April 21, 2025 • 26 mins
Download your free Nutrition 101 for Body Composition guide at witsandweights.com/free to learn exactly how to set up your macros (including CARBS!), calories, and meal timing to support your metabolism.
--
Your "healthy" low-carb diet might be secretly working against you by elevating your stress hormones and slowing your metabolism.
Beyond the immediate effects of energy crashes and stalled weight loss, emerging research reveals a deeper, more concerning connection between carb restriction, stress hormones, and metabolic health.
If you've been experiencing (or want to avoid) energy crashes, stalled fat loss, or feeling unusually stressed, there could be a physiological connection between your carbohydrate intake and cortisol levels that's sabotaging your results.
This episode reveals the research-backed connection between low-carb diets and elevated cortisol, and how this hormonal response can trigger a cascade of metabolic effects that make fat loss harder, not easier.
Discover the optimal carb approach that supports your metabolism, thyroid function, and training performance while keeping stress hormones in check.
Main Takeaways:
- Low-carb diets trigger a stress response that elevates cortisol, even without a calorie deficit
- Chronically elevated cortisol can suppress hormones and slow your metabolic rate
- Carb timing can help manage cortisol levels
- Carbs should be reintroduced gradually if you've been on a very low-carb diet
Episode Resources:
- Download the Nutrition 101 for Body Composition guide
- Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS
Timestamps:
0:00 - Why low-carb diets might be working against you
2:25 - The hidden connection between carbs, stress, and metabolism
4:13 - How carb restriction increases cortisol levels
7:04 - Impact on thyroid function and metabolic rate
9:39 - What happens to workouts and performance
12:49 - Finding your optimal carb intake
17:23 - Tips to reintroduce (or increase) carbs in your diet
22:58 - The bidirectional relationship between cortisol and metabolism
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Philip Pape (00:00):
We've talked about the benefits of carbs for muscle
, for energy, for performancebut what about the detriments of
a low-carb diet in and ofitself?
Many times, people who are on alow-carb diet will experience
energy crashes, stalls in theirweight loss, stalls in their
performance in the gym, andthere's a reason for this that
we don't often talk about.
That has to do with cortisoland your metabolic rate.
So today we are talking abouthow your quote-unquote healthy
(00:24):
low-carb diet might be workingagainst you, and then how to
have a more flexible approachthat you're probably going to
enjoy more anyway and will helpyou get the results you want.
Welcome to Wits and Weights,the show that helps you build a
(00:45):
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and
efficiency.
I'm your host, philip Pape, andtoday we're talking about carbs
again, but from a differentangle.
There is a connection betweenlower-carb diets and both
cortisol and your metabolic rate.
That I think is really, reallyimportant and causes things like
(01:06):
stalled fat loss, like crashingenergy, feeling unusually
stressed, and many peopleexperience these symptoms, but
they don't connect them to theircarbohydrate intake.
The research now suggests thatthere is a physiological reason
for this.
There is a hormonal chainreaction that can slow your
(01:27):
metabolism and potentially makefat loss harder, not easier.
Obviously, anything thatreduces your expenditure, your
metabolism, the amount ofcalories you burn every day, is
going to make this harder,because you're going to have to
eat less, potentially tomaintain the deficit, or you're
going to have slower fat loss atthe same intake.
And, of course, the less youeat, the less energy you have,
the hungrier you are.
(01:47):
There's a cascade of thingsthat are just not good.
We always want a higher levelof energy, a higher level of
energy flux, even when we'retrying to go for a fat loss.
And while the keto community,the low carb communities,
everyone who's just low carb,maybe even carnivore they often
dismiss these concerns or theysay that there are other reasons
.
The evidence is becoming harderand harder to ignore, not to
(02:10):
mention the outcomes.
Right, when we see somethinglike people on higher carb diets
can build a lot more muscle,there's a reason they have more
energy coming in, more recoveryability.
But there are also negatives inthe other direction when you
have low carbs that prevent thefat loss you're trying to
achieve.
And I'm not here to demonize lowcarb approaches.
I never do.
I never demonize low carb inand of itself.
What I say is that you want toeat in a way that supports what
(02:34):
you need and what you want, andmany people.
What they need is more energy,more performance, more recovery.
They want to build muscle.
What you want is foods that youenjoy, a lifestyle right To be
able to go out to eat, to beable to not say no all the time.
So when you combine thesetogether for most people that
generally means moderate tohigher carbs and you can
(02:55):
absolutely get all the amazingbody composition results you
want.
Doing that.
We talk about it all the time.
So I'm not here to demonize lowcarb.
I want to look at it throughthe lens of evidence and
engineering to find a balanced,sustainable approach for you.
So you understand what you'regetting into.
And before we get into all ofthat, if you just want the guide
to learn exactly how to set upyour macros and your calories
(03:17):
and everything else, I do have aguide that is super popular.
It's on flexible dieting andyou can use the link in the show
notes or go towitsandweightscom slash free, I
think.
On that page.
It's called Nutrition 101 forBody Composition, but it's the
same idea.
It will help you implement theprinciples we discussed today in
a very practical, step-by-stepway for you and just go download
that using the link in the shownotes.
(03:39):
So let's talk about this.
I'll call it hidden connectionbetween your carb intake, your
stress and your metabolism.
And it helps to understand whathappens in your body when you
significantly restrictcarbohydrates, because at its
core, your body receives orperceives severe carb
restriction as a form of stress.
(03:59):
The fact that you don't quoteunquote need carbs to survive is
a red herring, right, becausewe're not trying to just survive
, we're trying to thrive.
We're trying to have all thethings that we want to achieve
our goals and live a great life.
And research has consistentlyshown that low carbohydrate
diets increase cortisol.
What is cortisol?
It's effectively the stresshormone, and a study published
(04:22):
in the Journal of ClinicalEndocrinology and Metabolism
found that, when compared to amoderate carb diet, low-carb
approaches led to significantlyhigher cortisol concentrations
over an eight-week interventionperiod.
And cortisol is what allows youto respond to threats.
So when your carbohydrateintake drops too low, or it's
intentionally low, your bodyfaces a few challenges.
(04:44):
First of all, glucoseavailability for your brain and
muscles goes down.
Secondly, your body has to findalternative fuel.
And thirdly, this then requiressubstantial adaptation in your
metabolism, and all of thesetrigger a stress response.
There is research that showscortisol levels consistently
increase on a keto diet, andketo is essentially an extreme
(05:06):
form of carb restriction, andthe reason this matters is
because chronically elevatedcortisol is linked to a ton of
negative effects.
I know we've talked about stressoften on this podcast, but it
can't be understated howimpactful stress is to your
metabolism and, conversely, tometabolic dysfunction.
(05:27):
When it's high and low-carb,folks are going to say that, hey
, you know, this is going to betemporary.
