I’ve seen it time and time again on the Beachbody boards – the freak-out because someone’s afraid of adding carbs to their diet. The thought seems to be, somehow, that diet is a balancing act not dissimilar to building a nuclear bomb, and that by including carbs – boom! – the whole equation is shot and everything they’ve been working for has been ruined by a simple plate of pasta.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Now, when you’re just starting to workout and your primary focus is to drop weight quickly, a low-carb diet can be extremely useful. But beyond that, keeping carbs out of your diet does a lot more harm than good.
P90X, Insanity, or whatever workout program you’re doing isn’t a diet – it’s a lifestyle. Do you want to give up carbs for the rest of your life? Is that even a good idea? Carbs = fuel, simple as that. Your body NEEDS carbs to keep going.
If you look at the nutrition ratios of the people who have been at this for a while, you’ll see that generally speaking, they’re getting 40-50 percent of their calories from carbs. Keep in mind, we’re talking healthy carbs – whole grain breads and pastas, brown rice, etc. – Twinkies and Wonder Bread don’t count. But they’re including healthy carbs in each and every meal.
Count me among them. I was getting good results from both P90X and Insanity, but I didn’t start to maximize my results until I upped both my calories and my carbs. It was at that point that I was able to get my bf down from a more than decent 12% to the 7-8% it’s at today. And yes, I eat carbs with every meal – whole grain muffins or cereal at breakfast, sandwiches on whole grain bread at lunch, and brown rice or whole wheat pasta for dinner at night. It’s not huge amounts, but they’re always there, and I know it’s what my body needs.
As does yours. Carbs aren’t evil. Don’t be afraid of them.
By: Dennis Abrams – TEAM RAGE
