Nutrition 101 – Carbohydrates (August 2021)

affiliate • Sep 03, 2021

August Post: Nutrition 101 – Carbohydrates

Continuing our macronutrient discussion From June, we will delve into Carbohydrates this month, affectionately referred to as Carbs. Much like protein, carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, however, they do not contain nitrogen atoms. Their primary role in humans is to serve as an energy source through the form of sugar.

Carbs can be classified into three groups according to the number of sugar units they contain, Monosaccharides (single sugar molecules), Disaccharides (two simple sugar units joined together), and Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates which can contain up to thousands of sugar units). We will break these down further below.

Monosaccharides consist of glucose, fructose and galactose, with glucose being the most common. Glucose is a building block for many larger sugars, and is present circulating in the blood (as your blood sugar) and stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver to be used as energy. Fructose is similar to glucose, but has a different atom arrangement which makes it taste much sweeter than glucose. Fructose is naturally present in fruits and vegetables. Galactose is a milk sugar, and gets its name from the Greek galaktos (milk) and the generic chemical suffix for sugars -ose.

Disaccharides consist of sucrose (glucose + fructose), lactose (glucose + galactose), and maltose (glucose + glucose). Sucrose is the most common and is known as table sugar, and lactose is only found in mammalian milk. Maltose occurs primarily when polysaccharides are broken down during digestion, or during the fermentation process of alcohol and is the primary carbohydrate in beer.

Polysaccharides consist of starches, dietary fiber, and glycogen. Starch is the storage form of glucose in plants, and grains, nuts, legumes, and vegetables are all good sources of starch. Important to note, before starch can be used as a source of energy, it must first be broken down into its glucose components. Dietary fiber is a constituent of the plant cell wall, and includes cellulose, hemicellulose, beta-glucans, and pectins. Glycogen is found in small amounts in human and animal tissue as a temporary source of stored energy, although it is not present to any large extent in the foods we eat. Therefore, when glucose enters the muscles and liver, if it is not metabolized for energy it is synthesized to form glycogen through the process of glycogenesis.

All types of dietary carbohydrates, sugars as well as starches, are effective in supplying us with glucose and glycogen (energy). Consumption of a mix of sugars and starches is desirable though, as a varied source of carbohydrates will increase the amount of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) available to us, and limit boredom with food selection – variety is the spice of life after all.

But carbs are the enemy, right? Well, not really. While the body does not technically need carbohydrates to survive, they do provide a great source of micronutrients and variety to our diet as mentioned above. They also provide quick energy for exercise and activity, which is something that most of us do every day! What should be the main focus is what type of carbohydrates and how much should be consumed. 

Carbohydrates, while varied in nature, should consist of mostly whole foods and avoid processed foods. A good rule of thumb is to stick with vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fruit while avoiding pure or added sugar as much as possible. Reason being, vegetables and fruit contain significant amounts of water and fiber which help to make you feel full faster. I am sure I’m not the only one who can crush a bag of M&Ms in one day and still be hungry, so let’s do the math. One “share size” (lol, right?) package of M&Ms has roughly 46 grams by weight of candy, and 28 grams of carbohydrates, most of which is in added sugar. A half cup of chopped broccoli (roughly 44 grams by weight) has 3 grams of carbohydrates. That means that you would have to eat 4.5 cups of chopped broccoli to eat the equivalent number of carbohydrates! I don’t know about you, but that is a LOT of broccoli and would be very hard to accomplish and still want to eat more food. Now, don’t be the person that avoids the birthday cake, but try to limit your carb selections to the healthier alternatives.

As for quantity, at the bare minimum, about 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrate per day is needed to prevent ketosis. And yes, for most people ketosis is not a desired state, especially athletes. As a reference, a medium banana has roughly 27 grams of carbohydrates, so it does not take much to avoid ketosis. Beyond that need, carbohydrates provide fuel for energy, so consumption should match your activity level each day. The CrossFit recommendation does state: keep intake to levels that support exercise, but not body fat. If you feel your workouts have been lagging lately, you might consider bumping up your carbohydrate intake, especially a few hours before you go to the gym. 

