Zen Pen Fitness

Q: I have been cutting out carbs and feeling really tired, will this pass?

A: Good question.  This is not a good idea to cut out carbohydrates from your daily food intake. Glucose is a byproduct of carbohydrates once it breaks down. Our brains run on glucose, so it's important not to deprive yourself of carbohydrates because if you do this for a period of time, you can go into a serious health condition called ketosis, over time; ketosis can be dangerous because it takes the acid in your blood past a level your body can take. It isn't healthy and it can damage your liver and kidneys. Unfortunately, I have seen this numerous times within my career, as people are poorly coached to "eliminate" carbohydrates. This is extreme thinking and it's completely unnecessary. I think it is ok to pull back in your white starches, refined sugars & breads. Carbohydrates are one of our body's main macronutrients that are essential to our energy.  I encourage you to eat a healthy balance of simple /complex carbohydrates, balanced by protein & fats, which will slow down the digestion of these macro nutrients to keep your blood sugar stable & keep you feeling fuller for longer periods. This should give you more energy as carbohydrates, proteins, & fats all have a digestion time and by combining them, you are lengthening that time. For example: simple carbohydrates alone i.e. fruit, yogurt, etc. take about 20-min to 1 hour to digest, where protein takes about 4-6 hours.

{{ article }}