Right, this cortisol increaseis temporary.
It's part of adaptation andthere's always some truth to
that when there's ever anychange to your lifestyle.
But for many people, especiallywhen you have other forms of
stress, which is pretty mucheverybody, every human being who
has work, family, even yourtraining, is stress.
(05:50):
This is just additionalhormonal strain on top of that
stack of stress.
That is going to becomeproblematic when you sustain it
right, when you sustain it, andthis is regardless of weight
loss.
Okay, so we're not even talkingabout just when you're in a
calorie deficit.
We're talking about when you'renot in a calorie deficit and
you're restricting carbs.
(06:10):
It is going to increase yourcortisol levels compared to a
moderate fat or moderate carbdiet, right?
So, in other words, thecortisol response is not about
the weight loss.
It's specifically related tothe carb restriction.
And that's what brings me to animportant point.
It's specifically related tothe carb restriction, and that's
what brings me to an importantpoint.
Your body does not distinguishbetween different types of
stress.
Yes, there's all the chronicperceived stress in our life,
(06:32):
like your deadline at work.
There's the hormetic or acutestressor, like your intense
training session.
There's stress from doing toomuch cardio some of us have
right and then there's stresswhen you're dieting.
But when you're not dieting,there's also stress from severe
carb restriction, regardless.
And guess what?
It all triggers the samehormonal cascade your cortisol
(06:54):
levels remain chronicallyelevated, and then this affects
your metabolic rate, which isthe next piece of the puzzle,
okay, so that's why this isimportant.
We've established that low-carbdiets increase cortisol.
Okay, even is the next piece ofthe puzzle.
Okay, so why?
That's why this is important.
We've established that low carbdiets increased cortisol.
Okay, even in the absence of acalorie deficit.
So where things get interestinghere is that your metabolism,
which is made up of multiplecomponents, one of which is just
(07:16):
your BMR, your basal metabolicrate, which is like two thirds
of your daily calorie burn.
It's the foundation of yourmetabolism.
If your cortisol is sustainedand it's high, right?
If, if, what am I trying to say?
If you have sustained highcortisol, it is going to
suppress your thyroidstimulating hormone, that's your
TSH, the production of your TSH, and that then impacts the
(07:39):
thyroid hormones that regulateyour metabolism.
So your thyroid gland right,which is in your neck it's like
that butterfly shaped gland.
It produces hormones thatcontrol how quickly your body
burns calories.
So it's like a thermoregulator,some people call it, and when
cortisol interferes with that,then your metabolic rate is
going to slow down.
It's all a cascade, right, andso we don't know the exact
(08:01):
impact.
But for someone with, like, aresting rate of, let's say, 1200
to 1500 calories, if you had a20% suppression, then that would
be like up to 300 fewercalories a day and that's almost
like 30 pounds of weight gainevery year or lack of weight
loss.
You know what I mean Like justto give you the numbers.
A few hundred calories a daycan make a big difference to
(08:22):
many of us, especially smallerpeople, women, petite women like
, whose rates are fairly low.
Now it just makes it lower, itmakes it even harder.
Also, this isn't just aboutcortisol, because when you cut
carbs, a few other things happento your metabolism.
The first thing is that yourbody becomes more efficient at
(08:43):
conserving energy, andadaptation that's effectively
designed to keep you aliveduring food scarcity and the
lack of carbohydrates can giveyour body the feeling that it
doesn't have enough nutrients orenough food or enough energy,
even when you're not in acalorie deficit.
Again, I'm trying to hammerhome the point that this is
above and beyond and independentof dieting itself.
(09:05):
This is the low carb aspect ofit in and of itself.
The second thing is that havinglow carbs means you're going to
deplete your glycogen veryquickly.
That could also result in waterloss and, you know, give you
the phantom appearance thatyou've lost weight because it's
glycogen, it's water weight, andthen it masks what's actually
happening, creating the illusionof progress when your
(09:27):
metabolism might actually beslowing.
And so this is a big problemwhen you go from higher carbs to
lower carbs very quickly.
Sometimes that actually happenson purpose when you go into fat
loss phase, but when youunderstand that that happens,
it's fine.
The problem is that the glycogendepletion also affects your
workouts, your performance, yourenergy, all of that.
That's a different issue, butit still adds to the stress.
(09:48):
So if you don't have to be onlower carbs even when you're
dieting, it can be helpful.
This is why I sometimes askpeople to trade off some protein
and carbs, depending on theenergy that they need.
The third thing here is thatwhen you have long-term carb
restriction, the research hasshown that this can reduce your
T3 thyroid hormone, and that isyet another, let's say, dampener
(10:11):
on your metabolic rate,affecting everything.
It affects everything.
It affects your stress response, your mood, your digestion,
your immune system, your libido,of course, your metabolism and
then your energy levels.
It's all connected, right, andthen we've talked about this on
other podcasts, so it wasn'treally part of today's episode.
But just remember that musclebreakdown, also called
(10:34):
catabolism, right, when you havemore cortisol, it's going to
increase the breakdown.
It's like your body's way oftrying to grab energy wherever
it can.
And since muscle tissue ismetabolically active, of course,
and you lose it, it's not good.
It's not good when you losemuscle, which is going to just
further reduce your calorie burnas well.
(10:54):
So when you combine all thesechanges from low carb, just
losing weight, losing fat isgoing to be progressively harder
over time, simply because youwere on lower carbs, and that's
why a lot of people get initialsuccess with these diets and
then they hit these hugeplateaus.
I used to think it was justbecause, oh, you're losing water
weight fast, so you thinkyou're in the right deficit.
Then that slows down.
You're no longer in the deficit.
(11:15):
You feel like you're in aplateau.
Really, you just need to lowerthe calories.
No, it's actually a lot worsethan that.
It's a lot worse than that.
There are actually compoundingeffects above and beyond that
related to thecortisol-carbohydrate connection
.
So you know, those are theissues.
When you have carb restrictionand a lot of people listening to
the show or maybe this is thefirst episode you've ever heard
(11:37):
you're like well, what else do Ido?
I've heard that cutting carbs.
You know carbs make you fat.
Right, that's a myth.
We know that's a myth.
At this point, energy balanceis what caused you to get fat or
lose weight.
It has nothing to do with carbs, just has to do with calories.
But we know people have beenconditioned to think that carbs
are bad in some way.
The answer is that there is noone size fits all answer that
(11:57):
your individual and ideal carbintake is going to depend on a
lot of factors.
If you are sedentary, you don'tneed nearly as many carbs as if
you're active.
Of course, if you're listeningto this show, strength training
is non-negotiable, and strengthtraining requires a lot of carbs
to really make the most of it.
Walking is something you shouldbe doing as well, and so you
should be active.
