Yes and no. What you need to know is to eat carbohydrates without gaining weight.
Carbohydrates have a reputation for making you fat because they tend to be stored as fat. In reality, this is not always true... It is quite possible to limit fat intake by choosing the type of carbohydrate food consumed, its preparation, its accompaniment or the time when it will be consumed. Explanations.
Eat carbs! Your body needs it!
They are essential to the body
As the main source of energy, carbohydrates are essential for the proper functioning of our body (organs and brain in particular). After a meal, the carbohydrates ingested are mostly used as fuel for the body. The excess is stored in the form of reserves (liver, muscles, cells) to be used when needed (physical activity, protection against the cold, etc.).
To be balanced, a meal must consist of 55% carbohydrates, 30% fat and 15% proteins. Carbohydrates are therefore an important part of our diet. This share must even be increased in the athlete to meet his energy needs.
Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy
They don't necessarily make you fat
Following a meal or snack, excess carbohydrates in the blood are stored (reserves) either as fat in the cells (fat intake) or as reserves in the muscles and liver. Eating carbohydrates does not theoretically make a healthy person fat as long as meals are balanced and daily caloric needs are met. The reserves stored following a meal are used during the day and night to meet the needs of the body (muscles, organs, brain, etc.). In practice, it is not so simple because it is difficult to measure what you eat and avoid small deviations here and there...
That said, even without excess, there are situations that favor the storage of carbohydrates in the form of fats (which therefore make you fat) rather than muscle and liver reserves (which do not make you fat). However, it is possible, via a few simple tips, to limit this fat intake. This is what we explain below.
Be careful not to remove them from your diet!
To be able to eat more of these delicious sweets without gaining weight, one might be tempted to decrease the share of fats and proteins in the diet in order to preserve the total number of calories ingested. Alas, it doesn't work that way! The balance between carbohydrates, fats and proteins must indeed be respected to give the body what it needs to function well.
Proteins, for example, are necessary for maintaining muscle mass. This capital, once lost, is no longer recoverable beyond 25 years. In addition, if carbohydrates run out, the body is in danger. The body then uses the amino acids of the muscles to transform them into glucose, which accelerates muscle loss. Muscle wasting also decreases basal metabolism and therefore the consumption of daily calories. It will therefore be necessary to eat less so as not to gain weight! In other words, a carb-free diet can make you fat!
Sugar deficiencies create other problems (irritability, decreased attention, drop-in sports performance, etc.) that are added to the disadvantages mentioned above.
Lipids are also essential to our cells. They provide fatty acids that cannot be synthesized by the body. A lipid deficiency slows growth, increases the risk of chronic diseases and increases the insulin response after food ingestion which encourages eating more.
Some diets recommend lowering carbohydrates and offsetting them with protein. This practice works, but it generates other worries that can be harmful to health (accumulation of toxins, great solicitation of the kidneys among others).
To stay healthy, respect the balance between carbohydrates, proteins and fats!
Carbohydrates make you fat: yes and no!
If we consume excess carbohydrates, these will be stored as fats in adipose tissue. Weight gain will follow and can even lead to obesity. But in a normal situation (balanced and healthy meals, no excess), you can easily store fat depending on how you eat. However, it is possible to avoid this, i.e. To consume carbohydrates, even sweets, without storing fat. Would you like to know how? Read on.
Storage in the form of fat or energy reserves
As we explained above, following the consumption of carbohydrate foods, the body stores excess carbohydrates in the form of reserves:
Glycogen in the muscles and liver: this energy is used by the brain (liver glycogen) and by the muscles during physical exertion.
Triglycerides (fat) stored in adipose tissue: this energy is used during physical exertion and especially in low-intense physical exertion.
In the first case, sugars do not make you fat, in the second, yes... It is therefore worth understanding how the mechanism works, especially since it is possible to favor one over the other.
The principle is as follows. The absorption of carbohydrates in the intestines leads to an increase in blood sugar, a situation that puts the body at risk. In order to restore balance, the body then secretes insulin in amounts that vary according to the rate of increase in blood sugar. This creates more or less significant spikes of insulin in the blood. However, the higher these peaks, the more excess sugars are stored as fats.
To avoid accumulating fat, it is, therefore, necessary to ensure that insulin peaks are as low as possible. This can be achieved by taking certain precautions. But before you talk about it, read on to understand.
