Conducting a Carbohydrate Audit: Why It May Be More Than Your Macros
Weight loss is tricky. As many of you know, our philosophy here in Shebnation™ is never to starve anyone out, or restrict calories in a way that allows for hormonal deregulation and the accompanied increase in stress levels that inevitably follow. So we try and make micro tweaks to your macros, and try and figure out what tiny shifts will make your body tick and get you closer to your goals.
One thing we cannot overlook though, is food quality. It needs being said, just because it fits your macros, does not always mean that you are going to see optimal weight or fat loss, or performance increases.
Why is food quality so important? Lots of reasons, but here are a few compelling ones:
- Increased micronutrient density. The more “real” your food is, the more vitamins and minerals you will be able to absorb from it. This is called bioavailability. It refers to the proportion of a consumed item that is actually absorbed and used by your body. The higher the bioavailability, the more micronutrients you absorb. Quality, whole food is more bioavailable to us than processed food is.
- Diet induced thermogenesis (DIT or heat, heat baby). Plainly put, the more your body has to work to break a food down, the more heat it generates and the more you increase your basic energy expenditure rate. A higher rate of energy expended is going to help with weight loss and those of us who want to lean out.
So getting back to this carb audit idea. Stay with me here.
What we often see on our clients’ diaries are relatively high quality choices in the protein and fat departments, but when it comes to carbohydrate choices, not as much.
Let’s take an example here. Two meals with nearly identical macronutrient outcomes. I used the exact same protein and fat sources to illustrate my point:
Meal 1:
200 (7 ounces) grams cooked chicken breast
56 grams (2 ounces) muenster cheese
158 grams (1 cup) cooked jasmine rice
200 grams (7 ounces) frozen broccoli, steamed
786 cals/ 52 C | 25 F | 87 P | 7.4 Fiber
Meal 2:
200 (7 ounces) grams cooked chicken breast
56 grams (2 ounces) muenster cheese
1 French roll ( a typical sandwich roll about 4” in circumference, 40 grams in weight)
2 ounces (56 grams) baked BBQ chips
795 cals / 56 C | 26 F | 83 P | 5 Fiber
Ok so you can see how on the surface. both of these meals would fit your macros ALMOST IDENTICALLY!!!!!
However, in nearly every category of vitamin, mineral amino acid levels, the lunch that included rice and broccoli came out way ahead % wise, with big wins in Vitamins A, C, and K. Folic Acid and Manganese (important for recovery) were the big winners in the mineral department. In terms of volume, Meal 1 also provided 2.6 times the water and therefore you would feel more full and satisfied after you ate it. In fact the the only mineral where the Meal 2 beat Meal 1 was in the sodium department, by 20%. Half your sodium for the day was covered by that one meal, probably from the chips no doubt.
Because I am not above reproach, I did a carb audit on myself. I picked 2 random days in August, pulled up MFP and organized my carbohydrate choices into the following categories:
- Garbage carbs (included alcohol, treats and sugary cereals)
- Complex carbohydrates from healthful yet processed sources (included whole grain breads, pasta, dairy, nut milks and butters- highly nutritious prepared foods, canned foods, higher quality protein bars and powders would fit here. Anything healthful with more than one ingredient basically)
- Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes cooked from scratch. One ingredient foods.
I eat between 180 and 210 grams of carbohydrates per day. I added up all the grams for each category and divided that number by the total number of carbs I ate for that day. Here is what happened:
Wednesday 8/22:
6% Garbage carbs (big ole rice krispie treat with chocolate chips I love marshmallows and crunchy things sorry)
57% Complex carbohydrates from healthful sources
37 % Fruits, vegetables (both fresh or frozen) and grains cooked from scratch.
Monday 8/27
37 % Garbage carbs (Courtesy of some big old Gin and Tonics, with grapefruit and lime.)
36 % Complex carbohydrates from healthful sources
27% Fruits, vegetables (both fresh or frozen) and grains cooked from scratch.
Results:
Wednesday 8/22. I am ok with this. I could still stand to get more "one ingredient" foods into my life.
Monday 8/27- Good lord in heaven should I really be missing this kind of nutritive opportunity when I have a power lifting competition so near?
We all have to answer these questions personally, for ourselves. And go from there. If you want to perform a carbohydrate audit on yourself, here is how to do it:
- Make up your own categories (or use mine). You could even make a supplement or bar category if you want to see how many of your carbs are coming from that type of food.
- Add up the total grams of carbs you ate from each category, separately, for a single day.
- Divide that number by the total grams of carbs you ate that day, to calculate the % for each category.
Take a good look at your results. Make a few small changes if you need to, and see over the next few days or weeks if those actions produce results in line with the goals you currently have. If you are a client, and want to know more, shoot us an email. We could help you make a few dietary tweaks within your current macro split that might make your goal weight easier to get to. If you are not a client, talk to us anyway. We'd love to hear from you. -Sheb