Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

[KMWylie Senior MemberPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close KMWylie]

As I've mentioned, I've been studying nutrition for awhile. I even started writing a book, with all of the research I had found.

One chapter's title was - It's Not Rocket Science, But It Is Math.

The premise of the chapter is the function of calories in vs calories out when it comes to weight loss or gain.

I pretty much need to throw that entire chapter out.

A 1,500-calorie diet of jelly beans is not the same as a 1,500-calorie diet of lean protein, veggies and low-glycemic fruit.

I think this is where a lot of people fail in their nutritional understanding. And, I honestly think it's the government's fault in the promotion of this idea. Nutritional labeling, with their promotion of a "2,000-calorie diet" gives the general consumer the notion that that's the only number they need to worry about.

Now, couple this with the Low Fat/Heart Healthy craze since the 1980s, and you begin to see the issue here. The Food Pyramid, thanks to serious backing by the agricultural industry, was heavily-laden with carbs, in particular grains. For generations, we were told, "Eat a big heaping plate of mashed potatoes, just don't put butter on it, and you'll be healthy."

In 1972, the average wheat consumption, per person, in the US, was under 110 pounds annually. By 2000, it had increased 40%!

Low-fat and no-fat products flooded grocery stores and became a multi-billion dollar industry.

Americans were still becoming increasingly obese. We were counting calories and doing Jazzercise and step aerobics and exercising along at home with Richard Simmons and "sweatin' to his oldies"... and our society was becoming fatter and fatter.

The point is... Not all calories are the same.

And, not all carbs are the same.

Check out the article below.

Is There Such a Thing as Good Carbs?

[Ultimate Burrito Moderator Member of the Month Oct 2017PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Ultimate Burrito]

Now I just feel plain bad for being a burrito... I'm full of bad carbs!

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

keyword = balanced

[KMWylie Senior MemberPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close KMWylie]

Now I just feel plain bad for being a burrito... I'm full of bad carbs!

We can just open you up and eat all the yummy filling in a bowl - no worries! :-D

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

We can just open you up and eat all the yummy filling in a bowl - no worries! :-D

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

We can just open you up and eat all the yummy filling in a bowl - no worries! :-D

curious visual of that.

[Ultimate Burrito Moderator Member of the Month Oct 2017PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Ultimate Burrito]

We can just open you up and eat all the yummy filling in a bowl - no worries! :-D

When I initially read this I was laughing my off!!!

MAN that can be taken a lot of ways! Some good, some really, really bad and morbid... I'm scared. LOL

[LeafyGreens Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LeafyGreens]

At the end of the day, the biggest thing driving your body weight is calories in, calories out.

If you're a man and you eat 1200 calories a day of Big Macs, you will absolutely lose a ton of weight.

But if we're talking about overall health and body composition, then yeah... the type of food is going to have a big impact. And I suppose there are also some cascading hormonal effects from crappy food that will effect you in the long run.

Don't think you need to throw out the chapter, but it might need some footnotes

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

The US Dept of Agriculture suggests you put your meal together so that 1/4 of the plate is covered with colorful fruit, 1/4 with vegetables, 1/4 with protein source (lean meat, fish, or poultry, Or better yet, plant foods like tofu, cooked dryed beans or lentils) and the remaining 1/4 with grains (preferably at least half from whole grains) or other startches such as potatoes, yams, or winter squash.

Finish off your plate with calcium rich foods. These could be low fat milk or foods made from milk such as cheese, yogurt, or puddings.

Eat foods high in photochemicals. Photochemical are compounds that are found only in plant foods. These include compounds that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors. The more often you choose foods that are not refined and as close as possible to how nature made them,the better.

[WIItard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WIItard]

Calories in verses calories out. Which ever is more that where the fat is going, either in or out.

USDA makes things so complicated that people don't read what they have to say.

Pretty simple.
Protein, fats, carbs. You need all of those.

The problem comes in when dealing with vitamins, minerals etc. A Gatorade is not as good as fruit juice yet both have carbs and not much else.

Same with fats or proteins. Some just have other stuff going on which is better for you.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Thoughts on beans?

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

Beans can are the least expensive source of protein, especially when compared to fresh meat. Aside from protein, complex carbs and fiber, beans contain a powerhouse of nutrients including antioxidants, and vitamins and minerals, such as copper, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium and zinc.

[Holm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Holm]

I've mentioned this point in a similar thread on the Nutrition forum, but didn't receive any comments, so I'll try again.

Does anyone going by the school of 'calories-in vs. calories-out' pay any regard to the composition of macronutrients per meal? That is, the relationship between fat and carbohydrates/sugars? Do you see it as completely irrelevabant in terms of weight gain or loss? And why?

Carbohydrates, specifically those with a high glucemic index, has the side-effect if raising one's blood-insulin levels. When that level is high, and the digestive system is introduced to fats, those fats have a much higher tendency to get stored instead of burned. This is one of the main cruxes of weight management, in my opinion, yet it largely goes ignored. A pity for all those not in the know.

If you're a man and you eat 1200 calories a day of Big Macs, you will absolutely lose a ton of weight.

I am not so sure. Depends a lot on BMI, muscle mass, activity level, eating routine and hormones. But needless to say, he would have a higher chance of losing weight by eating 1200 calories of apples, all else equal. Just as he would have an even higher chance of gaining weight by eating 1200 calories a day of 50/50 dairy butter and high fructose corn sirup, all consumed within 5 minutes, right before going to sleep.

I don't buy the simple explanation of calories-in & calories-out one bit. The body has loads of other mechanisms at work, which all influence each other.

[Thick_Unit Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Thick_Unit]

In 1972, the average wheat consumption, per person, in the US, was under 110 pounds annually. By 2000, it had increased 40%!

Low-fat and no-fat products flooded grocery stores and became a multi-billion dollar industry.

Americans were still becoming increasingly obese. We were counting calories and doing Jazzercise and step aerobics and exercising along at home with Richard Simmons and "sweatin' to his oldies"... and our society was becoming fatter and fatter.

The point is... Not all calories are the same.

And, not all carbs are the same.

Check out the article below.

Is There Such a Thing as Good Carbs?

Sugar is the main issue drop the Sugar and the pounds will drop right off.. very fast as well.

[LeafyGreens Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LeafyGreens]

There are, of course, lots of mechanisms at play in the human being. But at the end of the day, the single largest factor BY FAR (it's not even close) is the # of calories you consume.

This isn't simply theory. So so many people have tested this out.

One that I found particularly humorous was a guy who lost a bunch of weight eating nothing but QT Fried Taquitos If I remember correctly, his cholesterol even improved from it... which blew my mind.

This isn't to say that the quality of food has NO impact, just that it's comparatively smaller. Like 80% of it is calorie total and 20% of it might be food quality.

Your body shape is going to look A LOT different over time if you eat a good healthy diet full of protein, though, even if you're the same body weight as the unhealthy eater.