Right, and you're trying tosupport your metabolic health.
(12:20):
You're trying to maintain yourstress levels.
You're also trying to eat foodyou enjoy, so that it's
sustainable Food that'ssatiating, like high-fiber foods
.
Well, what are high-fiber foods?
Well, a lot of carbs.
Vegetables, fruits, grainscontain fiber.
Right, also, just having adelicious, energy-promoting meal
that's balanced between fats,carbs and protein.
(12:42):
You're still going to havecarbs, so there really is little
to no benefit in cutting carbsfor the vast majority of people
when you're not dieting.
Now, when you are dietingmeaning you're in a calorie
deficit the calories are goingto come down.
You're going to keep theprotein high, you're going to
keep the fats moderate and youmay end up with fairly low carbs
.
This is why you don't want todiet at too fast of a rate If
(13:02):
your metabolism is fairly low tobegin with and you have
unrealistic expectations, and soyou go in an aggressive rate of
loss.
Your carbs are going to comeway down and you're going to
start to see some of theseindependent low-carb or carb
restriction-caused issues.
And that's the message oftoday's podcast.
That is why I wanted to makethis, so that you understand
(13:24):
that restricting your carbs hasits own detriments, above and
beyond detriments from otherthings, and it can exacerbate
your metabolic decline.
So, if you're listening, even ifyou're a client, if you're in
our physique university we'vetalked about this many times and
you're in a fat loss phase,think about the rate of loss,
like how many calories do youactually have to play with,
because just being super lowcalories like 1,200, 1,100,
(13:46):
1,000, could be where theproblem is and also think about
how many carbs you have in thereand when you're eating them.
Are you eating them around yourworkout?
Little fixes like adding 20grams of carbs and taking it
from protein, or even some fromfat, could be exactly what you
need to avoid some of theseissues, and we also have studies
showing, I'll say, the otherside of the same coin, in other
(14:09):
words, what happens when youincrease your carbs.
Well, again as part of ahealthy whole food diet, right
Dietary pattern.
I don't mean processed carbslike pizza, donuts, muffins.
Those aren't carbs right.
Those are processedcarbohydrates, fats and sugars.
That's not carbs right.
Carbs would be an apple or awhole grain piece of bread is a
(14:29):
carb.
Studies show that increasingthose carbs may reduce
circulating cortisol and thendampen the associated
psychological stress-relatedresponsiveness.
Psychological stress-relatedresponsiveness Do you know what
I just said?
So your cortisol becomes moresensitive to your psychological
stress when you have more of itcirculating in your blood and
(14:52):
that happens when you have lesscarbs.
But if you increase your carbsyou actually reduce the cortisol
and that can have a big impacton your fat loss and how you
feel.
So for most active individuals,if you're training, if you're
walking, moderate intake, whichusually amounts to about I don't
know 30 to 40% of your caloriesI don't think in terms of
percent calories I like toanchor my protein, anchor my
(15:13):
fats and then the rest is carbs,which usually provides a nice
balanced approach, gives youplenty of glucose to support
your thyroid function, toobviously support your training
too.
It keeps cortisol in check andthen allows for fat loss when in
calorie deficit because you'rekeeping it moderate.
Now, carb timing can make adifference.
I mentioned this a couple oftimes.
But if you place most of yourcarbs around your workouts, also
(15:35):
in the evening before bed notlike right before bed, but in
the evening, like with dinnerthose are two times that are
going to help you with yourperformance, with your recovery
and even your sleep quality.
You with your performance, withyour recovery and even your
sleep quality.
Right, there is research thatadding some you know nutritious
carbs at night can help you withyour sleep quality and manage
cortisol levels.
And I had a client who was likeright on the verge of feeling
(15:58):
kind of wiped out with theirworkouts and all we did is we
just swapped a little proteinfor carbs.
We're talking like 10, 15 grams.
It was not much at all, but itwas enough.
It was enough.
And you don't know until youexperiment with it.
Track the data, compare thebefore and after, compare your
biofeedback, like your energy,your workout performance, like
how many reps did you get?
How did you feel?
Did you feel recovered?
Did you get sore?
(16:19):
Look at your sleep quality,your HRV, things like that, your
just general feeling of likechronic stress, your food
cravings yeah, we forgot tomention that, but food cravings
and hunger signals are allimpacted by this as well.
And then, of course, you knoware you making progress?
Are you able to make theprogress you want?
Right, and it doesn't mean, hey, you have to start cramming
your mouth with tons of carbsand eat pasta and bread and eat
(16:40):
like a bodybuilder diet withlike 600 grams of carbs.
Right, you still care about,okay, the quality of it and the
quality of it being reasonable.
Minimally processed foods arealways a good start to add in,
like fruits, potatoes, rice,oats.
They provide energy, fiber,micronutrients, sometimes
hydration.
So all these just support yourhealth in so many ways.
Right, we're not trying toswing into eating all processed
(17:03):
foods that some people callquote unquote carbs that are not
, but really a nice, balanced,whole foods based, nutritious
approach.
I don't see how anybody canfind that unreasonable, but
you'd be amazed, or maybe youwouldn't.
You see it on the Instagram allthe time People demonizing
fruits and carbs of any kind,talk about how carbs make you
fat All the myths that stillpersist today.
(17:23):
Now, if you want to put thisinto practice, I'm going to give
you some strategies.
Okay, first, if you've been ona very low carb diet for a long
time.
We're talking about like 50grams a day or less then I want
you to honestly assess yourbiofeedback right your fatigue,
your mood, your sleep, all ofthat and then gradually titrate
up your carbs and see how itchanges.
Don't do anything else and keepyour calories the same too.
(17:46):
So that's the key here is likekeep the calories the same, but
increase your carbs.
Take it away from fats firstand then protein.
I mean it's kind of weird.
Like a lot of people with a lowcarb diet also don't even have
great protein, they end uphaving a lot of fat, right.
That's what I see.
That's like the keto diet.
So you may have a lot of roomto bring the fat down.
Replace it with carbs.
And the key word here isgradual, because here's the
(18:09):
other thing I get right.
People are like oh, I added incarbs and I had bloat and I had
like digestive issues and I hadthis and that.
Well, yeah, because you'remassively changing not only your
patterns and your habits fromyour body's perspective, but
you're introducing like you'reflooding it with things that
it's just not used to.
Same thing with your gut rightand the gut bacteria, the gut
health, all of that.
(18:30):
So don't blame the carbs, blamethe method to reintroduction.
Your body needs time to readapt.
So I would add like 25 grams ofcarbs tomorrow, right, for the
next week, and just leave itthere and then add another 25
grams a day the next day, likehowever many grams, to get you
to your your goal, because thisis also going to prevent, like
(18:50):
blood sugar spikes that you'renot used to, especially if
you're not eating balanced meals.
