More thoughts on carbs, fats, etc...

Just a quick summary of an article I ran across... It's got some good stuff!

A Quick Summary...

1. When you aren't sure about how many calories to eat... Err on the high side...
- Sound backward doesn't it, but this is something I've believed for some time... It's not necessarily the amount of calories you eat but the quality of them.  Starting at a calorie level that's too low will stall your metabolism and cause you to hang onto your body fat at all costs!  High than maintenance level calories allows you to trim back calories as needed but still have the elevated metabolism from having a prior higher amount of calories to start with... Hope that makes sense...

2. Eat healthy fats! 
- 20 percent minimum, but preferably 30% if not a little more depending on activity level... Too low of a fat level will adversely effect your hormones that contribute to FAT LOSS... Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated finished off by some good saturated fast will do the trick... Olive oil, avocado, egg yokes (Yes, they are good for you), almonds, coconut oils, real butter, hard cheeses and grass feed versions of beef

3. Understand if you are or aren't carb tolerant... HERE'S THE BIGGEST ISSUE!
- If you aren't carb tolerant than eating a lot of them and at the wrong times of the day will kill your progress... How do you know?? How do you feel after a high carb meal? Sluggish and tired? Your can't handle your carbs... If you are energetic for an extended period of time then you are probably just fine... Another way that I find kind of interesting that is mentioned is by where you carry your body fat... If you have excessive body fat around your shoulder blades and upper back then you probably aren't very carb tolerant... To get an idea if you are eating TOO MANY carbs for your body type then take a look at the level of body fat around your lower ab and hip area... If you carry excessive body fat in this region then dialing down the level of carbs in your diet might do the trick to help trim this area...

TAKE HOME MESSAGE
1. If you dont eat ENOUGH calories then your metabolism and body fat loss will suffer so start on the higher end and slowly lower if needed by 100-200 calories a week
2. Eat healthy fats and plenty of them... You're creating havoc with your fat loss hormones if you don't
3. Carbs, carbs, carbs.... Be aware if your might be carb sensitive or not... Take note of how you feel after eat a large amount of them and check out where your biggest problem areas are... Make sure to earn your right to eat carbs but exercising first, have a bulk of your carbs earlier in the day (breakfast mainly), and finally, watch out with fruit consumption... the type of sugar contained in fruit is processed differently than those found in veggies so be careful how much fruit you eat at one time and throughout the day...

HOPE SOME OF THIS HELPS!

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