Why You Need Carbs to Tone

1. Fuel for your muscles

Ever wonder how your muscles get their energy for your workouts? Ideally, your muscles want to consume glycogen for fuel — a compound made from the carbohydrates your body consumes. That means if you consume little to no carbs, not only will you have no glycogen available, your body will turn to other energy sources... and one of those is your muscle tissue itself! If you’re breaking down muscle to feed muscle, you’re fighting an uphill battle. Your body can learn to burn fat for muscle, which is largely what ketogenic diets rely on, but read the next section before you count on that.

2. Alternative energy sources

Yes, your body can adapt to using fat for fuel, but consider this: Would you give your car a form of fuel it wasn’t designed for simply because someone told you it would still run? Of course not! Besides, how do you know what the cumulative effect will be years down the line? Our bodies are meant to consume protein, fats, and carbs — all are sources of energy, and all of them are essential to our long-term health and optimal function. Lose any one of them and your body will do its best to adapt, but it will never reach its full potential or reward you for it... and your body composition will suffer in the meanwhile.

3. Quick availability

You can take preworkout if you choose, but nothing primes your body for muscle growth like simple carbohydrates. These fast-digesting energy sources are quickly converted into glycogen, meaning you can eat shortly before your workout and get an energy spike you can actually use, instead of one that just leads you to crash later. White bread, white rice, certain fruits, and even refined sugars can all serve this purpose, provided they’re combined with lean proteins — and lean is essential, because your body will prioritize digesting fats FIRST, removing the primary benefit of that quick hit of carbs.

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