I've written a fair bit about carbohydrates, insulin and glycogen -- for example in my earlier article Glycogen, fat and other sh*t -- but there still seems to be a fair bit of confusion out there about them and the bodily processes they're engaged with. There also seems to be some confusion about when best to scoff your carbohydrates or wheel-barrow of expensive supplements, with most netspurts still promoting getting these in straight after your work-out.
Hm.
I'm a little skeptical about the whole anabolic-window-speel too, just quietly.
For those not in the know, the "anabolic window" (also known as the "window of opportunity" also known as the "post work-out window") is based on the idea of getting carbohydrates, proteins and supplements into you ASAP after working out because if you don't, you'll lose all your gains. Not some but ALL. How frightening. Likewise, if you don't wear string-singlets to show your chesticles off, you'll grow titties. True story.
Who comes up with this crap?
Thing is, "losing gains" flies in the face of common-sense because anyone who knows anything about the iron game understands it's when we're at rest, when we're actively recovering, muscles grow. Not when we're working out, nor straight after. What's more, I don't care what supplement you're taking it's still going to take 1-2 hours (for the fastest acting supplement you use) to even digest, which automatically lengthens this fantastical-window bullshit.
However, we'll come back to this later: let's look at carbohydrates and insulin first.
CARBOHYDRATES & INSULIN
When you eat carbohydrates -- hitherto referred to as "carbs" for the duration of this article -- your insulin levels spike. The reason they increase is because your body is actually designed to ramp up insulin production immediately after carbs enter the digestive system. Why? Because carbs are converted to glucose (which is essentially sugars), a main energy source if not the main energy source for we humans; insulin draws this glucose out, sending said "energy" to refuel muscles, organs and cells.
This is a great and effective design.
Carbs-slash-energy is to the body what fuel is for a car engine; without fuel a car engine simply doesn't work. It's the same for the human body (which if it does work energy-depleted, does so to a greatly lessened -- and ultimately ineffective -- degree). Don't believe me? Try working out for six hours straight. You can't. Why can't you? Because you run out of energy-slash-fuel-slash-carbs. Thus insulin is part of our internal public transport system shuttling fuel to the many "engines" of our body.
Now you know why they say an army marches on its stomach.
But.
Keep in mind that whilst carbs refuel us, it's actually the likes of weight-training (either stand-alone or combined with further supplements like proteins, branch-chain amino acids, casein, whey or creatine) that actually builds muscle. There's a difference between refuelling and building. Putting fuel into your gas tank doesn't make your car body bigger, it just keeps the engine running; carbs do the same for us. Its lifting weights, over time, which build the human body, possibly with the use of some of the above-mentioned supplements -- or some killer gear.
...aka steroids.
Jokes!
INSULIN HELPS SHUTTLE BOTH AMINO ACIDS FROM PROTEINS WE'VE DIGESTED ALONG WITH FATTY ACIDS FROM FATS WE'VE DIGESTED, BACK INTO OUR CELLS AND TISSUES TO REPLENISH THEM
Another cool thing about insulin is that it promotes pro-anabolic processes and inhibits catabolic processes (visit this link for a clear explanation of these. There's no point me telling you what others explain better; it's a short read so read it and come back). So everyday when we consume carbs and our bodies convert this into glucose-slash-sugars-slash-energy, insulin kicks into gear to pull said glucose out of the bloodstream and into our body tissues.
Insulin, like cholesterol, is yet another vital ingredient we can't live without.
WHERE TO FROM HERE
Now you understand what carbs provide and what insulin does, what does that mean? It means you need to understand too many carbs means too much glucose; remember, glucose is essentially sugars. But guess what? Our bodies are programmed to deal with the surplus by taking this glucose excess and storing it as glycogen (aka fat) for future use. By "fat" I mean just that so think love handles, abdominal fat, batwings you name it.
Remember, if you live a fairly sedantry lifestyle the amount of glucose (based on carb intake) you need will differ to an athlete who trains daily. They'll need more energy hence more carbs BUT there is one enormous difference: they're using their energy up daily whereas you're not. If they were to live on your carb intake, they wouldn't have enough energy to train and vice versa: if you had their daily carb intake, it would be stored as excess fat because you wouldn't "burn" it.
Isn't the human body amazing?
Food really can be thought of in simplistic terms as fuel.
Will reducing carbs then reduce your own fat stores? Yep. But here's the thing: reducing any food intake whether carbs, fruit, vegetables or edible strawberry-flavoured condoms will reduce your fat stores. Losing fat, losing weight, is based on nothing more than eating less than you need. That's it. That is the basis of EVERY FUCKING DIET so it's not goddamn recipes you and I need, it's self-discipline. Without self-discipine we will never lose excess fat ever, end of story.
This isn't a fat-loss article but it does seem to sengue towards it so keep it in mind: reducing food reduces weight because your body will draw energy from your fat stores sooner or later. However, because we're looking at carbs, hopefully you see the link between carbs and glucose which, if not used, converts to glycogen stored as fat. Hence why a low-carb diet will have you lose some definite weight over time but ultimately, it's really about reduced food portions rather than "carbs" per se.
GETTING BACK TO THE ANABOLIC WINDOW
Okay, so getting back to the anabolic window which is, in my limited opinion, pure supplement-company bullshit, have you ever seen an indepth, long-term study done of people with identical size, experience, diets, training programs and gender where one half scoffs x-amount of carbs/proteins within y-amount of time whilst the other consumes the same amount of carbs/proteins over z-amount of time? No, no you haven't. Nor will you.
Why?
Because it will mean loss of market, audience and money.
Why? Because it would become glaringly clear that the "anabolic window" doesn't exist.
Supplement firms are like tobacco firms: neither is a charity. They are in the business of making profit and sometimes, sometimes stretching the truth a little or hiding untruths a lot, or simply not telling all the truth is financially beneficial. About the only time I can see the benefits of protein after a work-out is if you worked out in a fasted state, thus having protein in supplemental form or food form -- think cottage cheese or eggs -- could be beneficial for feeding nutrients to your muscles.
...notice my use of the word "could".
I still wouldn't put money on this though, not least because we're all individuals who respond differently to the same stimuli. Not to mention we may all digest the same supplements differently, let alone different supplements differently. Confused? I am. Of course you're more than welcome to do your own research in fact, I insist you do -- and if you find out something factual let me know -- because there's a plethora of information online just waiting to confuse you.
:: CONCLUSION
I don't subscribe to the notion of there being an anabolic window but have zero evidence for this. In which case, I'm just like all the supplement firms and netspurts who do subscribe to the notion of there being an anabolic window: neither of us have clear, definitive proof. True, I'm not trying to sell you anything but then and again, I don't believe every person and/or business selling supplements is the devil incarnate.
Let me also leave you with this: carbs are not the sole cause of being over-weight. Eating too much whether healthy food or junk food is the first cause, especially for males. Eating too much shitty food (anything high in fat, salt, refined carbs, sugars or that's over-processed with preservatives blah blah blah) is the second cause for our carrying extra weight. Over-eating shitty food just gets you fatter faster.
I would reduce carbs to lose weight in the short-term, sure, in fact I do; but then I'd bring them back up again, focusing on good carbs with lots of fibre like fruit and vegetables, rather than staying on a low-carb anything. I just don't think being low-carb is particularly beneficial or healthy in the long run (zero evidence again, just my take on things). Remember reduced portions + better carbs = correct weight maintenance for a healthier lifestyle. Surely that's a good result. Kia ora whanau.
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