You're Eating Poverty Carbs; Let's Fix It (Part 1)

Calling all Special Operations hopefuls, current SOF operators, and hybrid athletes chasing big fitness goals:

There’s a VERY strong chance you’re selling yourself short right now in your pursuit of optimal fitness and health. 

How so, you may ask? Well, based on mountains of evidence from 1st hand coaching experience, the likelihood you’re eating fewer carbohydrates than you should be is nearly 100%. If I were a betting man, I’d gladly bet the house on it.

Does this strike a chord? If so, you’ve come to the right place. I’m about to break down exactly why insufficient carb intake is problematic for high volume trainees—and not just for training, but day to day health and wellness, too.

And because this topic is:

a) such a prominent problem in SOF prep/current SOF/hybrid athletes

b) riddled with misinformation, scaremongering and grifting from low carb zealots

c) highly nuanced and context-specific

I’ve decided to write a 3-part article series on it. Before hopping into part 1, here’s a little preview of what’s ahead:

Part 1: introducing the problem; “diet with carbs” vs. “high carb diet”; who benefits from low carb?; drawbacks of low carb consumption for high performers—particularly Type-A individuals (typically a package deal); carbs as they pertain to stress, body composition and recovery from training

Part 2: determining your carb (and calorie, protein and fat) needs; employing carb cycling for optimal performance

Part 3: peri-workout (pre/during/post) nutrition; best carb sources for optimal performance

 

Let’s dive into part 1. 

I can say with conviction that, unless you’re a complete and utter unicorn, you’re leaving gains—in the gym, on the track, and on the trails—on the table right now.

Not just some gains. Heaps of them. 

There could, of course, be many influencing factors at play, but one of the most common (and costly) is the underconsumption of carbs, and likely calories.

How can I predict this with such certainty? Case studies. And lots of them.

I’ve had well over 100 nutrition coaching clients in the last year alone. As part of their onboarding week, I instruct them to track their intake for the first 5 days—3 weekdays, 2 weekend days—emphasizing they eat as they normally do.

I then provide feedback based on their current macros, calories and food choices, while also assigning their new macros. And although this may shock you, it’s factual: I’ve had to increase the daily carb intake for…100% of them when we first begin working together. And it’s rarely by just a little.

Although calorie bumps are often needed as well, it’s not a 100% stat like carbs, because in the very same breath, I’ve had to decrease the fat intake of all but one of them. (He was a former IFBB pro bodybuilder—an avatar notorious for keeping fat intake in check).

To clarify, this is not to say fat is bad. Unlike carbs, it’s an essential macro, critical for health and sustaining life.

But although carbs are non-essential to sustain life, in that you could never eat a single gram again and you’d live, I consider them the most essential macro for the typical hybrid athlete or SOF candidate.

Why? Mainly because it’s such an under-appreciated component in optimal performance, recovery, and as you’ll learn later, health. We’ve already touched on fat—virtually no one accidentally under-shoots it in this arena. Likewise, most hard-training studs who care about fitness know the importance of eating enough protein. (In many cases, way more than they need.)

But carbs are often brushed under the rug as a macro that’s fine to eat in moderation, but beyond that, little more thought and attention is needed.

And this is precisely where the problem lies. Because conventional nutrition wisdom is riddled with carb fear-mongering, pseudo-science, and non-research-backed claims, there lies a disconnect between carbs for “gen-pop” vs. carbs for those with extreme performance goals. And the goal with this article series is to clear the air, convincing you—the guy with extreme performance goals—to strongly consider a bump (to put it lightly) in carbs.

 

Why “Just Eat Carbs” Simply Doesn’t Cut It

By failing to prioritize carbs, you’re selling yourself short across the board. As it pertains to hard-charging, go-getting, future and current SOF guys, simply “having some carbs in the diet” is nowhere near enough. That’s like saying “to achieve optimal hybrid fitness, just ensure you lift some weights and run some miles.” It’s the broad strokes, but lacks the critical finer details.

Likewise, the gap between “eating carbs” and eating “sufficient carbs to optimize” is expansive. Just like there’s a difference between a high protein meal and a meal with protein in it (sometimes a massive one), there’s a difference between a high carb diet and a diet…with some carbs in it. And when you’re spending several hours per week training for endurance, strength, speed, power, and other energy intensive, recovery-demanding disciplines, a "diet with carbs in it" will not suffice. 

Yeah, you can get by. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made any progress this far. But ‘getting by’ isn’t in the same universe as optimizing. And if you’re preparing for a competition, race or selection process—or you simply train hard year round in pursuit of top-tier fitness—”getting by” doesn’t belong in your vocabulary.

