Carb Types for Fitness

Carbs are a confusing subject. Some diets try to cut them out completely, others offer no real guidelines. What should you do?

Timing is everything! The fact is, every fruit and vegetable has carbs. Carbs are sugar. We shouldn't have absorbent amounts of sugar, whether it's from fruit or a candy bar. However, we do need sugar, in controlled portions, for the nervous system to function optimally.

So here, Coach Ed literally lays out different foods with different "carb" amounts, and offers advice on when is the best time to eat them to reach your goals!


1) Follow the Precision Nutrition Guidelines for Carbs

PN Habit 4 states: vegetables with every meal, fruit with any meal, starches and other high carb foods like sugary foods or drinks after workouts. Like we mentioned above, timing is everything, so this gives you a way to start to manage your carbohydrates to get the most use out of them.

2) Stick to Berries, Apples, and some Citrus Fruits

Timing is important, but knowing your best options is important too. Sticking to these choices for your fruits prioritizes fruits that are either low on the glycemic index or are higher in fiber to off-set some of the sugar in the fruit. Try planning higher sugar fruits like bananas or pineapple for after workouts.

3) Starches After Workouts

This is one of the biggest ah-ha (not "Take on Me" ah-ha) moments for RD members is learning that carbs are ok, and that if they plan their starchy carb sources (pasta, rice, bread etc.), they can continue to eat them! What? They don't have to cut out pasta until they die? NO! Managing these higher carbohydrate foods until after a workout helps replenish sugar storages your muscles need and gives the body the right fuel to reset the metabolism and fuel recovery.

sgt group pic 2 small groups pointing facebook ad.jpg