Will cutting out carbs help me lose weight, this question is asked all the time. I see people online saying they are cutting carbs to lose weight…hear people saying it (more often than I would like!). People jump on diet shake and pill plans that cut carbs and detox your body…

So the question… will cutting carbs actually help you lose weight?

Well quite simply…

Yes. 

Of course it will. You are removing a whole food group from your diet. You remove the food group – you thus remove the calories from said group and you are in a calorie deficit. So yes shock horror a calorie deficit will help you lose weight. You will probably feel great for a little while too – then it will hit. The slump, the cravings, the mood swings (I am a nightmare when I am hungry!) and all you want to do is reach for the bread bin. You then eat the carbs (because lets be honest cutting them is just not sustainable) you put the weight back on and you feel rubbish. 

Does this cycle sound familiar? 

Right so lets talk about carbs and what they do/are and why you DON’T need to cut them out of your life to lose weight (remember that thing I mentioned called a calorie deficit) 

Carbs come in three types:

• Sugars (these can be simple or complex) 
• Starch 
• Fibre (these are different to the two above and SO important!)

Now the next important thing that we get from carbs is GLYCOGEN (This is basically stored glucose). When our body gets too much fuel it stores it as Glycogen this is stored in our liver and muscles. We then convert the glycogen in our muscles into glucose for energy when we need it. We also store the glycogen in our liver this is used for running our bodies, our systems or brain etc. 

So what actually happens in your body when you do “no carbs before marbs”… 

Well, for every one gram of glycogen you have 3-4 grams of water retained with it.  So when you cut carbs our bodies work like this… 

• You stop eating carbohydrates. 
• Your body stops receiving the same level of glucose and glycogen. 
• “Oh no” says your body – “Off to the storage cupboard”
• Your body begins to work its way through the stored Glycogen…
• You are using grams of glycogen – THUS losing 3-4grams of water each time too…
• You have lost POUNDS…You feel great…
• Then you hit “THE WALL” You are now on even less stores…headaches set in…mood swings set in…you hate everyone…
• You eat. Your body is SOOOO excited it hugs that food tightly and 4 grams of water per each gram of glycogen – SHOCK – You gain the weight back…

So how do you enjoy carbs?

Well – remember when I said they were in three forms? One of those forms “Fibre” our body just LOVES it. It is nourishment – it helps to deal with blood sugar spikes. It keeps your energy levels maintained throughout the day. Sugar on the other hand is used quickly and as immediate energy. 

So imagine it like this:

• You eat something sugary – its like loads and loads of plastic ball pool balls being thrown at your body at once – you grab as many as you can and you use them…but if your body can’t keep up the ones you don’t catch float away and are stored in your…fat cells…now it is much harder to get fat cells to give them up later…
• You eat something high in fibre – this is like playing catch over the day…you throw the ball it is caught and used then a next ball is thrown and so on…until all the balls are used and none have floated away. 

In short what I am trying to say is eat carbs BUT select the most nutritious for your body. Pick from each carb section (see links below for examples) and balance the energy they offer to your body. 

But don’t cut carbs guys…seriously…you will be miserable and your body will definitely NOT thank you for it! 

If anyone offers you a detox as them about the stores of glycogen in the body and will you just be losing water weight? Ask them questions about nutrition. You can enjoy a full and well rounded nutritious lifestyle you just need to know where to start…

Well here you go..

How many grams of carbs should I be eating?

And how do you discover how to lose weight using a calorie deficit..?

To be continued….