28/04/2018
I would like to answer some of the key/frequent questions that are often asked and some of these questions haunted me few years ago. I will try to answer these questions in layman terms, so everyone can understand the basics. I will not go deep in terms of research but will provide the facts which are back up by lot of research.
Q. Are carbohydrates bad or Does carbohydrate make me fat?
The short and clear answer is NO.
Carbohydrates are very important nutrients for
• fat metabolism,
• spare muscle proteins
• Contain essential fiber, vitamins and minerals.
• Essential for glycogen repletion before during and after strength, power and anaerobic exercise.
So which carbohydrates to choose, I believe in unprocessed, whole foods carbohydrate sources. I believe in a diet which has all three macronutrients (Carbs, Fats and Proteins) in it so choose a diet which you can adhere too and follow it.
Q. Does eating carbs or having dinner at night make me fat?
Simple straight answer is NO. A person gains weight due to eating more calories than what he/she is burning in a day but not because of when he/she eats. Your body doesn’t keep track of what time you are eating, it doesn’t have any enzyme which instructs to store the food as fats ifs its 9PM 😊. End of the day what matters is how many calories are going in and how many calories you are burning.
Q. More Protein = more gains???
Sorry to say, but the answer is still a big NO. Our body needs Protein to grow, maintain and repair. Hence weight training + proper amount of protein = hypertrophy and any extra protein above the needed total calorie will be stored as fat.
Q. Low Calorie Diets, liquid diets – Can we follow these for quickly loosing weight.
Consuming less calories meaning FAT loss/weight loss – Nope, it doesn’t work like that, you need certain amount to calories to function properly, to perform better. Some of the side effects of low calorie diet
• Malnutrition
• Low Energy levels and inferior performance
• Side effects includes fatigue, constipation and nausea.
Instead of very low-calorie diet, try to structure a diet with healthy sources of food, eating calories according to your goal associated with increased physical activity.
I have tried to answer these frequently asked questions in a short and crisp manner. There is lot of research around each questions and lot of case studies around each. But don’t overwhelm your mind and body with lots of information rather stick to basics.
Q. For Weight loss – which is superior diet plan – Low fat and high carbs or high protein and low carbs.
Answer is None. Again, the same principle I told you above works here as well. A person can only loose weight when calories consumed is less than calories expended. This is the only mantra that works.
Some people react well with low carb and high protein and some people won’t. In short term you might see satisfactory results with low carb high protein but if you take a year period the fat loss/weight loss would be same between people who followed low carb high protein or low fat high carbs. Many of the studies attested to the above fact. A diet strategy that worked for you may not work for me. Every individual is different.
I request all of you is to concentrate on lowering our body fat and simultaneously maintaining or increasing muscle in your weight loss journey as this may help in improving our Resting Metabolic rate.
My Mantra:
Stick to Basics + Adherence (Consistency) = Results/Reaching Goals
