GSPALLTHEWAY

some love them, some hate them....
everything ive learned has told me they are so essential... yet i have talked to many that eat very few carbs and are able to lose weight\fat...
what are your thoughts??

gazbrook

As far as i'm aware Carbs are vital for the body to function properly. I try not to have any carbs (no more than about 20grams if i'm desperate) about 4 hours before I go to bed. If I'm hungry at that time I will have mainly protein to fill me up.

I will consume quite a few carbs through the morning/early afternoon,around 300 grams a day. If I feel I have had far too many, I will go to the gym and go mental on the treadmill,punchbag,high rep weights etc. I have come down from 15 stone (210 lbs). To about 13 stone (180lbs) in the space of a year with no major restriction in carbs. I have trained at the gym 4 times a week for a year consistently though.

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lwbfl

They are not essential, but not all good or bad. Too much of anything will be stored whether it's carbs, protein, or fat. No, the reason behind the carb "haters" is that SIMPLE carbs (processed foods, ground up foods, sugar, etc.) are passed into the bloodstream very quickly causing the body to increase the amount of insulin into the bloodstream. This action by itself can cause storage (fat formation). COMPLEX carbs (green and red veggies, whole grains, fiber etc.) are broken down more slowly, and passed into the bloodstream over a longer period of time, avoiding the sudden insulin spike. Sounds simple right? Well, throw a slow digesting food in with the quick digesting, and they off set each others absorption, different foods and combinations act differently with each other. It is good practice for anyone to avoid too many simple carbs. I can tell you what has worked for me in the past for MMA training. Avoid sugar, sodas, breads, and processed foods. I take in at least 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight, but no more than 2g. I get my carbs from vegetables, keeping them under 2g per lb. Fats fall where they may. I multiply my weight by 10 for a round figure (170 x 10 = 1700 for maintenance calories. This is what I go by for the first week. After that I subtract 500 calories (1200) for my total daily calorie intake. I have lost fat (not just weight) using this formula several times while still maintaining the energy level to weight train three days a week, and train BJJ twice per week. Fat has 9 calories per gram, Protein and Carbs have 4 calories per gram. I'm not real carb sensitive as some of my training partners have been, so this was easier for me than them. They found other methods that worked for them that we just as effective.

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GSPALLTHEWAY

good stuff guys... but if you take your carbs early then go to the gym, i am aware that doing a ton of cardio will deplete your muscle glycogen which wont allow you to work hard the following day.... so it seems like theres problems either way... and another example is i have a friend who doesnt eat any carbs really except for veggies and they are able to work somewhat hard and have very very little fat...
so many angles with this... thanks for the info tho!

Crashsti

i am a believer in carbs, you need them to function. however as mentioned there are differant types with differant qualities. everyone says to avoid the simple sugars but i will say this, there are two times during the day when they are essential, one is before a workout and during. the other is right after you finish your last reps in the gym or step of that treadmill. to restore muscle glycogen as quickly as possible you need to consume simple carbs with your post workout protein shake. i can't remember the exact ratio but it may be 1:1. if you fail to take in the carbs post workout it can take up to 48 hours to get the job done. and if you're working out hard 4 or 5 times a week you don't have 48 hours to wait. so drink your table sugar after working out.

GSPALLTHEWAY

this is exactly what ive heard too... i guess its just a matter of really monitoring this so you can get the most from your workouts but not take in too much at bad times and limit body comp goals...

the_nothing

How much sugar though?

lwbfl

That is a matter of debate, as well as the type of sugar. There are lots of different "post workout or recovery drinks" out there for this purpose. Before all of them were developed, we used to make our own using Gatorade powder, dextrose, and protien powder. Personally I've used Biotest Surge for years and it's made the most difference overall of anything else I have ever tried.

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Crashsti

there is a specific ratio of carbs/protein for a post workout recovery drink but i can't recall it. i usually just mix some whey protein powder into some gatorade or juice and leave it at that. i think its a 1:1 ratio so if you take 40 grams of protein you use 40g of sugar as well. i just looked on the side of the can of coke i am drinking and it has 39g of sugar in it, i wonder how it'd mix with protien? not really.

GSPALLTHEWAY

a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein post workout to intake which can be done in liquid or solid form

Crashsti

4:1 does'nt sound right, not for after a heavy, intense resistance workout. 4:1 brings me back to my days of cycling when you wanted to restore glycogen stores and speed muscle recovery without causing hypertrophy. what i am thinking of is something else.....i will have to look it up again, which means listening to an audio CD of a seminar that is 90minutes long and has no chapters. but i will do it for FIGHT FORUM.

GSPALLTHEWAY

now your saying heavy resistence workout... 4 to 1 is not the case for that... that would be for aerobic and very light resistence training where its 3 to 1.... for what yoru talking about is around 1 to 1... with slightly more carbs to restore MG

Crashsti

what did i say before? all i see in the thread is "post workout recovery", none of us mention the type of workout we are recovering from. i simply assumed we were talking about medium to heavy resistance training since there is'nt much talk about very light or aerobic training here.

Gooner

4:1 is right, if you want your insuline-levels to go nuts.


I have a 4:3 ratio with carbs and proteins. On every meal. And snack.
Perfect.

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Crashsti

4:1 is the ratio used in endurance training. of course its only 10g of protein and 40g of carbs at that point.

Gooner

I don't believe in different ratios for different training.
40-30-30 has been tested for all kinds of sports, and with great results.

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GSPALLTHEWAY

untrue... the ratios as stated above are correct and consistent with many different studies and nearly every single publication...
being 4 to 1 with endurance activities and slightly above 1 to 1 for anaerobic... (about 60 to 40) give or take

lwbfl

Here are a couple of good articles regarding post workout nutrition.
Part 1
Part 2

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GSPALLTHEWAY

very good articles... it continually refers to RAPIDLY replenishing muscle glycogen stores because they can best be refilled right after a workout when the MG stores are at their lowest...

ive read several different studies and have been taught slighty different ratios than they refer to in there, but they are close and have great explanations

lwbfl

When dealing with such diverse situations, generalizations are not accurate for all types involved. What works for you may not work at all for me, so there is a broad range that is considered middle of the road when dealing with such things.

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