Sunday Supplements With Nathan J : “Carbs Don’t Make You Fat!”

Wait, what?!

No carbs before Marbs right?!

Aren’t carbs the devil?!

Thankfully, No, they’re not.

Imagine this for a moment, imagine a world where you can lose fat without giving up bread, pasta or rice!

You might want to sit down for a second, it IS possible.

Carbohydrates are quite possibly the most misunderstood macronutrient among the general public. A lot of that is down to poorly educated personal trainers and reality stars with good bodies but questionable levels of intelligence.

Let’s get one thing clear, fat loss is determined by a CALORIE DEFICIT!

This term means that you are burning more calories than you are expending with movement.

Contrary to what many believe, carbohydrates DO NOT go down your throat, get turned in to fat then sit around your waist. So rest easy, you can have a slice of toast in the morning.

Let me drop this little bit of knowledge on you for a moment because it’s very important you understand this.

The body requires a certain amount of energy (calories) to survive, to keep your heart beating and organs functioning like your lungs breathing and digestive system processing food. This is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

A BMR will vary from person to person, taller people or people with more muscle will burn more calories in order to survive, allowing them to eat more, this is increased when combined with a highly active lifestyle but my point is there is a baseline of calories needed before the body begins to enter a surplus of calories to store fat.

There are many ways to calculate your own BMR but to give you a brief understanding, the average adult will regularly be over 1000 calories and in a lot of cases, well over.

So if a slice of bread is approximately 150 calories, this still leaves a deficit of 850 calories, without even moving a muscle to burn more calories.

So for now, chill out and eat a sandwich (it’s usually around 500 calories).

Ever dropped carbs and lost a load of weight?

Hardly surprising and here’s why. When someone lowers carbohydrates they naturally stop eating a lot of the crap that they usually eat like cakes, biscuits and crisps or eliminate what would have been the bulk of their plates such as rice, potatoes and pasta.

However the weight loss wasn’t down to reducing carbs, it was down to reducing a shit tonne of CALORIES that just so happened to stem from the carbs.

Basically, dropping carbs often works because you eat less food, resulting in a calorie deficit and fat loss.

You can do the same thing by just eating a little less in general! Simple.

 Quick tips

• Be careful how often you snack.
• Control your portion sizes.
• Keep an eye on alcohol consumption.
• Keep an eye on the scales, if it goes up you’re overdoing it, move a little more, eat a little less or both.

Just following these simple steps can allow you to eat a spag bol, stay fit and keep the guilt away for good.

You’re welcome,

Nathan Jordine

For more no-nonsense tips and fitness facts, follow me on Instagram or check out www.nsjcoaching.com