If you are, it's not as much ofa concern.
It gives you a metabolism sometime to adjust.
It lets you see what's reallyworking.
So that's the first strategy isjust like this gradual
reintroduction.
The second thing is payattention to the timing.
We mentioned it before, but Ijust want to be very specific,
right?
Having some carbs in theevening can help reduce cortisol
(19:14):
, and eating carbs around yourworkout is going to match your
activity level, your trainingdays or your training,
especially for those intensesessions.
You're going to notice adifference.
Most likely.
I don't recommend anybody trainfasted unless you know for a
fact that you perform moreoptimally, which is very, very
rare, right, and it's going tohelp with your stress as well.
Um, on rest days, yeah, you,could you reduce carbs, lie and
(19:36):
do some slightly and do carbcycling.
Maybe.
I generally recommend mostpeople just keep it consistent
day to day and then um see if itto change, to deviate from that
, but just start there, allright.
The fourth strategy here isreally, um, I'll call it
periodic carb cycling.
I'm not talking, this is so.
This is different than dailycarb cycling.
This is, uh, over time, right,so like over as little as like a
(20:02):
week, um, but it could bemultiple weeks where you follow,
like, a higher carb approachand then a lower carb approach
and see if you notice adifference.
And I only like that so thatyou can both play around with
what refeeds feel like, like how, when you flood your system
with carbs, what it does for you, but then also see the
(20:24):
difference when you do restrictcarbs and build that sensitivity
.
This is more of an experimentalthing to see, like prove to
yourself that there's a certainoptimal level of carbs for you.
The fifth strategy here is to beaware of all the other things
stressing you out, because ifyou're under lots of, like
perceived or psychologicalstress, if you're not sleeping
well, if you're over-training,over-exercising, this is going
(20:49):
to sound weird.
But rather than me tell you toeliminate all that, because I
know it's difficult.
It's a process, right, youmight just need more carbs to
offset it, to mitigate yourstress load.
Sounds strange, I know, but allof this stress is cumulative
when it comes to your cortisol.
So, at the very very least, notrestricting carbs when you have
all those stressors is a goodstart.
(21:09):
But even Flooding your bodywith more may be the way to go.
And the reason I included thisin here is a lot of my clients
come to me like they're juststressed, they're under eating,
they're not training right, andwe want to get them doing all
these things.
But one of the first things Ihave them do is start tracking
their food and try to eat morecarbs that's usually what
happens or more protein as well.
You know cause I'll have, I'llhave female clients.
(21:31):
I can't eat that many carbs.
I can't eat a hundred grams ofcarbs, or I can't eat 200,
whatever it is.
And I'm like it's okay, we'regoing to titrate up right?
Here's some ideas, here's somelists let's start incorporating.
And a lot of times they're likeoh my gosh, like I feel so
energized.
I feel like I can do so much.
I feel like I've got a newlease on life.
You know I'm not.
I'm not gaining weight, but I'mfeeling better, I'm able to
(21:53):
push more in the gym.
It starts to Like offload someof the stress for them and and
that's why we know that there'sthis hormonal connection with
carbs, right?
The last thing is you want totrack all the things you care
about when comparing lower tohigher carbs.
So energy levels, sleep quality, workout performance,
well-being, mental health, itdoesn't matter, you pick it,
(22:16):
pick what those are.
I have a set of markers that Iuse with clients, but you may
want to track whatever makessense for you Hunger signals, et
cetera.
The goal is to find that sweetspot, right?
You don't have to eat lots andlots of carbs, but generally a
low or very low carb approach isnot going to work for most
people.
Whether you're a man, a womanover 40, under 40, it doesn't
matter.
Don't tell me hey, I'm a womanover 40 and peri-postmenopause,
(22:37):
so I've been told I need to eatlow carbs.
No, usually it's the opposite.
Usually you're not eatingenough carbs to support optimal
hormone function, metabolism.
You're impeding your fat lossprogress.
(22:57):
Eat those carbs, all right.
So the neat thing about all ofthis is the body is complex, so
these relationships tend to bebi-directional.
You know like the cortisollevels reflect how your
metabolism is varying, right,independent of psychological
stress.
And we know that baselineconcentrations of plasma
cortisol actually vary with yourmetabolic rate based on your
mass, like based on your bodymass.
(23:18):
So what this means is thatcortisol is not just influencing
your metabolism, it is acomponent of your metabolic
process.
It actually regulates theenergy production and
utilization in your body, verymuch like thyroid.
Right, it's bidirectional andthat means it suggests that
optimizing metabolic health isnot about your macros or
(23:39):
calories.
It's about creating the bestlower stress hormonal
environment to support efficientenergy flux, energy production
using the energy, using thenutrients.
And so when you maintain theright carb intake, you are
you're not just doing all thesuperficial things, you know,
fueling your workout, satisfyingyour cravings, blah, blah, blah
You're supporting the hormonalcascade that keeps your
(24:01):
metabolism humming.
And then you know acute stress.
Yeah, that can suppressappetite in the short term, but
chronic stress can increase yourconsumption of highly palatable
foods, especially carb-richpalatable foods.
Interestingly, you know,carb-rich, fat-rich, sugar-rich,
and that can increase yourvisceral adiposity, which is
your belly fat, cause weightgain, all the things.
(24:23):
And that also explains whyextremely restrictive diets
usually lead to rebound,overeating and then weight
regain Another reason we don'twant to restrict carbs.
So if you can find that sweetspot of your carbs, then you're
kind of optimizing this wholeecosystem in your body that
determines your body compositionand your energy, your longevity
(24:45):
, your health, all of it.
So carbs are not good or bad.
They have a role in your body'shormones.
It's hormonal milieu symphony,whatever you want to call it,
and it's a really different wayof thinking about them.
They're a tool, and learn touse the tool.
For you.
The goal is not to swing fromone extreme to another here.
I don't want to demonize carbsand I don't want to consume them
(25:07):
indiscriminately.
I'm definitely not going todemonize them, if you know me
right, but I also don't want tothink well, just, you have to
eat like all these carbs.
There's a thoughtful,individualized approach.
I know a few folks who've beenlifting a long time and they
know the value of carbs and theyalso can't take a lot of carbs.
And and they know the value ofcarbs and they also can't take a
lot of carbs, and they'vetracked it and they've compared
it and they've done all thethings we've talked about and
(25:28):
they've arrived at the fact that, yeah, you know what?
I'm actually better on higherprotein and moderate carbs.
Somebody else is better onnormal protein and super high
carbs.
The fitness industry loves tosell simple, black and white
solutions.
Carbs are evil, fat makes youfat.
All that, Just throw it away.
Unfollow.
Listen to this show.
