Sneaking Sugar Into Your Diet
- Jessica Koeman
- Feb 10, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 23, 2020
Shhhhhh....!!!
“Jessica, why do you eat cereal after you workout?”
“That can’t be good for you.”
Oh my children....
First of all, the first time I EVER saw this being done was by my coworker at the time, Ashlyn Brown (@ab_bikinifit on instagram), who is a body builder and now IFBB Pro. Anytime I would scroll on her Instagram feed, and she had just so happened to just get done working out, I would always see her and her infamous post workout cereal on her feed. I would look at her with the CRAZIEST look in my eyes at first too. I too was saying:
"That can't be good for you."
"Isn't sugar bad for you?"
"She just made that up."
I was CONVINCED that I was right.
That was until I further educated myself....
So let’s get educated.
First things first:
All sugars are carbohydrates (carbs). If you take a nutrition label of a boxed food you have, notice the sugar and carb content. If the box says it has 25 grams of sugar and also has 25 grams of carbs, you know that all those carbs are from sugar (YIKES). Then there is a box of oatmeal that has 1 gram of sugar and also 18 grams of carbs. This means that almost all of the carbs in this oatmeal are made up of long chains of sugar molecules called “complex” carbs. Why is the first boxed food frowned upon? Well as you can see, there are 2 types of carbs:
1. Unrefined or Complex carbs (Good)
2. Processed or simple carbs (Bad)
Examples of good carbs:
Quinioa Oats Brown Rice
Examples of bad carbs:
Donuts Candy Sugary Cereal
Now that we have the basics of good carbs vs bad carbs, we can get into what probably popping in your head at this point: Why in God's name can we have cereal if you just listed it as a bad carb Jess? Well, in the words of Kevin Hart, let me explain...
“Sugar has a bad connotation attached to it,” says Eric Sternlicht, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at Occidental College in Los Angeles and president of Simply Fit Inc. “But in moderation, sugars are an important and vital part of your diet.” When you workout, your insulin levels drop significantly. Research has shown that sugar taken within an hour after you workout (portioned and combined with protein) increases your insulin levels back to normal. That insulin then acts as a transport system and carries the amino acids eaten from the protein you've just eaten and takes it straight to your muscles, feeding them when they need it most. Therefore, almost NONE of the sugar you eat will be used to form fat. This is where high-glycemic-index foods come into play (AKA cereal).
Hey Jess, how am I supposed to know what is the right portion of cereal for me?
READ THE LABEL and pour out the serving amount as long as you can fit it into your macros for that day! (Refer to the downloadable ebook on my website to learn more about macros and macro tracking)
Sternlicht says no more than 15 percent to 20 percent of total carbohydrates should come from refined sugars. That’s about 150 calories’ worth in a 1,500 caloric diet. However, you of course don't want to eat that all in one sitting.
So there you go, I just gave you a VERY long winded excuse to take care of your sugar cravings and eat that cereal you've been watching at the corner of your eye! (You're welcome).
So what did we learn today peeps?
1✨Sugar taken after you workout, combined with protein, improves recovery while helping you keep the muscle you just built. (Yes girl, keep your booty gains)
2✨Sugar raises insulin levels, which are normally low after you workout. So in turn, sugar helps feeds your muscles when they need it most (next point kinda explains this)
3✨Consuming sugar after a workout is vital for restocking muscle-glycogen stores. (Stores used for energy when you work out) AND ACTUALLY, in the hour immediately after a workout, almost NONE of the sugar you eat (portioned) will be used to form fat. This is where high-glycemic-index foods come into play (cereal)
SO KIDS, EAT THAT CEREAL UP!
(Responsibly).
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3577439/
https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/sugar-what-kinds-eat-and-when/
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