4 min
Healthy Bite 028 - 6 Ways Carbs Help You Lose Weight Super Simple Healthy Podcast
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- Health & Fitness
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard friends and clients tell me how they are trying to stay away from carbs (or carbohydrates). They are the still known as the “resident evil” when it comes to weight loss and today I will be talking about why you WANT to have carbs in your diet.
Good Carb/Bad Carb
So what’s the scoop on carbohydrates? Aren’t they supposed to make you fat and keep you from losing weight? Well, yes and no. First, let’s review what a carbohydrate IS, what it DOES and then what to look for when choosing what’s best for your diet.
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. It is one of three macronutrients in the body – macro, meaning large – hense your body needs a lot of them in order to function properly. The other two macronutrients are protein and fats.
Carbohydrates actually do a lot for your body and even help you lose weight! WHAT?? Yep. Here are just a couple of benefits:
1) They help you keep muscle! And muscles help your body to burn fat (yay!).
2) Help you curb cravings
3) Stabilize blood sugar
4) Promote healthy bowels
5) Reduce cholesterol
6) Reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes
Where people get confused is when they are told to cut out carbs in order to lose weight. If we need them to function and they do all these great things, then why would anyone say you should take them out?
Removing carbohydrates from your diet, will help you lose water weight. But it will also make you feel tired and eventually after the diet is over and you add those carbs back into your diet, you will gain all the weight back again (can you say - frustration?!)
So what to do? There are good carbs and bad carbs. The carbs to stay away from include white sugar, processed foods, soda, high fructose corn syrup, white breads, and pastas containing refined flour. Those are the simple carbs. These carbs get stripped of all fiber, vitamins and minerals during the refining process and have little or no nutritional value and load of calories.
The carbs you want are complex carbs that take more time to digest and give you energy such as:
Leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, beans, quinoa, rice, oats, carrots, squash, beets, apples, bananas, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds.
Just in time for the holidays, I am co-hosting a special retreat at Twin Ponds Integrative Center here in Breinigsville along with Ayurvedic Cook, Michelle Costantini on November 11th from 4-7 pm. We will help you create delicious, carb-friendly sides and treats you can feel good about! For details and to register visit my website at www.supersimplehealthy.com and click on “Holiday Feast Retreat”
Or contact me at 610-704-8083. Space is limited, so registration is required! I hope that was helpful. Please leave your comments below and feel free to share with friends and family!
Until next time: Keep it simple. Be Healthy.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard friends and clients tell me how they are trying to stay away from carbs (or carbohydrates). They are the still known as the “resident evil” when it comes to weight loss and today I will be talking about why you WANT to have carbs in your diet.
Good Carb/Bad Carb
So what’s the scoop on carbohydrates? Aren’t they supposed to make you fat and keep you from losing weight? Well, yes and no. First, let’s review what a carbohydrate IS, what it DOES and then what to look for when choosing what’s best for your diet.
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. It is one of three macronutrients in the body – macro, meaning large – hense your body needs a lot of them in order to function properly. The other two macronutrients are protein and fats.
Carbohydrates actually do a lot for your body and even help you lose weight! WHAT?? Yep. Here are just a couple of benefits:
1) They help you keep muscle! And muscles help your body to burn fat (yay!).
2) Help you curb cravings
3) Stabilize blood sugar
4) Promote healthy bowels
5) Reduce cholesterol
6) Reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes
Where people get confused is when they are told to cut out carbs in order to lose weight. If we need them to function and they do all these great things, then why would anyone say you should take them out?
Removing carbohydrates from your diet, will help you lose water weight. But it will also make you feel tired and eventually after the diet is over and you add those carbs back into your diet, you will gain all the weight back again (can you say - frustration?!)
So what to do? There are good carbs and bad carbs. The carbs to stay away from include white sugar, processed foods, soda, high fructose corn syrup, white breads, and pastas containing refined flour. Those are the simple carbs. These carbs get stripped of all fiber, vitamins and minerals during the refining process and have little or no nutritional value and load of calories.
The carbs you want are complex carbs that take more time to digest and give you energy such as:
Leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, beans, quinoa, rice, oats, carrots, squash, beets, apples, bananas, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds.
Just in time for the holidays, I am co-hosting a special retreat at Twin Ponds Integrative Center here in Breinigsville along with Ayurvedic Cook, Michelle Costantini on November 11th from 4-7 pm. We will help you create delicious, carb-friendly sides and treats you can feel good about! For details and to register visit my website at www.supersimplehealthy.com and click on “Holiday Feast Retreat”
Or contact me at 610-704-8083. Space is limited, so registration is required! I hope that was helpful. Please leave your comments below and feel free to share with friends and family!
Until next time: Keep it simple. Be Healthy.
4 min