Lose Weight Faster By Watching Your “Carb Creep”

Carbohydrates aren’t bad in and of themselves, but they have the distinct, unique ability to really ravage a metabolically disturbed individual’s body. If you’re overweight, it’s very likely that your carbohydrate metabolism is dysfunctional.

Different People Handle Carbs Differently

Different people will be able to handle different amounts and types of carbohydrates differently. Highly active athletes will do a bit better with more carbs, since their energy demands will be higher than sedentary people. Diabetics will do better on fewer carbs, since they’re mostly unable to physiologically manage normal carbohydrate metabolism.

But as for your average, everyday man or woman who takes care of kids, goes to work every day, sits in traffic – you know, pretty much everyone with any type of daily responsibility – and finds his or her belly getting a bit larger and looser, honing in on the type and amount of dietary carbohydrates is vital.  And the biggest culprit is what we call “carb creep”.

“Carb Creep” Can Stall Your Weight Loss

Carbs creep up on you, especially when you’re eating out or relying on processed, packaged food. You’ve got to be vigilant, perhaps almost annoyingly so at first, but it pays off.

You learn to cook your own food (control your own dietary destiny), make smart decisions when out (mustard instead of ketchup; oil and vinegar instead of dressing; cottage cheese or tomato slices instead of hash browns), and you develop an eye for hidden carb sources. Once it becomes second nature, it’ll get even easier, and you won’t think twice about carb creep.

Do you know where you rank on the “Carb Curve” each day? Oh… you don’t know what the Carb Curve is?  Below you’ll find a graphic that we call The Carbohydrate Curve. It clearly shows where you have to be in your daily carbohydrate intake in order to achieve certain weight loss/management goals.

By tracking not only your daily calories but your carbohydrate calories (as grams), you’ll know EXACTLY where you must be on the Carb Curve each day in order to achieve the goals you’ve set.

By using our Online Food Journaling System, or other online applications like FitDay.com or DailyPlate.com, you can easily stay aware of carb creep and develop your inner carb avoidance intuition.  Dialing in on your carb count each day, along with your calories, will be one of the most rewarding aspects of your weight/fat loss journey, particularly when you see the excess start and continue to fall off your body.

Eventually, knowing intuitively where you stand won’t be difficult, and paying attention to a few simple ideas and tactics will keep you dialed in and aware of your place on the curve.

> 0-50 grams per day: Accelerated, aggressive weight/fat loss for most people. Diabetics and the severely obese may find it useful to remain in this zone, while others might employ it now and then to jumpstart weight loss or break a plateau.  One caveat: It takes great skill to achieve this daily, and it is NOT for the beginner in our Weight Loss Coaching Program.

> 50-100 grams per day: Steady, gradual, predictable weight/fat loss. This is the “sweet spot”. You can still enjoy a wide variety of foods and lose excess body fat on a consistent basis.  Eventually, we strive to get our clients who are in our Weight Loss Coaching Program to get into this “carb range” once they have demonstrated that their metabolisms are re-established and can actually lose the “right kind” of weight.

> 100-150 grams per day: If you want to maintain your weight, stay at this level. Advanced exercisers may want to increase this a bit, but your average beginner or intermediate Genesis exerciser will maintain supreme leanness, health, and performance at 100-150 grams per day.

> 150-300 grams per day: Steady, insidious weight gain. It’ll creep up on you. Just look around next time you’re at a high school reunion – people gain weight at this level without even realizing it.

> 300+ grams per day: Unless you’re an extreme endurance athlete, 300+ grams of carbs per day will inevitably show on your waistline. Tragically, the average “healthy” American diet reaches this carb count pretty consistently on a daily basis.

Until next time…

Rita Bryan
President & Co-Founder
Genesis Personal Fitness of Newtown, PA
Tel: 215-504-0100

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