Diets fads come and diet fads go, even when a diet is super popular and even your best friends are on the diet it is extremely important to remember one thing. Every single body is different and your body is significantly different than every friend you know that is on a certain diet. The same goes for them too. Finding out what works for you is essential for keeping you healthy and keeping your body from getting fatigued. Finding the right exercise and the right diet is something you will have to put your body through a trial and error or seek out an expert.
Specifically, when it comes to carbohydrates and even between women and between men, your individual tolerance can vary greatly. One of the hardest thing, yet the most effective thing is finding your body’s carb sweet spot. Finding your carb sweet spot will make such a huge difference on your body composition and the way you feel!
A myth floating around is the idea that women may need more carbohydrates than fats. The argument is that the extra carbs are needed due to a women’s hormones shifts that often more often than men and its naturally need to want to carry children. However, this statement may not be as true as most people think it is. Recently, studies have pointed to the opposite being true. Women may actually need fewer carbohydrates than men. Not only may they need fewer carbohydrates, they may need more fat than men.
In a study that looked at the difference between fuel metabolism in men and women, it was found that a women’s body utilized more energy from fat and men’s bodies took more of their energy from carbohydrates during exercise. Additionally, even when at rest, women’s bodies used more fats for energy more than men–concluding that some women, especially those with high activity levels, may require more fat than carbs to sustain their energy during workouts.
Even with the evidence from this study that shows the fact that men need more carbohydrates than women, it is important to understand that more studies need to occur but even more important to note that the bottom line is that everyone has a different body and everybody reacts differently than another’s. Your ideal macronutrient ratio has less to do with gender and more to do with your body’s particular needs, your age, level of activity, and health conditions play a larger role in what your body requires than your gender.