My personal recommendation, and something that I and many others have found success with, is to try E.C. Synkowski’s 800 Gram Challenge . This “diet” makes things very simple: eat 800 grams of fruit and vegetables (by weight) each day, and if you are still hungry after that, eat whatever you want! By adding fruits and veggies and not restricting any food items, this way of eating encourages you to fill up on high quality, natural foods so that you are not hungry to eat the less ideal sugary items. Give her site a look over and I encourage you to try it out!

Photo compliments of ownyoureating.com

Previous WODs

By affiliate 02 Nov, 2021
Finally on our tour of the macronutrients are Fats! Another term you might be familiar with that is similar is Lipids, and the distinction is that lipid is a broader term. Kind of a square-rectangle relationship if you will. While fat has been the villain in the past, it is making its way back into ... The post Nutrition 101 – Fats (November 2021) appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 02 Nov, 2021
We have a couple new members we would like to introduce. If you see Tony or Mike at the gym, please welcome them! Here is a little bit about them, and what brought them to CrossFit Hakk! Tony DuPont Tony has lived most of his life in the UP, outside of about 6 years affiliated ... The post October New Member Spotlights appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 02 Nov, 2021
Before we get to the definition, I want to finish off the remaining three defining characteristics of foundational movements: Universal Motor Recruitment Patterns – How similar are the movements? Functional movements have tremendous carry over and skill transfer to other functional movements, and by training functional movements you will get better at other things. For ... The post Functional Movements Part 2 (October 2021) appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 02 Nov, 2021
Things just keep getting better – this is biggest committed club of the year so far with 24 of our members attending 15 or more classes in October! Here are the members that made it in October! Renee Hiller Angela Price Katie LaCosse Rochelle Spencer Clint Johnson Amanda Hoffman Sharon Colbert Aaron Persenaire Hannah Soumis ... The post October Committed Club appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 04 Oct, 2021
Here we have our Committed Club members (attended 15+ classes) for September! Renee Hiller Katie LaCosse Rochelle Spencer Hannah Soumis Joanne Coponen Moira Tracey Sunit Girdhar Julie Jalkanen Sandi Mattson Michelle Miller Gerald Huffman Amanda Hoffman Gavin McBride Kartik Iyer Angela Price Sharon Colbert Nicole Heinonen Dana Norman Tanya Kangas Kim Dunnebacke Clint Johnson Laura ... The post September Committed Club appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 19 Sep, 2021
Wow – where has the summer gone?! Here are some very belated celebrations for member accomplishments in the back half of the summer… First – our committed club members for July! Remember – committed club status requires attending at least 15 classes in any given month. Here are the members that achieved this in July: ... The post July and August Committed Clubs and 100 class Milestones appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 03 Sep, 2021
We say that Crossfit utilizes functional movements, but what does that really mean? Plugging the word “functional” into the Google machine gives two definitions, the second of which I like better: “designed to be practical and useful, rather than attractive.” However, this is still not good enough for us in Crossfit and therefore, we have ... The post Functional Movements Part 1 (September 2021) appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 03 Sep, 2021
Katie Kozma Katie is originally from Hesperia, MI (a small town in the lower peninsula), but now resides in Baraga. She decided to join CrossFit because she was looking to restart her fitness journey and she decided to complete a Spartan race and thought CrossFit would be the perfect thing for training. Her favorite part ... The post New Member Spotlights! appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 13 Jul, 2021
What is Intensity? When looking at the definition of Crossfit, we are presented with three distinct parts. Constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. We discussed “constantly varied” in March, and now we are going to tackle the last part – intensity. And you can probably see where we will be going after that… ... The post What is Intensity? (July 2021) appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
By affiliate 13 Jul, 2021
It’s time to announce our committed club members for June! Remember – committed club status requires attending at least 15 classes in any given month. Here are the members that achieved this last month! Aaron Persenaire Angela Price Katie LaCosse Justin LaCosse Nicole Heinonen Rochelle Spencer Jay Martineau Michelle Miller Julie Jalkanen Amanda Hoffman Gavin ... The post June AND 6-Month Committed Clubs AND 100 Class Milestone appeared first on CrossFit Hakkapeliitta.
More Posts

Stop missing out

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. 

Start My Free Trial Today
Share by:
Wodify Iframe