Carb discussion, part 2

Okay...
Yesterday we figured out that the best way to control our carb intake is to practice 'carb timing'.

Meaning, we should try to eat starchy carbs first thing in the morning and in the 2-3 hours after exercise. At these times, the hormone insulin will partition the nutrients from our food into the muscle cells (instead of shoving it directly into the fat cells).

And with carb timing, we can make sure that our carbs take on a healthy role in our own recovery from exercise (instead of taking on a fat gaining role!).


Now...
It is still important to note that our current society is way too reliant on processed, starchy carbs.

I can't just tell someone who has been eating like a typical North American to abide by carb timing rules. Why?

Well, the typical North American diet looks like this:

Breakfast: cereal + milk, or toast/bagel, maybe some fruit juice
**cereal, toast, bagel, fruit juice... ALL processed carbs

Mid-morning or afternoon snack: granola bar, or yogurt, or pretzels, or fruit
**granola, individual packs of yogurt, pretzels, etc... ALL processed carbs

Lunch: sandwich and chips
**bread, chips... ALL processed carbs

Dinner: chicken, veggies, pasta
**this meal is not bad, but it still has pasta (processed carb!)


The typical North American relies heavily on processed carbs. They oftentimes eat them in place of lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits, and veggies (can't you see the severe lack of all of these food groups in the above description?!). Many times, in an attempt to be healthy, they choose these processed carbs because the package in which they come in reads, "healthy", "natural", "fat-free", "whole-grain", etc.

Instead of KNOWING the origin of the food, a typical person will let the package decide whether that food is healthy or not. They'll actually believe that a completely processed food is "healthy" because it now has a few "whole grains" in it! Come on... whole grain Pop Tarts are no better than regular Pop Tarts, people!!

Now, like I said yesterday... the occasional processed carb - like pasta, bread, cereal, etc - is perfectly okay. In moderation, any food is not too detrimental.

But, on a regular basis, the closer a carbohydrate is to its original source, the better of an effect it will have on your body. The best starchy carbs to choose?? Whole grain sources like wild rice, barley, quinoa, and full flake oats. Natural, nutrient-dense sources like potatoes, yams/sweet potatoes, brown rice, beans.

ALSO, if you don't exercise... all those processed carbs will do exactly what my reader said they would. They will cause a spike in the hormone insulin and they WILL be stored as fat.

End of story.


So, what will YOU do with this info??

Will you change your eating habits to limit processed carbs?
Will you practice carbohydrate timing?
Will you exercise in order to "earn" your carbs?
Will you attempt to balance out your diet with other foods besides carbs?
Or will you keep on doing the same thing and being like all other 'typical' North Americans??

It's up to you!