Training & Nutrition - Carbs turn to fat!

-Why oh why must people keep saying this. For example i'll end up talking nutrition with someone in real life.

They will say "the carbs you dont burn off turn to FAT"

why must people have this mindset that carbs in specific have some special ability to turn to fat...

carbs are food,as a matter of fact they are the primary source of energy for humans. Food in general can be converted to fat when extra is consumed. whether its protein, dietary fat or sugars...

-Another thing, people like to say carbs cause alot insulin to be released causing fat storage. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the body storing part of your meal as body fat. The body constantly stores and burns fat throughout the day... The only reason someone should should be extra careful with carbs is if their body has blood sugar control issue such as diabetes.

If the body didnt store any fat when digesting your meal it wouldnt have any good fuel reserves for when your tummy is empty....




-Now i dont see a problem with average joes believing nutrition myths. But the people i hear saying this stuff usually claim to know about nutrition and are attempting to teach these myths to other people, lol.

I have a friend who wouldn't eat anything that contained any degree of fat. After several years of denying his body the proper nutrients his body basically started to devour muscle tissue instead.

He started out looking like someone who could pose for the cover of Men's health or a muscle magazine, since he was completely ripped. He wound up losing over 50 pounds and most of his muscle mass. And, he was so thin at one point that he looked like he had either been a prisoner of war or a chemo patient.

It took months and many doctors to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. Then they linked his health issues to bad nutrition.

His wife was just as bad. She was nine months pregnant and out power walking when her water broke.:rolleyes:

There is something called over doing it. Some fat/carbs in your diet is a good thing.

I've actually read that Almonds are a very healthy snack because they contain a healthy balance of carbs and protein plus a good amount of fiber.

balance in all things.

and the fat you don't burn turns to fat, and the protein you don't burn...

I have diabetes and take insulin (type 1). For kidney health I cut my animal protein down from 100 g/d to 30 g/d, added plant protein 30 g/d and replaced the rest of the daily kcal with carbs. No change in weight (80 kg) and my daily insulin dose actually went down 20% even though I'm eating 40 g/d more carbs. People who buy into this 'carbs are bad, make you fat' are shocked that I can eat so many carb calories and not gain weight. A bicycle is a great way to burn the fuel.

-Why oh why must people keep saying this. For example i'll end up talking nutrition with someone in real life.

They will say "the carbs you dont burn off turn to FAT"

why must people have this mindset that carbs in specific have some special ability to turn to fat...



It's not that carbs get converted to fat that's a problem. It's that if you get an insulin response, when the carbs gets converted to fat and stored, your blood sugar goes down and you get hungry again. That's the problem with simple carbs.

why must people have this mindset that carbs in specific have some special ability to turn to fat...


Exactly, why is that? Keep learning.

Calories in < Calories out works, but...

Short answer, it doesn't really matter where your calories come from, but...

Long answer, calories are not equal due to several factors. However, net caloric balance is still the main driving force in weight management; which brings us back to the short answer.

It gets really ugly when you start to consider foods effect on hunger / satiety...

Exactly, why is that? Keep learning.

Calories in < Calories out works, but...

Short answer, it doesn't really matter where your calories come from, but...

Long answer, calories are not equal due to several factors. However, net caloric balance is still the main driving force in weight management; which brings us back to the short answer.

It gets really ugly when you start to consider foods effect on hunger / satiety...

+10000

it gets truly ugly when you start to consider hormonal effects of food, nutrient density, vitamin and mineral dificiencies within the diet as a whole...etc, etc, etc. On can easily spend an entire lifetime trying to get a better understanding of it all.

His wife was just as bad. She was nine months pregnant and out power walking when her water broke.:rolleyes:

.

Many women RUN through their pregnancies. I hate to tell you but you're a fool if you think power walking is unhealthy during pregnancy its very healthy to remain active. My next pregnancy despite osteoporosis and arthritis I'm going to be one of them. At 8 1/2 months pregnant I will be doing 5ks, maybe not fast 5ks but a 10 minute mile isnt too strenuous. Exercise is good for pregnant women, running is fantastic. Its actually a horrible idea for an active woman to quit her activities while pregnant. It sends the body into shock, and she's likely to gain a lot more weight too. Plus babies of runner mama's tend to sleep through the night sooner, they soothe themselves better, and start talking sooner. The mother also loses her pregnacy weight much faster, and has easier faster labors. I hate to tell you but exercise is now reccomended during pregnancy. I'm even looking at reccumbents a little now so I can price them out since I'm hoping in a couple of years pregnancy will be on the table.

