Comments on: Carbs & Weight Loss

By: nilo

nilo — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:12:29 +0000

Thank you,that was perfect and useful.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:07:30 +0000

@Matt. I’m using the term “carb-sensitive” to describe a situation where there is insulin resistance i.e. they’re producing too much insulin, this is bad. Don’t get this confused with the term “insulin sensitive”, which would be a good thing i.e. the cells haven’t become resistant to insulin.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:21:10 +0000

Hi Mark I’m confused. Research I have read states that insulin sensitivity is a good thing as it means lower levels of insulin are required as it is more efficient and glycogen will be better absorbed into muscles and used for energy rather than converted and stored as fat. It’s insulin resistance that leads to health problems? This is the other way round to how you have it?

By: Raveen

Raveen — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:49:40 +0000

thank you so much bro 🙂

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:22:15 +0000

@Albert. Person A isn’t overeating in a caloric sense. They have an abnormality which means more of their energy is stored and therefore unavailable. If they switched to a diet that controlled their blood sugar (and therefore insulin), whether it be low-carb or low GL, they could eat the same 2500 without adding fat. Plus they would be more energetic and have lower hunger levels.
If they reduce their caloric intake but still ate a high-carb diet, yes they would probably start to lose weight, but the hunger levels would be so high it would be just unsustainsble.
Strictly speaking, if anyone with this problem could ignore their hunger and low energy levels, yes they can maintain their weight. But that’s a struggle every day for the rest of their lives. Why not have the same amount of food on one of the above diets and maintain it with relative ease? Plus there’s the issue of health. Such a person is a candidate for metabolic syndrome if they keep eating this way. So it would be the best choice for them to eat in a way that lowers blood sugar.

By: Albert

Albert — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:20:23 +0000

Hey Mark, it seems to me that the carbohydrate sensitive person in your example still got fat directly as a result of overeating. If both A and B used the 2500 calories in a given day, and they ate 2500 calories worth of carbs, and only carbs, wouldn’t maintain their fat, neither gain nor lose any fat? The only difference would be that A would feel a lot hungrier and a lot less energetic during the day, because his fat cells are hogging all the energy and his cells aren’t taking in the glucose. A would have a much harder time maintaining his weight, but assuming he could ignore his urges to eat over his daily expenditure of calories, would he still gain weight?

By: Mark H

Mark H — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:10:59 +0000

Explained perfectly. You nailed it. Thank You!

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:39:48 +0000

@dem374. You’ll know if you’re someone who adds fat easily in comparison to the amount of food you eat. If you eat a regular maintenance level diet and don’t add fat, you’re ok. You often hear women especially say that they get fat just looking at sweets and so on. If they are really getting fat and honestly not overconsuming, then this is likely the issue. Basically, if you’re already quite lean or average body fat and you don’t have to try hard to keep it there, you have no carb-sensitivity.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:35:57 +0000

@newyorkcitymale. Yes you can certainly get fat without consuming a single gram of fat. Excess carbohydrate gets converted and stored as body fat.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:34:05 +0000

@vaishakh. It’s not so much about complex carbs but rather their glycemic load. In this article I have a great list of acceptable carbs…
https://musclehack.com/the-new-bodybuilding-diet-glad/
Apart from that, take little to no sugar. The occasional treat is ok, but moderate it.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:30:43 +0000

@Ken G. Yes, unless you develop insulin resistance later in life, then this is something some people are born with i.e. being genetically predisposed to getting fat. I don’t, however, give diet advice to children. I’m just not comfortable doing that. There are plenty of recipes on this site and elsewhere though. Hope that helps.

By: JaSoN

JaSoN — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:35:29 +0000

Spot on Mark!! Low carbs/high fat/moderate protein. The shifting of carb metabolism to fat metabolism can take between 1 and 3 weeks so people during this time feel sluggish and irritable due to the addictive nature of sugar. So keep at it folks, it does get easier.

By: banky

banky — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:05:13 +0000

Yes you did! Way to go Mark!

By: Barry Lumsden

Barry Lumsden — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:03:58 +0000

Big fan of your work, Mark. Another very good read!

By: dem374

dem374 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:00:40 +0000

Great article. One question, how do you determine if you are carb sensitive?

By: Elza Vrozoh

Elza Vrozoh — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:58:53 +0000

Great article, dude! Thanks!

By: newyorkcitymale

newyorkcitymale — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:57:37 +0000

Can the body store fat… without eating fat? Meaning, I understand that the creation of triglycerides requires a glycerol molecule. But what if someone just at carbs & protein, but absolutely NO FAT… would their fat cells still get bigger?

I guess what I’m asking is, can the body create “fatty acids” to be bound together from carbs & protein?

Does that make sense?

By: krs

krs — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:36:24 +0000

Great read hope this hammers it home, but like Ivan said Glycaemic level and load plays a role to, that why Glad diet is a great mass building diet to follow.

By: vaishakh

vaishakh — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:34:20 +0000

Thank u!I am a carb sensitive guy.Your article really makes sense.I’ve cut sugar from my diet.But can complex carbs be taken in moderation?

By: Other Dennis

Other Dennis — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:18:10 +0000

Great article, Mark, keep ’em up. Your understanding of insulin and carbs is scientifically informed, in contrast to lots of other writers on this topic. No broscience here!

By: Ivan

Ivan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:17:58 +0000

It’s OK, but we have to remember that some carbs have different Glicemic Levels, with variable stimulation of the insuline peak.

By: Johnnyrey

Johnnyrey — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:39:11 +0000

Yet more support for why I need to get my butt into gear and try to follow your diet plan as well as your gym routine!! I must admit, I am able to follow your workout routines pretty well, and am happy with the results on my muscles, but my fat levels are not changing all that much, and that is all on me, I do not have a good diet. Honestly it takes more effort to move my diet in the right direction than it does to get the exercise routine down. I guess I find it hard to know where to start, but I must try, and this article is yet more motivation to push me in the right direction. Thank you Mark, you are slowly getting me there, which is more than anyone else has been able to do!

By: Ken G.

Ken G. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:34:14 +0000

I was fortunate enough to be one of those people who could eat whatever they wanted and never gained weight. Not as much as an adult but still pretty good. My son, unfortunately, isn’t and seems to pack on weight while not eating excessively. Does this concept work the same for children? If so can you recommend some good low carb, high protein snacks he may like.

Thanks for all the great advice and simple explanations.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:33:23 +0000

Mark — this article was right on time. Today marks Day 1 of a fully committed attempt at TSPA. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks.

By: Danny

Danny — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:28:30 +0000

Great Article, I try explaining this to people all the time and they look at me like im crazy. I’ll direct them to this link for a more in depth explanation. Thanks Mark