Can I just start off by saying that I am amped up by this subject and I’m super excited to talk about it.
If you’ve been following along with me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been talking a lot more about binge eating, appetite regulation, and metabolism. I don’t know where this came from (actually I do: it was Jillian Michael’s video criticizing intuitive eating) but I just feel so inspired to talk on this subject.
Because when it comes to carbs, when it comes to calories, when it comes to straight up “what should I eat”—I’ve been there. For years I felt overwhelmed and frustrated because all of the nutrition information contradicts itself, and everyone swears they have the answer.
So here’s the thing. I actually don’t have the answer. (Don’t close the tab just yet.)
I wish it was cut and dry, matter of fact. But it turns out humans are uniquely individual and our needs from everything to calorie intake to macronutrient ratios vary. What I can do, is offer some key things that will give you some knowledge and tools to see if your current carb intake is right for you.
Again, everyone is different. Some people do really well high-carb. Some do really well low-carb. At the end of the day, what matters most is the quality and source of the food you’re consuming (50g of sweet potato packed with fibre and nutrients is going to act very differently than 50g of a glazed donut).
A Few Things Before We Start
- When we’re talking about carbohydrate intake, we’re talking net carbs. That means we take the total carbs and subtract the fibre—we only want to look at what we’re actually absorbing. The more fibre in a food, the slower it is released into the bloodstream, which means a less dramatic spike in insulin.
- Quality matters. Personally, I believe that if you start off with unprocessed, whole foods diet, and listen to your body, you probably don’t need to count macros. However, I realize that a lot of us have been taught from a very young age not to trust our bodies, not to listen to our bodies, and we might have a very complicated relationship with food. Disordered eating, combined with hyper palatable foods, can affect your ability to tune into your hunger cues. This guide is meant to give you a launch pad, a place to start.
- Your end goal should be eat intuitively. I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life counting carbs. I don’t even want you to spend the rest of your month counting carbs. But sometimes it can be really beneficial to take a few days, track what you eat, get some insight, and then adjust accordingly.
Why Do We Need Carbohydrates?
The truth is, as much as we try to vilify macronutrients, we need them. And while yes, technically you can survive off of zero carbs, I would argue it’s hard to thrive, especially for women. That’s not to say that we can’t reduce how many carbs we consume, or the kinds that we consume. But that carbohydrates do offer their own benefits.
They Provide Energy.
Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, and that glucose is then used to create ATP. ATP is the energy that fuels everything that cells do. Any excess glucose that can’t be used immediately is then stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen, or stored as fat for later use.
When you deprive your body of carbohydrates, it begins to use those stores of glycogen, because it needs ATP to function. When those are depleted, your body will start to convert protein and fat into energy, through gluconeogenesis, which is what diets like the Keto diet rely on. They turn fat and protein into ketones, which then get converted into ATP.
This does burn fat (yay!), but it also uses up protein. And where does that protein come from? Well, first the protein in your diet, and then your lean muscle mass. (So gaining muscle on a low-carb diet is very difficult. And we want lean muscle mass to improve insulin sensitivity, bone density and increase energy expenditure).
This conversion of protein and fat to ketones is also hard on your liver (which does the conversion) and your kidneys (which now has to filter the extra amino acids). That’s not to say Keto diets can’t have their benefits—used therapeutically it can be very useful and effective.
The issue then is the longevity of a restricted calorie diet. Your body prefers glucose as its energy source, and while it can adapt to use ketones, it puts your body in a state of stress (“there’s no glucose, we must be starving!”) which slows down your metabolism long term.
They Improve Digestive Health.
Carbohydrates contain fibre, which doesn’t get broken down in the body. This fibre is essential, because not only does it keep things moving along (adds bulk to stools and keeps you regular), it also feeds our good gut bacteria. These gut bacteria are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the gut, and they also contribute to immune function, weight management, blood sugar regulation and brain health.
When we eat too low-carb, we deprive our gut, which puts us at risk for dysbiosis, which can lead to leaky gut (when the tight junctions of the intestinal lining allows unwanted guests, like protein, to pass through into the bloodstream), setting the stage for autoimmunity.
They Improve Thyroid Function.
Insulin helps to upregulate D2, an enzyme that helps to convert thyroid hormone T4 into active T3. These thyroid hormones are responsible for almost all metabolic function: appetite regulation, basal metabolic rate, stimulating the breakdown of fats and the absorption of nutrients.
Low-carb diets decrease thyroid function, especially in women, which can quickly lead to hypothyroidism, causing symptoms like fatigue, changes in menstrual cycle, difficulty losing weight, hair loss. All not fun.
Remember that low-carb diets are actually a stressor (they increase cortisol), a signal of starvation, so your body might respond by shutting off “unnecessary” functions, like fertility and immunity, which is why it’s common for women following a keto diet to lose their periods, or experience significant shifts in their hormones.
OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE
Can You Lose Weight With Intuitive Eating
So how many carbs should you be eating?
That’s entirely dependent on you, and is influenced by factors such as:
- your gut health
- your activity levels
- your weight + metabolic health
- blood sugar regulation
It also matters what kind of carbs you eat. Cellular carbs (meaning they come from plants, and still have their fibre in tact) will have all of those benefits we’ve just talked about. Whereas acellular carbs (the ones that are processed, refined and lack their cell walls) can actually contribute to a lot of the problems we’re trying to avoid: blood sugar dysregulation, poor gut function, fat storage, etc.
So quality matters.
If you want to know more, be sure to come to my free masterclass, Broken Metabolism: 3 Myths Keeping You Hungry + Stuck. We’ll be talking about the factors that cause metabolism to slow down, and why dieting is an ineffective way to lose weight. You can sign up here.
Alternatively, if you are looking to deep dive and overhaul your health and mindset, be sure to check out my 6-week program The Nourished Body Reset. It launches Jan 20th 2021, but if you join before January 1st (Dec 31st at midnight), you can save 50% as a Founding Member. You can find out more info here.
I look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
With love,
[…] The Problem With Low-Carb Diets […]