Many women RUN through their pregnancies. I hate to tell you but you're a fool if you think power walking is unhealthy during pregnancy its very healthy to remain active. My next pregnancy despite osteoporosis and arthritis I'm going to be one of them. At 8 1/2 months pregnant I will be doing 5ks, maybe not fast 5ks but a 10 minute mile isnt too strenuous. Exercise is good for pregnant women, running is fantastic. Its actually a horrible idea for an active woman to quit her activities while pregnant. It sends the body into shock, and she's likely to gain a lot more weight too. Plus babies of runner mama's tend to sleep through the night sooner, they soothe themselves better, and start talking sooner. The mother also loses her pregnacy weight much faster, and has easier faster labors. I hate to tell you but exercise is now reccomended during pregnancy. I'm even looking at reccumbents a little now so I can price them out since I'm hoping in a couple of years pregnancy will be on the table.
All athletes need a recovery time. If I was pregnant [which I can't be] I would not be exercising at 8.5 months of pregnancy, I would be recovering [then drinking beer after the baby is born]. I understand what you are saying but common, running at 8.5 months? Let us know in a couple of years. I know my wife had dreams of being pregnant and when she was at 8.5 months all she said was get this thing out of me. I will not comment anymore since I would not want to hijack this thread.

She was nine months pregnant and out power walking when her water broke.:rolleyes:

It shoulda broke at a different time?

All athletes need a recovery time. If I was pregnant [which I can't be] I would not be exercising at 8.5 months of pregnancy, I would be recovering [then drinking beer after the baby is born]. I understand what you are saying but common, running at 8.5 months? Let us know in a couple of years. I know my wife had dreams of being pregnant and when she was at 8.5 months all she said was get this thing out of me. I will not comment anymore since I would not want to hijack this thread.

I've got a video of the women from runningskirts.com running a 5k 8.5 months pregnant :). They were runners prior to pregnancy. Let me tell you I'm not doing bed rest again no thanks. Been there done that was miserable. I'm a high risk pregnancy case and frankly I'd rather be happy and healthy than in a bed. If pregnancy doesnt work out a second time for me itll be adoption. Plenty of beautiful children to adopt. Ideally I'd rather not go that route but itll be what itll be. Plus I blame 90% of my issues due to crappy doctors maybe if they hadnt put me on restricted movement then bed rest we woudlnt have had toxemia.

Info supporting athletics while pregnant:

http://www.dailyruns.com/trainning-while-pregnant/

http://prenatal-health.suite101.com/article.cfm/work_out_while_pregnant

http://www.pregnancytoday.com/articles/exercise-in-pregnancy/running-while-pregnant-2251/

http://www.runningskirts.com/PregnancyFitness.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAF_5XxOKg4

The new report circulated earlier this week reccomended women stay active during pregnancy with similair if not the same activities as prepregnancy. I'm not advocating most women run during pregnancy. However I run on average 15-25 miles per week. I also cycle about 40-100 a week. Quitting that kind of training would be stupid. I did not do these activities prior to my daughter. Will I be running fast 5ks? Hell no! Setting land speed records in metric centuries and centuries? Hell no. You can however still do them while pregnant, and I intend to arthritis and all.

-Why oh why must people keep saying this. For example i'll end up talking nutrition with someone in real life.

They will say "the carbs you dont burn off turn to FAT"

why must people have this mindset that carbs in specific have some special ability to turn to fat...

carbs are food,as a matter of fact they are the primary source of energy for humans. Food in general can be converted to fat when extra is consumed. whether its protein, dietary fat or sugars...


Because most Americans are themselves FAT.
Because they would be less fat if they consumed less calories.
Because carbs are the largest contributor to the calories in the typical American diet.
Because persistent overconsumption of carbs can lead to diabetes.
Because the simplest, best thing most Americans can do to cut calories is to give up sugared soda and bread products.

Because most Americans are themselves FAT.
Because they would be less fat if they consumed less calories.
Because carbs are the largest contributor to the calories in the typical American diet.
Because persistent overconsumption of carbs can lead to diabetes.
Because the simplest, best thing most Americans can do to cut calories is to give up sugared soda and bread products.


