Marc Perry, C.S.C.S., ACE-CPT, and creator of Built Lean, addresses your concerns regarding carbs, their purpose, and how to utilize them properly.
Consumption Of Carbohydrate
1. How many grams of carbohydrates should you eat every day? Is there a formula or a math equation for calculating how much is required?
"The quantity of carbohydrates you should consume in a day is determined by a number of factors, including your (1) body size, (2) activity level, (3) fitness objectives, and (4) heredity. Carbohydrates should account for roughly 55 percent of your daily calories, according to the American Dietary Guidelines. Carbohydrates account for roughly 50% of total calories consumed by most bodybuilders, although low-carb proponents may ingest as little as 10-15%.
Carbs aren't a necessary nutrient, thus we don't need to consume them to live. Having said that, going extremely low carb to achieve your health and fitness objectives is just unneeded.
The ideal strategy to determine your target carb consumption is to first determine how many grams of protein and fat you want to consume and then adjust your carb intake accordingly. For example, if you want to lose weight for the summer without losing muscle, you may eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, 0.5 grams of fat per pound, and the rest of your calories from carbohydrates. That's 180 grams of protein and 90 grams of fat for a 180-pound male. Given a 2,000-calorie diet, 200 grams of carbohydrates are leftover (1 gram of protein/carbs contains 4 calories, whereas 1 gram of fat has 9 calories). In this case, 35 percent of the calories come from protein, 45 percent from carbohydrates, and 20 percent from fat.
During a cutting regimen, a basic rule of thumb is to consume 40-50 percent carbohydrates, 25-30 percent protein, and 20-30 percent fat. You may experiment with different carbohydrate/fat ratios to determine what works best for you.
Calendar Of Carbohydrates
2. When should I eat the most carbohydrates and when should I limit carbs?
"After an exercise, it's a good idea to consume extra carbs, especially those that digest quickly. Carbs are anabolic because they elevate blood sugar levels, which causes the storing hormone insulin to be stimulated. Insulin has a poor record for increasing fat accumulation, but it may also be your ally by assisting your muscles in absorbing more protein. Eating carbohydrates with protein in an approximately 2:1 ratio after an exercise will help your body use the protein more efficiently. When you have an endurance event or competition coming up, eating additional carbohydrates might also assist. Carb loading, or eating a lot of carbohydrates before an athletic event to overload your sugar storage tanks (muscles and liver), may help you perform better.
You don't have to remove carbs completely, but eating too many of them isn't a good idea. So, if you're a 180-pound man who exercises out a few times a week and has a sedentary job, 200 grams will assist sustain your body processes and activities without wasting or converting any surplus to fat. You may add 50-100 grams of carbohydrates for every additional full hour of exercise. In order to give you a sense of scale, endurance athletes consume 300-400 grams of carbohydrates each day.
Cycling Of Carbohydrates
3. What exactly is carb cycling, and how does it function?
"There are several carb cycling frameworks, each of which differs based on whether you want to gain muscle or decrease fat. Three days down, one day up is a common strategy. There are many factors to consider when determining your carb breakdown (body size, for example), but one method during a cutting program is to eat one gram of carbs per pound of Lean Body Mass [bodyweight x (1- body fat percentage)] on your lower-carb day and double that number on your higher carb day. The 3 low, 1 high structure has the disadvantage of not fitting cleanly into a week. I like to have two high-carb days per week, one of which is on your most difficult lifting day (such as legs), and the rest of the week is low carb.
Keep in mind that carbohydrates are just one-half of the nutrition puzzle; you must also account for calories, which is much more essential. Carb cycling works, in reality, not because you change your carb consumption, but because you reduce your calorie intake by lowering your carb intake. Following a "carbohydrate tapering" method, where you take more carbohydrates in the morning and taper them throughout the day on your low carb days, is simple carb cycling advice. Although there is no scientific evidence that this method helps you burn more fat, it does make it a lot simpler to apply.
Carbohydrates Prior To And After Workout
4. How crucial is carbohydrate timing in relation to your training routine? Is it okay to have breakfast one hour before and after?
"Whether you're trying to gain muscle or shed fat, having enough energy for your exercises is essential." You don't need carbohydrates if you realize that your energy levels are high without them before your morning exercise. If, on the other hand, you're trying to gain muscle and your energy levels are dropping throughout your exercise, a protein shake and an apple before your workout may help since they're both simple to digest and provide enough protein and carbohydrates. You may have a regular meal after your morning exercise."
Carbohydrates Of Different Types:
5. I'd want to learn more about the fiber-carbohydrate-net-carbohydrate interaction. Is fiber included in the carbohydrate count? I'd also want to learn more about sugar alcohols—what exactly are they?
"Dietary fiber comes in two varieties: soluble and insoluble. When soluble fiber is mixed with water, it forms a gel-like material that is easily digested, but insoluble fiber does not change and passes through our systems relatively undamaged. Because of their molecular structure, both forms of fiber obtained from plants are classified as carbs.
Although it is debatable whether dietary fiber should be counted as a calorie and is even regarded differently from nation to country (most countries consider insoluble fiber to have no calories), it is accepted that dietary fiber slows digestion and lowers blood sugar levels. Most carbohydrates, which raise blood sugar levels, have the exact opposite impact. To calculate "net" carbohydrates, most dietitians advocate removing dietary fiber from the overall carb intake. A medium-sized apple, for example, has 25 grams of total carbohydrates and 4 grams of dietary fiber, leaving 21 grams of net carbs.
The term "sugar alcohol" comes from its chemical structure, which is a cross between a sugar and an alcohol molecule. Most sugar alcohols have fewer calories, are less sweet, and have a lower influence on blood sugar levels than regular sugar, which is why they are often omitted from total carbohydrates such as fiber.
The following are the main points: 1) Sugar alcohols are regarded safe for human intake. 2) They do not raise blood sugar levels like regular sugar. 3) If consumed in big amounts or if you have a pre-existing disease like irritable bowel syndrome, they may induce gastrointestinal discomfort, bloating, and diarrhea.