Reach out and understand thatthere is nuance to all of this
(25:51):
your diet, your hormones,metabolism and that helps you
make the informed choices thatget you the results you want.
All right.
So again, if you found value intoday's episode, if you want to
learn how to settle this up justvery simply your macros, your
calories, your timing, yourcarbs download my free flexible
dieting guide.
Use the link in the show notesor go to witsandweightscom.
Slash free Again.
It might be called Nutrition101 on that page, but the
(26:13):
flexible dieting guide is gonnahelp you implement the
principles we discussed todayVery step-by-step, simple,
personalized to you, to supportyour metabolism, help you
achieve your physique goalswithout all of this restriction
or all of this stress.
All right, until next time.
Keep using your wits, liftingthose weights and remember that
strategic carb intake can helpkeep your stress in check and
(26:33):
your metabolism firing on allcylinders.
I'll talk to you next time hereon the Wits and Weights Podcast
.
We've talked about the benefits of carbs for muscle
, for energy, for performancebut what about the detriments of
a low-carb diet in and ofitself?
Many times, people who are on alow-carb diet will experience
energy crashes, stalls in theirweight loss, stalls in their
performance in the gym, andthere's a reason for this that
we don't often talk about.
That has to do with cortisoland your metabolic rate.
So today we are talking abouthow your quote-unquote healthy
(00:24):
low-carb diet might be workingagainst you, and then how to
have a more flexible approachthat you're probably going to
enjoy more anyway and will helpyou get the results you want.
Welcome to Wits and Weights,the show that helps you build a
(00:45):
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and
efficiency.
I'm your host, philip Pape, andtoday we're talking about carbs
again, but from a differentangle.
There is a connection betweenlower-carb diets and both
cortisol and your metabolic rate.
That I think is really, reallyimportant and causes things like
(01:06):
stalled fat loss, like crashingenergy, feeling unusually
stressed, and many peopleexperience these symptoms, but
they don't connect them to theircarbohydrate intake.
The research now suggests thatthere is a physiological reason
for this.
There is a hormonal chainreaction that can slow your
(01:27):
metabolism and potentially makefat loss harder, not easier.
Obviously, anything thatreduces your expenditure, your
metabolism, the amount ofcalories you burn every day, is
going to make this harder,because you're going to have to
eat less, potentially tomaintain the deficit, or you're
going to have slower fat loss atthe same intake.
And, of course, the less youeat, the less energy you have,
the hungrier you are.
(01:47):
There's a cascade of thingsthat are just not good.
We always want a higher levelof energy, a higher level of
energy flux, even when we'retrying to go for a fat loss.
And while the keto community,the low carb communities,
everyone who's just low carb,maybe even carnivore they often
dismiss these concerns or theysay that there are other reasons
.
The evidence is becoming harderand harder to ignore, not to
(02:10):
mention the outcomes.
Right, when we see somethinglike people on higher carb diets
can build a lot more muscle,there's a reason they have more
energy coming in, more recoveryability.
But there are also negatives inthe other direction when you
have low carbs that prevent thefat loss you're trying to
achieve.
And I'm not here to demonize lowcarb approaches.
I never do.
I never demonize low carb inand of itself.
What I say is that you want toeat in a way that supports what
(02:34):
you need and what you want, andmany people.
What they need is more energy,more performance, more recovery.
They want to build muscle.
What you want is foods that youenjoy, a lifestyle right To be
able to go out to eat, to beable to not say no all the time.
So when you combine thesetogether for most people that
generally means moderate tohigher carbs and you can
(02:55):
absolutely get all the amazingbody composition results you
want.
Doing that.
We talk about it all the time.
So I'm not here to demonize lowcarb.
I want to look at it throughthe lens of evidence and
engineering to find a balanced,sustainable approach for you.
So you understand what you'regetting into.
And before we get into all ofthat, if you just want the guide
to learn exactly how to set upyour macros and your calories
(03:17):
and everything else, I do have aguide that is super popular.
It's on flexible dieting andyou can use the link in the show
notes or go towitsandweightscom slash free, I
think.
On that page.
It's called Nutrition 101 forBody Composition, but it's the
same idea.
It will help you implement theprinciples we discussed today in
a very practical, step-by-stepway for you and just go download
that using the link in the shownotes.
(03:39):
So let's talk about this.
I'll call it hidden connectionbetween your carb intake, your
stress and your metabolism.
And it helps to understand whathappens in your body when you
significantly restrictcarbohydrates, because at its
core, your body receives orperceives severe carb
restriction as a form of stress.
(03:59):
The fact that you don't quoteunquote need carbs to survive is
a red herring, right, becausewe're not trying to just survive
, we're trying to thrive.
We're trying to have all thethings that we want to achieve
our goals and live a great life.
And research has consistentlyshown that low carbohydrate
diets increase cortisol.
What is cortisol?
It's effectively the stresshormone, and a study published
(04:22):
in the Journal of ClinicalEndocrinology and Metabolism
found that, when compared to amoderate carb diet, low-carb
approaches led to significantlyhigher cortisol concentrations
over an eight-week interventionperiod.
And cortisol is what allows youto respond to threats.
So when your carbohydrateintake drops too low, or it's
intentionally low, your bodyfaces a few challenges.
(04:44):
First of all, glucoseavailability for your brain and
muscles goes down.
Secondly, your body has to findalternative fuel.
And thirdly, this then requiressubstantial adaptation in your
metabolism, and all of thesetrigger a stress response.
There is research that showscortisol levels consistently
increase on a keto diet, andketo is essentially an extreme
(05:06):
form of carb restriction, andthe reason this matters is
because chronically elevatedcortisol is linked to a ton of
negative effects.
I know we've talked about stressoften on this podcast, but it
can't be understated howimpactful stress is to your
metabolism and, conversely, tometabolic dysfunction.
(05:27):
When it's high and low-carb,folks are going to say that, hey
, you know, this is going to betemporary.
Right, this cortisol increaseis temporary.
It's part of adaptation andthere's always some truth to
that when there's ever anychange to your lifestyle.
But for many people, especiallywhen you have other forms of
stress, which is pretty mucheverybody, every human being who
has work, family, even yourtraining, is stress.
(05:50):
This is just additionalhormonal strain on top of that
stack of stress.
That is going to becomeproblematic when you sustain it
right, when you sustain it, andthis is regardless of weight
loss.
Okay, so we're not even talkingabout just when you're in a
calorie deficit.
We're talking about when you'renot in a calorie deficit and
you're restricting carbs.
(06:10):
It is going to increase yourcortisol levels compared to a
moderate fat or moderate carbdiet, right?
So, in other words, thecortisol response is not about
the weight loss.
It's specifically related tothe carb restriction.
And that's what brings me to animportant point.