"Because the simplest, best thing most Americans can do to cut calories is to give up sugared soda and bread products. " Wrong. We have proven, conclusively, that if you tell us not to eat one thing, we will just eat another. The best thing that Americans can do to cut calories is to cut calories. - TF

"Because the simplest, best thing most Americans can do to cut calories is to give up sugared soda and bread products. " Wrong. We have proven, conclusively, that if you tell us not to eat one thing, we will just eat another. The best thing that Americans can do to cut calories is to cut calories. - TF

Who is this "we" who's "proven conclusively"?

Plenty of folks have achieved weight loss success by identifying their "substance abuse" foods, and their "empty calories", and cutting those out of their diets...or, at least, greatly limiting them.

Foregoing sugared sodas could help the country achieve better health precisely because it does "cut calories".

Health authorities are also considering "sugar taxes" to help promote healthier choices. A one cent per ounce tax is being considered for sugared sodas...it's estimated that it would raise significant revenue, and also cause more people to not drink sugared sodas.

my favorite thing is when the fat people at work tell me that they need to eat every 4 hours or so because otherwise their body will start breaking down their muscle to produce energy and they can't have that!!!

You want weird?
I only eat one meal a day, at night. It's called The Warrior Diet/Intermittent Fasting. I've been living this way for a little over a year now and mainstream medicine tells me I should either be dead, morbidly obese, or wasting away. I feel terrific, am a very lean muscular 135 (at 5'9"), have tons of energy on the bike, etc.
It works for me. Some people probably do better eating high fat than high carb. Some people do better eating carbs than fat. Its all about finding what makes you feel best.

I'm no expert, so I'll just post what I do, and what I've learned from my experiences. Keep in mind that what works for some people, will have the opposite effect on others. I have a friend who is 5'10", probably eats around 3000 calories a day, of only carbs, and he only weighs 135 pounds.

I eat 6-7 meals a day, sometimes 8. I consume somewhere between 2500-2900 calories, or 300 over whatever my maintenance level is for the day, which depends on my exercise. Yes, I count my calories. The only meals which I eat starchy carbs are breakfast and post-workout. The rest of my meals are mostly protein, and vegetables. In the last 3 months, I have gotten much leaner, while GAINING 4 pounds.

Before the above diet, I was eating the same amount of calories, but more of which came from carbs. I was LOSING weight, and looking fatter.

In conclusion,

Carbs have an effect on fat storage. Yes, you need carbs, but only good ones. Also, you only need so many, and really only at certain times. If your going to be sitting on your ass for 4 hours, you don't need fast digesting carbs which are going to spike your insulin levels. This combination will lead to fat storage. ESPECIALLY in a positive calorie balance.(Your eating more than you burn.) After carbs are broken down by the body, they need to go somewhere. Your muscles are full of glycogen because you haven't and aren't going to exercise. And your liver will probably be filled up also. Since your insulins levels are high from the simple sugars now, your body is desperately trying to remove glucose from your blood stream. The only place left for it, is in the form of fat tissue. Should've had some protein.

I'm no expert, so I'll just post what I do, and what I've learned from my experiences. Keep in mind that what works for some people, will have the opposite effect on others. I have a friend who is 5'10", probably eats around 3000 calories a day, of only carbs, and he only weighs 135 pounds.

I eat 6-7 meals a day, sometimes 8. I consume somewhere between 2500-2900 calories, or 300 over whatever my maintenance level is for the day, which depends on my exercise. Yes, I count my calories. The only meals which I eat starchy carbs are breakfast and post-workout. The rest of my meals are mostly protein, and vegetables. In the last 3 months, I have gotten much leaner, while GAINING 4 pounds.

Before the above diet, I was eating the same amount of calories, but more of which came from carbs. I was LOSING weight, and looking fatter.

In conclusion,

Carbs have an effect on fat storage. Yes, you need carbs, but only good ones. Also, you only need so many, and really only at certain times. If your going to be sitting on your ass for 4 hours, you don't need fast digesting carbs which are going to spike your insulin levels. This combination will lead to fat storage. ESPECIALLY in a positive calorie balance.(Your eating more than you burn.) After carbs are broken down by the body, they need to go somewhere. Your muscles are full of glycogen because you haven't and aren't going to exercise. And your liver will probably be filled up also. Since your insulins levels are high from the simple sugars now, your body is desperately trying to remove glucose from your blood stream. The only place left for it, is in the form of fat tissue. Should've had some protein.