What are you leaving on the table, exactly? Let’s take a look at some of the deleterious effects of shorting yourself on carbs.

 

Drawbacks of Low Carb

Low carb is a prominent approach in the wellness arena. 

‘Insulin’, ‘blood sugar’, ‘water retention’, ‘fat burning’, ‘metabolic flexibility’ are examples of buzzwords you’ll hear from popular figures in this space.

To be fair, these terms all have relevance to health and performance. But the nuances wellness influencers brush over leaves a lot of people scratching their heads. And if you lack savviness in nutrition and physiology, utter bewilderment awaits. That, or simply taking their advice at face value, and going all in on the carb-restricted lifestyle.

Here’s the deal: a low carb diet can be effective for long term body composition maintenance and health…

For the average person.

With average health and wellness goals.

But while commonalities exist between general wellness and extreme athletic performance, they are by no means the same. Achieving optimal wellness—which we’ll define as living and remaining healthy for longer (lifespan and health span)—doesn’t require a diverse range of high intensity, voluminous training.

In fact, quite the opposite. Exercise is critical for wellness, but in much smaller, more reasonable doses than what’s required for peak performance. And low carbs can indeed support low to moderate activity levels, which describes the average person to a T. 

But in case you weren’t aware, I’ll let you in on a secret: you—the guy (or gal) aiming to run and ruck dozens of miles per week, lift big weights, drag, pull and carry heavy shit, and, oh by the way, attack daily life outside training with vigor and tenacity—are not the average person. 

And when you have big performance goals, you demand a lot more out of your body than Joe from accounting who's lucky if he 'finds time' to get in a couple modest workouts a week.

And with that comes longer, harder, and more frequent training. When you train like this while under-doing the carbs, you can expect less than ideal outcomes, including but not limited to:

• Less ‘vigor’ throughout the day (during and away from training)

• Reductions in top end strength and power (carbs fuel optimal CNS function)

• Marked decrements in high intensity (glycolytic) training: speed and tempo work, time trials, higher rep lifting, intervals, metcon-style training, etc.

• Lower tolerance to lifting intensity (pushing close to failure is more painful, and failure often occurs sooner in a set

• Reductions in hydration (glycogen—stored in your muscles as the result of ample carb intake—holds water and electrolytes, supporting optimal hydration)

• Decrements in long distance endurance performance (although fat is a viable fuel source for long, easier efforts, if it were better than carbs, 99.9% of high level endurance athletes wouldn’t eat high carbs, but they do. Because carbs win.)

• Difficulty attaining a pump in the gym, which detracts not only from the subjective experience of training (pumps feel good/look cool, thus enhancing adherence), but also can increase injury risk (joints surrounded by pumped muscles are less susceptible)

• Slower between-set recovery times

• Slower between-session recovery times—especially when training again that day, but also for subsequent day(s) workouts.

There are more, but this list should suffice to open your eyes to the importance of carbs as they pertain to performance goals.

I think we can all agree the above decrements are undesirable. But they just scratch the surface, as they’re merely represent the direct effects of carbs, solely as they pertain to performance and recovery. 

What about the indirect effects of poverty carbs? As well as carbs' role in daily wellbeing, internal health, stress management and longevity? 

Although rarely discussed and highly nuanced, sufficient carb intake plays an indirect but measurable role in general stress regulation, mainly due to its effects on insulin. As mentioned previously, the word ‘insulin’ is typically met with negative connotations. 

Insulin spikes = bad.

Low insulin all day = good. 

Too many insulin spikes = getting fat.

Getting fat = early death.

But is insulin actually 'bad' like the typical low carb charlatan preaches? Or is there—like everything else in physiology—more nuance to it? 

Here’s the deal: Just like testosterone, cortisol, and estrogen, insulin is a hormone in the body. And when God created humans, His goal wasn’t to mess with us by providing us with ‘good hormones’ and ‘bad hormones’. In fact, insulin can’t possibly be a bad hormone, because it saves your life every time you eat. If it weren’t for insulin, you’d die after breakfast today.

In reality, it’s not the hormone that’s bad. It’s the outcomes from imbalanced hormones that can be less than favorable. But as is always the case with physiology, there’s a Goldilocks effect—too much insulin is bad for your health. Too little insulin? Just ask a diabetic what that’ll do. 

It’s the same with any hormone. What we’re after is balance. And to conceptualize insulin balance, context is critical.

For example, if you’re sitting and working at a computer all day, maybe taking a couple walks, lifting weights for 45 minutes 3 times/week and doing a bit of cardio (which represents the average health conscious person—NOT to be confused with the average person), keeping insulin spikes to a minimum can support better health and body composition. That’s not to say this avatar couldn't eat carbs—they absolutely can—but it’s more of a ‘take it or leave it’ type thing.

