Changing the Narrative About Carbs: A Conversation with Footloose Fitness

I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with a number of fitness professionals over the years who have provided me so much insight and guidance into exercise and nutrition. One of them is Caitlin Bernie (aka “Footloose Fitness”), Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach. I met Caitlin several years ago at a gym I used to workout at. What started out as a few text messages blossomed into conversations about fitness. I was instantly inspired by Caitlin’s personal fitness journey, and I eventually hired her as my Nutrition Coach. She helped me immensely in learning how to properly fuel my body and have a more positive relationship with food.

Check out my conversation with Caitlin and be sure to follow Footloose Fitness on Instagram and Facebook!

Liz: Caitlin, thank you so much for sitting down with me. You have a very inspiring story on your personal relationship with food. Can you please share?

Caitlin: As a kid I was very active, but I was also overweight. I got made fun of a lot by girls in high school that I thought were my friends. They would tell me that I was “fat” or that I should “go eat another donut.” That’s basically when my fitness journey started. I began running on the treadmill in our basement after school. I started looking at food labels and trying to “watch what I ate.” From freshman year to senior year, I lost about 30 pounds.

College is where I think my relationship with fitness/nutrition took a negative turn. I played midfield on my college soccer team, so I was constantly running in the off-season to stay in shape. I was called “treadmill girl” because I would run 9 miles a day. I would eat very little, usually a salad or a bowl of broccoli and croutons for meals. When I started my junior year in college, I weighed 100 lbs and I thought I had “made it.” My weight fluctuated for years because I would drink all weekend and starve myself and over-exercise all week.

I eventually got into running marathons. I secretly thought that running that much would keep me skinny. I did 12 marathons in 5 years. All the while, I was still not fueling myself properly.

In 2016 I stopped marathon running and began strength training and honestly I believe making this transition saved my life. I changed my body composition in so many ways. I gained weight and felt the best I had in years. Strength training taught me so much about nutrition and how to fuel my body, while also really showcasing how much my body was capable of.

I’m now a strong mom of two girls, and continue to work on my relationship with fitness and nutrition so that neither of my girls ever go through what I did.

Liz: I think there’s often a misconception about what carbs are and why we need them. Can you provide a high level overview of this important macronutrient?

Caitlin: Carbs are our main source of energy. The brain’s primary source of fuel is glucose (which we obtain from carbs). The brain does not store glucose, therefore it needs a steady supply of fuel (glucose) in order to think, focus, and learn.

In addition, carbs also support muscle growth. They are protein sparing, meaning when we eat enough carbs our body will spare your muscles (protein) from being broken down for energy. If you want to maintain or grow your muscles, you need to eat enough carbs to sustain your energy needs.

Finally, carbs are a great source of fiber, which is vital for gut health, satiety, and going number two!

Liz: As you detail, carbs are an essential component to our energy needs and muscle building, yet they have such a bad reputation. Why is this?

Caitlin: The problem that I see is people don’t really understand overall how to eat. When we think about carbs, most people just eat a bowl of pasta. However, they may not fully realize how much they are consuming. One bowl of pasta could easily be 3 servings. Overdoing carbs leads to just overdoing calories, which leads to overeating.

Because most peoples’ diets contain more carbs and less protein, we think the carbs are bad. However, it’s not the carbs – it’s an overconsumption of overall calories. I always like to encourage clients to have a balanced diet that incorporates food they enjoy. For example, a balanced meal would consist of one serving of pasta, some protein (ie: chicken) and a fat (ie: butter, cheese). This will lead you to feel full and satisfied while simultaneously not overdoing it on the carbs.

Liz: What are some of your favorite sources of carbs for someone participating in a resistance training program?

Caitlin: Honestly, everything is ON limits. Are some carbs more nutrient-dense and better for fueling our body? Yes! But in reality, nothing should be OFF limits.

Take the whole wheat bread vs white bread debate. The whole wheat is going to have added protein, fiber, and more vitamins. White bread may have no added protein or fiber, but the same amount of carbs as the slice of whole wheat bread. Both still work, however, I would just say to eat the whole wheat most of the time and white bread on occasion.

Carbs I love and often recommend to clients are oats, bagels, all types of fruit, rice, potatoes, and frozen french fries.

Liz: What’s the daily intake of carbs you recommend for your clients? Obviously this largely is determined by fitness goals.

Caitlin: I think 40% of your calories is always a sweet spot, but again depends how active the person is.

Liz: For someone who is GF, what’s a carb regime you generally recommend to those clients?

Caitlin: Gluten free bread is great. Oats, rice, and potatoes are all gluten free. Banza pasta is my favorite gluten free pasta.

Liz: You have helped me personally and so many of your clients understand that there are no “good” or “bad” foods. Why is it so important to develop healthy relationships with food?

Caitlin: The more you battle with only eating “good” foods and avoiding “bad” foods, the more stressful it will become to eat. If you restrict “bad” food, more likely than not you will over-consume that specific food the moment you encounter it. Instead, you need to incorporate these “bad” foods into your diet to create a positive relationship with this food and avoid “going off the rails” anytime you are face to face with that food. Lifting the restrictions from certain “bad” foods gives you the power to have that specific food whenever you want, without going overboard.