Eating the right carbs can make or break your gains.

On the road to the ultimate physique you’re going to need to have discipline. No one was ever able to attain greatness by being lazy and slacking off. Whether it’s through weight training, cardio, or dieting, you’re going to have to have an ethic about your strategy of getting in shredded shape. It sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? But when you consider how awesome sitting down on the couch, watching your favorite TV show, and eating a bag of chips can be (and we’ve all done it at least once), then it becomes that much simpler to understand the struggle. The struggle of enjoying carbs.

Carbohydrates are great. They come in all different forms, shapes, and sizes. High glycemic carbs like apples and bananas are both healthy and the greatest source of fuel for the athlete looking to have an intense workout. But they aren’t all created equal. Those bag of chips we mentioned before can go a long way towards ruining all the hard work you’ve put into your workouts. If you’re carb junking and you want to lose fat and maintain your gains, then check out this list of foods you need to avoid in order to get shredded.

Put down the sugary beverages

Everyone enjoys a nice sweetened beverage every once in awhile. That being said, the amount of calories in your average soft drink or energy drink, a third of those calories from carbs, can help to keep on fat. Drinking water has never hurt anyone and it’s just a healthier alternative.