How many carbs per day to lose weight?


Have you ever wondered how many carbs per day are needed to lose weight? Ever wondered why you are not losing weight despite the many different diets and exercise regimen you have undertaken? Aside from letting go of food that contains high levels of sugar and fat, you may have spent several days a week doing cardiovascular exercises. Yet, you are not getting the results that you want. Is there anything wrong with your body, or are you simply missing out on anything relevant that is essential in losing weight like the role of carbohydrates in the body? It is vital to know the truth about how many carbs per day is needed to lose weight.

For the human body to function very well, fuel food is important. Carbs or carbohydrates are the main sources of energy that allow your body to work at its best. They also contain the necessary vitamins and minerals needed. The easiest way to understand how the human body utilizes carbs is this: The moment you consume carbohydrates, the body starts breaking them down into energy. Excess of energy food consumed in the form of carbohydrates are stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Every time the body needs energy to function, the glycogen stored will be converted into energy. Excess of glycogen will turn into fat. Because of this, people put on weight when excessive amount of carbohydrates are consumed.

How much carbs consumed daily are considered too much? To give answer to this question, it is very important to know how much carbohydrates are needed by the body and its importance. Without carbs, muscle tissues break down, fatigue happens and the brain cannot function efficiently. A person who eats too few carbs may go through nausea, difficult mood swings, weakness, dizziness and depression. Thus, it is not advisable to totally eliminate carbohydrate consumption in a person’s daily diet. Here are some more important truths on how much carbs per day are needed to lose weight:

  

  • According to the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, the daily healthy carb intake should be between 45-65% of the body’s total need for energy. This should be complex carbohydrates from low calorie foods like vegetables, whole grain and cereals.
  • If you eat more than 300 grams of carbs per day, you will have a high risk of excessive fat storage, as well as higher exposures for diabetes and inflammation.
  • A daily consumption of 150 - 300 grams of carbohydrates a day will in the long run lead to a steady pace of weight gain of 1 - 2 lbs a year.
  • If you can balance your consumption of carbs to about 100 - 150 grams combined with a certain level of physical activity, you will be in the optimal zone for fat burning and muscle development. To stay in this level of carb intake, your diet will have to contain a good portion of fruit and vegetables, while you stay away from sugar and grain.
  • If you eat about 50 - 100 grams of carbs a day, you most likely will be able to lose a couple of pounds a week, even if you are not doing workouts. Some find it hard to exercise with this small amount of carbs, and you may feel dizzy and fatigue, especially at the lower end of this range.
  • The lowest level is below 50 grams a day. This is not a recommended level for normal healthy people, but could be accepted for a day or two.
  • As a general advice, avoid consuming carbohydrates at night, even if you are planning an intensive workout the next day.
  • Breakfast is the time of day when carbohydrates are needed to fuel the body with energy for the upcoming day, in order to function well. Dinner should mostly consist of low carb food like soup, protein and vegetables.
  • A low carb diet does not necessarily mean eliminating carbohydrates totally from your daily food intake, but changing your regular consumption of simple carbohydrates like pastries, soft drinks, fruit juice, candies, cookies, french fries, greasy chips, processed snack food, white flour products and pasta into complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates would include fruits, vegetables, whole wheat and grain products, beans nuts and legumes.

It is important to emphasize that the borders between the healthy and unhealthy levels of carb intake described above, will strongly depend of a persons daily physical activity, insulin level, and lifestyle. One person can lose weight at 150 grams per day, an another gain weight at 120 grams a day, due to completely different lifestyles. Anyway, it is considered most favorable to take in more complex carbohydrate before, during and after each draining physical activity and eat lesser during night time when the body is at rest. Once you do this, and find your optimal level of carb consumption, you will most likely be delighted to see yourself losing weight.

Who am I?
Me

Hey, I'm John Graysen!

Thank you so much for visiting my site.

I made the site because the information here is what I was missing when I went online looking for info about how to lose belly fat and get six pack abs.

Please enjoy!