I'm confused about carbs, what do they do? What are the pros and cons...

I'm confused about carbs, what do they do? What are the pros and cons? I've heard so much contradictory information about them that I can't keep it straight.

They are basically fuel. If you eat a ton and don't do an active stuff you will get instafat.

That is why these butch diets make them seem evil.

Aren't calories already fuel though? Are carbs any better than other calories as fuel?

Carbs are one of the ways are body produces ATP to fulfill normal bodily functions through glycolysis. are body uses a mechnisim called a kreb cycle to remove a hydrogen atom from the carbohydrate the produces a chemical gradient in the mitochondria in the cell that allows for a phosphate group to be placed on ADP. Producing ATP. Our body can also complete a similar process using lipids(fat), however, this produces ketones in the body which can lead to high blood acidity. Protiens can also be used for energy and if not enough carbs are introduced into our diet we cannot achieve the protien sparing affect which will lead to catabolism. So if you want to make gainz you need carbs the ketogenic diet is not sustainable and will eventaully lead to health problems, not to mention your screw up your matabolism

triglycerides* not lipids

They are basically fuel. If you eat a ton and don't do an active stuff you will get instafat.

That is why these butch diets make them seem evil.

This and also your body will burn carbs first before anything, then muscle/proteins, then fat last.

Think of carbs as quick release energy and calories as slow burn energy.

carbs are calories you dumb shit

Carbs are energy attached with water (hence carbohydrates), but the problem is that people consume too much of it and they end up storing that energy and it converts to fat and water weight.

There are two types of carbs. Simple carbs and complex carbs.

Simple carbs are from sugary food such as candy, cakes, brownies, ice cream etc

Complex carbs are from foods such as brown rice, whole grain pasta, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, etc...

If you're going to consume carbs, get it from the right source. Eat complex carbs and stay away from simple carbs.

>what do they do?
Carbohydrates provide energy.

>What are the pros and cons?
well I mean all vegetables are carbs. And vegetables are generally a pro to eat.
but on the other hand you could eat 17 dinner rolls, 3 croissants, and the bread crumbs off of 12 deep fried chicken strips and those would be mostly carbs. And that would probably be a con.

too many carbs and you're going to have a lot more water weight. Therefore looking bloated.
Too little carbs and you will probably feel tired af. Therefore gaining weight because you won't be active as much.

>tl;dr
don't worry about carbs/fats ratio too much. Just be reasonable.

asking fit a question that requires a basic understanding of metabolism is like asking a normie if jet fuel can melt steal beams

>Think of carbs as quick release energy and other types of calories as slow burn energy.

Happy?

Should I make a point of eating a lot of them for gains or just have a moderate amount with mostly other kinds of food.

I get that ice cream makes you fat, but what is the difference between simple and complex carbs and why does it matter?

yes, protons and fats can also be used as energy, but carbs are more useful when it comes to performance and recovery.

there is no "vital" amount of carbs like there is for proteins and fats. you eat a pretty fixed amount of protein and fats and take the rest of the calories from carbs depending on your energy expenditure and goals.

all the "carbs are evil" shit is just misunderstood stuff. yeah, carbs raise your insulin levels and insulin allows fat to be deposited, but that is ultimately determined by your energy expenditure vs. calories. and insulin does good shit too.

also, simple vs. complex carbs is overexaggerated. the main factor is total fiber per meal. you can pretty much just eat maltodextrin for your carbs if you also eat enough fiber.

well first calculate your base metabolic rate. and then divide your carbs, proteins, and fats among them... i would recommend 45% carbs 30% proteins and 25% fat... however everyone is different this is what works for me. it does not mean it will work for everyone.

Also add around + or - 100 calories depending on wether you want to lose or gain weight. If your physically active then add the calories you burn to your BMR

Insulin increases metabolism. your thinking of glucagon

Complex carbs are more nutritious. Simple carbs are loaded with sugar and are essentially empty calories.


Simple carbs are also the main cause of diabetes. Although complex carbs raise blood sugar levels, they don't at the same rate as simple carbs. Complex carbs such as starch are more fibrous and take longer to digest. Simple carbs only provide energy with no nutritional benefits. If you don't expend that energy, the sugar will evidently convert and store as body fat.

meh still kind of inaccurate. are you referring to fat and protein as the other types of calories?

>Simple carbs are loaded with sugar
simple carbs are sugar.

any mono- or di- saccharides are considered a simple carb. sucrose, lactose, maltose, fructose, glucose, galactose, etc. all simple carbs

>I'm confused about carbs, what do they do?
Starch is broken down into glucose and absorbed into the blood. Glucose is used as an energy substrate in the human body. Glucose which can not be burned immediately is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles to be used at a later point.

Carbs and glycogen are necessary for peak athletic performance, especially so in high-intensity sports such as weight lifting or fighting, but also in endurance sports as well.

The body can convert protein to sugar because having sugar in the blood is required for life. Carb intake suppresses the conversion of protein to sugar because it presents an exogenous source of sugar. That's why carbohydrates are considered muscle-sparing, as they prevent the catabolism of protein which would otherwise be stored as lean tissue.

You should discard any opinion or advice handed out by people who use phrases such as "simple carbs" and "complex carbs":

Only excess calories lead to an increase in body fat long-term.

>the problem is that people consume too much of it and they end up storing that energy and it converts to fat and water weight.
This is false. De novo lipogenesis is uncommon in any halfway normal dietary context. De novo lipogenesis is not the pathway by which overweight people accumulate excess body fat.

The problem is that people consume too many calories which results in dietary fat being stored long-term.

Dietary fat, especially saturated fat, inhibits insulin and is an inferior energy source for utilization by muscles. Excess dietary fat can be stored as fat in the muscles which causes insulin resistance and diabetes. It also happens to cause heart disease and atherosclerosis which you do not want. Saturated fat and monounsaturated fat are not essential to humans, and you only need a small amount of essential fatty acids.

>simple carbs are sugar

So are polysaccharides dude. your referring to the diasaccharides known as table sugar which is just a linked pair of fructose and glucose

There is so much misinformation on the thread i cant keep track

>bro-science, the post

Calories are a measure of HOW MUCH energy something contains.

Carbs, proteins, and fats all contain some amount of energy, i.e. calories.

Simple carbs are paper.
Complex carbs are twigs.
Protein and fat are logs.

>Fat makes you fat
bro science me pls

Excess calories make you fat. The actual fat molecules that are stored during times of caloric excess are the fat molecules from the diet. Of course if there is not enough fat in the diet to represent the calorie excess, other things happen. But the typical Western diet is very high in fat, therefore there is always enough fat in the blood to be stored as excess.

Whoah Whoah, in English doc!

MFW when glycogen