Do Carbs Make You Gain Weight, and are Carbs Bad for You?

Do Carbs Cause Weight Gain?

If you consume more calories from carbs than your body needs, you could gain weight. Carbs are broken down to glucose, which is used by our body for energy. Extra glucose that isn’t needed right away is stored in our liver and muscles as glycogen. If those glycogen stores are full, anything left over is stored as fat. Bottom line, if you eat more carbs than you need it will be stored as fat to weight gain.  

Eating simple carbohydrates creates a spike in insulin levels in our body. Insulin is a hormone that tells our body to store fat, so when trying to lose weight it is better to keep insulin levels stable. Complex carbohydrates, especially when paired with protein, cause less blood sugar and insulin spikes; that’s why they’re a better option for weight management.  

While we don’t yet understand all the reasons why, research has clearly shown that eating refined, processed foods can drive us to consume more calories. In at least one study, when participants were given access to only highly processed foods and were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, they ate significantly more and gained more weight than when they were allowed to eat as much as they wanted of healthy, whole foods.