Eat the Toast

Everyone’s heard of the most common fad diets, keto, paleo, Atkins… there are so many, but what do we know about how well they work for common goals of weight loss and building lean muscle mass? With these three diets in mind, it’s unreasonable to assume that they can be used longterm without health problems. The paleo diet has been known to cause vitamin deficiencies with prolonged use, while the keto diet has correlated incidences of dehydration, hypoglycemia, and low potassium levels. The Atkins diet promises a, “High calorie way to stay thin forever,” that doesn’t take into account what the body actually needs to operate at optimal performance. Fad diets are detrimental because they are unsustainable in the long term, and when people go off these diets, they revert to their old ways that yield their old results.

So how do you achieve your goals without a diet like one of the aforementioned? It’s fairly simple when you break it down. To lose weight, a calorie deficit is required. In addition to a calorie deficit, you need to be sure your body is acquiring the proper nutrition - the right amount of macro and micronutrients. Based on your goals, you can get a general idea of macro requirements with some calculations (you should leave this one up to the professionals if you’re unsure navigating nutrition equations). Once you have an idea of your macronutrient targets, you can get started on your overall nutrition requirements. One thing to note here is that you can be completely within your macros and see no results or setbacks if the ratio of consumption is off. If you have a target of 100 carbs, 100 protein, and 50 fat, and you eat 50 fat and only 50 carbs and 50 protein, your fat intake is way too high. Keep this in mind if you decide to use a macro based plan. Finally, your body needs more than carbs, fats, and proteins (your macronutrients) to survive. You also need micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). You can work with a professional (a licensed nutritionist or a certified nutritionist with clearance from your PCP) to determine needs for micronutrients dependent on any medical conditions you may have.

Below this line is the science behind including carbs in your diet. If you’re an analytical thinker and need this in order to accept what I’m saying, read on. If science is boring to you, skip to the next line.

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Macronutrients are vital for biological processes in the body to occur. When you participate in an elimination diet that omits any of these 3 groups in entirety, you are starving your body of essential components of metabolism and functionality. Carbohydrates have more than one role in the body, but the ones that apply to this topic include: energy production, energy storage, lipid metabolism, sparing protein to be used as an energy source, regulating blood glucose, breakdown of fatty acids/preventing ketosis (byproduct of burning fat as fuel when in a carbohydrate deficit). Many cells in the body prefer to use glucose as an energy source over anything else, and red blood cells actually ONLY use glucose as a source of energy. More than half of the glucose that enters the body is redistributed and used by other tissues. When there is an excess of glucose, it is stored as glycogen for later use (it is stored mainly in the liver and muscle tissue where is can be rapidly disseminated for use). You heard that right - when you eat too many carbs, they do not get stored as fat. IF the carbs you’re eating are things like cake, that’s a different story because cake contains a lot of fat - or if you’re eating a slice of bread slathered in butter, which also has a lot of fat. The thing in those cases that will cause you to tack on extra pounds is the fat component.

I recommend my clients eat a piece of toast in the morning before coming to workout with me so that there is ample glucose readily available for energy production. When eliminating carbs, another side effect will be decreased energy, and while diet plays a huge role in a healthy lifestyle, it would be hard to be active without a readily available energy source. Similarly, I recommend protein within 30 minutes of completing a workout to feed the muscles that have just been exercised - muscle hypertrophy (building muscle) occurs post workout when muscle fibers are repaired - these new myofibrils are increased in thickness and number to promote growth. In an absence of carbohydrates, the body will breakdown and utilize muscle glycogen during exercise - somewhat negating the work being done (this is variable dependent on load, but readily available glucose is always the number 1 choice for energy during exercise - it does become more complex than this based on exercise duration, because the body will need glycogen at some point. I’d be happy to discuss an explain further if anyone is THAT interested).

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In conclusion, I don’t think following a fad diet is going to give anyone the results they desire for more than a little while. I think it can most certainly get you started on the right track, but can become discouraging when results fluctuate when bringing food groups back. I personally stay away from anything hard and fast (except intermittent fasting, which is another post entirely), because extremes tend to create problems of their own. I do eat certain keto friendly foods, or even foods marketed toward people on a ketogenic diet. I don’t live by them because they have their limits. For me, feeling strong and improving performance is as important to me as physical appearance. That may not be you, but it’s undeniably the most effective way to promote lasting lifestyle shifts that are sustainable over time, and feeling strong is empowering.