I lose fat quicker? Why is it that I am not allowed pasta? Is Keto low-carb? I could go on but you get the idea.

It is not the fault of the average gym goer or trainee that they are confused. The avalanche of available information on the internet over the last fifteen years has made it difficult to discern between what is fact and what is bro-science. More supplement companies, more on-line ‘experts’ and more manufacturers selling their products that are loosely labelled as food are not all genuine in their marketing either. While being conscientious about the quality of your food and making choices based on health is a great thing, many of us are being duped into believing the hype. Belvita are currently selling a ‘breakfast biscuit’ and if you go on to their slick, colourful website you will find that just one of their biscuits contains 10g of sugar!!! If mentally you need a biscuit in the morning to meet your needs you seriously need to rethink how you are fuelling your daily activity.

How many?

The normal range is 3-5 grams of carbohydrates per kilo of bodyweight. So let’s work that out for a 30 year old female weighing 70kg (11 stone) who works out 3 times a week, has a job that includes physical activity, has 1 or 2 children and also has a house to run. In order to at the very least maintain an energy balance within the body she would need to be consuming between 210 and 240 grams of carbohydrates per day!

Alternatively consider a male of the same age who works shifts, lifts heavier weight while training and also has a family to support. He will generally burn more calories at rest due to having more lean muscle so his daily requirements go up considerably. So a 30 year old male weighing 80kg (just over 12 ½ stone) needs to consume between 320 to 350 grams of carbohydrates per day. Both of these trainees are looking to increase muscle, build strength and improve body composition (lower body fat).

Have a think about how hard you train and now try and estimate how many you are currently eating. I would say most of you are nowhere near where you should be.

What Type?

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking of foods based on their measured blood glucose response. A food with a low GI produces a mild, sustained increase in glucose (slow release). A food with a high GI produces a larger, more immediate glucose response (spike in blood sugar levels). Generally whole grains have a lower GI than refined grains; high-fibre foods have a lower GI than low fibre foods. Again it can be very confusing as to what is the best to choose. Generally a variety of whole foods such as brown rice, basmati white rice, sweet potato, white potato, quinoa, bulgur wheat, cous cous and the very odd bit of pasta are good choices (not pre-packed, processed, with added ‘Vitamins’).

How often?

For new trainees or recreational gym goers it is a waste of time to consider carbohydrate cycling, carbohydrate backloading or carbohydrate loading. You are adding too much unnecessary complication to what can otherwise have simple solutions. 

I suggest a protein and fat rich breakfast because of the effect on insulin and also the body’s greater need for these other two macronutrients when rising. Every other meal should contain carbohydrates as it is practically impossible to consume all of your daily requirements in 1-2 meals. Think back to what an average male needs (1 large portion of rice is roughly equates to about 75g carbs), would you eat 350g over 2 meals?

Spread the load, 4-5 meals spread over the course of a day will see you reaching your target without feeling like you are about to explode. If you are still unsure and need some guidance for setting up a diet that works for you then contact me and I would be happy to help set you up with a diet that works for you.