What Are Macros-Carbohydrates.
Why do we want carbs?
Because they’re generally delicious. The end.
Honestly, though. Humans could actually survive without carbohyrdates. It’s the only one of the macronutrients we don’t actually need.
HOWEVER, keep in mind we dont NEED electricity either… it’s pretty nice to have right?
And thats the same as Carbs. As humans we dont want to just survive. We want to thrive.
And to Thrive, we should consume carbohydrates.
More specifically, here are some benefits of carbs;
Performance . Carbohydrates are our bodies primary source of fuel when it comes to high intesnity activities and our muscles abitlity to do work.
Muscle growth & Strength gains. As above, carbs are heavily utilised in the process of ATP production, which is the primary fuel source for most resistance training, leading to increased strength and muscle growth.
Protein Sparing. Carbs are protein sparing, which becomes even more important when in a calori deficit. Essentially it enhances your bodies ability to spare muscle, even when calories are restricted.
Recovery. Like Protein, Carbs play a large role in our ability to recvoer. Replenishing muscle glycogen greatly assists our bodies ability to recover quickly to perform in a short ‘turn around’.
Hormonal Health. Carbs play a role in controlling apetite hormones grelin & leptin, as well as our adrenals. Can we control these hormones with out carbs? Sure. However, it is much more difficult in there absence.
Fibre & Nutrients. Keep in mind all of our fruits an vegetables fall under the umbrella of carbs. They provide Fibre and a variety of our micronutrients. Remember, fibre as well as adequate micronutrients are critical for our health. We’ll get to that in a future post.
Have a life. Did i mention carbs were delicious? Not only that, they’re everywhere. Embrace them! Stop being scared of them! They dont magically make you fat. Enjoy them as part of a balanced diet that allows for freedom and flexibility that will ultimately lead to sustainability and adherence.
Bonus. I need to dispell this myth. Eating carbs after (insert time here) does not make you fat! Too many calories makes you fat. In fact, we could agrue there is benefits to eating carbs at night; Carbs consumed in the evening can help us lower stress levels and unwind prior to bed, allowing for a better quality sleep. This is because carbs can help us trigger serotonin, a mood enhancing chemical in our brain that’s been proven to improve sleep quality. This fact alone is enough to disprove the myth. But let’s add to this. Carbohydrates can help shift us into a parasympathetic state within our nervous system, the restful state that we want to be in for sleep. As most of you know, you can’t go to sleep if you’re wired. Carb consumption may be able to shift you out of the ‘wired’ (sympathetic) state and help you get into that parasympathetic state, which is absolutely crucial in proper sleep and recovery. Myth Busted!
Hopefully the above gives you a little more clarity around Carbohydrates and how beneficial they are for us.
If you want to read further on how they can be best used to fuel our performance, check out a previous blog post here .
Also, Here are some of our favourite carb options!
