Carbs confusion [Forum Archive]

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Carbs confusion

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Posted by: Katia7

Here's what I understand.. when cutting we must lower our carb intake and raise the EFA intake. Does that mean that carbs (even the healthy ones: whole grains, apples, berries) make us gain body fat? Or can we still have carbs and loose body just through a caloric deficit.

Posted by: sara

You can still be cutting with Complex Carbs.. Oats, Yams, Sweet Potato, Brown Rice

Posted by: Katia7

I'm allergic to all those

I eat buckwheat, whole wheat bread or pita, buckwheat nudles, apples, berries.
What I'm wondering though.. it is really necessary to be on a high protein diet in order to loose body fat?

Posted by: sara

At least 1 lb per body weight, so you wont be losing muscles

Posted by: milliman

Originally Posted by Katia7

Here's what I understand.. when cutting we must lower our carb intake and raise the EFA intake. Does that mean that carbs (even the healthy ones: whole grains, apples, berries) make us gain body fat? Or can we still have carbs and loose body just through a caloric deficit.

I had the opportunity to talk to Milos Sarcev once. He said his eating regimen was as follows:

He would eat 2g of protein per day for each pound of body weight.
He would also eat a certain amount of EFA's too (I don't remember how much)
His carbs would vary depending on whether he was trying to cut or bulk up.

he would also eat 8 times a day spread every three hours. I chided him on that since I didn't think anyone would get up in the middle of the nite. But he said he was serious. He set the alarm at 12,3 and 6 and would have a protein shake each time. He said his "Job" was to be big, so he had to do it.

If you are eating a lot of vegi's, you will find it hard to gain weight on the good complex carbs, or I did anyhow.

Posted by: Emma-Leigh

Originally Posted by Katia7

No - carbs do not make you gain fat. The main reasons why you lower carbs during cutting is so you can lower calories while still ensuring you are getting your required EFA's (which are essential for your health, help maintain your metabolism and are helpful in increasing the efficiency of your body in burning fat) and your required level of protein (which will help maintain lean muscle mass, help maintain your metabolism, increase the amount of energy you burn via increasing the thermogenic potential of your meals and increasing satiety which helps you stick to your diet)...

The calories need to come off from somewhere and that leaves carbohydrates (although I feel that excess fats should be cut first - as these are far less useful in maintaining your muscle mass and they are far less thermogenic).

But I am on the opinion that carbs are essential in any healthy diet - whether you are trying to decrease your body fat or if you are trying to add lean mass.

Carbs can actually help you in your weight loss - they act to maintain a certain level of glycogen in your liver (especially fruits) which will help to keep your body and brain 'fed' and thus help prevent your metabolism from slowing markedly... They also aid in muscle recovery and help you restore muscle glycogen which allows you to maintain your muscles and train effectively - also aiding in maintaining your metabolism and helping with calorie burning for fat loss... They also help maintain leptin levels (important for keeping your metabolism up as well as for many other biological functions) and will help maintain setotonin levels (which will help keep you sane!!).

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Carbs confusion

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