Episode 94: Why Carbs Aren't Evil (and How They Boost Your Metabolism)

In this episode, we’re busting one of the biggest nutrition myths out there: that carbs are bad for you.

Carbs have been demonized thanks to trendy diets like keto and years of diet culture telling us to cut, restrict, and fear entire food groups. But the truth? Carbs are not evil. In fact, they’re essential for energy, performance, metabolism, muscle building, and even thyroid health—especially for women over 30.

If you’ve been stuck in the low-carb cycle, constantly tired, and not seeing progress, this episode is for you. We’ll explain the real role carbs play in your health and how to incorporate them in a smart, balanced way.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why diet trends love demonizing one food group at a time (and why carbs became the latest target)
✅ The role of carbs as your body’s fastest and preferred energy source
✅ Why carbs are crucial for building and maintaining muscle
✅ The link between low-carb diets and thyroid issues in women
✅ How carbs impact T3 hormone conversion and overall thyroid function
✅ How many carbs you might actually need per day (hint: it’s probably more than you think)

Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoyed it.

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Transcript

0:44

Hey there everyone. It's Joe. And welcome back to the Booster Metabolism after age 30 podcast. I am excited you're here today because I'm gonna be talking about one of the macronutrients carbs that I think is very misunderstood and has been demonized as of late. Carbs have gotten such a bad reputation in recent years. This is mostly thanks to low carb and keto diets, but today I am gonna set the record straight about carbs. Carbs are not evil, and in fact, they play a vital role in your energy, your workouts a healthy metabolism, and even your body composition. So today I'm gonna break down why you shouldn't fear carbs and how to include them in a way that supports your fitness and health goals. Okay, so issue number one that I'm gonna discuss is why we keep demonizing food groups. So taking a step back, nutrition trends are always shifting. And the way the diet industry keeps going is it loves to have a villain. In the nineties, fat was the enemy and we had fat-free everything. Fat-free cookies, fat-free yogurt. I don't know if you remember the Snack Brand. It was very popular when I was in college. And we believed that if we just cut out fat, we'd be healthy and lose all the weight that we wanted to and be able to manage our weight in a very easy way. Fast forward to today, and fat has been redeemed. Now it's carbs that are under fire. This is partly because of the rise of low carb and keto diets and now even carnivore diets. And those diets have convinced people that carbs are what are keeping them from their goals and from being healthy. But the truth is your body doesn't really function well when you cut out an entire macronutrient group. Our metabolisms work their best when they have a healthy balance of protein. Fats, and carbs in particular serve some very important purposes, especially if you are active, if you are over 30, if you're a woman with a thyroid issue and if you're trying to build muscle and a strong, healthy body. The reason that cutting out entire food groups tends to work is that it just naturally limits your calories. If you cut out entire macronutrient like fat, it just limits, some unhealthy foods that you can eat that may have fat. If you cut out carbs, same thing. It tends to cut out. Calories. And so how you're losing weight is really by just reducing your calories, that's what most studies have found about diets that just completely eliminate macro nutrients or one macronutrient. Okay. So let's talk about the purpose or role that carbs serve. Carbs are your fast energy source. They are your body's primary and fastest source of energy. So when you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into glucose which is used immediately for energy or it gets stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen for later use. If you are someone who is working out carbs play a particularly important role and that's, whether you're lifting weights or running or doing orange theory your muscles generally prefer to use glycogen for energy. And so without enough carbs, you might notice that you feel sluggish or weak or fo foggy or that you just hit a wall during your work workouts or just can't seem to recover, can't seem to heal energies or heal injuries. And so what carbs will do is help you have that sustained energy through a workout, keep your brain sharp and maintain, help you maintain stable energy and blood sugar throughout the day. They're not really just about carb, bloating to fuel long run. They really do help you function and manage your energy all day long because they are that quick source of energy that we have access to. Okay, so the next thing I wanna talk about is the thermogenic effect of carbs. So this sort of relates to your metabolism. And one of the great things about carbs and also about protein is that you burn some calories just through the digestion of carbs. So this is what we call the thermic effect of food. We've talked about this in relation to protein. Protein has the highest thermogenic effect and that's at about 20%, meaning 20% of the calories. That you ingest from protein is gonna be used up to process that. Protein, carbs are the macronutrient that they have. The next highest thermo effect, which is at about eight to 10%, meaning that about eight to 10% of calories you eat from carbs. You use up to just, again, process and digest those carbs. By comparison, fat has the lowest thermic effect and it is only at about three or 4%, meaning if you eat a hundred calories of fat, you're only burning three to four calories of fat to digest that food. So