It's specifically related tothe carb restriction, and that's
what brings me to an importantpoint.
Your body does not distinguishbetween different types of
stress.
Yes, there's all the chronicperceived stress in our life,
(06:32):
like your deadline at work.
There's the hormetic or acutestressor, like your intense
training session.
There's stress from doing toomuch cardio some of us have
right and then there's stresswhen you're dieting.
But when you're not dieting,there's also stress from severe
carb restriction, regardless.
And guess what?
It all triggers the samehormonal cascade your cortisol
(06:54):
levels remain chronicallyelevated, and then this affects
your metabolic rate, which isthe next piece of the puzzle,
okay, so that's why this isimportant.
We've established that low-carbdiets increase cortisol.
Okay, even is the next piece ofthe puzzle.
Okay, so why?
That's why this is important.
We've established that low carbdiets increased cortisol.
Okay, even in the absence of acalorie deficit.
So where things get interestinghere is that your metabolism,
which is made up of multiplecomponents, one of which is just
(07:16):
your BMR, your basal metabolicrate, which is like two thirds
of your daily calorie burn.
It's the foundation of yourmetabolism.
If your cortisol is sustainedand it's high, right?
If, if, what am I trying to say?
If you have sustained highcortisol, it is going to
suppress your thyroidstimulating hormone, that's your
TSH, the production of your TSH, and that then impacts the
(07:39):
thyroid hormones that regulateyour metabolism.
So your thyroid gland right,which is in your neck it's like
that butterfly shaped gland.
It produces hormones thatcontrol how quickly your body
burns calories.
So it's like a thermoregulator,some people call it, and when
cortisol interferes with that,then your metabolic rate is
going to slow down.
It's all a cascade, right, andso we don't know the exact
(08:01):
impact.
But for someone with, like, aresting rate of, let's say, 1200
to 1500 calories, if you had a20% suppression, then that would
be like up to 300 fewercalories a day and that's almost
like 30 pounds of weight gainevery year or lack of weight
loss.
You know what I mean Like justto give you the numbers.
A few hundred calories a daycan make a big difference to
(08:22):
many of us, especially smallerpeople, women, petite women like
, whose rates are fairly low.
Now it just makes it lower, itmakes it even harder.
Also, this isn't just aboutcortisol, because when you cut
carbs, a few other things happento your metabolism.
The first thing is that yourbody becomes more efficient at
(08:43):
conserving energy, andadaptation that's effectively
designed to keep you aliveduring food scarcity and the
lack of carbohydrates can giveyour body the feeling that it
doesn't have enough nutrients orenough food or enough energy,
even when you're not in acalorie deficit.
Again, I'm trying to hammerhome the point that this is
above and beyond and independentof dieting itself.
(09:05):
This is the low carb aspect ofit in and of itself.
The second thing is that havinglow carbs means you're going to
deplete your glycogen veryquickly.
That could also result in waterloss and, you know, give you
the phantom appearance thatyou've lost weight because it's
glycogen, it's water weight, andthen it masks what's actually
happening, creating the illusionof progress when your
(09:27):
metabolism might actually beslowing.
And so this is a big problemwhen you go from higher carbs to
lower carbs very quickly.
Sometimes that actually happenson purpose when you go into fat
loss phase, but when youunderstand that that happens,
it's fine.
The problem is that the glycogendepletion also affects your
workouts, your performance, yourenergy, all of that.
That's a different issue, butit still adds to the stress.
(09:48):
So if you don't have to be onlower carbs even when you're
dieting, it can be helpful.
This is why I sometimes askpeople to trade off some protein
and carbs, depending on theenergy that they need.
The third thing here is thatwhen you have long-term carb
restriction, the research hasshown that this can reduce your
T3 thyroid hormone, and that isyet another, let's say, dampener
(10:11):
on your metabolic rate,affecting everything.
It affects everything.
It affects your stress response, your mood, your digestion,
your immune system, your libido,of course, your metabolism and
then your energy levels.
It's all connected, right, andthen we've talked about this on
other podcasts, so it wasn'treally part of today's episode.
But just remember that musclebreakdown, also called
(10:34):
catabolism, right, when you havemore cortisol, it's going to
increase the breakdown.
It's like your body's way oftrying to grab energy wherever
it can.
And since muscle tissue ismetabolically active, of course,
and you lose it, it's not good.
It's not good when you losemuscle, which is going to just
further reduce your calorie burnas well.
(10:54):
So when you combine all thesechanges from low carb, just
losing weight, losing fat isgoing to be progressively harder
over time, simply because youwere on lower carbs, and that's
why a lot of people get initialsuccess with these diets and
then they hit these hugeplateaus.
I used to think it was justbecause, oh, you're losing water
weight fast, so you thinkyou're in the right deficit.
Then that slows down.
You're no longer in the deficit.
(11:15):
You feel like you're in aplateau.
Really, you just need to lowerthe calories.
No, it's actually a lot worsethan that.
It's a lot worse than that.
There are actually compoundingeffects above and beyond that
related to thecortisol-carbohydrate connection
.
So you know, those are theissues.
When you have carb restrictionand a lot of people listening to
the show or maybe this is thefirst episode you've ever heard
(11:37):
you're like well, what else do Ido?
I've heard that cutting carbs.
You know carbs make you fat.
Right, that's a myth.
We know that's a myth.
At this point, energy balanceis what caused you to get fat or
lose weight.
It has nothing to do with carbs, just has to do with calories.
But we know people have beenconditioned to think that carbs
are bad in some way.
The answer is that there is noone size fits all answer that
(11:57):
your individual and ideal carbintake is going to depend on a
lot of factors.
If you are sedentary, you don'tneed nearly as many carbs as if
you're active.
Of course, if you're listeningto this show, strength training
is non-negotiable, and strengthtraining requires a lot of carbs
to really make the most of it.
Walking is something you shouldbe doing as well, and so you
should be active.
Right, and you're trying tosupport your metabolic health.
(12:20):
You're trying to maintain yourstress levels.
You're also trying to eat foodyou enjoy, so that it's
sustainable Food that'ssatiating, like high-fiber foods
.
Well, what are high-fiber foods?
Well, a lot of carbs.
Vegetables, fruits, grainscontain fiber.
Right, also, just having adelicious, energy-promoting meal
that's balanced between fats,carbs and protein.
(12:42):
You're still going to havecarbs, so there really is little
to no benefit in cutting carbsfor the vast majority of people
when you're not dieting.
Now, when you are dietingmeaning you're in a calorie
deficit the calories are goingto come down.
You're going to keep theprotein high, you're going to
keep the fats moderate and youmay end up with fairly low carbs
.
This is why you don't want todiet at too fast of a rate If
(13:02):
your metabolism is fairly low tobegin with and you have
unrealistic expectations, and soyou go in an aggressive rate of
loss.
