Which carbs?

Frank Bullitt

im still on the building muscle buzz and i keep hearing about gettin carbs etc,but im confused to the hilt about which ones,i dont hink im alone on this one either.

basically i would like to know which carbs are good and which are bad especially if you are training to build muscle i.e pasta,bread,vegetables.

IM JUST CONFUSED MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

g'em

carbs are very, very basically broken into two types: simple and complex.

Simple carbs are easily digested carbs that tend to be high in sugars e.g. fruit and fruit juices, honey, milk, sugar. These will give a very quick high energy yield.

Complex carbs take much longer to digest and yield a slow-release energy- vegetables, breads, pasta, cereals legumes. They also tend to be high in fibre.

The trick is knowing when to eat each type of carb for best results. Simple carbs are perfect for eating after a workout when your body needs to replace spent energy fast- a banana or a fruit juice drink along with your protein. Complex carbs can be eaten throughout the day for sustained energy in small portions.

As such there are no real 'good' or 'bad' carbs but foods containing refined sugar will lack the vitmains, minerals and nutrient that less processed versions will have- white bread for example will elicit more of a simple sugar response as its so highly processed- a fast energy hit that subsides quickly as its so easily digested, compared to a wholemeal bread with nuts in it that takes a much longer time to digest and releases energy slowly.

For muscle building eat a lot- seriously! Don't be afraid of food, and just make sure its good food (and this applies to all nutrition regardless of weight loss/ gain)- generally swap white foods for brown and cut out processed foods as best you can. That doesn't just mean cutting out frozen meals, but take-aways, deli foods, sauces etc. to really get the most out of your food start from scratch and make your own meals.

Frank Bullitt

how much of them should i be eating,i know about how much protein i should be eatting but should the same rule apply to carbs as well?.

how much carbs do people around here eat in a day andwhat do they eat,its still slightly confusing me.

Dragan

Gintonious wrote:

how much of them should i be eating,i know about how much protein i should be eatting but should the same rule apply to carbs as well?.

how much carbs do people around here eat in a day andwhat do they eat,its still slightly confusing me.

How many calories do you need? how much fat do you eat? how do you react to different fibrous or starchy carbs?

There are a dozen other things you need to think about....why not try google or something?

jebuz

When you say cutting out take aways, sauces etc. How much of this would be acceptable per week? I eat very healthily during the week and get a lot of exercise, but would usually treat myself to some chips on a saturday night after a few pints

g'em

well "acceptable" differs from person to person. If you find that you can eat a 'cheat' meal once a week and get away with it, then grand. Most people find that treating themselves every so often helps them to stay strict at other times, and just helps you keep a balance. If its just a bag of chips once a week then its not too much to worry about. But if its a bag of chips afte 10 or so pint, it's hardly just the chips you have to worry about!!!

As much of a cliche as it sounds, everything in moderation won't do you too much harm. It's just admitting what 'moderation' actually means that's the hard part!!