again, protein has the highest thermic effect of food, which is one reason we emphasize it so much. But carbs still, do have a thermic effect and play. A supporting role in revving up that metabolism much, much more than fats do. Again, carbs help, keep your metabolism running just as protein does. Okay, let's talk about carbs and muscle building. So if you are strength training or doing any kind of resistance work, which again, we highly recommend, especially for. Boosting your metabolism and keeping that metabolism fast and speedy as you age. You need carbs to perform and to recover and to build muscles. So carbs help replenish the glycogen that gets depleted during workouts which means better recovery, reduced soreness, and more energy for your next session. Carbs also support muscle protein Synthesis, meaning carbs can help your body use protein more efficiently. So when you aren't eating enough carbs and you're trying to strength train and gain muscle, your body sometimes has to turn. To a different energy source for for energy if you're not giving enough carbs and it will turn to muscle and break down that muscle. So if you, again, if you are trying to get stronger or build muscle that's definitely not something that you want to do. You're basically working against yourself. So, carbs are a really important, part of the muscle building process it makes that process work better and you absolutely need carbs to build muscle. The other thing about in terms of muscle building is again, if you have carbs in your system, you're just going to be able to push harder during those workouts to be able to really do something and perform well and build that muscle. Okay, the next reason carbs are not evil is because they have a lot of fiber and can help you feel full and do all sorts of other wonderful things. So carbs are where we get fiber. And fiber really is your friend for feeling full and satisfied throughout the day. Fiber does a couple of different things. It helps regulate digestion, it helps stabilize blood sugar. It keeps you full longer. It supports health or supports your heart and gut health. And so fiber, rich carbs, things like fruits, vegetables, oats, lentils, whole grains they're not only nutrient dense. They have fiber in, are super filling. So what happens when people go low carb is oftentimes. They remove a big chunk of their fiber intake. So this can lead to things like digestive issues bloating energy crashes and just like cravings. So when we say eat carbs, of course we're not talking about, eating pastries and soda. We're mostly talking about making sure to include fiber rich, whole food, carbs that support your health on every level. And if you think about it, like meat and fat really have almost no fiber at all. So if you have a diet that's just full of a, the carnivore diet, for example, with no fiber might work for weight loss, but it's going to backfire in terms of your digestion and doing all the other things that fiber does for your body. Okay. The next thing I wanna talk about is going low carb or low carb diets and thyroid health and what you need to know if you are a woman with thyroid issues. So, this is a pattern that we see over and over again in our coaching practice is women. Come to us who have chronically dieted often since their teens or early twenties, and once they hit their forties or fifties begin dealing with thyroid problems. I believe the two are definitely linked. I can't give you any science on that, but we just see it over and over again. If you have thyroid issues you probably do not want to go on a low carb diet. Okay, so let's break down the science of carbs and your thyroid. So your thyroid is a small gland, but it plays a big role in reg regulating your metabolism, your energy, your mood, digestion, and even your body temperature. And for it to work properly, it needs a steady supply of glucose, which is the energy we get from carbs. So the parts of the brain that regulate your thyroid, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland really depend on glucose to function properly. They act as your hormonal control center, and without glucose, their ability to signal your thyroid gets impaired. Also, one of the key hormones in this process, TSH or thyroid. Stimulating hormone. This signals your thyroid to produce the thyroid hormones, T three and T four. TSH itself is partially made up of glucose molecules. So if you are restricting carbs for long periods of time, you're literally removing the fuel that your body needs to produce this important regulatory hormone. It doesn't stop there. In addition to these important roles, carb intake also seems to influence how much T three is converted from T four. So this is a big deal because T three is the active form of the thyroid hormone. It's the one that actually gets inside your cells and boosts your metabolism. And studies suggest that when car intake is DRA drastically reduced. The conversion of T four to T three declines. So that means even if your body is making enough T four, you may not be activating it into usable T three, which again is going to leave you tired and sluggish and stuck. And a possible explanation of this. Again, I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but some studies have suggested that insulin may play a role in ACT activating the enzymes that convert T four to T three. So if you're not eating very many carbs and your insulins levels stay chronically low, that conversion process could slow down. So again, we see this all the time with our clients years of low carb eating, dieting metabolic damage and thyroid issues that don't fully resolve until they start fueling their bodies properly again. And once they add carbs back in strategically they often see improvements in energy. Brain fog. And sometimes even their thyroid lab numbers improve. So if you are dealing with a thyroid issue or suspect that you