But guess what? When you’re chasing peak performance, which consists of training nearly every day (sometimes twice or more) yielding double-digit weekly training hours, trying to keep insulin at bay the same way as a sedentary person would simply doesn’t apply to you.

This is especially true if you’re also lean, which inherently improves insulin sensitivity and general metabolic health. In fact, insulin spikes of reasonable magnitude and at regular intervals during the day will not only aid all of the above performance metrics, but also play a key, highly under-appreciated role in managing stress.

Especially for Type-A individuals who live, eat and breathe the pursuit of success in lofty, uncommon endeavors. (This avatar typically has inherently higher cortisol levels, which can be a blessing if well managed, but a curse if not.)

With this in mind, let’s discuss the hormone most associated with stress: cortisol. If you’re tied into the wellness space, you’ve likely heard cortisol discussed just as, if not more often than insulin. 

After all, they’re the two go-to buzzwords spewed by fear-mongering wellness influencers worldwide. And again, despite what these figures want you to believe, cortisol isn’t bad, either. Nor is it good. 

Like insulin, when it’s too high or too low overall—or high and low at the wrong times of day—bad outcomes occur. (A healthy cortisol cycle is represented by a spike upon waking, a steady climb to a peak in mid to late morning, and a gradual decrease throughout the afternoon into the evening, reaching it’s lowest before bedtime).

When cortisol is excessively high, it can result in symptoms of stress, such as racing thoughts, difficulty focusing, brain fog, feeling generally overwhelmed, high blood pressure, increased heart rate, shaky hands, excessive sweating, a ‘tired but wired’ feeling (your body is smoked, but your brain feels restless), and other unpleasant states.

But these symptoms can be sneaky, too. In other words, everyone’s perception of high cortisol symptoms is a bit different. In fact, many go-getters claim to feel ‘locked in’ or ‘unstoppable’ when cortisol is high. And while this can indeed be a good thing in some contexts, when it’s chronic (all day, every day), it’s not the ‘superpower’ you think it is.

Why?

Well, to add insult to injury, anytime you feel stress symptoms—whether you perceive them as unpleasant or helpful—you can rest assured there’s a root cause. What's occurring inside your body when chronically in this state is far from ideal, not just for general health, but performance and recovery. As such, just when you think your stress symptoms are a superpower for ‘getting shit done’ or ‘always grinding’, it’s actually costing you physiologically.

Conversely, when cortisol is too low, other problems arise. As a critical hormone for a healthy stress response, a chronically low cortisol state degrades tolerance to daily stressors, plummets energy levels, wreaks havoc on metabolic health, and, if left unattended for too long, can lead to serious health consequences. This is a less common scenario, but worth noting to illustrate the importance of cortisol balance.

Beyond it being too high or too low in general, one's cortisol cycle can also be suboptimal. When it’s asynchronous to that of a healthy human, it can wreak havoc on sleep and day to day effectiveness.

This generally presents as ‘dragging ass’ all morning (because it’s lowest when it should be highest), finally ‘coming around’ in the afternoon (it’s starting to rise when it should be falling), but struggling to sleep because you’re ‘tired but wired’ (it’s highest at the exact opposite time it should be, interfering with melatonin production and other bodily functions that aid in sleep).

Again, it’s not the cortisol that’s bad. It’s the fact it’s high and low at the wrong times of day. (If this describes your experience, seeing a doctor or hormone specialist is strongly recommended).

Because my readers are more likely to fall into the ‘high cortisol’ category, this will be the focus moving forward. 

Physiologically, when cortisol balance is mismanaged, the damage is being done. And yes, even if you don't ‘feel it’. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone. When it’s high, your body is in ‘override mode’. Muscles don’t repair and rebuild as they should. Calories consumed are more likely to be stored as fat, rather than utilized for fuel and repair. (The law of thermodynamics—rudimentarily defined as 'calories in, calories out'—still reigns supreme, but high cortisol can indirectly affect both.)

Furthermore, winding down for the day and sinking into a deep, restful, restorative sleep is a foreign concept. And to put a nail in the coffin, the cycle is self-propagating: high cortisol makes for poor sleep, poor sleep makes for high cortisol, and so on.

And oh, by the way, the inherent stress from training hard and for long hours is a recipe for higher cortisol. So, too, is your general make-up—when you’re always chasing the next big thing with reckless abandon, priding yourself on never letting off the gas, you’re more prone to cortisol imbalances.  

