A: No! Carbohydrates are the most important macronutrient (fat and protein are the others). Your body uses carbohydrates as energy to fuel the same way your car's engine uses gas. If you lack the amount of carbs that you need, your body will use protein for energy, which isn't what you want.
It's calories that matter. Excess calories from carbs, protein and fat will turn into stored energy (adipose tissue or body fat). You only gain fat when you've consumed more calories than you need.
People like to categorize "good" and "bad" carbs to determine their nutritional value. Bread may be full of empty calories compared to fruit and vegetables but that doesn't make it "bad."
For health and weight loss, you want to choose the best quality carbohydrates, such as vegetables, fruit and whole grains. But to label "bad" and "good" food starts an unrealistic diet expectation that is destined to fail. Read labels and ask questions so you know the content and quality of your food —and your calories!
Why can't I lose weight after menopause, though I walk on a treadmill seven days per week?
A: Your body weight is a total mass number which includes many components (e.g., skin, organs, blood, hair, muscle, fat, bone, etc.). When you lose weight, you lose fat, water or muscle.
When you see you've lost a couple of pounds, do you know what you've lost? You want to lose fat since you need both muscle and water. Muscle uses energy and having more of it increases your metabolism.
During and after menopause, women lose hormones, which decreases the ability to hold on to muscle. If your diet hasn't changed while your metabolism is slowing down, then you’re gaining weight based on your body changing. Doing merely cardio is only burning calories while you work out. Most forms of cardio do not increase your resting metabolism, so you only burn more when you move more.
If you want long-term weight loss, spend more time building muscle to increase your metabolism and not have to decrease your daily diet. (For more info on this subject, see "Scrap the Scale".)
I do abs every day, but I’m still not losing stomach fat. Why?
A: Focusing your attention on your abdominals with crunches for the purpose of fat loss around your middle is called spot reducing. The only form of effective spot reducing that I know of is plastic surgery and liposuction.
Once again it is body fat vs. muscle mass, genetics and diet that contribute to how you gain or lose weight. The abdominals are no different then any other muscle in your body in regards to how it responds to exercise. You wouldn't do 1,000 biceps curls to make your arms smaller, would you? Don't do it for abs.
J.J. Flizanes is founder and director of Invisible Fitness in Los Angeles. If you have a question, Ask A Trainer.
