How to Eat Carbs Without Gaining Weight
Low Carb, No-Carb Diets
Alright sisters, how many of you think carbs are going to make you fat?
If you answered yes, I used to be right there with you.
I thought eating carbs was the number one reason I didn’t have the body I wanted.
So, of course, I decided to cut them out of my diet completely and went on a zero-carb diet (yes, zero!). I’ll never forget after only one week of no carbs, I was sitting in class and my professor asked us to take a piece of paper out to write some notes down. My brain was so foggy I couldn't even remember where my backpack was and it was literally sitting right beside me!
I was so weak and constantly felt like I was in haze. I seriously cannot count how many times I almost collapsed from exhaustion. How did I expect to make it through my workouts if I couldn’t even function like a normal human being?
Eventually I reached a breaking point and caved. I started eating carbs and you know what? It didn’t make me fat. It actually helped me lose fat! Yep, you heard that right.
I’ve learned the hard way that if you are lifting weights, trying to build muscle and lose body fat, cutting out carbs isn’t going to do you any favors.
When I was depriving my body of carbs, I was also depriving it of the fuel it needed for proper functioning. Our bodies are smarter than we think and, when it’s not getting enough fuel, it clings onto the fat it has as a backup energy source. This meant, regardless of going to the gym, there was no way I was going to lose fat because my body was stuck in fat-storage mode.
Giving my body the nourishment it needed, it was finally able to turn my body fat into muscle rather than feeling like it needed to store it for energy.
If you are working out, your muscles need carbs to recover, rebuild and grow. So eat carbs and your body will thank you for it!
When I was depriving my body of carbs, I was also depriving it of the fuel it needed for proper functioning. Our bodies are smarter than we think and, when it’s not getting enough fuel, it clings onto the fat it has as a backup energy source.
Signs You Aren’t Consuming Enough Carbs
If you’re on social media, you mostly see people posting all the time about the amazing success they have had losing an extreme amount of weight by cutting out carbs. Am I right?
Regardless of their success, weight loss from eating a low-carb or zero-carb diet isn’t sustainable long term. The second they start including carbs in their diet again, they are going to instantly gain all the weight back and most likely more.
Eliminating carbs may help you see the results you want at first because you’re shocking your body, and losing a lot of water weight, but you will quickly plateau. As women, our hormones are very sensitive, and eating a low-carb diet for too long will cause hormonal imbalances that prevent us from losing weight.
Plus, when you aren’t giving your body enough carbs, you’ll constantly feel hangry and extremely tired, you’ll struggle to concentrate on anything and make it through your workouts.
Is anything really worth all that?
I think not!
As women, our hormones are very sensitive, and eating a low-carb diet for too long will cause hormonal imbalances that prevent us from losing weight.
How to Eat Carbs without Getting Fat
If there is one thing I can promise you, it’s that you don’t need to fear carbs anymore! It’s possible to eat carbs without getting fat and here are four ways how:
Focus on eating nutrient-dense carbs.
No, I’m not telling you to cut out all your favorite less-nutrient dense carbs from your diet, because what kind of life would that be? There is absolutely no way I’m ever going to make myself stop eating pizza and ice cream ever again.
But, I’m telling you it’s important to include nutrient-dense carbs at a few meals a day.
Nutrient-dense carbs are higher in fiber, and well, nutrients. Both help slow down your digestion process, which in turn helps carbs get broken down more slowly in your body, providing you with sustainable energy. Meaning, the more nutrient-dense carbs you eat, the fuller you will feel, longer. And, the more satiated you feel, the more energy you have. Am I right?
Count me in!
Nutrient-dense carbs are carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, oats, cassava, brown rice, beans, fruit, fibrous vegetables and whole grains.
On the other hand, your body digests and processes less-nutrient dense carbs much faster, which leads you to feeling hungrier much quicker. We all know what happens when we find ourselves constantly hungry…we experience uncontrollable food cravings. And, we all know what happens when we have uncontrollable food cravings…we overindulge.
So, which kind of carbs are these? These carbs are the carbs found in our favorite foods like pizza, ice cream, cookies, white pasta, chips and most snack foods.
To make it clear, there is nothing wrong with including these less-nutrient dense carbs into your daily diet. Although, when they are the only type of carbs you consume, it will trigger you to not only battle annoying food cravings and feel constantly hungry, but you’ll also cause you to eat more carbs than your body needs.
Simply put, when you eat more carbs than your body needs, you also eat more calories than your body needs, which will lead your body to store the excess as fat. So, how many carbs is too many carbs? More on that later.
