Whether you’re trying to pack on pounds of lean muscle or alter your body composition to burn fat, carbohydrates are an essential component of your eating plan. What? But you thought they were the villain… the earthly equivalent of Lucifer, right? At least that’s what we’ve all been led to believe, right? Well I’m here to tell you that carbs have been wrongly accused.
No matter what how you get your carbohydrates whether its bread, fruit or candy it’s eventually converted into glucose which fuels the muscles and your brain. Glucose is used in three different ways;
It gets used as an immediate source of energy
It gets stored in the muscle for use to power activity in the near future
It gets stored as body fat.
So it’s obvious that you don’t want to store your carbohydrates as body fat. What you do want assuming that you want to achieve a lean muscular look is to consume carbohydrates that are released into the bloodstream at a slow even pace. This will help keep your appetite under control and support high energy levels throughout the day.
How?
Stick to natural, unrefined and fibrous carbohydrate sources and always eat your carbohydrates with a complete meal.
Vegetables of almost any kind are your first choice, fruit is your second choice and starches that are high in fiber comes in as a third choice.
Fibrous Carbohydrates
Vegetables of any kind especially the green, red and yellow ones:
Green beans
Broccoli
Spinach
Lettuce
Onions
Brussel Sprouts
Cucumbers
Beets (Fresh)
Green, red and yellow peppers.
Fresh Fruit (not juiced)
Apples
Berries
Mango
Oranges
Bananas
Nectarines
Plums
Starchy Carbohydrates
Oatmeal
Whole Grain cooked cereals
Brown Rice
Yams
Sweet potatoes
Lentils
Potatoes
Whole Grain Breads
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