Very well-written explanation. Thx. I eat similarly, and have had similar results this season.

I've also found that focusing after breakfast on proteins and veggies/fruit, with few carbs, keeps me more alert in the afternoons.



:beer:

Whoops....that's a carb. :D

Carbs have an effect on fat storage. Yes, you need carbs, but only good ones. Also, you only need so many, and really only at certain times. If your going to be sitting on your ass for 4 hours, you don't need fast digesting carbs which are going to spike your insulin levels. This combination will lead to fat storage. ESPECIALLY in a positive calorie balance.(Your eating more than you burn.) After carbs are broken down by the body, they need to go somewhere. Your muscles are full of glycogen because you haven't and aren't going to exercise. And your liver will probably be filled up also. Since your insulins levels are high from the simple sugars now, your body is desperately trying to remove glucose from your blood stream. The only place left for it, is in the form of fat tissue. Should've had some protein.

I am currently reading 2 different books on this. Totally separate approaches to research -- same overall conclusions. Enough that I am going to be getting out the biochem books again to fully understand this. Too much of it makes sense that I want to know the rest of the story.

As stated a couple of times, it is the INSULIN response that is important.

man o man this never ends does it ?

all of you in these types of threads make me laugh my ass off at all the inaccuracy and outright
non-expert knowledge. some of it is true and then peppered with BS throughout.

Shape Up America (http://www.shapeup.org/about/arch_news/nl0609.html) reports in its current issue on four new studies on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB's) on metabolism and body composition.

The studies reveal the damaging effects of sugar in liquid form on Americans' health. Replacing SSB's with water could save the average American about 235 calories per day...this alone could go a long ways toward reducing obesity and diabetes in the US.

The problems caused by SSB's are so significant, especially with respect to the young, that a national effort to impose a sugar excise tax is growing, supported by researchers and health care professionals. They're also looking at restricting advertising of SSB's to children and adolescents, similar to what's been the policy for tobacco for decades.

-Why oh why must people keep saying this. For example i'll end up talking nutrition with someone in real life.

They will say "the carbs you dont burn off turn to FAT"

why must people have this mindset that carbs in specific have some special ability to turn to fat...

...because it's partially true.



-Now i dont see a problem with average joes believing nutrition myths. But the people i hear saying this stuff usually claim to know about nutrition and are attempting to teach these myths to other people, lol.

They aren't myths, but don't apply as much to active and well-informed people. If one doesn't do a lot of exercise, which one should, then reasonably restricting carbohydrate intake is effective at managing weight.

I really adore my dieting friends, but truly hate getting fitness, diet and nutrition advice from them--especially since they don't exercise (and if they do, it's always the three same lifts at the gym--over and over and over again), they park as absolutely close to the building as possible so they don't have to walk across the street to get to work (and I ride 10 miles in almost daily), and they jump on all of the fad diets (a few are hardcore Atkin's dieters who always bounce back to heavier weights once they give up on the diet--but never learn and go back on it again.)

ok, so maybe I'm just talking about a couple specific friends in particular...hrm.

Moral of the story: listen to their advice with a smile, but don't buy in, and don't argue. Arguing = stress and stress isn't healthy. You know what works for your own body.

Shape Up America (http://www.shapeup.org/about/arch_news/nl0609.html) reports in its current issue on four new studies on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB's) on metabolism and body composition.

The studies reveal the damaging effects of sugar in liquid form on Americans' health. Replacing SSB's with water could save the average American about 235 calories per day...this alone could go a long ways toward reducing obesity and diabetes in the US.

The problems caused by SSB's are so significant, especially with respect to the young, that a national effort to impose a sugar excise tax is growing, supported by researchers and health care professionals. They're also looking at restricting advertising of SSB's to children and adolescents, similar to what's been the policy for tobacco for decades.

Very good article, and I agree, we need serious intervention by the government to stop America's obesity problem. It is sad that we do, but this problem is rediculous.

(Cue neck down footage of obese people.)

The whole problem with simple sugars, especially those found in drinks, is that they cause a HUGE insulin spike. Enough of those, and you become insulin resistant. Ergo, diabetes. And like the article mentions, childhood diabetes is becoming a serious problem. Its tragic that children suffer from this just because our country has a food problem.

Less brownies, cake and x-box; more fruits, veggies, meat and biking!

