Weight Loss Strategies For Good Health And Fitness

The debate over whether or not we should eat a low carbohydrate diet to lose weight started with the creation of the Atkins Diets. This debate continues on today and will never end because the debaters are focusing on the wrong aspect of carbohydrates. The debaters are focusing on the quantity of carbohydrates when they should be focusing on the quality of the carbohydrates.

Insulin

When trying to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle, you want to eat meals and snacks that do not cause insulin spikes. Insulin spikes are surges in insulin. Insulin is an animal hormone. Insulin is a anabolic hormone that tells sugar to leave the blood and enter the cells. Often times this sugar is converted into fat and stored in fat cells.

Glycemic Index

That is where the glycemic index comes in. The glycemic index of a carbohydrate tells you what happens in your body after you eat a particular carbohydrate. It tells you how much and how fast your blood glucose will rise.

Simple sugars and processed complex carbohydrates are typically the foods with the highest glycemic indexes. A carb with a high glycemic index leads to a large and rapid rise in blood glucose and an insulin spike.

The glycemic index is a quality measure. It does not address the quantity of carbohydrates in your meal or snack. White rice has a high glycemic index, but if you only eat one grain of rice you will not have an insulin spike. That is where the glycemic load comes in. The glycemic load addresses the quality and the quantity of the carbohydrates in your meal.

Glycemic Load

The glycemic load is more important than the glycemic index because it addresses quantity and quality of the carbohydrate. For example, carrots and some fruits have a high glycemic index but a low glycemic load. Their loads are low because there are not that many grams of carbohydrates in one serving. Carrots and most fruits are a great addition to any diet.

You could write an entire book about the glycemic index and the glycemic load. In fact, some people did. For more information consider reading The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index - the Dietary Solution for Lifelong Health.

In the mean time, the carbohydrates with the lowest glycemic loads are vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, beans, and other legumes. The ones with the highest loads are the white foods: white sugar, white potatoes, white rice, white flour, and white pasta.

The low carbohydrate diet debate is over and there is no winner. The focus has now shifted away from the quantity of carbohydrates eaten and towards the quality of the carbohydrates eaten. Follow the glycemic numbers to lose the weight and keep it off.

Carbohydrates For Good Health And Fitness

Carbohydrates are the foundation of diets world wide. Most of your calories come from carbohydrates. Some nutrition plans "demonize" carbohydrates. They blame carbs for the obesity epidemic. Carbs have been falsely accused. While some carbs are "bad" for you, there are just as many that are good for you. To lose weight and keep it off you should eat more good carbs than bad. The good carbohydrates are vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.

Vegetables

Vegetables are my favorite carbohydrates. They are filled with nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Most have a high water and fiber content, so they fill you up without adding many calories. Most also have low glycemic loads.

Fruits

Fruits are my second favorite carbs. They are also filled with nutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals. They also fill you up without adding many calories. Their glycemic loads are not as low as most vegetables, but they are low enough. Fruits are an excellent way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Most fruits are very portable and do not require lots of preparation.

Whole Grains

Minimally processed whole grains are an excellent addition to any nutrition plan. These are you stone-ground whole wheat breads, whole wheat pastas, brown rice, sweet potatoes,oats, and whole grain cereals. These carbs also have nutrients, vitamin, minerals, and phytochemicals. They are also very filling. They typically have the highest glycemic loads of all of the "good" carbs. However, if you eat them as part of a well balanced meal, there will be no insulin spike.

Legumes

Legumes are your beans, peas, and lentils. Most nutritionists will place legumes in the protein category. However, legumes provide a substantial amount of carbohydrates, so I will place them in both. They could be placed in fats also because peanuts, which are actually legumes, are filled with healthy fats.

Legumes are filled with nutrients, minerals and antioxidants. They are low in fat and high in protein. They are a good source of fiber and they are very filling. They also have a low glycemic load.

There are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates. However, in order to lose weight and keep it off, stick with the good ones. These are your vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.