What’s always interesting is that if are to ask almost anyone on the street “how do you lose weight” a very large percentage will say “cut out carbs”, and as a trainer, we hear it all the time.
Since the Atkins era of the late 90s, the low carb movement has fluctuated in popularity this has left a lot of people assuming carbs are inherently bad. I bet you have heard something about carbs spiking blood insulin which leads to fat gain, carbs causing inflammation or my personal favourite carbs aren’t an essential part of our diet like proteins and fats are. Some of it sounds simple and in part logical but in the simplicity of labelling an entire food group with “good” or “bad” negates the biological complexity of carbohydrates.
Now I’m sure someone you know has done really well from cutting out carbs and I’m not here to argue if it works or not. Ultimately if you reduce what you eat of course you will lose weight. Was it because that nutrient was “bad” or was it that you reduced your overall energy intake? For it to have worked it would have had to be the latter.
With the rise of the ketogenic diet over the past decade the low carb movement seems to be coming back stronger than ever. Ketogenic diet books have been top sellers over the last few years. If you haven’t heard of it let me outline the diet:
The ketogenic diet often called “keto” is a high fat, moderate protein and low / no carb diet. Which mimics fasting physiology. Your brain and body switch to using ketones for energy instead of blood sugar (glucose). This state is called ketosis. The state of ketosis can be achieved through fasting, diet, exogenous ketones or a combination of all three. Which is usually how it’s achieved. The diet has been around for years and was originally developed to treat epilepsy in children.
Ketosis – the biggest part of the diet is knowing when you are in ketosis which you do by measuring your blood glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) levels. You can do this by daily blood or urine tests. Generally, 0.5mmol concentration is considered light ketosis, it can depend based on which protocol you are following.
Even though as a whole I don’t recommend giving up carbs the ketogenic diet does have some intriguing benefits. Speaking to people who have successfully achieved ketosis the list of benefits are compelling, from:
You’re probably wondering why, having listed the benefits above, I’m not telling everyone to get on the diet as the list is pretty much everything people come to a trainer for.
The biggest negative to the diet is the huge restrictions. Limiting your diet to such low carbohydrates is hard enough for a week, from reading the studies on the keto diet it can take between 1-3 months to reach ketosis and some people simply can’t achieve it. So it’s not the sort of diet you can dip in and out of. It’s 100% a lifestyle choice and when you are in you’re in. Depending on who you speak to 1 or 2 drinks can pull you out of ketosis. Now I’d say that if you can successfully stick to the restrictions required for 3 months then you probably have no problems with willpower so you could quite easily manage a different less extreme diet that could give you the same results.
Like anything it’s not a diet for everyone, some people will read this and enjoy the challenge and enjoy the idea of needing to do blood tests and others will run a mile.
What’s important to note is that for any diet to work you still have to reduce your total calorie intake. You can just as easily gain weight on a keto diet if you overeat. It’s not magic it’s simply another type of restriction
One of the reasons cutting carbs works, for losing weight in the short term, is due to a reduction in stored water and glycogen stored in your muscles. However, keeping carbs too low for a sustained period of time could have serious consequences.
Adequate carbohydrates consumption has an important role to play in many body functions including things like hormone production. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands in our brain are sensitive to energy availability. The hypothalamus and pituitary work together with other glands such as the adrenals. Long term low carbohydrate intake can disrupt normal hormone function of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) – and sex hormones, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Low carbohydrate intake can also affect other hormones such as cortisol and T3 (thyroid hormone). Sustained low carbohydrate intake and high exercise activity can lead to:
It’s easy to get caught up in a fad diet, but most fad diets are going to be bad or not sustainable. For many years we thought the key to fat loss was a low-fat diet. Low fat, high carb didn’t work. People felt deprived and hungry; they “cheated” with “fat-free”, high sugar treats; and they ended up eating a lot of rice cakes.
Now we have swung the other way with low carb high fat bandwagon where we can eat nut butter, cream and avocado. Unfortunately, the low carb diet isn’t working for most of us either.
The thing to always remember is carbohydrates and refined carbohydrates are very different things. All natural carbohydrates are good for you and should be eaten. White rice and white potatoes are no better or worse than sweet potato and brown rice. They are all natural and nutrient dense foods that can and should be eaten especially if you are training regularly.
Whilst refined carbohydrates which have been processed should certainly be controlled. It’s worth noting that just because a food is processed it doesn’t mean you can’t eat it. Just be aware that it’s often easier to eat more processed carbohydrates as they are hyper-palatable compared to natural carbohydrates.
When selecting your carbohydrates always consider your tolerance to the food type. Some people experience gastrointestinal distress and feel sluggish after certain forms of carbohydrates and others might cause joint issues etc. We’re all different which is why any blanket rule about nutrition ie “cut carbs” is utter nonsense.
So here are some of my personal favourites:
White basmati rice: As I mentioned before, don’t think white rice is somehow inferior to brown or wild rice. It has a slightly lower nutrient profile. However post-workout lower fibre is usually a good thing as they are easily digested and absorbed and usually won’t cause the gastrointestinal issues that you might find with its higher fibre counterpart, wholegrain rice.
Chickpeas: I could have put any legume in here really but I love chickpeas as they have higher protein levels which is great if you are trying to reduce animal protein intake plus they form the base of possibly my favourite food, hummus.
Bagels: They contain roughly 45g of carbs and 8g of protein. If you’re someone that is exercising daily you will be allowed somewhere between 100-250g of carbs per day. There is no reason why you cant enjoy a bagel, it’s all about balance.
Here’s the thing, I live in a social media bubble where I surround myself with women lifting weights, getting strong and generally being freaking badass human beings. Yet when I walk into most gyms, this isn’t exactly what I’m seeing.
Elevate your conditioning with well-designed circuits. Far too many routines throw together exercises haphazardly, creating unbalanced fatigue and overwhelming recovery demands. It’s about strategic selection and smart planning—ensuring each session builds you up without burning you out.
The big scary carbohydrate is here to ruin your diet and make you gain weight. It’s time to separate the facts from the fiction, such as why you should not cut a whole food group out of your diet and why we need carbs.
Copyright © 2019 Andy Vincent PT
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