I really adore my dieting friends, but truly hate getting fitness, diet and nutrition advice from them--especially since they don't exercise (and if they do, it's always the three same lifts at the gym--over and over and over again), they park as absolutely close to the building as possible so they don't have to walk across the street to get to work (and I ride 10 miles in almost daily), and they jump on all of the fad diets (a few are hardcore Atkin's dieters who always bounce back to heavier weights once they give up on the diet--but never learn and go back on it again.)

ok, so maybe I'm just talking about a couple specific friends in particular...hrm.

Moral of the story: listen to their advice with a smile, but don't buy in, and don't argue. Arguing = stress and stress isn't healthy. You know what works for your own body.

i also find diet advice from co-workers annoying- once i was making my self a scrambled egg sandwich for lunch and someone comes up behind me and proceeds to tell me how bad eggs are for you and i shouldn't eat them. she knows i ride 150 miles a week, why bother telling me this! the next week she was on a 2 week fast drinking nothing but tea. a few weeks after it's the cabbage diet. Her's someone who wont ride her bike 2 miles to work.

it's always calories in vs.calories burned. ride your 20+ miles a day and you can eat a few cookies, just don't use a shoehorn to cram the entire bag down your piehole!

Just like the time some of my fraternity brothers decided to drink TONS of lemon-based juice and practically nothing else...

Work out to get the six pack? Nah.

I too am tired of people who think all carbs are bad. I'm also tired of people who think doing crunches "melts" the fat in their belly. There is too much misinformation among the general public because nobody wants to believe that there is no secret to losing weight fast.
Eat less, eat healthier, exercise more.
Everyone needs to just HTFU and stop watching infomercials.

It is truly annoying to get dieting advice from the unsuccessful. I hated my body and "dieted" unsuccessfully for years. I finally made peace, and decided to view food in a "what does this do for me" way. I ended up making better choices, listening to my body, and getting an athlete's orientation to food. I rest when I need to rest, and stopped using exercise to "punish" myself for dietary indiscretions. In my 6th decade I am in better shape and health than ever-- I eat what I want, but what I want is good for my body. My appetite now tells me what I need-- for example a little red meat now and then, but not much. Can't explain how I got here, but it seems to me that the map to "here" could help a lot of dieting souls give up the fight and win the war at the same time.

They will say "the carbs you dont burn off turn to FAT"Even, your thread mis-states the nature and relationship of carbohydrate type and what ever you may "mean" by FAT.

The problems lie with understanding that science is an exacting discipline - and using slang terms like "carb" is as misleading as a headline from any run-of-the-mill magazine article.

This thread's already off in three directions, most comments misrepresenting the relative importance of several interconnected processes.

Of course, actually framing a discussion to a single pertinent context, and using terminology with respect to its strictest, most specific meaning would be considerably much harder. Muddle on.

you only need 2 things to live... fats and protein. and without fats or protein you will eventually die. so why do people think carbs are good? they should never be more than 40% of your calories outside of some type of refeed. all your carbs should come from things like vegetables and fruits. wheat will kill you in the long run, get your fiber from legumes, yams, etc

you only need 2 things to live... fats and protein. and without fats or protein you will eventually die. so why do people think carbs are good? they should never be more than 40% of your calories outside of some type of refeed. all your carbs should come from things like vegetables and fruits. wheat will kill you in the long run, get your fiber from legumes, yams, etc

You dont bike much, do you?

You dont bike much, do you?

I do...I prefer a mixture of MCT's (coconut oil) and Whey Protein Isolate (no carbs/no fat from trueprotein) while training vs Gatorade or even a non-fructose sweetened drink

I do...I prefer a mixture of MCT's (coconut oil) and Whey Protein Isolate (no carbs/no fat from trueprotein) while training vs Gatorade or even a non-fructose sweetened drink

Coconut oil has 120 calories per tablespoon...all from fat!!?? :twitchy: :eek:

That sounds:


much slower to provide energy to your body than carbs (e.g., sucrose, malto-dextrin, etc.)
is not supported by any established sports physiologist or coach, AFAIK
likely to induce vomiting in many riders

you only need 2 things to live... fats and protein. and without fats or protein you will eventually die. so why do people think carbs are good? they should never be more than 40% of your calories outside of some type of refeed. all your carbs should come from things like vegetables and fruits. wheat will kill you in the long run, get your fiber from legumes, yams, etc

lol

i also find diet advice from co-workers annoying- once i was making my self a scrambled egg sandwich for lunch and someone comes up behind me and proceeds to tell me how bad eggs are for you and i shouldn't eat them.

