How Many Carbs are Right for You?

In my new vlog series, DIANE: DIRECT, I'm diving into some new topics and you're going to see a whole other side of me.

In today's episode, I'm talking about carbs and how to determine the right number *FOR YOU* to eat in a day. This is one of those topics that I'm asked about all the time, so hopefully this vlog will help clear up some of the confusion!

I'm giving you my top three tips for helping you find the right balance of carbs for you. If you're looking for prescriptive, one-size-fits-all advice, you guys should know me better by now! This is all about finding the right balance for YOU, individually, based on your activity, your body type, and more.

Quick Recap:

1. Eat carbs according to your activity level and type of activity.

• Lower Carb appropriate activities (generally under 100g/day)
• Low-intensity workouts, for example: walking, yoga, Pilates, or even weight lifting that does not increase your heart rate for long lengths of time.
• High-intensity, but for very short durations (5 minutes or less)
• Higher Carb appropriate activities (generally over 100g/day)
• High-intensity workouts of durations more than 5 minutes, for example: CrossFit (unless a strength-specific program without metcons)

2. Eat carbs according to your body type and your body's response to them.

• Do you tend to hold onto fat specifically around your bra line or lats/”wings” area on your back? If so, you are probably eating more carbs than your body or activity requires. Re-balance your plate by removing some carbs and adjusting your protein and fat ratios.
• Do you run lean? Is your back especially fairly lean or narrow? Then, you can likely handle more carbs than you are currently eating. Feel free to add more carbs to your plate!

3. TRACK, TRACK, TRACK!

• This is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach — you must track what you are eating and listen to how you feel.
• Look for the signs — there are signs that you may not be eating enough carbs, including: lack of energy, brain fog, poor sleep, irritable, unable to recover from exercise, symptoms of low thyroid function without thyroid disease, infertility.
• There are also signs that you may be eating too many carbs, mainly if you have a hard time losing body fat.

For example, last year I experimented eating higher carb. My training at the time consisted of lifting heavy weights and I was building muscle but felt I wasn't training in a way that demanded the extra carbs. When I went back to eating lower carb for a couple weeks, I felt completely fine at the gym and saw body fat reduce again in certain areas.

Don't forget, I post new videos every week so make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss any! Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this video, or to share what you want to learn more about from me. See you next week!

Past Resources on Carbohydrates

BALANCED BITES PODCASTS

• Wired to Eat with Robb Wolf, Appetite Control and Carb Tolerance Episode #287
• Sugar, Carbs, & Food Swaps Episode #283
• Sugar and carb confusion Episode #267 [42:24]
• Let’s talk about carbs Episode #265 [48:48]
• Cassy Joy of Fed + Fit on carbs Episode #250 [14:39]
• Carb Confusion Episode #233
• All About Carbs! Part 2 Episode #232
• All About Carbs! Part 1 Episode #228

ADDITIONAL READING

• Practical Paleo, 2nd Edition: Chapter 5 (Pages 67 – 76)
• What Can I do about Sugar & Carb Cravings?