There Is A Method to the Madness
This is a podcast where I will be discussing all aspects of physical fitness. I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer and owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs for the last 25 years. My passion is health and fitness and I am excited to share my views, some stories, interviews and much more with you.
There Is A Method to the Madness
Carbs Decoded
Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell and I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I am the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to get to the real deal of what really works and, most importantly, why things work. Hence the name. There is a a method to the madness. Before I get to today's show, I want to thank Jonathan and Lynn Gildan of the Gildan Group at Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service in home sales. Why don't you give them a shout and figure out what your home is worth? 386-451-2412.
Speaker 1:I'm going to go ahead and jump right in here on a very important topic carbohydrates. So I'm going to ask you a question and then you're going to answer it at the end of this podcast. True or false, carbohydrates make you fat, all right. So I'm going to leave that hanging out there. Now let's talk about these carbohydrates, kind of like I did protein the other day. I got some really good feedback back on that that a lot of people still don't understand macronutrients very well at all. So macronutrients very well at all. So macronutrients are carbohydrates, they are protein, they are fat and they are water, and, of course, water is the macronutrient that doesn't have any calories associated with it. And macronutrient is actually short for essential macronutrient, and it's essential because that means that your body cannot provide it on its own, that we have to take it in from an outside source. So that is true for all of the essential macronutrients. All right Now, as I spoke about the other day, protein has four calories per gram, carbohydrates also have four calories per gram and fat, being the most calorically dense of all the macronutrients, has nine calories per gram. So if we understand the method to the madness, like we understand why, especially in the old days and it is still true, by the way, that many people would tell you, including physicians and including nutritionists that, look, if you eat too much fat, it's going to make you fat Well, there's truth to it, because it is more energy dense, that's all there is to it. There are more calories per gram. So, like, if you hold a handful of something that's pure fat, like, for example, peanuts, I mean it's not pure fat, there's a little protein and fiber in there, but you know nuts are mostly fat and then the same handful of, say, green beans. Well, same size product is going to have far more calories in the fat. Because that's what fat is it's calorically dense. Now, eating too much of any caloric food will make you put on weight. So it's not that fat is evil by any means, it's just that it's calorically dense. It's just that there is simply more calories per gram. All right. Now again, today is about carbohydrates, but I just wanted to make that clear about the calories and the macronutrients. All right, so carbs have four calories per gram.
Speaker 1:Carbohydrates main function is to provide energy to the cells. It's how we reproduce ATP aerobically, and anaerobically is through carbohydrates. So if we don't eat carbs, we don't have energy Plain and simple. Have energy, plain and simple. Now, carbs are kind of cool and they're a little bit different because we actually store carbohydrates for later energy. Now, we store fat too, but that is called adipose tissue, but that is why we store it for later use.
Speaker 1:Now, again, our bodies are not made for 2025. They are made for prehistoric times. They're made for 2025. They are made for pre-historic times. They're made for way, way, way back, when you know, basically we had to survive on literally what we could kill to eat or pick to eat or whatever. So that's what adipose tissue is. It is just stored energy.
Speaker 1:But carbohydrates are also stored in the body and they're stored in the way of what is called glycogen. Glycogen is stored glucose or stored carbohydrates. Now we can store up to 500 grams, which is 2000 calories, of carbohydrates in our body. That's a lot. We can store 400 grams of carbs in all of our muscles and then another 100 in our liver, so that's a lot of carbs in the bank that we can store. That is a good thing and that is our primary energy source. Primary energy source. So when we are working out, when we are walking, when we are running, whatever we're using the stored glycogen for energy. Very critical to understand that. All right.
Speaker 1:Now, another way carbohydrates are used are for immediate energy, and you would think of, say, sugar for that. It's not necessarily immediate, immediate, but it does absorb faster than the other nutrients and we get it into our bloodstream comes from the glycogen. So in other words, let's say you run out because you've been jogging for two and a half hours Now. Most people will run out of all of their glycogen if not replaced within two hours. We have a two hour storage unit of continuous exercise of carbohydrates in the way of glycogen. Two hours, most people Depends a little bit on the intensity, of course, and the size, because everybody's a little bit different. If you weigh more you're going to store a little more glycogen, all right. But again, about two hours, if we're in continuous active cardio movement, we're going to run out of glycogen, all right. So you think, well, that's okay.
