Thankfully,
the ridiculous fad of the low carb diet finally seems
dead. Hopefully the myth that carbohydrates are evil will die with
it. Carbohydrates are necessary to fuel our workouts, but consumed in
excess and at the wrong times, they can make us fat. As an athlete, one
key to reducing bodyfat is eating carbohydrate in
ways that fuel our muscle cells but not our fat cells.
Carbohydrate
is necessary in the muscle for effective fat burning to occur, so carbohydrate
stored in the muscles is good. Carbohydrate can also be stored as fat in
the fat cells, enlarging them. When, how, and what type of carbohydrate
you eat dramatically affect where and how carbohydrate is stored.
The
human body tries to maintain tight control over all its functions. It has
thousands of built in self-correction systems to keep it running
smoothly. Blood sugar is one of the functions that the body maintains
rigidly. Our endocrine systems react strongly to keep blood sugar within
certain normal parameters. If blood sugar goes either too high or too
low, alarms are set off and the body reacts powerfully to bring blood sugar
levels back to normal.
Insulin
is a hormone secreted by the pancreas to help maintain optimal blood sugar
level. Insulin's job is to remove sugar from the blood and store it,
either as glycogen in the muscles and liver or, more frequently, as fat.
Insulin is good. It helps maintain balance in the body. However,
when triggered at the wrong times and in great amounts, insulin will make you
fat. Preventing frequent and intense insulin responses is the single most
critical step in reducing bodyfat for many people.
Insulin
also has a negative affect on resting metabolic rate. Depending on the
frequency and the severity of the insulin response, it may reduce the number of
calories burned at rest by as much as eight percent! Over time, this
could add up to a significant amount of extra bodyfat.
Carbohydrates
are very simple molecules, which digest very quickly and easily. Even the
most complex carbohydrate is nothing more than strings of sugars loosely tied
together. Digestion of carbohydrates begins right in the mouth with an
enzyme called Salivary Amylase, which is located in the saliva. By the
time carbohydrates even reach the stomach, digestion is well underway and much
of the carbohydrate you just ate is already sugar.
When
you eat carbohydrates by themselves, they digest too
quickly and the sugar enters the bloodstream all at once, sending your blood
sugar level soaring. This sets off an alarm and the pancreas secretes
insulin into the bloodstream to take some of the sugar out. This is a
good response, preventing a dangerous situation, but it comes at a cost.
Severe
insulin responses cause excess fat storage and low blood sugar. Low blood
sugar causes a number of problems. The first is lethargy. Even mild
activities seem exhausting. Another symptom of low blood sugar is mood
swings. The greatest problem caused by low blood sugar when trying to
reduce bodyfat is hunger. There are a number of
different triggers for hunger and satiety. When blood sugar is the
trigger, guess what specific cravings are usually manifested? You guessed
it, carbohydrate. This sets up a vicious cycle:
Eat Carbohydrate
Increased Blood Sugar
Insulin Secreted
Carbohydrate Stored as Fat
Low Blood Sugar
Hunger (Carbohydrate
Cravings?)
Eat Carbohydrate...
Eating
can make you hungry and reduce energy levels. Repeatedly triggering the
insulin response causes fat storage, hunger, and lethargy. Nobody
intentionally makes themselves fat, hungry, and tired,
but many people unknowingly do so several times every day.
Preventing the Insulin Response
The
way you consume carbohydrate may be making you fatter than you want to be, but
carbohydrate is not the enemy. Depending on how you structure your food
consumption, carbohydrate may be stored mostly as fat (bad), stored mostly as
carbohydrate in the muscles (good), or not stored at all, but burned as fuel
(good). Managing the insulin response is a critical aspect of this.
Carbohydrate in the bloodstream provides energy right now. Carbohydrate
in the muscles gives energy for tomorrow's workout. DEPLETING CARBOHYDRATE
WILL NOT MAKE YOU LEAN.
The
key is structuring meals and snacks so that you can consume carbohydrates in
your diet, but keep from suddenly elevating your blood sugar level. Three
strategies come into play here:
Glycemic Index
The
glycemic index (G.I.) of a food is a measurement of
how quickly the carbohydrate in that food enters the bloodstream compared to
pure glucose. Glucose has a glycemic index of
100. A food that has a G.I. of 70 enters the bloodstream 70% as quickly
as pure glucose. For someone trying to lose bodyfat,
a diet comprised largely of low G.I. foods prevents excessive insulin secretion
and ensures that the carbohydrates in the diet are available as fuel instead of
being stored as fat.
A
list of the glycemic index of common carbohydrates is
at the end of this article. Carbohydrates with a glycemic
index of 40 or lower may be considered low G.I. foods, which are the best
choices. Carbohydrates with an index between 40 and 70 may be considered
moderate G.I. foods and are good choices. Carbohydrates with an index
over 70 will tend to trigger an insulin response and should be eaten primarily
right after workouts or in combination with lower G.I. foods (to create a
combined G.I. of less than 70).
Combining Foods
Protein
is the friend of an active person trying to decrease bodyfat.
Consuming protein with carbohydrate helps ensure that the carbohydrate is not
stored as fat.
Choosing
low to moderate glycemic index carbohydrates is a
useful strategy for reducing insulin secretion, but properly combining foods in
meals and snacks can be just as powerful. Learn to make this strategy a
natural part of your lifestyle and you will become leaner.
Carbohydrate
is a very simple molecule that digests very rapidly and easily. Protein,
on the other hand, is a very large, complex molecule, which digests much more
slowly. Remember that when you eat different types of food together, they
move through the digestive tract together, being digested and absorbed at the same
rate. If you eat protein and carbohydrate together, the protein
dramatically slows the carbohydrate digestion. Instead of a large amount
of carbohydrate entering the bloodstream all at once and driving the blood
sugar level up dramatically, the carbohydrate trickles slowly into the
bloodstream. Protein "time-releases"
carbohydrate. As digestion occurs, blood sugar is gradually burned
off almost as quickly as it enters, preventing quick increases in blood sugar
level that cause the insulin response. Blood sugar remains just slightly
elevated for a long period of time. This creates the perfect situation:
good mood, feelings of energy, minimized hunger, and a slow, steady supply of
sugar to be burned with fat to provide the body with energy for daily activities.
Fat
digests very slowly, just as protein, so logically it could be combined with
carbohydrate to prevent dramatic blood sugar fluctuations. While this
will prevent the insulin response, think carefully about the logic behind
consuming fat to be sure that the carbohydrate you eat will not be stored as
fat. You store fat calories as fat calories instead of storing
carbohydrate calories as fat calories. You get fat for a different
reason. Fat is the most calorie-dense of all biological
fuels, having about 2¼ times more calorie per
gram than either protein or carbohydrate. Better to stick with low glycemic index carbohydrates and combine them with protein
in a relatively low fat diet.
Make a habit of eating protein every time you eat carbohydrate (except during workouts), eating concentrated carbohydrates only after workouts, and choosing carbohydrates that fall lower on the glycemic index. Your energy level will increase while the extra pounds melt away.
Click Here and View Glycemic
Index of Common Foods
Ken Mierke is head coach of Fitness Concepts, developer of Evolution Running, and author of The Triathlete’s Guide to Run Training. Ken and his wife Melissa have lost a combined 160 pounds and both gone on to win triathlon national championships. www.Fitness-Concepts.com CoachKen@erols.com
