That carb…well…it’s just a carb!
Ok before you start getting all mad that I’m saying all carbs are created equal….hear me out.
And I could have said all fats are created equal or proteins…but it probably wouldn’t have made you as mad or as curious 😛 (Just kidding….but seriously…)
Sooo….how can I claim all carbs are created equal?
Because guess what?
If you dial in your macro ratios correctly, and according to your goals, as long as you stay within those ratios, you’ll get results regardless of whether your carbs are all fruits and vegetables or they’re only sugar and white bread.
Yup…weight loss and body composition goals are really all about calories and macros.
Quality…well it doesn’t really matter.
Now I’m not giving you an excuse to just eat crap. BUT…
If your macros are off, you may not see the results you want no matter how “healthy” your diet is or how high a “quality” the foods you are eating are.
Now I’m not saying focusing on whole, natural foods…more NUTRIENT DENSE foods…isn’t important.
They 100% are for your health.
And I do think you function better and feel fuller when your diet is made up of foods that give your body the nutrients it needs.
Focusing on whole, natural foods only helps you get better results faster.
BUT I also think sometimes we get so focused on depriving ourselves of the foods we enjoy, stressing over QUALITY, that we sabotage ourselves.
While we are killing ourselves eating “well,” our macro ratio and calorie intake aren’t in line with our goals so we don’t end up seeing the results we want.
No wonder we get frustrated and give up, feeling like nothing will ever work!
So what am I telling you?
Basically, if your macro ratios are out of whack, it doesn’t matter that you’re eating nutrient dense foods.
That sweet potato…well those calories and CARBS are still going to count as much toward your calories and carbs as that white bread will.
Basically, that carb is just that…a carb.
Eat too much of either type of carb and you’re not going to get the results you want.
So stop stressing over “clean” eating.
(Honestly….”clean” is going to be soooo dependent on your dietary preference and 9 different people will tell you different foods are evil that you could drive yourself insane obsessing over this….)
Stop depriving yourself of all of the foods you love so you end up binging each and every weekend after being worn out from the constant restriction (hmm just thinking about how maybe this happened this week, huh!?).
Find a BALANCE where you focus on nutrient dense foods, but also still enjoy the foods you love.
Because if you want to change your body composition and lose weight or even gain muscle?
It’s really all about FOCUSING ON THOSE MACROS!
(And guess what? When you dial in your macro ratios, often we do overall dial in the whole, natural foods more but in a way that is less restrictive so we end up being more consistent which is TRULY the key to overall wellbeing!)
Need a macro ratio you can use to track and log with?
Take my Macro Cycling Quiz to help you get started!
–> Take The Macro Cycling Quiz
P.S. Yes, the quiz is free and you can plug in that ratio to My Fitness Pal or any other food tracker to help guide you this week!