Carbs - friend or foe?

Ok so firstly, Carbohydrates tend to get a bad wrap, I’m not really sure who decided this or when this became the trend, but it’s wrong - they are just misunderstood.

So to help give you the knowledge you need to bring Carbs back into your life, it’s time to read on and learn.

What is a carbohydrate?

Well Carbohydrates are one of the three key macronutrients alongside protein and fats.

What is their role?

To put it in it’s simplest form (and to not get too scientific on the roles of carbohydrates on a cellular level) - they act as a source of energy for your body.

An everyday analogy for you to use is: they are the fuel for your car!

So why are carbs seen as bad?

Great question, I’ll make this simple, no food directly makes you fat.

Overeating your daily allowance of calories for an extended period of time is the cause of weight gain, fat gain and disease.

How much carbs do you need daily?

This is the key lesson here, so lets use the car analogy:

What is fuel for in your car?

To provide the car with energy to travel for a period of time (miles).

How often do you fill your car with fuel?

When it needs it, when I get to a 1/4 tank or when the red light comes on.

Why does it get low?

Because I’ve driven miles, travelled and used the fuel up.

How much do you fill it up?

As much as I need for my journey or to the maximum my tank can take.

Would you fill it up with £40-50 of fuel everyday?

No don’t be stupid, it wouldn’t fit in the tank, it would be wasted and I haven’t used yesterdays fuel.

OK, so let’s turn this to you:

What do you eat carbohydrates for?

To provide the me with energy to move, exercise and function.

How often do you eat carbohydrates currently?

Currently, every meal - toast, crisps, fruit, potato, rice, chocolate, sugar etc

Why do you gain weight?

Because I’m overfilling my needs every day and not using what I have

How often do you need to eat carbohydrates?

Before and after exercise.

Do you like wasting money on food that only add’s to weight gain and fat gain?

No don’t be stupid, but I never understood this before.

Our Top 5 Carbs

Ok so Carb’s are good, eating them before and exercise is great, so here are our TOP 5 Carbohydrates:

Berries - We like to recommend people eat: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. All great sources of micronutrients, go organic where possible and don’t be afraid of frozen too.
Rice - Something so simple has been complicated and over thought, some simple cooked Jasmin or Basmati rice is great for your body. Easy to digest, minimal stress on your gut, we like to use this post workout.
Sweet Potato - Slightly higher in fibre than a normal potato and with a great ability to stabilise blood sugar, these taste sweet and go great as mash with some pink Himalayan salt and pepper.
Potato - White potato nutrition, for example, is especially high in certain micronutrients like vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6, potassium and manganese. We like maris piper potatoes, peeled, cut into wedges, part boiled, then cooked in the oven in some olive oil, salt and pepper at 180C - homemade chips.
Oats - So let’s clear something up, oats are gluten free! However it’s one of the few foods where over consumption can cause food sensitivities, so use occasionally. We like a simple overnight oats - taking oats, mixing with a scoop of protein powder, soaking them in alternative milk, leaving them in the fridge until the morning and sprinkling frozen berries, honey and cinnamon on top.