Speaker 1:My friend carries a gel, a goo, a carbohydrate goo and gel. So when you run out he's going to pop it, he'll have energy. It's not the way it works. It's not the way it works at all. We can't actually burn the immediate sugar without the presence of glycogen. We need the glycogen. It's going to take a bit for us to get that sugar we just consumed into the bloodstream, so it just doesn't work that way. So the reason why people carry glycogen, or I should say glucose, in the way of either energy gels or energy goos or electrolyte drinks with sugar or sports drinks, is because they want to utilize what is called a glycogen sparing. So when we take in a form of glucose, or what is called glucose polymers, while we are exercising, we are sparing the glycogen so we can hold on to the glycogen. Because if all the glycogen is gone, that is called the bonk or hitting the wall. We are literally out of energy.
Speaker 1:Now, in the very olden days before like, nutrition became a big part of exercise and they were kind of like two separate disciplines running coaches and endurance coaches used to tell people well, these people are hitting the wall in a marathon. Coaches used to tell people well, these people are hitting the wall in a marathon, meaning they get to about mile 20 and they literally can't go on or their pace just drops dramatically to where they walk. And the old thinking was well, they're just not trained, they haven't run enough miles, they don't have enough endurance to push through this wall, and of course, that's absolutely silly. What was happening was they were running out of glycogen and they just didn't know and back then they would just drink water. You know, not all of them, I mean, of course, people like figured it out along the way, but that's what the wall came from. Hitting the wall had nothing to do with your training and had everything to do with your nutrition on race day and leading up the race day, because we really need to have our tanks full before we do any kind of events like that. So you know it's very under.
Speaker 1:It's very important to understand glycogen and glucose's role in things. All right, so like there are all different kinds of carbohydrates there are monosaccharides, there are disaccharides and there are polysaccharides. Now, when the carbohydrate eventually gets broken down into your bloodstream where it can be utilized for fuel. So if the glycogen gets broken down, you start utilizing it for fuel. Or if you're taking in a glucose polymer, that monosaccharide happens to be glucose. So everything gets broken down to glucose in your bloodstream. That's what your body uses for fuel. So you know, when you get your, you go in and you get your lab work. They're going to check your fasting glucose levels, so that's the immediate energy you can use in your body. Now, disaccharides are two different monosaccharides combined together to form a slightly more complex carbohydrate. And then polysaccharides are more than two and that is the most complex type of carbohydrate, and polysaccharides are mostly thought of as, say, starch or complex carbohydrates and fiber. Okay, so that's what they are. But eventually, with the exception of fiber, they all get broken down into glucose. All right, so we need the glucose Now.
Speaker 1:Carbohydrates are the only fuel that can be used for anaerobic energy. Very important to understand that anaerobic energy is short term. So like when you're lifting weights, when you're strength training at the gym, that is anaerobic. When you are biking hard up a hill, that takes maybe 90 seconds to two minutes or so, that is anaerobic. When you're doing a set of squats, that is anaerobic. So carbohydrates are the only fuel that can fuel anaerobic metabolism, whereas aerobic metabolism is fueled by both fat and carbohydrates. But once you cross that line and you go purely anaerobic, it's the carbohydrates that fuel the activity.
Speaker 1:Now why do I keep hammering that point home? Well, how can you build muscle if you're on a low carb diet? I mean, it's impossible, it really is. I just told you that carbohydrates fuel anaerobic metabolism and strength training is anaerobic. Right? Sets don't last 20 minutes, like when you're doing a brisk jog for cardio. No, they last what? 60 seconds, 30 seconds, depending on your tempo, depending on your rep number. So if you're on a low carb diet, you absolutely cannot build muscle, you cannot build strength. So I think you're kind of trying, or you're figuring out the answer to the quiz in the beginning of this podcast.
Speaker 1:Something else to keep in mind there is such a thing called the Krebs cycle, and anybody that majored in exercise physiology rolls their eyes when they hear the Krebs cycle. Because, you know, teachers back in the day used to say, all right, remember all of the different interactions of the Krebs cycle, be able to take it around completely, and we're just like, oh my God, the memorization was brutal and you know, as far as I'm concerned, that's kind of stupid. It's far more important to understand what the Krebs cycle is versus trying to figure out every interaction that happens. Now what you need to understand is that the Krebs cycle states that fat burns in a carbohydrate flame. I'm going to repeat that Fat burns in a carbohydrate flame. So how are you burning fat if you have no carbs? You're not. So you're breaking down muscle, which we call gluconeogenesis. When you break down muscle gluconeogenesis, when you break down muscle gluconeogenesis, that's not good. And then that fuel is used to basically keep going and help burn fat. So you're burning muscle to burn the fat because your body is producing the carbohydrate from your muscles being broken down with the proteins. That's not good. Now you might then go oh, so I can eat as many carbohydrates as I want to. No, that's not what this is saying.
