{"id":822,"date":"2013-10-15T11:00:33","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T18:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/?p=822"},"modified":"2013-10-15T09:57:32","modified_gmt":"2013-10-15T16:57:32","slug":"carbs-are-necessary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/15\/carbs-are-necessary\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbs are Necessary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disclaimer: \u00a0If you’re happy with your keto diet, I’m not here to convert you over to eating carbs– \u00a0Merely here to help inform.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I used to follow a ketogenic nutrition plan– \u00a0I did carb cycling as a way to try and burn fat faster. \u00a0I would eat “No Carb” on my non training days (Less than 30g net carbs), and then on training days, I would indulge in carbs only after my workout.<\/p>\n

I then started learning about how that’s not very effective for my goals, so I tweaked my plan to where I eat a small amount of carbs pre workout, a lot post workout, and none otherwise. \u00a0I thought this would be great.<\/p>\n

Luckily, I never stop researching exercise, nutrition, and physiology, and have since learned that none of that was necessary. \u00a0I then switched over to eating a lot of carbohydrates daily, and started measuring all of my food using metric measurements– \u00a0In the 1.5 months that I did that, I saw more progress in my quest to lean out than the previous 4 months combined.<\/p>\n

\"I'll<\/a>

I’ll pass.<\/p><\/div>\n

How can this be!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes down to it, eating a ketogenic diet to lose fat is not necessary. \u00a0While it’s true that it may slightly accelerate the fat burning process, it can also lead to muscle wasting, which is far from our desired result. \u00a0Muscle creates muscle definition (“tone,” if you will), so it’s more important to keep that and lose fat slower than to potentially lose some hard earned muscle.<\/p>\n

“That’s great, but the guy at the gym says–“<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would take about 1,500 words to properly explain why a ketogenic diet is not necessary, and carbs are more important. \u00a0Bear with me while I try and sum it up in this post:<\/p>\n

Proponents of ketogenic diets claim that the diet will turn your body into a “fat burning machine.” \u00a0The problem with that? \u00a0Your body is already a fat burning machine. \u00a0Unless you’re engaged in an anaerobic activity (Sprinting, lifting weights, etc.), your body will utilize an oxidative (aerobic) process for energy metabolism, and the process that yields the most ATP (muscular energy) per gram of substrate is “beta-oxidation,” a lipolytic (fat burning) process. \u00a0Almost your entire day, unless you’re exerting yourself, or have elevated insulin levels from a meal digestion, is spent burning fat for fuel. \u00a0That sounds like all the fat burning I need!<\/p>\n

“But Insulin is the ENEMY!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

While it’s true that lipolytic processes are halted (or slowed) when insulin is circulating, that doesn’t mean that you will get fat, and it doesn’t necessary say that you will automatically store more fat that day. \u00a0As I mentioned before, the amount of time you spend aerobically metabolizing energy will outweigh the amount of time your body can’t, or won’t burn your stores of body fat. \u00a0It’s also worth noting that, while digesting carbs may turn off lipolysis, it also turns on glycolysis, a glucose (carb) burning \u00a0metabolic pathway. \u00a0The result of which is less carbohydrates to be converted and stored as fat when your glycogen stores are full and your activity \/ digestion is through.<\/p>\n

Also keep in mind that insulin is anabolic, meaning you need it to gain muscle mass.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember that fat loss is a numbers game. \u00a0While nutrition and clean eating are high on my priority list (and I feel it should be high on your list too), if you consume less calories than you use, and have a healthy thyroid, you will lose fat.<\/p>\n

“I’m sticking with Keto Dieting.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

That’s fine. \u00a0Here are some things to consider though: \u00a0Dietary Fat has the lowest “Thermic Effect;” that is, it is digested the easiest, with the fewest amount of calories burned from the digestive process. \u00a0For this reason, your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) will actually be lower than someone consuming carbohydrates, and you should take this into account when figuring out your caloric needs. \u00a0The Thermic Effect can account for up to 10% of your RMR.<\/p>\n

Realize that carbohydrates are muscle sparing, and fat is not. \u00a0If your body needs more carbohydrates to perform a task, it will take from circulating blood glucose or stored glycogen. \u00a0If it can’t find any here, it will turn to protein stores (muscle)– \u00a0Amino Acids will be deaminated, and the left over carbon will be converted to glucose. \u00a0If you have no stored glycogen to begin with, and haven’t consumed carbs pre workout, then your body will likely turn to this process (Termed “Gluconeogenesis”) sooner.<\/p>\n

Finally, when switching over to a ketogenic diet, you will likely notice a drastic decrease in weight, and possibly even a “leaning out” effect when you first start the diet. \u00a0This is side effect of the lack of carbohydrates that many people mistake for real progress. \u00a0What happens? \u00a0Your body can’t store nearly the amount of glycogen as it could before (as the carbs aren’t there), and glycogen tends to retain a lot of water. \u00a0Your body ends up having less immediate fuel on hand, and is not as hydrated as it normally is, leading to a reduction in weight.<\/p>\n

Okay. \u00a0So how do you setup your macros?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scientific research supports between 0.6g \/ lb. and 0.8g \/ lb. of body weight for protein, which is the most important macronutrient. \u00a0For myself, I actually go slightly above this (Between 0.8g \/ lb. and 1g \/ lb.), and follow something closer to the bodybuilder recommendation of 1g \/ lb. of body weight. \u00a0From there, I figure out what percentage of my macros protein makes up– \u00a0Currently, that would be 22% – 26%. \u00a0From there, I figure out how much fat I want to consume.<\/p>\n

“How much fat should I consume?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The accepted appropriate range is 20% – 35%; \u00a020% – 25% is advised for athletes. \u00a0I follow 20 – 33% for myself, as I tend to eat a lot of eggs and nuts. \u00a0From there, I use the remaining percentages for carbs by adding my fat and protein ranges together.<\/p>\n

What it looks like:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week: 3020 calories target; 165g – 200g protein; 67g – 111g fat; 306g – 411g carbohydrates.<\/p>\n

That was quick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for sticking with me. \u00a0I tried to sum up an entire subject of bioenergetics in less than 1,000 words (For the record: 971), and while it may be a little lean, it seemed to work. \u00a0If you have any questions, feel free to comment or Email! \u00a0Next week, I’ll post a nutritional snapshot so you can see what a clean bulk, with plenty of carbs, looks like!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sources, Links, and More Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that my NASM textbook is where I also get a great deal of my knowledge, and I reference it when writing most blog posts.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/themedicalbiochemistrypage.org\/fatty-acid-oxidation.html<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fatty_acid_metabolism<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/pharmaxchange.info\/press\/2013\/10\/oxidation-of-fatty-acids\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beta_oxidation<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/themedicalbiochemistrypage.org\/gluconeogenesis.php<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metabolism<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.rpi.edu\/dept\/bcbp\/molbiochem\/MBWeb\/mb1\/part2\/gluconeo.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/ds9a.nl\/metabolism\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ketogenic_diet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Disclaimer: \u00a0If you’re happy with your keto diet, I’m not here to convert you over to eating carbs– \u00a0Merely here to help inform. I used to follow a ketogenic nutrition plan– \u00a0I did carb cycling as a way to try and burn fat faster. \u00a0I would eat “No Carb” on my non training days (Less […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Carbs are Necessary http:\/\/wp.me\/p3DfsS-dg","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-body-building","category-nutrition"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3DfsS-dg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}