I’m always asked this question; do carbs make you gain weight? No, they don’t, and in fact, they have many uses in the body like fuelling your daily activity, providing much-needed fibre, and supporting hormonal health.

Firstly, what is a carb? It’s a macronutrient the body uses as it’s primary energy source o the body can very easily use carbohydrates for energy, much more easily than fat and protein.

Of carbs we have three kinds- sugar, starch, and fibre.

Sugar is that sweet stuff we love in fruit and lollies and ice-cream. Starch is in vegetables, whole grains and breads, and fibre is in grains and fruits and vegetables. Simply speaking, we use sugar and starch for energy, and the fibre is mostly used by our gut bacteria and to maintain motility through the digestive track (helps you poop).   

The myth around carbs making you fat has its roots in a hormone called insulin – it’s the hormone which attaches to sugar molecules in the bloodstream and pushes it into the cells for energy (to put things simply).

When we eat too many carbs, we start to become insulin resistant, meaning, the sugar is in the blood, but the pancreas is not releasing as much insulin as it used to, and, if it does, it’s not able to get it into the cells. Because you’re resistant and not up-taking the carbs properly, you still crave them, continue to eat them, and you become more and more resistant.

Until you become diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

So it’s not carbs that make you fat, it’s the overconsumption of carbs nad even more specially, it’s the overconsumption of foods with both carbs nad fats together, and the effects of inflammation which cause fat gain. It’s not the carbs, it’s the type and the fac that you’re eating too many.

The more active you are, the more carbs you can eat. Excess carbs are stored in your liver, the rest in your muscles, but once that’s over-full, you store it in fat cells in case of a famine.

Your body is smart like that.

Additionally, women lose weight every day and build muscle and play sports competitively because of carbs. I just did a 6-week cut and I consumed 170gm carbs per day, and lost 500gms per week over that period. My clients lose weight on much higher carbs than I can, but my tolerance is lower.

Another time you may lose tolerance for carbs is when you approach menopause – your hormones start declining and there is just not as higher need for them any longer.

We also need carbs for a healthy menstrual cycle, which you will notice right before you bleed when you’re ravenous and wanting to smash every carb in sight. This is a sign you’re either not giving your body what it needs at that time, or not giving it enough quality

So you’re not ‘fat’ from carbs, you’re gaining fat from overeating, and not having enough muscle mass on your body to store those carbs. To increase muscle, you simply need to be more active, and eat more protein, but if you’re not wanting to be more active, you do need to eat less carbs, as you don’t need the energy if you’re not active.

If you’re interested in improving your nutrition for the better, check out Nourish & Flourish, my self-coaching course on nutrition for women who struggle to work out how to eat.

Jen x