Left untreated, this can result in what many refer to as ‘burnout’. You’re doing more and/or harder work, yet seeing incrementally lower returns over time. In many cases, if not intervened with, the only solution is to implement drastic, less than enjoyable changes to diet and lifestyle.

For example, prolonged periods of significant reductions from training load, quitting stimulants, nixing the booze, cleaning up your diet, biasing zen-like stress mitigation practices, and most people’s least favorite part: intentionally eating more calories, leading to fat gain.

These all suck, especially if you’re driven and/or already not as lean as you’d like to be. But for those who’ve been burning the candle at both ends for too long, it’s often the only option for future health and performance. Think of it as taking a step back to take 5 steps forward—but those forward steps are well into the future. (How long is different for everyone.)

But there’s good news. You’re probably not there yet. And you can nip this in the bud before such drastic measures are needed.

Disclaimer: The following is not medical advice. If you’re experiencing severe symptoms of stress, I strongly suggest seeking professional help—Ideally from a holistic health specialist who biases root-cause solutions over handing out laundry lists of prescriptions that’ll likely aid in symptom-relief (getting rid of the smoke), but overlook what’s causing the issues in the first place (putting out the actual fire).

But for everyone else…

One of the simplest and most underrated ways to regulate cortisol is to consume carbs—thus releasing insulin—at regular intervals during the day. Insulin can act as a cortisol-modulator, especially for lean, highly trained, insulin-sensitive individuals.

For starters, Because insulin is a pro-tissue (anabolic) hormone, when it’s released, it can effectively counteract the catabolic (anti-tissue) effects of cortisol. But that’s just one mechanism related to physical recovery from training, and it merely scratches the surface.

Enhanced cortisol regulation throughout the day will also result in feeling better and more at ease. Don't worry, not in a fatigued way—more like a calm, steady, enduring focus on the present (a foreign concept to most hard charging, future-focused folks). Your response to stressful situations will be enhanced as well, which is crucial for type-A’s who need all the help they can get in this regard.

You see, while there are many positives to being an exceptionally driven, high-achieving individual, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Those who fit this mold are typically in a sympathetically driven (fight or flight) state most of the time (a package deal with high cortisol).

And while being sympathetic can be a good thing in certain contexts—intense training, moments of acute stress, high-stakes performances, meeting deadlines, etc.—being in this state most of the time is detrimental to fitness (and health) across the board. In order to recover optimally (and thus repeat your performances over longer time horizons), you must be more parasympathetically driven (rest, recover, digest) throughout the day.

And, among many techniques, the simple act of eating food (carbs or no carbs) increases parasympathetic tone. But a non-or low carb meal won’t move the needle much in regards to insulin, and thus, cortisol. Simple solution? Include carbs! Here are some rules to live by to enhance their indirect recovery properties:

1. Consume carbs within an hour of waking, and do so BEFORE caffeine (this can be a full mixed macro meal, or as simple as a swig of a few ounces of OJ)

2. Consume carbs (ideally with some protein & fat) at regular intervals throughout the day (every 3-4 hours)

3. Consume carbs as soon as possible after training, but ideally, pre and during training as well (more on periworkout carbs in part 3)

4. Keep carbs clean—things like high-sugar foods, refined carbs like bagels, white bread can be acceptable peri-workout, but limited to just that. 

5. Ensure you’re eating actual carbs—not, solely ‘foods with carbs in it’. (ex. White rice = all carbs. A muffin has carbs, but is also typically loaded with fat).

6. Be wary of grains—wheat bread, oats, etc. are tolerated by some, but many struggle to digest them, whether or not they realize it.

7. Prioritize easier-digesting carbs (part 2 will show you the way!)

8. Eat most or all of your carb bolus’ with a protein source to keep insulin spikes reasonable (we’re not going for super high spikes, just a steady drip).

When you do this regularly (not just try it once or twice—it requires consistency), you’ll feel it. Not just in training, but in day to day life. This simple, yet nuanced strategy has resulted in revelations for many of my clients. It was for me too when I first began, and it’s how I still eat today and will continue eating forever.

To recap: when you’re a hard-charging, intensity-loving, big-goal-chasing individual, carbs are your friend. And based on numerous case studies (not just mine, but other high level coaches—including my own fitness coach—too), it wouldn’t shock me if they become one of your best, life long friend if you trust my advice enough to implement what you learn in this article, along with part 2 and 3.

This wraps up part 1, the ‘what’ and the ‘why’. In part 2, we’ll dive deep into the ‘how’—my strategies for determining your own individual carb and calorie needs, as well as how to utilize carb cycling to get the most out of your nutrition protocol.

Thank you for reading. See you soon in part 2!