Your carbs are going to comeway down and you're going to
start to see some of theseindependent low-carb or carb
restriction-caused issues.
And that's the message oftoday's podcast.
That is why I wanted to makethis, so that you understand
(13:24):
that restricting your carbs hasits own detriments, above and
beyond detriments from otherthings, and it can exacerbate
your metabolic decline.
So, if you're listening, even ifyou're a client, if you're in
our physique university we'vetalked about this many times and
you're in a fat loss phase,think about the rate of loss,
like how many calories do youactually have to play with,
because just being super lowcalories like 1,200, 1,100,
(13:46):
1,000, could be where theproblem is and also think about
how many carbs you have in thereand when you're eating them.
Are you eating them around yourworkout?
Little fixes like adding 20grams of carbs and taking it
from protein, or even some fromfat, could be exactly what you
need to avoid some of theseissues, and we also have studies
showing, I'll say, the otherside of the same coin, in other
(14:09):
words, what happens when youincrease your carbs.
Well, again as part of ahealthy whole food diet, right
Dietary pattern.
I don't mean processed carbslike pizza, donuts, muffins.
Those aren't carbs right.
Those are processedcarbohydrates, fats and sugars.
That's not carbs right.
Carbs would be an apple or awhole grain piece of bread is a
(14:29):
carb.
Studies show that increasingthose carbs may reduce
circulating cortisol and thendampen the associated
psychological stress-relatedresponsiveness.
Psychological stress-relatedresponsiveness Do you know what
I just said?
So your cortisol becomes moresensitive to your psychological
stress when you have more of itcirculating in your blood and
(14:52):
that happens when you have lesscarbs.
But if you increase your carbsyou actually reduce the cortisol
and that can have a big impacton your fat loss and how you
feel.
So for most active individuals,if you're training, if you're
walking, moderate intake, whichusually amounts to about I don't
know 30 to 40% of your caloriesI don't think in terms of
percent calories I like toanchor my protein, anchor my
(15:13):
fats and then the rest is carbs,which usually provides a nice
balanced approach, gives youplenty of glucose to support
your thyroid function, toobviously support your training
too.
It keeps cortisol in check andthen allows for fat loss when in
calorie deficit because you'rekeeping it moderate.
Now, carb timing can make adifference.
I mentioned this a couple oftimes.
But if you place most of yourcarbs around your workouts, also
(15:35):
in the evening before bed notlike right before bed, but in
the evening, like with dinnerthose are two times that are
going to help you with yourperformance, with your recovery
and even your sleep quality.
You with your performance, withyour recovery and even your
sleep quality.
Right, there is research thatadding some you know nutritious
carbs at night can help you withyour sleep quality and manage
cortisol levels.
And I had a client who was likeright on the verge of feeling
(15:58):
kind of wiped out with theirworkouts and all we did is we
just swapped a little proteinfor carbs.
We're talking like 10, 15 grams.
It was not much at all, but itwas enough.
It was enough.
And you don't know until youexperiment with it.
Track the data, compare thebefore and after, compare your
biofeedback, like your energy,your workout performance, like
how many reps did you get?
How did you feel?
Did you feel recovered?
Did you get sore?
(16:19):
Look at your sleep quality,your HRV, things like that, your
just general feeling of likechronic stress, your food
cravings yeah, we forgot tomention that, but food cravings
and hunger signals are allimpacted by this as well.
And then, of course, you knoware you making progress?
Are you able to make theprogress you want?
Right, and it doesn't mean, hey, you have to start cramming
your mouth with tons of carbsand eat pasta and bread and eat
(16:40):
like a bodybuilder diet withlike 600 grams of carbs.
Right, you still care about,okay, the quality of it and the
quality of it being reasonable.
Minimally processed foods arealways a good start to add in,
like fruits, potatoes, rice,oats.
They provide energy, fiber,micronutrients, sometimes
hydration.
So all these just support yourhealth in so many ways.
Right, we're not trying toswing into eating all processed
(17:03):
foods that some people callquote unquote carbs that are not
, but really a nice, balanced,whole foods based, nutritious
approach.
I don't see how anybody canfind that unreasonable, but
you'd be amazed, or maybe youwouldn't.
You see it on the Instagram allthe time People demonizing
fruits and carbs of any kind,talk about how carbs make you
fat All the myths that stillpersist today.
(17:23):
Now, if you want to put thisinto practice, I'm going to give
you some strategies.
Okay, first, if you've been ona very low carb diet for a long
time.
We're talking about like 50grams a day or less then I want
you to honestly assess yourbiofeedback right your fatigue,
your mood, your sleep, all ofthat and then gradually titrate
up your carbs and see how itchanges.
Don't do anything else and keepyour calories the same too.
(17:46):
So that's the key here is likekeep the calories the same, but
increase your carbs.
Take it away from fats firstand then protein.
I mean it's kind of weird.
Like a lot of people with a lowcarb diet also don't even have
great protein, they end uphaving a lot of fat, right.
That's what I see.
That's like the keto diet.
So you may have a lot of roomto bring the fat down.
Replace it with carbs.
And the key word here isgradual, because here's the
(18:09):
other thing I get right.
People are like oh, I added incarbs and I had bloat and I had
like digestive issues and I hadthis and that.
Well, yeah, because you'remassively changing not only your
patterns and your habits fromyour body's perspective, but
you're introducing like you'reflooding it with things that
it's just not used to.
Same thing with your gut rightand the gut bacteria, the gut
health, all of that.
(18:30):
So don't blame the carbs, blamethe method to reintroduction.
Your body needs time to readapt.
So I would add like 25 grams ofcarbs tomorrow, right, for the
next week, and just leave itthere and then add another 25
grams a day the next day, likehowever many grams, to get you
to your your goal, because thisis also going to prevent, like
(18:50):
blood sugar spikes that you'renot used to, especially if
you're not eating balanced meals.
If you are, it's not as much ofa concern.
It gives you a metabolism sometime to adjust.
It lets you see what's reallyworking.
So that's the first strategy isjust like this gradual
reintroduction.
The second thing is payattention to the timing.
We mentioned it before, but Ijust want to be very specific,
right?
Having some carbs in theevening can help reduce cortisol
(19:14):
, and eating carbs around yourworkout is going to match your
activity level, your trainingdays or your training,
especially for those intensesessions.
You're going to notice adifference.
Most likely.
I don't recommend anybody trainfasted unless you know for a
fact that you perform moreoptimally, which is very, very
rare, right, and it's going tohelp with your stress as well.
Um, on rest days, yeah, you,could you reduce carbs, lie and
(19:36):
do some slightly and do carbcycling.
Maybe.
