Carbohydrates - The ‘Performance Fuel’ Macronutrient - or the devil for fat-loss?

What high performing athletes use to fuel their success in sport, what ‘Gym Junkies’ should be using to fuel their workouts, but what most people blame for their lack of results..

Unfortunately there is a major misconception in the fitness industry that “Carbohydrates” = Fat-Gain

Some would even describe ‘Carbs as being the devil’ - “As soon as I eat Carbs, I just blow up”

For most of us (barring any major intolerance’s or insulin sensitivity issues) the very reason you may not be hitting your performance goals in the gym, or body composition goals in the mirror is because we aren’t eating enough Carbs.

Not only are most Carbohydrate foods delicious and life without them can be miserable, there are actually #10 very valid reasons to back up our opinion:

Top #10 reasons we love Carbs for Fat-Loss

Efficiency: Carbohydrates convert to Glucose which is your bodies primary and most efficient energy source (Every felt like a zombie without Carbs?)
Fuel: Carbohydrates fuel your workouts. At PPS we call Carbs 'performance fuel' - you'll feel stronger and more energetic running on 'performance fuel' than trying to power your sports-car on ‘Diesel’
Muscle-Food: Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles as Glycogen.
A lack of Glycogen in the muscle will contribute heavily to 'muscle loss' when assessing your body-composition. The lower your muscle-mass, the high your body-fat will be in turn
Hydration: Carbohydrates also draw large amounts of water into the muscle cell which again, contributes heavily to your muscle-mass (See point 3)
Muscle-Sparring: If you aren't fuelling your muscles with enough Glycogen from Carbohydrates; Your body will switch to using your Protein for Glycogen - which means your Protein will be wasted, you'll recover slower, you're muscle mass will be reduced and your growth will be hindered
Nutrients: Wholesome Carb based foods like; Oats, Rice, Potato & Fruit are packed full of fibre and essential vitamins & minerals - which are essential for optimising performance, body composition and health
Lethargy: A lack of Carbohydrates can cause 'brain fog' and negativity affect your mental performance (not to mention make you ‘Hangry’)
Binge Eating: Depriving your body of Carbohydrates can lead to insatiable cravings and cause an unhealthy relationship with food - leading to binge eating.
Bang for Buck: Carbohydrates are only worth 4 calories per gram, while Fats are worth 9 calories per gram. Which means you can get more 'bang for your buck' calorie wise from Carbs than high-fat foods
Leptin: Your bodies fat burning hormone (Leptin) is fuelled by only eating Carbohydrates. A lack of Leptin will slow down your rate of fat-loss and you’ll always feel hungry