Eating sugars: 3 situations to consider
It is necessary to distinguish 3 situations that have their importance in the way in which the excess sugars in the blood will be stored:
- Glycogen reserves (muscles and liver) are not full: excess sugars will be used to fill them. The liver can store about 60 to 100 g of glycogen and the muscles 400 g to 1 kg depending on the person and the degree of physical training. However, some of it will be stored in the form of fat, especially since the insulin peak is high, the reserves are almost full or the person is not very athletic.
- Glycogen stores are full: excess sugars in the blood will be stored as fats.
- Physical activity of endurance or cardio-training is undertaken: the sugars consumed a few hours before, during and a few hours after the activity will serve as an immediate source of energy to the athlete and,
How to eat carbohydrates without gaining weight?
Limit insulin spikes!
By following a few simple rules, it is possible to eat carbohydrates while limiting fat intake. For this, it is 'enough' to make sure to limit the insulin spikes that follow the increase in blood sugar.
Of course, it is not a question of consuming excess sugars, that is to say beyond the daily needs, because once the muscle reserves are recharged, the sugars will inevitably end up being stored in the form of fats... On the other hand, you can have fun without taking fat by taking the following precautions.
No fat storage around physical activity or fasting
If one consumes sugars just before starting a physical activity, these carbohydrates will not be stored but used by the body in the effort. Thus, if you consume a fruit paste or a sugary drink before going cycling, the sugars will be spent by your muscles during the effort.
More glycogen, less fat!
To store glycogen rather than fat, consume carbohydrates with a low glycemic index
Choose carbohydrates with a low glycemic index! To replenish reserves: lentils, whole grains, basmati rice, wholemeal bread, fruits and vegetables. Accompany your carbohydrates with products rich in fiber (salad, vegetable, soup as a starter) to reduce the GI. You will favor storage in the form of glycogen rather than fats!
Similarly, if you eat carbohydrate foods right after doing cardio training or endurance sport (provided you still do a minimum of time!), the sugars will be immediately stored in the form of muscle reserves (glycogen) in the liver and muscles. There will therefore be no fat gain. This is true regardless of the type of sugar (fruit, pasta, sweet drink, bread, pasta, rice, etc.). The ideal is to consume these sugars immediately after the exit and within 4 hours after it.
Finally, on an empty stomach, for example, in the morning when getting up, the sugars ingested will be used to recharge the reserves consumed during the night (especially by the brain, which alone nibbles 4 to 5 g of carbohydrates per hour, the equivalent of a piece of sugar).
Choose the 'right' carbohydrates: a question of glycemic index
Contrary to what has long been thought, the notion of fast sugars and slow sugars does not exist. All carbohydrates are absorbed at the same rate. If you are not convinced.
On the other hand, digestion can be more or less long, depending on the type of food, the amount swallowed and whether it is consumed alone or with other foods. This can therefore delay its arrival in the intestines and therefore in the blood.
In addition, the body's response varies from one carbohydrate food to another: it is not the rate of absorption that changes but the intensity of the blood sugar spike. This observation made it possible to define an index, the glycemic index (GI), to classify carbohydrates according to their impact on blood sugar. The higher the glycemic index of a food, the more this food will lead to spikes in blood sugar, therefore insulin, thus potentially leading to the storage of excess sugars in the form of fats.
To reduce fat storage, it is, therefore, better to choose your food according to the glycemic index.
Not all carbohydrates with the same glycemic index are equal: a question of glycemic load
The glycemic index (GI) makes it possible to sort between the 'good' and the 'bad' carbohydrates, i.e. Those that are or are not quick to make us fat. It gives in a way information about the quality of carbohydrates.
Although this tool allows you to make the first sort, it is not always sufficiently speaking. Watermelon, for example, has a strong GI. However, a part of watermelon contains too few carbohydrates to cause a spike in insulin and therefore increase weight. Another index has therefore been established to take into account the amount of sugars that the food contains: the glycemic load.
To avoid gaining fat mass, it is, therefore, necessary to consider the glycemic index but, in order not to eliminate unnecessarily some 'good' carbohydrates, it is more interesting to choose your foods according to their glycemic load.
