One of the most frequent things people say to me in the gym after a class is “I have no energy”, which leads to my question, “What are you eating during the day?” And the response normally goes like this:
Breakfast – I don’t eat breakfast or I have 2 eggs
Lunch – Chicken, Avocado and Salad
Dinner – Protein, Avocado and Green Vegetables
When you look at what is being consumed above there is two major things that could be happening. Either, 1) you may not be consuming enough food for your body size, 2) you may not be eating enough protein, carbs and fats in your meals, OR 3) you may not be having any carbs at all.
Today we are going to explore the fact that in this case there is a whole food category missing – CARBOHYDRATES.
There are two types of CARBOHYDRATES – Simple and Complex!
SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES – are small and easy for your body to process. Lots of processed foods contains carbohydrates because they enhance flavour and help foods to last longer. When they’re in processed foods, simple sugars can make your blood sugar spike, which makes you feel drained and craving even more sugar.
Fruit and dairy also contain simple carbohydrates, but the sugar that comes from these enters the bloodstream more slowly, so you don’t get that nasty spike in blood sugar. These foods also have vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and protein that are essential for your body, so they’re normally pretty healthy.
COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES – like the name suggests, are more complex. Complex Carbs are chains of sugars that have been linked together. Complex carbohydrates include starch and fibre, which are found in vegetables, legumes and wholegrains. These carbohydrates take longer to break down, or can’t be broken down at all, so they don’t raise your blood sugar levels as much, and they can help you feel full for much longer. Foods that have complex carbohydrates also tend to have lots of beneficial essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
It is easy to see why carbohydrates are cut out of our diet but they are not the enemy. We need carbs to fuel our body.
Our challenges are a good opportunity to introduce new carbohydrate habits into your life.
So the next time you are feeling flat and have no energy……
Eat a Banana before your workout, its a great Carbohydrate and only 89 Calories.
Hope to see you in the gym soon!
Coach Corey
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