Sources: Wiki, Pixabay, and, Canva.com

For some reason, many people think that you don't need carbohydrates for fitness. Some people think you need to avoid carbohydrates if you want to see any results. It's the biggest elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. EATING CARBS WILL NOT MAKE YOU THE BIGGEST ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.¹

Weight loss will always be energy in and energy out. There is no extra thing to it. If you want to lose weight, you need to be on an energy deficit, if you want to gain weight you need to be on an energy surplus.²

There is still an essential amount of energy that you need to perform optimally at the gym. If you keep yourself without glucose in the gym your body will begin to use up all the protein in the muscles through a process known as gluconeogenesis. This will lead you to lose weight but not the type people typically desire. ³

Most people want to lose weight while still being able to do the same or more activities than they used to do in the past.

I have already written about the protein sources that are the cheapest for Nigerians but now I want to take you through the best Carbohydrate sources.

The rule for this post is that in order for the carbohydrate source to enter this list it has to be rich in nutrients other than carbohydrates itself, it has to be cheap and it has to be filling.

If you are a Nigerian reading this post this is going to look like your everyday Nigerian food, but what if I told you that you hold in your hands the secrete to energy that can take your bodybuilding/weight loss journey to the next level, you just need to know how to use it.

As opposed to some other carbohydrate choices that are readily available sources like white bread and many soft drinks. Some of these sources are bad but we tend to underestimate just how bad they can be. Take most soft drinks/energy drinks one being Coca-cola. You'll get to find out that the 39g of Coca-Cola might be only good for a person who has been starving and is severely hypoglycemic patient which is an option for hypoglycemic diabetic patients in the hospital.

39 grams or 9.75 teaspoons is way too much for the typical person to drink at a go while still having another meal on the side. Some people even have more than one bottle of soft drinks in a go in a 35cl bottle. We only get to burn 1,600 to 2,000 calories every day while inactive and 10% of that is from a non-filling source.⁴ ⁵

If the energy from soft drinks could be compared to complex carbohydrates it would be like comparing a bomb with premium motor spirit. The soft drink is the bomb that explodes with energy and the complex carbohydrates are a slow-burning energy source.

Yam

Image by 心情晚报 from Pixabay

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COCO_YAM_PASTE_for_Akara_Okpoto.webm

Yam. Yes, The yam that we yam. Yam is such an awesome source of carbohydrates I can believe people through it under the bus. Yam itself is such an integral part of Nigerian/West African culture that even Kendrick Lamara has referenced it same thing with A$AP Rocky. But when they say sam they are mostly referring to something else (crack or ass crack).⁶

This week I already did myself a favour of buying 3 big yams for the week. The average size of one yam is about 2.5 to 5kg. If you are a home workout person like me that is an awesome weight to carry when you can't make it to the gym but want to do biceps and back exercises.

100 grams of yam contains just about the same amount of calories as a bottle of Coca-Cola but unlike Coke, it provides complex carbohydrates that are not quickly absorbed and don't lead to spikes in blood sugar. That's about 118 to 158 calories. The carbs make up about 27 to 37% of the 100g serving.⁷ ⁷

Yams also have minerals and vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin C and, Vitamin B5. One serving of yam can provide over 300% of your daily vitamin A needs.⁸

Yam is also one of the good ones for gut health just a side note (eint that some shit??)

Rice

Source

Jellof, yes jellof, exactly what everyone ordered when they saw the title of this post. It has become a trend to even compare Nigerian Jellof with other types of Jellof. Who knows when our ancestors started preparing this meal anyway?

Unless you have a lot of money, buying a large enough amount of rice that you can use for a workout is probably not feasible. There does not stop you however from using your family's bucket of rice for doing biceps curls...just make sure your mom doesn't find out, and you'll be fine.

Let's start with the number of calories rice is a power packer and carries about 130 to 248 calories per 100 gram serving. In that 100 grams about 28 to 52% of that is carbohydrate and 2 to 5.5% is protein...imagine that! ⁸

Rice also contains fat but it's only about 1%.

Just like yam, it also has minerals and vitamins like vitamin B. Rice also contains potassium, magnesium, selenium and, iron and these are very important minerals for your fitness journey.⁸

It is also important to note that when picking your rice it is better to go with brow rice because it is more nutritious than white rice.

Cassava

Image Source and Video Source

Garri, Fufu,eba, you know the drill. This whole list would not be complete if it did not have cassava in it. That's what we do here, we pour garri in your sand sand. Even though cassava now has a place in the hearts of Nigerians/West Africans, Cassava was first imported from South America where till dis day some indigenous societies hold it sacred.

In the South America creation story after Eve gave birth to snake babies that her brother later chopped into pieces of cassava (I can't make this up).⁹

Even though Cassava gets a lot of sting from the fitness community (because carbs tend to) it is not top on the list of calory packing food. 100-grams of cassava has about 160-190 calories, that's a little above a bottle of fanta.¹⁰ ¹¹

Cassava depending on how it is processed of course can have between 1.5 to 2.3g of protein per 100g servings.¹⁰

Cassava also has about 20-30% of the daily requirement for vitamin C. It also has thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, copper, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium and calcium...shocker right? People had you thinking all it has cyanide.¹⁰

The cyanide content in well-processed cassava is usually low, but the problem is that nobody walks up the garri seller asking, "Madam how well processed is this garri?"

Also, it is possible to pick any food source and not find one chemical or the other that is not good for your health.

Others on the list (Plantain and Beans)

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Beans Image Source and Plantain Image Source

Other really awesome sources of carbohydrates that are on the list but I could make a section for because we are running out of words are Plantain and beans.

In 100g of plantain, there are 127 calories. In the 100g of plantain, about 29% comes from carbohydrates.¹²

Beans is making a guest appearance from our protein section. Beans has a beautiful profile but it varies depending on the specific type you pick.

We are particularly sticking with black-eye-peas but don't forget you can but green beans from the market for N100 and it's a wonderful carbs source.

Beans have a caloric value of between 99 to 194 calories and protein ranging from 7 to 13 grams.¹³

Take this to your mom!

Old Zoomed in Picture of me
Transformation video from TikTok

Addressing the elephant in the room. You need carbs to fuel your workout and eating within (if you are main-gaining) or below (if you are losing weight) will not make you an elephant in the room.

Yam, rice, cassava plantain and beans are all wonderful sources of carbohydrates for your fitness journey. 100g of yam has about 118 to 158 calories, rice has 130 to 248 calories, garri has 160 to 100g, plantain is about 127 calories and beans has 99 to 194 calories per serving.

Tracking your calories is hard but you can get a head rough idea by simply using sites that calculate you BMI and counting servings and going below or above your daily expenditure. Its not a perfect science as there are genetic factors but it's possible.

So, Get out there do your thing and don't let anybody stop you, even if the person trying to stop you is you. Subscribe and Like for More!!

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Nigerian Carbohydrate Sources For Gym Members

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