Am I Carb Sensitive?

It's no secret that the same diet causes different reactions in different people- different metabolic types predispose our bodies to respond differently to macronutrients- carbs, fats, and proteins. How our bodies look physically from our diet and how we feel after eating is all tied into our metabolic or nutritional type.

One of these- is a type that tends to be carb sensitive which means your body responds negatively to large, or even in some cases small amounts of carbohydrates.

BUT before you run off screaming that your're carb sensitive you need to be real about your diet. A few days of "eating good" doesn't constitute as enough of a pattern to determine carb sensitivity. More often then not it seems people confuse being carb sensitive with being junk sensitive. They're shoving down sugar filled lattes, candy bars, 100 Calorie Snack Packs, Skinny Cows, lowfat Snackwell's, nonfat cappuccinos and anything else filled with sugar you can shake a stick at. To REALLY find out if you're carb sensitive or not you need to lay off processed foods before you jump to any conclusions. Stick to a diet of lean proteins, fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean dairy. Make it a goal to eat clean for a MONTH (now don't panic if it sounds better say 4 weeks or 30 days!) before making an assessment about your carb sensitivity.

For more information on what I mean by eating clean, I suggest "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. It's a wealth of information for someone unfamiliar with eating clean.

NOW rather then dazzling you with the fun scientifics of carb sensitivity and metabolic typing etc, I'll simply state for you in plain English, the symptoms to pay attention to where carbs are considered;

Say, for example, you eat some whole grain pasta. Shortly thereafter you may feel bloated, puffy, lethargic and tired, and gasy. Even simple sugar meals like nonfat yogurts or pasta may make you feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

If clean carbohydrates make you feel this way then you are probably carb sensitive and need to work on reducing them in your diet and/or properly timing them.

Another symptom can be difficulty leaning out or losing weight, especially with women. You might rock and roll on calorie restriction and then hit a wall- while this can be for many reasons, sometimes simply adjusting your carbs, eating more protein and some moderate fats and TIMING your carbs will make the difference.

I'll use my own diet as an example of timing my carbs- I try to take in the bulk of my carbs at two main time periods- in the morning, and after I work out. Of course my contest diet is it's own demon, and none of these rules apply, so I'll use my offseason diet as more of a guide;

Meal 1, upon waking:

1/2 cup oatmeal

2 TBSP honey and cinnamon

1/2 cup egg whites

1/4 cup Fat Free shredded cheese

Meal 2:

3/4 cup egg whites

1/2 cup spinach

1 piece Ezekiel Bread with spray butter

Meal 3:

6 ounces grilled chicken

2 cups broccoli

1/4 cup diced red onion

Meal 4, POST WORKOUT;

1 scoop protein shake

1 small apple

Meal 5:

5 ounces 99% lean ground beef

2 cups spinach/spring mix

6-8 cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup cucumber

1 piece celery sliced

4 TBSP spicy brown mustard

Meal 6:

1/2 cup cottage cheese with 2 TBSP sugar free jelly

1 ounce nuts

OR

1 scoop casein protein blended with water and 1 TBSP natural peanut butter

** I don't care much for milk, I'm not a milk drinker so you won't see it in my diets. Most dairy I do care for (like yogurt) is loaded with simple sugars. If you ARE going to eat yogurt, I suggest taking it in during the beginning of the day (i.e before lunch). If I feel I don't get enough calcium in my diet I add in a calcium supplement**

I encourage people to eat like this if they are truly carb sensitive and then plan to have one day a week, or more often if needed, where they abandon the diet temporarily and recharge the metabolism. That day they get to have a free meal, or a period of free carbs, or maybe even a few days or a week where they break their diet. If you live relatively lower carb this is an excellent chance to "refeed" or "carb up" and fool your body. Eat carbs you normally don't and in quantities you typically avoid. There is a deeper science to this, but I won't get into it here and now! I WILL warn you, the next day or two your scale will go crazy. Do yourself a favor, just don't weigh yourself. It's your body reacting to the carbs. Give it a few days to normalize and then you will probably see the scale go down shortly after.

Again- this is touch and go on the topic- by no means am I getting into the science of all of this here and now- later date maybe. But, using my diet as an example, you can see how timing carbs can sometimes help with carb sensitivity!