Decrease the hyperglycemic power of carbohydrate foods
The storage of carbohydrates in the form of fats can be minimized by selecting the right carbohydrates, as we have seen above, but also by taking some precautions. For the same food, the glycemic response varies depending on how the food is prepared (raw or cooked, whole or chopped, etc.), what it is accompanied with, when it is consumed (during, in the end, just after or long after a meal). For example, a steamed potato makes you fat, less than the same mashed potato! But the puree consumed with a green salad makes you take less fat than the same puree consumed alone... Similarly, consuming pasta with vegetables or meat is smarter than pasta alone. Or, drinking the juice of an apple can make you fat more than eating the whole apple.
Some tricks make it possible to reduce the glycemic index of the food and therefore avoid storing fat. Fiber, the presence of lipids or proteins decrease the GI. Cooking, grinding increase it. Discover the factors that influence the glycemic index of foods.
In practice: how to eat carbohydrates without storing fat
Avoid foods with a high glycemic index!
Foods with a high glycemic index, if consumed in significant amounts (glycemic load greater than 20), generate insulin spikes that promote storage in the form of fats, especially visceral fats. They have adverse health effects (learn more: risks associated with foods with high GI). In addition, they create reactive hypoglycemia responsible for the famous shot after the meal and they encourage to eat more sugars! It is, therefore, better to avoid them.
To preserve your health and promote storage in the form of muscle reserves, prefer foods with a low glycemic load, that is to say, whose glycemic index is low or which contain few carbohydrates in proportion to the weight of the food. They do not induce a significant spike in blood sugar, therefore insulin, so make little fat.
But if you absolutely want to consume, without abusing it, carbohydrates of high GI (sweets, bread and refined pasta, etc.), then read the tips that follow!
Consuming carbohydrate foods with vegetables reduces their GI
Accompany vegetable carbs to reduce insulin spikes
The glycemic index of food varies when consumed with other foods. If carbohydrates are mixed with low-carbohydrate foods, the GI of the carbohydrate food drops. This is the dilution effect. To avoid fat storage, you must accompany your pasta, rice or potatoes with vegetables or green salad!
Vitez the crushed, milled, pressed or overcooked form of carbohydrate foods
Grinding and cooking increase the glycemic index of carbohydrate-containing foods. So prefer whole food (potato, buckwheat, etc.) rather than pureed. Consume your pasta al dente rather than well cooked. Similarly, eat whole fruit rather than juice: the juice, devoid of fiber or containing crushed fiber, offers a high GI compared to the whole fruit.
Dessert: taken at the end of a meal, it has little effect on your line!
Foods with a high glycemic index should always be taken at the end of a meal. The dilution effect due to other foods reduces their GI. Thus, the sweet dessert, if consumed after a meal rich in vegetables, will have little effect on your line! Avoid sweets outside of meals!
Eat carbohydrates with protein or fat
Proteins and lipids slow down gastric emptying. Sugars thus take longer to reach the intestine. This delay effect slows down and distributes over time the absorption of carbohydrates into the blood, thus decreasing the effect of the blood sugar spike. For example, you can pour a drizzle of oil on your pasta or eat puree with a steak rather than consume carbohydrates alone. Provided of course to maintain the balance between carbohydrates, fats and proteins!
Consume carbohydrates with fiber!
Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate, that is, it is not absorbed by the intestinal wall. They are therefore evacuated in the stool. As a result, fiber decreases the glycemic index. Consuming fiber helps your intestinal transit, stimulates your intestinal flora while decreasing storage in the form of fats!
A distinction is made between soluble and insoluble fiber.
- Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel in the intestine that decreases the absorption of carbohydrates and cholesterol and prolongs the feeling of satiety. They ferment in the intestine and thus contribute to the good health of the intestinal flora. They are found in legumes, pulses, figs, prunes, fruits and vegetables, some cereals (oats, buckwheat barley).
- Insoluble fiber stimulates intestinal transit. They are found in the bark of cereals, leafy vegetables (cellulose).
Indulge yourself on an empty stomach rather than at the snack
Breakfast is a favorable time to eat carbohydrates without much risk of storing fat
On an empty stomach, the carbohydrates ingested will be used primarily to replenish the liver's reserves and therefore do not cause weight gain. Breakfast is for example an ideal time to afford a small sweet!
Consume your favorite carbohydrates just before or just after your sport!
In athletes, carbohydrates absorbed just before, during and just after exercise do not generate a spike in insulin and are not stored as fat. They supplement the body's energy reserves and are even essential in long-term efforts. Choose foods with a low glycemic charge to recharge the batteries in the hours before the sports effort.
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