6 Things You Need to Know About Carbs And Fitting Into Your Favorite Jeans

When I talk to women about proper nutrition for weight loss and fitting into their favorite jeans, the conversation quickly turns to carbs.  Most will ask which carbs are good, which ones they need to avoid, and how much they can have.  This carb obsession is no coincidence.  If you read most of the popular diet books, you will notice they pretty much agree on most things EXCEPT carbohydrate intake.  The defining difference between programs is often what the author believes in the optimal carbohydrate intake approach.

There is a ton of noise surrounding carb approaches and conflicting advice which leaves the average woman wondering who’s right and what will work for her.

While the answer to the question of what carb strategy will work best is highly individual, there are some basic truths that I can share to help you get on the right track when it comes to your carb consumption and weight loss.

#1: Before you even worry about carb intake, you want to optimize your intake of protein, veggies, and water.

During one of my recent seminars, the attendees were shocked that I didn’t cover carb consumption in depth when I talked about the nutrition foundation necessary for sustainable weight loss.  The reason why I don’t cover carb consumption as part of the nutrition foundation is simple.  Unless you optimize your protein, vegetable, and water intake- any attempt to modify your carbohydrate consumption will be willpower driven and short-lived.  Consuming enough protein, veggies, and water helps you stay fuller longer and naturally reduce the available stomach space and cravings for carbs.  In short, it makes it much easier to manage to eat the right amount of carbs.

#2: Low carb eating doesn’t automatically guarantee weight loss success.

Your body needs a certain amount of carbs to fuel your workouts, daily activity, and brain.  When you go below that baseline need, your body rebels.  You will have cravings, little energy and find it hard to concentrate.  All of this will result in reduced exercise performance and a higher temptation to cave in and eat all the carbs you can.

#3: The amount of carbs that each person can tolerate and still lose weight is different.

Although carbs are not the enemy, there is a reason that most diet plans suggest some type of carbohydrate management strategy.  In short, consuming more carbs than your body needs will result in either weight maintenance or gain depending on the size of the surplus.  Finding your personal sweet spot- where you have energy and lose weight- is where the work comes in.  Because that amount is individual, no diet plan can tell you exactly where that is but a qualified coach can help you determine a reasonable starting point and interpret your body change results as well as biofeedback (sleep, energy, hunger, cravings) to tweak your intake until you find your ideal intake.

#4: If your energy and workouts are great but you aren’t losing any weight, you can likely tolerate less carbs in your diet.

The bottom line is that sometimes you do need to reduce your carbs to lose weight but not completely cut them out as many programs would suggest.  If your goal is weight loss and your energy and workouts are amazing but your body is staying the same, you can try a slight reduction in carbs to get things moving in the right direction.

#5: If you are losing weight but your workouts and energy are suffering severely, you can likely tolerate more carbs in your diet and still lose weight.

Even if you are losing weight, you could be eating too few carbs.  If your energy and workouts are suffering and you find you have to work really hard to stay at the lower carb intake, you likely need more carbs.  While the natural tendency is to believe that if you are losing weight, you must be eating the right amount of carbs, remember that after you lose that weight, you want to maintain it.  If your program makes you feel like a zombie, it is not sustainable and neither are the results.

#6: You don’t need to stick to “good carbs” only to lose weight.

I can remember after I started doing figure competitions, I was totally convinced that eating any carbs besides the standard yams, brown rice, oatmeal, and corn tortillas was a cheat that would immediately lead to weight gain.  Fortunately over time I learned that while some carbs are less processed and higher in fiber, the others aren’t *bad* or off limits.

Modifying your portions is one way to incorporate carbs that are slightly more processed without sacrificing your weight loss results.  If you love white rice but can’t stand the thought of brown rice, simply eat less in a serving.  Of course what you eat can influence future meals so be sure to have your carbohydrates with a source of protein to slow down digestion and minimize the likelihood for major carb cravings later.

What did you think? Let me know in the comments below! And if you found this helpful or inspirational, be sure to share.