Day 5 - Fuel #2... Carbs

Sister, we’re working through all of this information like pros! I just wanted to pause and take a minute… if you are feeling overwhelmed by any of this information, it’s ok to simply hit PAUSE. Just take in the information, thank God that our bodies are designed to work in this beautiful, intricate way, and don’t try to do it all! Baby steps & consistency will help you form those great nutrition and healthy habits for LIFE!

The second macro that we are going to cover is carbohydrates (carbs)!

This one is a fun one to cover because I’m sure you’ve heard it all about carbs… and honestly, they sometimes have a bad reputation among food! So today we’re gonna break down the good and the bad so that you can learn more about how carbs may be affecting your energy levels!

⭐️So what’s the scoop on carbs? ⭐️
There are two types of carbs, out there- ones that can fuel your body (complex) and ones that can cause energy crashes (simple)- but it’s easy to lump everything together into the category “carbs” which is probably what you hear most.

However, what’s really interesting about carbs it that at the end of the day, ALL carbs we eat are digested into simple sugars before they’re absorbed by our bodies, regardless of whether the food source is a sugar cube or a bowl of high-fiber oatmeal. The difference shows in the speed that your body digests and absorbs the different type of carbs.

When broken down, carbs can be split into three main categories:
⭐️Sugars
⭐️Starches
⭐️Fiber

When carbs are consumed from healthy sources, carbs are essential and provide the most basic source of energy for your body! You NEED carbs to keep your brain and muscles working at their optimal levels. Plus when you consume the right carbs in moderation, it can help you lose weight and take care of your heart! https://buff.ly/2MKOEBC

⭐️Complex Carbs ⭐️
The first type of carb is a complex carb…you might have heard of these by their other names of unrefined carbs, and unprocessed carbs.

Complex carbs are full of nutrients, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which are all necessary for the production of energy in the human body. Due to the way they are structured and break down in you body, they take longer to process (therefore keep you full longer)

Some examples of complex carbs are: vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains.

⭐️Simple Carbs ⭐️
The second type of carb is a simple carb… sometimes this is also called: refined carbs, or processed carbs.

Simple carbs are stripped of natural nutrients and have additives and chemicals added to replace what was removed. These are the kinds of foods that cause us to have energy crashes and put us on the sugar roller coaster ride because of the sugar spikes that they cause. One thing that causes this is because simple carbs are digested and absorbed by our bodies much quicker than complex carbs.

Simple carbs include foods like: packaged cereals, white bread, flour, chips, most pasta, cakes, candy, etc.

These foods that are best to limit in your diet. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a treat now and then, but be conscious of how much you consume each day.

To read more about how to determine which carbs are best for your diet, check out this great article from Healthline! https://buff.ly/2U8U6kj

⭐️How Many Carbs Should You Have in a Day? ⭐️
Depending on your eating style, the amount of carbs that you eat in a day may vary. But, if we’re going by the normal, maintaining weight, 3 meals a day, nutritional standards, it’s recommended to incorporate 225-325 grams of carbs per day (8-11 hand scoops) per day, which is roughly 2-4 servings per meal. If you are looking to lose weight, it's recommended to cut back on your carbs to 50-150 grams per day.

To help with this, we've included a super helpful graphic so that you can easily measure what is roughly 20-30 grams of carbs/ 1 serving!

We're just skimming to surface of the complexities of carbs, but my hope is that with the basic knowledge of know that not all carbs are "bad", that if you choose to incorporate carbs in your diet that you'll know which ones will keep you fuller longer and have the natural nutrients that your body needs for fuel!

Stay tuned for more nutrition basics coming up with Fit Strong mama - starting next week we’ll be chatting about our friend, sugar (which is actually carbs!)

⭐️ACTION: How many servings (hand scoops) or carbs do you roughly eat in a day? Would you say that most of your carbs are simple or complex?