Speaker 1:Like we live in such an all or nothing. Society these days, you know, and I guess because people have a really hard time making decisions for themselves. I mean, just, I think we've been kind of trained to be that way. I don't know and you know what, who cares why, but that's just how things are. People are either far left or they're far right. They're either, you know, complete paleo or they're complete carbs only, and it's like none of it is true and all of it is true, and what that means is that, yes, we need carbohydrates. Without them, we can't fuel anaerobic exercise. Without them, we can't appropriately burn fat. Without them, we have no energy and not or and if we eat too many of them, we'll get fat.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's really that simple. We have a need that needs to be filled and everybody's need is different. If your activity levels are really high and you're of a greater body weight, you're going to need more carbohydrates than the person who has low activity levels at a lower body weight. It really is just that simple. Figuring it out is also simple. It's hard, but it's simple.
Speaker 1:How do you know? Well, you keep track and you focus on your gym numbers. Are your numbers going up? Are you getting stronger? You focus on your cardio? Are you improving your fitness wise? Do you have energy? So those are clues.
Speaker 1:And if you're doing all those things and you are gaining weight and you don't want to gain weight, well, guess what? You're eating too many carbs, probably fat, and everything. So define your balance. Like everything in life is trial and error. Just understand the concepts that if we eat too many, we're going to gain weight and that's why. Well, that's not why they get a bad name, I'll get. I'll tell you why in a second, why they get a bad name. And if we don't eat enough, we have no energy.
Speaker 1:I think the reason why they get a bad name is, um, mostly comes down to the fact that they are the easiest food for any of us to overeat. Number one they digest the easiest, so they're easiest on the digestive system. I talked the last time about protein being 92% absorbable, meaning that we don't digest all the protein. So you know that's, you know, inefficient, but at the same time that's also a little tough on your gastro system, right? And fat is really hard to break down. There's all these different components to fat that need to be broken down. That doesn't happen with carbohydrates, for example.
Speaker 1:Carbohydrates are the only macronutrient where digestion and absorption literally begin in the mouth, literally. There's what is called salivary amylase in your mouth that helps break down the carbohydrates where it's digested, literally. That's why some people put sugar under their tongue if they're kind of feeling lightheaded. And it works. So you know. It's easy to digest, so it goes down easy, it sits easy, you know, of course, unless you over consume sugar. But again, that comes down to over consumption.
Speaker 1:Then the other reason why they're easy to eat is they taste good. I mean, come on, who wouldn't rather just pig out on? I'm speak for myself. I could easily eat a bag of bagels. Right, how many bagels are in a thing? Five, six, I don't know. It doesn't matter. If I was showing zero discipline, zero control, I could eat it, I could eat the whole thing. What are they? 270 calories a piece. Easy, I could do that. The lenders ones now say okay, so take the same amount of food, you know the shape, the size, and do that with steak. No way Be sick, no way I could do it. So they're just easier to overeat. They taste better and, yes, there are different kinds of carbohydrates that are better for you.
Speaker 1:But still, speaking from a quantity perspective. If we overeat them, we will gain weight. If we under eat them, we will have no energy and we will underperform. We have to find the right balance. So, yes, even though there are qualities of carbohydrate, versus other types of carbohydrate for example, watermelon is almost pure sugar and water, not a lot of complex, actually zero complex carbohydrates and almost zero fiber. So you know that's not the greatest carbohydrate to eat in the world. Better carbohydrate would be to have a good grain. Whole wheat bread, sourdough bread, rye bread, rice potato Like those are better because they're more polysaccharides or complex carbs versus simple. All of this is true at the same time.
Speaker 1:Now, your body sees a carb as a carb and we have to remember that if we don't eat enough, we won't have energy. If we eat too many, we will put on weight. So are carbohydrates bad for us? No, of course, not. Right, you better have gotten your true and false correct. Carbohydrates are good for us. We want good carbohydrates. We do want high fiber food. We simply have to exercise our control muscles, okay. So let's work on that this week. How do we become thinkers for ourselves and understand that this whole you know system of either or isn't really what life is all about. All right, eat your carbs, just don't eat too many.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to today's program. I ask you to please follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and please select automatic download, because that really helps the show. Now I want to thank Overhead Door of Daytona Beach, the area's premier garage door company. They have the best product. They have the best service. I personally vouch for Jeff and Zach Hawk, the owners. They are great people with a great company. If you have any garage door needs, please give them a shout at 386-222-3165.
