Nutrition Basics

These signs tell you when you need to eat carbs

If you think completely cutting carbs will help you lose weight fast, you're mostly wrong. Your body needs a steady amount of carbs daily to give it the energy it needs throughout the…

These signs tell you when you need to eat carbs

These signs tell you when you need to eat carbs

If you think completely cutting carbs will help you lose weight fast, you're mostly wrong. Your body needs a steady amount of carbs daily to give it the energy it needs throughout the day. But don't overdo it, just eat the right amount for you each day. In this article, we help you spot the signs that tell you to eat carbs.

First sign: Headache

Feeling headaches

It's common to get long or frequent headaches when your blood sugar drops. This often happens if you follow a diet that lowers or cuts out carbs completely, which makes your blood sugar fall because carbs turn into sugar after digestion. This sign tells you to eat complex carbs so you don't gain weight. To tell if your headache is from low carbs or something else, know that the carb-related headache comes back often, lasts long, and only goes away when you eat good carbs in the right amounts each day.

Second sign: Feeling cold

Feeling cold

If you sometimes feel cold, need warmth, drink lots of warm drinks, or get colds and fevers without a clear reason, your body probably urgently needs carbs. Low carb levels can mess with your thyroid gland and make controlling your body's internal temperature hard.


 

Third sign: Bad breath

Bad breath

If you completely avoid carbs, your body turns stored fat and protein into energy so it can do its daily tasks. But at the same time, you get bad breath, which immediately tells you to add carbs back into your meals in the right amounts.

Sign number four: Digestive system issues

Digestive disorder

By eating carbs daily in normal amounts, you make sure your body gets enough fiber to help your digestive system get rid of waste your body doesn’t need. Avoiding carbs affects your body like eating too many of them. so you end up with bloating, constipation, and other digestive troubles. Learn more about your digestive system here.

Sign number five: Feeling tired during exercise

Feeling tired during workouts

Your body is supposed to store carbs in your muscles and turn them into energy when you do physical activities like exercise. But if you avoid carb foods, your body lacks this stored energy source, and you feel tired and exhausted when you do intense exercise.


 

Sign number six: Weight loss stops

Stop losing weight

If you're on a low-carb diet, when you eat even a small amount of carbs, your liver makes up for it by releasing sugar. This forces your pancreas to release insulin to handle the sugar and turn it into fat. This stops your weight loss completely. To avoid this, eat one high-carb meal a week, like a cup of Smoothie Just enough for you Too much carbohydrate intake, so you feel better, and your extra weight drops noticeably.

Seventh sign: feeling hungry

Feeling hungry

You need to eat carbs daily in steady amounts since they’re essential for your body’s energy and keep hunger away by filling your stomach. Carbs have fiber that blocks hunger for a long time. But if you’re on a low-carb diet, you can replace them with healthy fats. Diets low in both fat and carbs are basically disasters and ticking bombs for your body.

Eighth sign: mental fog

Mental confusion

Your brain is part of your body, so it’s normal for it to be affected when carb intake drops because you avoid carb foods. It needs energy to do its vital jobs. Low carbs can cause mental fog, trouble focusing, and frequent bad headaches.


 

Sign nine: bad mood

Bad mood

So, if you avoid carbs completely or take very little during the day, you'll feel hungry for long periods, crave food badly, and your blood sugar will drop below normal. This hurts your mood, making you angrier and more sensitive to daily events.


 

Finally, don't let your need for carbs go over your daily limit to the point of overdoing it. So check out this article to learn well about the physical signs that show you're eating too many carbs.

Nutrition TipsTips and GuidelinesExpert Tips

Get a plan made for you

Gymena builds a plan around your goal, your time and your space — and Noura coaches you through every session.

No spam — one email on launch day.

Keep reading

Blog