Lose Weight Easier by Knowing Good Carbohydrates vs Bad Carbs

It seems as though the world is getting more confused than ever about the right way to lose weight these days. One of the problems is information overload on the internet and so called “gurus” all contradicting one another.

One of the biggest areas that I see my clients more confused than ever is the topic of carbohydrates and trying to figure out good carbs vs bad carbs or if they should try to follow some sort of low carb or no carb diet.

First of all, although I really don’t believe in “low carb” or “no carb” diets, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle with excess weight and body fat is that they overeat refined processed carbs such as cereal, pasta, rice, bagels, muffins, bread (even whole grain types), soda, juice, candy, crackers, etc.

It is very hard to lose any weight if you are overeating any of these types of carbs (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to creating major blood sugar fluctuations and stimulating insulin surges (which promotes body fat deposition), eating too many carbohydrates also increases your appetite and cravings for more processed sugars and starches.

Even carb food sources that most people think are healthy are really just excess calories that do not really give you much in the way of nutrient density… and many types of bread and cereals pretend to be “whole grain” through their deceptive labeling, while in reality the 1st ingredient in them is processed refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create a hormonal mess in your body.

My take on it is that the majority of people frustrated and struggling to lose weight would do much better following these types of recommendations:

1. Reduce grain-based carbohydrate foods in your diet (cereals, pastas, breads, rice, crackers, and so on) & focus more of the diet on healthy grass-fed and free-range meat and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy, and lots and lots of veggies.

2. Instead of the grains based foods for most of your carbohydrates, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes (and yams), and a variety of whole fruits and berries (but NOT fruit juices, which remove the blood sugar blunting fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit)

3. If you are going to eat any grain foods at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fiber-rich portions of the grain… the bran and the germ… For example, you could eat oat bran instead of oatmeal, and use rice bran and wheat germ more frequently by adding to your soups, salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, and so on. This way you get all of the most beneficial nutrient dense portions of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources… try replacing those foods with more healthy fat sources such as seeds, nuts, nut butters, avocados, guacamole, etc, as well as healthy protein sources such as raw grass-fed dairy and meat, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fat and protein are ever so important for controlling your appetite, maintaining proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on permanent weight loss.

With all of that said, a couple of my favorite healthy carb sources that are high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are sweet potatoes, yams, any other root vegetables, any and all vegetables in general, & any and all berries and whole fruits.

What I’ve found with most of my clients is that once they start reducing the amount of grain-based foods in their diet and replace that with more of the carb sources I listed above as well as ample amounts of healthy fats and proteins, their weight starts falling off much faster and they finally gain control of their appetite and cravings for life. Give it a shot!