I don't know what I'd do with out eggs! Love my fats. Thank you. And, I'll eat however I want, when ever I want. Thank you again! :)

I think the carbs and fats in my diet are vital for energy, bright eyes and shiny hair, stellar brain function, heart health, vitamin absorption, reduced inflammation, and for keeping me happy (Ooooo love them fats! avocados, nuts, eggs, walnut oil, salmon, cheese! yum!)--but I have no desire to lose weight. I'd actually prefer to gain a little weight: weight in the form of about 1/2 to 1 lb of muscle each on my left arm and right leg, just to balance perfectly with the opposite sides.

I do spend a lot of time answering questions on a 'diet' website board however and find that most people struggling with weight loss are obsessed with "What food should I eat?" instead of "How much exercise should I get?"

I'm also tired of people who think doing crunches "melts" the fat in their belly...Everyone needs to just HTFU and stop watching infomercials.

This reminds me of the no. 2 overly asked question on the weight loss website:

"How do I get rid of belly fat?"

[sigh] are we really that dumb?

MCT's are very usable fats, also the reason i prefer avoiding taking in carbs during a training ride is that anytime you take in carbs your are going to release insulin and lactic acid. by taking the protein/MCT mixture your liver with convert the protein to glycogen ---> glucose and the amount of insulin you will produce will be significantly lower resulting in a greater threshold


Coconut oil has 120 calories per tablespoon...all from fat!!?? :twitchy: :eek:

That sounds:


much slower to provide energy to your body than carbs (e.g., sucrose, malto-dextrin, etc.)
is not supported by any established sports physiologist or coach, AFAIK
likely to induce vomiting in many riders

there's obviously different types of "carbs" that have different effects on the body.
If people think that eating brown rice and oatmeal is unhealthy then there is no talking to them.

It is truly annoying to get dieting advice from the unsuccessful. I hated my body and "dieted" unsuccessfully for years. I finally made peace, and decided to view food in a "what does this do for me" way. I ended up making better choices, listening to my body, and getting an athlete's orientation to food. I rest when I need to rest, and stopped using exercise to "punish" myself for dietary indiscretions. In my 6th decade I am in better shape and health than ever-- I eat what I want, but what I want is good for my body. My appetite now tells me what I need-- for example a little red meat now and then, but not much. Can't explain how I got here, but it seems to me that the map to "here" could help a lot of dieting souls give up the fight and win the war at the same time.Exactly. This has been the key for many food-obsessed folks. Just view food as fuel. Develop a rational reason for eating and for what to eat. Eat to ride, to run, and eventually to live.

MCT's are very usable fats, also the reason i prefer avoiding taking in carbs during a training ride is that anytime you take in carbs your are going to release insulin and lactic acid. by taking the protein/MCT mixture your liver with convert the protein to glycogen ---> glucose and the amount of insulin you will produce will be significantly lower resulting in a greater threshold

But dude, glycogen is changed to glucose before being used by the cells for energy. So is fat, for that matter. Fat can't even move through the body or enter cell membranes unless it is "accompanied" by sugars in the form of triglycerides. No matter how much you avoid sugar and carbs, your body will be full of them. Your brain would die in about 3 minutes if there was no glucose in your bloodstream. But that won't happen, because your body will just keep making more glucose no matter what you eat.

Metabolism and respiration (that is, changing fats and starches to glucose that can be used by the cells) take time and energy of their own. This is why athletes and others doing significant work prefer to have some sugars on board--they can be used more quickly by the cells, and with little additional expenditure of energy.

As for insulin overload, the research I've been reading suggests that exercise is more effective than diet changes for dealing with that problem. Of course insulin overload isn't even a problem at all for non-thpe 2 diabetics who are eating a "healthful" normal diet and exercising.

The human body evolved to eat FOOD, not letters of the alphabet like M, C, or T. I don't even know what MCTs are, but I'm pretty sure I don't need them. (I could be wrong on that, of course, but I would be very surprised.)

But dude, glycogen is changed to glucose before being used by the cells for energy. So is fat, for that matter. Fat can't even move through the body or enter cell membranes unless it is "accompanied" by sugars in the form of triglycerides. No matter how much you avoid sugar and carbs, your body will be full of them. Your brain would die in about 3 minutes if there was no glucose in your bloodstream. But that won't happen, because your body will just keep making more glucose no matter what you eat.

