These days, it can feel like we’re constantly being told that if we want to lose weight, then eating bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and other carbs is simply out of the question. This can be a depressing and frustrating concept, as it implies that if we want to be able to shed the excess pounds, we’ll often need to give up the foods we love the most. This can also lead to many struggles, as the Western diet leans heavily on carbohydrates, meaning that trying to cut them out of our lives can involve a significant learning curve.
The truth of the matter, however, is that the ability to lose weight has nothing to do with whether or not you eat bread. In fact, most doctors will recommend that you don’t cut carbs out of your diet, completely, They will advise you not to because it can make it very difficult to create a balanced diet you’ll be able to stick to over the long term.
The first thing you should learn is that not all carbohydrates are the same. Refined carbs are the sort you’ll find in pasta, white bread, cakes, cookies, and white sugar. These don’t have much to offer you when it comes to nutrition. They’re broken down quite rapidly in the digestive system and the body uses them quickly. This helps to explain why you can receive a rapid burst of energy when you eat something sugary, for example. However, these also lead to the inevitable energy crash and associated hunger, soon afterward.
Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, include whole grain based foods and vegetables, and they don’t lead to this same reaction. They don’t bring on the spikes and dips in blood sugar levels. The reason is that the body needs more time to break them down. That leaves you feeling a more gradual increase and decrease in energy and, therefore, it takes much more time before you start to feel hungry again. These carbohydrates are typically found in foods that come with far more vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Therefore, as long as you eat carbs strategically, they won’t stand in your way of being able to lose weight. Research has revealed that the largest amount of fat is lost among dieters who keep their calories within a healthy limit, regardless of whether they’re following a low-fat, low-carb or Mediterranean diet. Therefore, if the carbs you’re eating are responsible for your overconsumption of calories, then you will need to reduce your carbohydrate intake. Overall, you simply need to make sure you’re burning more calories than you’re eating.
Keep in mind that starchy carbohydrates are higher in calories, so you can eat those in smaller serving sizes while boosting your intake of complex carbs so you’ll get more value from what you eat. It will fill you up for longer, while offering your body a nutrient boost.