But, if you keep a healthy balance of carbs, you don’t have to worry. For me, if I focus on eating 80% of daily food intake from nutrient-dense carbs, I know if I fill the remaining 20% with less-nutrient dense carbs, I know I’ll feel great.
Life is all about balance, your daily food choices included.
When you eat more carbs than your body needs, you also eat more calories than your body needs, which will lead your body to store the excess as fat.
Eat balanced meals.
Let’s be real, I know many of you reading this try to eat as little calories as possible at each meal. If I had to guess correctly, you cut your calories by cutting your carbs. And now let’s be honest, you are still starving when you finish eating. I know this because I have been there!
Rather than focusing on eating as little calories as possible, focus building a balanced meal. Going back to macronutrients, you want to create meals that are made up of all three: carbs, fat and protein. The combination of three magically controls your hunger hormones, which is exactly what you want.
You can only battle your hunger for so long. So when you don’t eat balanced meals and are constantly left feeling hungry, soon your food cravings will become uncontrollable, triggering you to overindulge. And, I know you know what happens when you overindulge…
A balanced meal may be higher in calories upfront, but it will keep you feeling full for hours, preventing you from binging later and entering into a caloric surplus. Create a meal with carbs, fat and protein and you won’t eat the entire bag of chips or box of cookies later.
You can only battle your hunger for so long. So when you don’t eat balanced meals and are constantly left feeling hungry, soon your food cravings will become uncontrollable, triggering you to overindulge.
Know your portion sizes.
At the end of the day, the main reason why people think carbs make them fat is because they are eating way more than their body actually needs. Over-consuming anything will lead to weight gain. Even if your daily diet only includes the cleanest, most nutrient-dense foods in the world, regularly being in a caloric surplus will cause you to gain weight.
Despite all the articles and blog posts you’re reading telling you the best foods for weight loss, there are no miracle foods that will lead to more weight loss than another. It’s the dose that makes the poison — even necessities like water can be toxic if consumed in excessive amounts.
I know, you’re probably wondering how is that possible? Well, all foods contain macronutrients: carbs, protein and fat. Through digestion, our bodies break down all the macronutrients into their respective end products, regardless of the original source. For example, all carbs, whether from broccoli or donuts, will eventually become glucose (sugar), which organs and muscles use for fuel.
Different types of carbs serve different purposes, so no type of carbohydrate is inherently“good” or “bad”. Simple carbs, such as the sugars found in Gatorade, can quickly supply energy to an individual during exercise, whereas complex carbs, such as sweet potatoes, provide more nutritional value like fiber and Vitamin A. Don’t be mistaken — the nutrient content and quality of food is very important. As I said before, I encourage you to focus on making the majority of your carb intake from nutrient-dense sources of carbs.
I am simply distinguishing that how much you eat, calories “in” versus calories “out”, is a greater determining factor in the amount of fat your body will store. By paying attention to your portion sizes, and how many carbs you are consuming (by tracking your macros) you are in control of what you eat, and therefore in control of the amount of fat your body will store.
For starters, always pay attention to food labels to see what they recommend one serving to be. Rather than mindlessly filling your bowl with whatever food you are eating, instead, measure out the serving size the label recommends.
Despite all the articles and blog posts you’re reading telling you the best foods for weight loss, there are no miracle foods that will lead to more weight loss than another.
Figure out how many carbs your body needs.
Alright, I know you are thinking all this information is great, but how many carbs are too many carbs?
I feel you! Knowing how many carbs I should consume a day used to be a daily battle for me. I was so confused trying to figure out what was too little and what was too much.
Thankfully, I finally came across macro counting which helped take all the pressure, stress and guess work out of knowing what to eat and how much to eat.
Rather than constantly fighting with my body and what it needed, counting my macros allowed me to create my meals with greater confidence.
So, to answer your question, you can easily find out how many carbs your body needs a day by downloading my free ‘Macro Counting for The Everyday Women’ ebook, or join the online academy, and I will walk you through how to calculate the right amount of carbs for you!
Not only will you learn how many carbs you should be eating a day, this program will teach you how to:
Understand what macros are and how they optimally fuel your body
Calculate and customize your macros (it's an easy "done-for-you" program!)
Create a body fat-loss or reverse-diet plan
Eliminate food restrictions by learning how to eat the foods you love
Overcome your fear foods and start eating with confidence
Understand how nutrition labels help you make decisions faster
Track and adjust your macros as you progress to keep seeing results
Dine out and stay on track, not sacrificing your social life – especially alcoholic drinks!
Are you still hesitant about eating carbs? Tell me your concerns below and I’ll be sure to address them!