I generally recommend mostpeople just keep it consistent
day to day and then um see if itto change, to deviate from that
, but just start there, allright.
The fourth strategy here isreally, um, I'll call it
periodic carb cycling.
I'm not talking, this is so.
This is different than dailycarb cycling.
This is, uh, over time, right,so like over as little as like a
(20:02):
week, um, but it could bemultiple weeks where you follow,
like, a higher carb approachand then a lower carb approach
and see if you notice adifference.
And I only like that so thatyou can both play around with
what refeeds feel like, like how, when you flood your system
with carbs, what it does for you, but then also see the
(20:24):
difference when you do restrictcarbs and build that sensitivity
.
This is more of an experimentalthing to see, like prove to
yourself that there's a certainoptimal level of carbs for you.
The fifth strategy here is to beaware of all the other things
stressing you out, because ifyou're under lots of, like
perceived or psychologicalstress, if you're not sleeping
well, if you're over-training,over-exercising, this is going
(20:49):
to sound weird.
But rather than me tell you toeliminate all that, because I
know it's difficult.
It's a process, right, youmight just need more carbs to
offset it, to mitigate yourstress load.
Sounds strange, I know, but allof this stress is cumulative
when it comes to your cortisol.
So, at the very very least, notrestricting carbs when you have
all those stressors is a goodstart.
(21:09):
But even Flooding your bodywith more may be the way to go.
And the reason I included thisin here is a lot of my clients
come to me like they're juststressed, they're under eating,
they're not training right, andwe want to get them doing all
these things.
But one of the first things Ihave them do is start tracking
their food and try to eat morecarbs that's usually what
happens or more protein as well.
You know cause I'll have, I'llhave female clients.
(21:31):
I can't eat that many carbs.
I can't eat a hundred grams ofcarbs, or I can't eat 200,
whatever it is.
And I'm like it's okay, we'regoing to titrate up right?
Here's some ideas, here's somelists let's start incorporating.
And a lot of times they're likeoh my gosh, like I feel so
energized.
I feel like I can do so much.
I feel like I've got a newlease on life.
You know I'm not.
I'm not gaining weight, but I'mfeeling better, I'm able to
(21:53):
push more in the gym.
It starts to Like offload someof the stress for them and and
that's why we know that there'sthis hormonal connection with
carbs, right?
The last thing is you want totrack all the things you care
about when comparing lower tohigher carbs.
So energy levels, sleep quality, workout performance,
well-being, mental health, itdoesn't matter, you pick it,
(22:16):
pick what those are.
I have a set of markers that Iuse with clients, but you may
want to track whatever makessense for you Hunger signals, et
cetera.
The goal is to find that sweetspot, right?
You don't have to eat lots andlots of carbs, but generally a
low or very low carb approach isnot going to work for most
people.
Whether you're a man, a womanover 40, under 40, it doesn't
matter.
Don't tell me hey, I'm a womanover 40 and peri-postmenopause,
(22:37):
so I've been told I need to eatlow carbs.
No, usually it's the opposite.
Usually you're not eatingenough carbs to support optimal
hormone function, metabolism.
You're impeding your fat lossprogress.
(22:57):
Eat those carbs, all right.
So the neat thing about all ofthis is the body is complex, so
these relationships tend to bebi-directional.
You know like the cortisollevels reflect how your
metabolism is varying, right,independent of psychological
stress.
And we know that baselineconcentrations of plasma
cortisol actually vary with yourmetabolic rate based on your
mass, like based on your bodymass.
(23:18):
So what this means is thatcortisol is not just influencing
your metabolism, it is acomponent of your metabolic
process.
It actually regulates theenergy production and
utilization in your body, verymuch like thyroid.
Right, it's bidirectional andthat means it suggests that
optimizing metabolic health isnot about your macros or
(23:39):
calories.
It's about creating the bestlower stress hormonal
environment to support efficientenergy flux, energy production
using the energy, using thenutrients.
And so when you maintain theright carb intake, you are
you're not just doing all thesuperficial things, you know,
fueling your workout, satisfyingyour cravings, blah, blah, blah
You're supporting the hormonalcascade that keeps your
(24:01):
metabolism humming.
And then you know acute stress.
Yeah, that can suppressappetite in the short term, but
chronic stress can increase yourconsumption of highly palatable
foods, especially carb-richpalatable foods.
Interestingly, you know,carb-rich, fat-rich, sugar-rich,
and that can increase yourvisceral adiposity, which is
your belly fat, cause weightgain, all the things.
(24:23):
And that also explains whyextremely restrictive diets
usually lead to rebound,overeating and then weight
regain Another reason we don'twant to restrict carbs.
So if you can find that sweetspot of your carbs, then you're
kind of optimizing this wholeecosystem in your body that
determines your body compositionand your energy, your longevity
(24:45):
, your health, all of it.
So carbs are not good or bad.
They have a role in your body'shormones.
It's hormonal milieu symphony,whatever you want to call it,
and it's a really different wayof thinking about them.
They're a tool, and learn touse the tool.
For you.
The goal is not to swing fromone extreme to another here.
I don't want to demonize carbsand I don't want to consume them
(25:07):
indiscriminately.
I'm definitely not going todemonize them, if you know me
right, but I also don't want tothink well, just, you have to
eat like all these carbs.
There's a thoughtful,individualized approach.
I know a few folks who've beenlifting a long time and they
know the value of carbs and theyalso can't take a lot of carbs.
And and they know the value ofcarbs and they also can't take a
lot of carbs, and they'vetracked it and they've compared
it and they've done all thethings we've talked about and
(25:28):
they've arrived at the fact that, yeah, you know what?
I'm actually better on higherprotein and moderate carbs.
Somebody else is better onnormal protein and super high
carbs.
The fitness industry loves tosell simple, black and white
solutions.
Carbs are evil, fat makes youfat.
All that, Just throw it away.
Unfollow.
Listen to this show.
Reach out and understand thatthere is nuance to all of this
(25:51):
your diet, your hormones,metabolism and that helps you
make the informed choices thatget you the results you want.
All right.
So again, if you found value intoday's episode, if you want to
learn how to settle this up justvery simply your macros, your
calories, your timing, yourcarbs download my free flexible
dieting guide.
Use the link in the show notesor go to witsandweightscom.
Slash free Again.
It might be called Nutrition101 on that page, but the
(26:13):
flexible dieting guide is gonnahelp you implement the
principles we discussed todayVery step-by-step, simple,
personalized to you, to supportyour metabolism, help you
achieve your physique goalswithout all of this restriction
or all of this stress.
All right, until next time.
Keep using your wits, liftingthose weights and remember that
strategic carb intake can helpkeep your stress in check and
(26:33):
your metabolism firing on allcylinders.
I'll talk to you next time hereon the Wits and Weights Podcast
.
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