have a thyroid issue, please know that carbs are not your enemy. They can actually be a part of restoring your metabolic health in helping you, your thyroid do its job. Okay, so now we're gonna get into some practical, discussion points. So how many carbs should you be eating? Okay, so really, of course it depends on your body size, your activity level, and your goals. We see that most active women do well with. At least a hundred grams of carbs a day. Up to 200 grams of carbs per day. And if you're thinking, oh my gosh, 200 grams of carbs a day, or even more than a hundred grams of carbs a day, that seems like a lot of carbs. Even what's considered a low carb diabetic. Nutrition plan usually includes at least 120 to 150 grams of carbs. So I would say that anything even less than 150 grams of carbs a day is probably, varying into that low carb space. A hundred grams of carbs a day. I know I only have gone down that low a few times. Usually like a few weeks before a fitness competition to really just dial everything in. And I know, like I definitely see a hit to my energy levels, my brain function. I don't get good sleep when I'm that low carb. If you are thinking a hundred grams of carbs a day is a lot and you're having any symptoms of like brain fog, low energy, inability to make it through workouts. Then you might want to look at your carb intake. So again, if you're lifting consistently and you're really looking to build muscle, you probably wanna be on that higher end of the range, up to 200 grams of carbs or beyond. And that won't automatically cause fat gains. Sometimes the scale goes up when you add carbs back into your body. But that's usually because when you add carbs in, it causes you to hold onto more water. But a lot of our clients lose fat when they start eating more carbs because their energy improves, their workouts get stronger, they get more active and again, they wake up that metabolism and things start working better. So just to say, if you are someone and you know that you have thyroid issues or you suspect that you might have thyroid issues and you're. Feeling constantly tired or craving sugar or not progressing in the gym. Looking at your carb intake might be a good place to start. Okay. Last thing to discuss is, what are smart carb choices? So not all carbs are created equal. Again, the goal isn't to load up on Pop-Tarts and rice crispy treats and, say, oh good, now I'm eating carbs again. So you do definitely want to include a variety of whole unprocessed carbs in your day. Things that I would turn to are things like potatoes and sweet potatoes. Potatoes are some of the most satiating foods that there is. I know that we've had clients who come to us and can't believe they can eat potatoes again. I don't know why potatoes have gotten such a bad wrap, but they really are satiating. They have fiber. They are lower calorie, like you can eat more potatoes. Then other carbs, like a half cup of potatoes is lower calorie than a half cup of rice. Potatoes are a great source of carbs. Brown or white rice is another good source of carbs. Quinoa, oatmeal, beans and lentils have tons of fiber. They have a little bit of protein as well, but are mostly a carb. And then things like fruits, apples, bananas, berries, mangoes, all really good. Sources of carbs because they get a lot of fiber comes along with that. And then of course, vegetables. The star, she the vegetable, the higher the carb content is going to be. So things like carrots, squash, and beets. So again, these are all carbs that are full of nutrients and water and fiber and are gonna give you long lasting energy. They tend to be very satisfying and satiating. They digest slower than something like a Pop-Tart. And they are really going to help support your goals. And so I would be looking for a minimum of four to five servings of carbs a day just to even hit that a hundred to 120. Goal of, carbs a day. Usually where things go awry is what we consider a serving of carbs. So that's typically gonna be four ounces or like a half cup. And make sure you measure your carbs if you're, wanting to know truly how many carbs you're eating. A lot of times we're eating. Maybe more than we realize in a serving. And that can be the culprit of not seeing success versus just eating carbs. To pay attention to portion sizes. But I would say that eating four to five servings of carbs spread throughout the day is gonna give you really good energy for all the things that you want to do. Okay. So to recap, carbs are not evil. They are your body's preferred energy source and they're gonna help you fuel your workouts, support muscle growth, help regulate digestion and even boost that metabolism. Contrary to popular belief, ditching carbs doesn't make you healthier. Usually it just makes us tired and cranky and sometimes can lead to horrible binges because we just can't function without them. If you're not sure how to add carbs back into your day or if you're wondering, if your current low carb or keto diet might be actually sabotaging your progress this is something we help our coaching clients with every single day, and that is. Helping them come up with a nutrition plan that contains a healthy balance of all the macronutrients and incorporating that into a lifestyle that works for them and supports weight management and all of their goals. We can definitely help you with that and just help you figure out, how many carbs to eat and how to distribute those throughout the day. If you're interested in that, feel free to book a discovery call and check out our coaching programs. And other than that, I think that's all I have for you today. So thanks so much for listening to the Boost Your Metabolism after age 30 podcast. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a friend. Leave us a quick review and hit subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. Okay, see y'all next time.