The human body evolved to eat FOOD, not letters of the alphabet like M, C, or T. I don't even know what MCTs are, but I'm pretty sure I don't need them. (I could be wrong on that, of course, but I would be very surprised.)

Dial back the misinformation.

Fats are not turned into glucose before they are burned. If anything you could say that carbs are almost always metabolized like fat. The fatty acid chains break down into 2 carbon units (Acetyl co A), not 3 carbon (pyruvate) units like with carbohydrate metabolism.

Fats do travel across membranes without assistance from carbohydrates. It is true that 3 fatty acids bind with a glycerol to from a trig, but the triglycerides are broken down into free fatty acids and glycerol before crossing membranes. On the other side of the membrane a trig is reformed, but not necessarily with the same glycerol.

Your brain can survive during periods of starvation on ketones.

You eat medium chain triglycerides all the time -it’s just a medium length fatty acid found in food.

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/images/590metabolism.gif

there's a lot of ignorance out there and it's hard for everyone to be on the same page. I find it frustrating when people think they have something to disagree about, when in fact they probably don't. for example you can agree, yes, too many carbs can turn to fat, but did you also know anything consumed to excess can turn to fat? do your best to get them up to speed, it's a thankless job :thumb:

Dial back the misinformation.


Thanks for the corrections. I guess it's time for me to get out the old books for a review!

:)

Gluconeogenesis - that's a real neat thing........

That graph is wrong....
It's called the fatty acid corkscrew.

I've noticed that carbs fill me up a lot less than protein heavy foods. Example, if I eat a carb heavy diet I find my appetite is not satisfied unless I pull in about 4.5k calories per day, whereas with a diet more oriented towards protein I can feel satiated with only 2500-3000 per day. The big problem with carbs are the simple ones, the amount of sugar and starch I see some people eat is ludicrous. Now there are cases where this can help, I admit that I hit the carbs pretty hard when going on endurance runs, but your average sedentary person doesn't need to be eating 400g+ of carbs per day. In fact, as long as I limit my workouts to an hour or so, I can go sub 100g without much problem.

I used to be a cereal fiend for breakfast, I'd eat 2-3 large bowls of sugary cereal which would pull in around 1100 calories (which isn't really bad, I still eat around 800 now for breakfast) but I'd be hungry again an hour later.

MCT's are intriguing. I've been reading up on them for a little while now. It appears that some of the initial research was conducted in the early 1980's (see Jeukendrup and Aldred) who studied using MCT's as a pre-exercise fuel. More recent research looked at its use during exercise and post-exercise.

Unfortunately, the research is inconsistent and skewed slightly toward a decrease in performance when using MCT's alone or as a blend, instead of using a carb-based fuel source.

However, what seems to be fairly consistent is that replacing some of the fats in your diet with MCT's may improve overall body composition and cholesterol ratios--in part due to reduced calories. But, the downside is that they do not provide essential fatty acids.

I'm fortunate in a way since I'm really sensitive to certain carbohydrates in food. I simply cannot eat sucrose at all without feeling ill and hungry within minutes. I may be borderline hypoglycemic or something since my insulin response is really heavy-handed. Anyway, I just cut sucrose out completely and I always feel great. I can eat sugars from fruit, honey, agave, etc. no problem, but sucrose is completely different for me. High quality breads don't affect me negatively, so I eat a fair amount of them, but the best food in terms of satiety per gram or whatever is pizza every time. It's not all pizza, as some places must have sugary sauce or something, but there's this one place down the street (Pizza Roma in Portland, OR) where I can get a slice of cheese pizza and not be hungry at all for 5 hours, sometimes more.

My view of eating is completely different from most of the people I know. I view eating as a horrible nuisance that interrupts more important activities, so I'm always trying to get more "satiety time" out of everything I eat so I obviously don't eat much in the way of low-quality food.

Incidentally, I've lost 21-22 pounds since I cut sugar out of my diet. I was always really active, but my weight would gradually increase over time since I would eat a meal and then have something with sugar in it and then have to eat more to get my blood sugar back up after the insulin caused it to plummet. I wasn't obese or anything at 5'10" 180, but I'm definitely much less flabby these days. At this rate, I'll be totally ripped in a few months without doing much avoiding anything but sugar and with a normal amount of activity. I also hardly ever drink alcohol, which I think lowers the total number of calories I ingest while not interrupting the liver's ability to metabolize fats.