The Truth Behind Carbs – Do Carbs Make You Gain Weight?

A very common question and ambivalence that people usually struggle when it comes to weight loss is “do carbs make you gain weight”.

The reason why it is such an important question is because a lot of people did experience weight gain when they increased the level of carbohydrates they consumed on a daily basis.

I was one of those people who was scared of carbs 10 years ago, and although I was scared I ate a lot of it. Many low-carb diet bestsellers came out in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s and all I heard was that the magic was to be on a low-carb diet.

Then I was trying to follow the “magic” and guess what the magic did not happen. Instead I was craving carbs which resulted in eating a bar of chocolate or two pastries.

Pastries are delicious in Hungary (where I am from ) by the way.

When this story happened to me many times and I started to think:

If carbs are so bad why was I craving carbs?
Do carbs make you gain weight for real?
I ate carbs before and I was slim many times although I ate carbs!

Probably the magic is not “not eating carbs”. Probably there is an even bigger “magic” out there about carbs you should know about!

To find out this magic let’s look at the myths and facts about carbs!

Carbohydrates myths and facts

The 2000s and the early 2010s were loud with noises about carbs that luckily have become myths today. Such noises were the following: (1.)

Carbs make you fat
Low-carb diets are the gotos
Your body does not need any carbs
And finally, you should avoid eating fruits, because they contain sugar which is not helpful for weight loss.

Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

I have to emphasize that usually magazines, and some diet doctors were explaining the side effects of eating carbs.

But let’s look at the facts here which are in the studies:

Harvard University posted an article about research on three groups of people who ate

High (60%) carbohydrate and low (20%) fat
Moderate (40%) carbohydrate and (40%) fat
Low (20%) carbohydrate and high (60%) fat diet

The protein amount (20%) was the same in all groups and total calorie intake was modified to keep the weight in balance. In order to keep the bodyweight the groups consumed fruits, whole grains as carbs and low fat dairy products.

The people were examined for 20 weeks and according to the result everybody maintained their weight. So what it says:

Low-carb diets did not prove to be more efficient
Eating carbs are not fattening.
There is no evidence that your body does not need carbs
And fruits are not bad, since the participants did eat fruits and they maintained their weight in healthy ranges.

There is also no evidence that shows a link between the total expenditure of carbs and gaining weight. (2 .)

However, there is scientific evidence that actually cutting carbs is not healthy. Let’s take a further look at why it is by understanding the nature of carbs.

The reasons why we need carbs

Image by Nebraska Department of Education from Pixabay

Carbs are very important sources of energy, because they contain sugar.

Now you are probably thinking why sugar? Sugar isn’t a poison?

Well, I have a short and a long answer: The short answer is that no it is not a poison, because sugar is the primary source of energy for your brain, muscles, and healthy body function.

If you don’t consume enough carbs, the sugar level of your body drops which could lead to hypoglycemia with such symptoms as hunger, dizziness, shakiness, and the feel of confusion and anxiety.

With this I summed up why we need carbs!

However, let’s discuss the question of whether sugar could be bad, which depends on what type of sugar we are talking about. For this purpose let’s talk about “good” and “bad” carbs.

“Good Carbs” vs “Bad Carbs”

Now is a good time to clear the air on why there were a lot of misconceptions about carbs and where the clarity could be. For this purpose, we have to differentiate the healthy carbs and the so-called “bad carbs” from each other.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

The reason why I don’t just say bad carbs is because I don’t think they’re bad regardless of any other circumstances.

So let’s call these types of carbs by their real names.

Refined carbs are the ones that are often referred to as bad carbs.
Complex carbs are the ones that are considered to be good carbs.

To understand the difference between these two types of carbs you should understand the nature of each.

Refined or simple carbs (sugar) include shorter chains of molecules therefore they are digested faster. As a result of that the blood glucose level suddenly rises, energy is provided for only a short time and then the glucose level drops back which could lead to sugar hunger.

Sources of simple carbs are white bread, pasta, white rice, pastries, chocolate, cake, sugary drinks, and even fruits.

Complex carbs on the other hand will raise the blood sugar level for a longer time which will result in a longer-term higher energy level. Therefore hunger also won’t be an issue like in the other case.

Sources of complex carbs are whole grains, such as wheat-free or whole-grain bread, brown rice, quinoa, or oats.

Photo by Magnus S on Unsplash

Can we say that complex carbs are better?

Well, if we are talking about having a meal that does not make you feel hungry within an hour, then we can say complex carbs are more efficient than simple carbs.

However, you should not eliminate simple carbs from your diet for a few reasons.

Although fruits are usually a different macronutrient category, they are also simple carbs. However, they contain many micronutrients, so consuming a certain amount is actually needed!
In a small quantity, sugar is recommended by some experts and for some people, it might seem unreal to totally eliminate sugar due to their recent lifestyle.
Having healthy eating patterns instead of eliminating certain types of foods proved to be more efficient

Being aware of the quantity is an important golden rule when it comes to healthy eating patterns, so let’s discuss that.

Daily Carb Intake

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans highly recommends

following a healthy eating pattern rather than eliminating a certain macronutrient,
hence focusing on a variety of macronutrients with healthy ranges of consumed amounts

So what it says is that the amount of daily intake plays a huge rule when it comes to macronutrients, such as (whole or refined) grain, so let’s discuss what is the healthy and recommended daily carb intake.

The following rules you should keep in mind when it comes to the daily intake of carbs:

Between 45-65% of your daily calorie needs should come from carbs
Whole grains are preferred over refined grains (except fruits)
Added sugar (except fruit sugar-fructose and milk sugar-lactose) and saturated fat should never reach 10% of your daily calorie needs

(Saturated fat is usually included in full-fat cheese pizza, desserts (cake), fried foods, sausage, bacon and ribs)-So be aware of your fast food intake!

Whole fruits should be consumed with no limit
Not more than half of fruit-intake should come from fruit juice which is 100% fruit

What worked for me?

The Dietary Guidelines is the official go to when it comes to learning about healthy eating. However, we are all different and something that might work for someone else may not be the best option for you. However, the Guidelines are an important resource for most of the people.

Regarding my example most of the Guideline Rules are applicable and work for me.

What helped me to stay fit and healthy in terms of carbs was a couple of things:

Cutting sugar out as much as possible
Consuming (especially wheat free) whole grains

For the record: Do Carbs Make You Gain Weight?

So let’s summarize what was learned today. The main question was “do carbs make you gain weight”?

And the answer is that first and foremost we need carbs (45-65% of daily calorie intake) to support our body and brain with energy.

Additionally, two factors play the biggest role when it comes to carbs and gain weight:

Complex carbs are preferred over refined carbs
The daily intake of carbs and the allowed maximum amount of refined carbs should be considered

So please don’t cut carbs, especially if you don’t feel you really want to.

But try to consume complex carbs instead, stay in the 45-65% range with them and add fruits (approximately 25% of a plate) to your meals.

I hope this post was helpful, let me know in the comment below if eliminating carbs worked for you in your weight loss journey and if not what types of carbs you are using!

Setting up a healthy eating plan alone can be a challenge sometimes especially with a stressful and time-consuming job or business. Click on the image below to register for my free webinar about losing weight with a sedentary job!

Stay healthy, Be happy,

Eszter

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