The problem with cutting out carbs.

Do you notice that when you cut out your carbs, you drop weight, and feel leaner? Complicated, nerdy things happen in your body when you reduce the amount of carbs, and it is forced to use protein and fat for energy. This process appears to lead towards a rapid reduction in weight. I did this in the past successfully many times. It actually does work. So what’s the problem with cutting out carbs? Let’s discuss that.

The problem with carb depletion is the following, for MOST of us, it is not sustainable. If you follow my work, you’ll know that one of the things I often say is that “In order to succeed at this game, this must be something that you can sustain long term.” Depleting your carbs, in my opinion, is not sustainable for the long term. I don’t think it’s healthy, and more often than not you will fail. Mind you, I know some people who swear by it, and live by it, but this is not the case for most of us.

The other things to consider is what will happen the minute you ingest any carbs after a prolonged depletion. If cutting carbs makes you feel and appear leaner, what do you think happens when you return to eating carbs? If you said the complete opposite, that is correct. You will begin to hold water, and your body will try and store the energy. Test it if you must, cut your carbs for a week or two, then eat some carbs and watch how that ass will blow up like a balloon.

I thought about all this as I chose my breakfast this morning. The last couple of days, my workouts have been a bit inconsistent due to some personal matters I’ve had to tend to. In addition to that, due to the celebratory nature of some of those matters, I’ve been a little loose and careless with my food intake. This had led to me feeling bloated, heavy, and basically grossed out with myself. I thought about going hard and cutting the carbs for the next few days, and then I remembered exactly what I’m talking to you about right now. I remembered the video for youtube I’m working on about binging and the cheat meal.

I decided to be smart about this. I chose my usual breakfast which is very low calorie, but still has a nice balance of proteins, fats, and yes, carbs! I decided to allow my body to return back to normal, by simply being normal. Rather than trying to rush it back by some extreme measures. Being able to think this through, and doing it what I believe to be the right way did not happen overnight. This has been a long learning process and has come with experience. I made the decision while at home now, and then I thought I’d pump out this quick article about it before heading into work and getting busy. Once I leave, I work the day job, then I teach at the gyms in the evening. My time is limited here.

Still so, I wanted to share this observation with you guys. This is a learning process, and as I discover myself, I’m sharing it with you in hopes that it may be of benefit to at least one person out there! I think that if I knew all this when I was in my 20s, I would never have ballooned up to nearly 300 pounds, and I’d have stayed nice and fit all this time. The problem was taking things to extremes, and cutting out the carbs is one of those extremes. A better way is to cycle them, take them in earlier in your day, and after training. Keep them low or non-existent the rest of the day. This way you can sustain it, and you won’t develop carb sensitivity.

Thanks for reading, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, thoughts, or concerns!

Angel Rodriguez

Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.