Contrary to popular thinking, carbs are beneficial for weight loss. In other words, you can shed pounds, get stronger, healthier, and feel great without removing carbs from your diet. However, the catch is that you must select the appropriate healthy carbohydrates. This guide will help you make the right choices to slim down while still eating carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates 101
Nearly all food groups contain some form of carbohydrates. However, carbs come in diverse forms, including starches, fiber, and sugars. Each of these carbohydrate forms impacts your body differently. Generally, carbs can be classified into two major types – Complex and simple carbohydrates.
Simple Carbs
Simple carbohydrates include monosaccharides and disaccharides. Monosaccharides comprise one sugar unit: fructose, glucose, and galactose. Disaccharides comprise two sugar units. Simple carbs are easy to digest because they have uncomplicated strings of molecules. They taste sweet because their digestion begins in the mouth. And, because they are simple to digest, they boost blood sugar levels swiftly.
Sweet foods like table sugar, honey, jellies, candy, refined flour, and jams contain high levels of simple carbs. In lower quantities, you will get simple carbs from fruits, veggies, dairy products, and beans.
Complex Carbs
Starches and fibers are classified as complex carbohydrates. Complex carbs have long strings of sugar molecules. These foods will keep you feeling full for extended periods because your body digests them over a longer period. Complex carbs are not as sweet as simple carbs for this reason. Foods like pasta, beans, rice, whole grains, vegetables, and bread contain high amounts of complex carbohydrates.
While fiber is classed as a carbohydrate, its calorie value is negligible. It is difficult to digest and absorb into the body. Consequently, your body cannot use fiber as an energy source. However, dietary fiber helps supply bulk to ensure the smooth functioning of your digestive system. Dietary fiber also helps keep you full for extended periods, thus preventing food cravings.
Net Carbs
Net carbs describe the amount of carbohydrates from the foods you consume that can impact your blood sugar levels. Calculate the total carbs and subtract the fiber to determine the net carbs in a food. Your digestive tract cannot digest fiber, so it passes through your alimentary canal unchanged. You should also subtract the quantity of sugar alcohols like erythritol and xylitol.
Net Carbs = total Carbs (in grams) – sugar alcohols (in grams) – dietary fiber (in grams).
Tips to Select the Appropriate Carbohydrates
Always opt for nutrient-packed carbs when choosing carbs to include in your diet. Here are some helpful tips:
- Go for Whole Foods that Contain Complex Carbohydrates
Foods that belong to this group are nuts, seeds, whole-grain bread, brown rice, pasta, veggies, and beans. Apart from complex carbs, these foods will give you vitamins, protein, minerals, and fiber.
- Reduce your Consumption of Complex Carbohydrates from Refined Foods
Processed foods like white bread, white rice, and traditional pasta belong to this category. Most of the dietary fibers in these foods have also been removed during processing.
- Avoid Consuming Excess Simple Carbs
Most simple carbs are not nourishing because they contain very few micronutrients. And, because they are simple to digest, excess consumption can result in weight gain over time.