In the first part of the how to lose weight series we talked all about calories and today we’re going to discuss carbohydrates, also commonly called carbs. We’ll talk about the good, the bad and the ugly (sorry I couldn’t resist) parts of what carbohydrates are and what they do. So lets get started.
Carbohydrates are one of the basic components of food called macro nutrients along with fats and proteins (alcohols are also a macro nutrient as well), sometimes you may hear people talk about “macros” in relation to a diet and these are what they’re referring to. Carbohydrates in food are measured in grams and each gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories. Some amount of carbohydrates are in most every food but the types of foods that are dense in carbohydrates will be your sugary foods like candy or cookies and your starchy foods like breads and pastas. You can easily tell the amount of carbohydrates in a food item you have by looking at the nutrition information on the label, it should list carbohydrates as well as the amount that is sugars and the amount that is fiber.
Fiber! I Barely Know Her! 
Fiber is a very important type of carbohydrate to understand. Fiber is the indigestible portion of plant foods and is typically found in the types of plants that have shells or skins or are very dense such as legumes (peas, beans), whole grains, nuts, broccoli and many others. Fiber is important to dieters for several reasons, first fiber is indigestible to the body so even though each gram is a carbohydrate and contains 4 calories you don’t need to count these calories because you will not be able to digest the fiber and get the energy from it. Secondly, a diet rich in fiber has been linked to successful weight loss including helping people lose more weight and helping people feel fuller and more satisfied throughout the day while trying to lose weight. Going beyond weight loss there are even more benefits to having a fiber rich diet such as a tendency to stay more regular in bowel movements and lower risk of many of the worlds most prevalent diseases.
What’s the Point of all Those Carbohydrates Anyway?
Now let’s talk about what our bodies do with carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the most common source of energy from food these days, however the body doesn’t strictly need carbs and can get all needed essential nutrients from proteins and fats which we’ll talk about in parts of the series. So what happens when you eat a big slice of white bread or cake then? The first thing that happens is that the body breaks down the carbs into glucose which is a simple sugar, then because of the presence of this glucose the body produces a hormone called insulin which helps the body turn that glucose into energy and use it when needed. Here’s where it all becomes important because insulin has many other effects on the body besides just helping to break down carbohydrates, insulin can stop your body from breaking down body fat and will promote the use of glucose and carbohydrates as our bodies energy instead of our fat cells. That’s a bad thing when you want to lose weight. Also large supplies of insulin also promotes the storage of any excess energy as body fat. Insulin isn’t all bad however as it is an anabolic substance, that simply means it promotes the growth of lean muscle mass which is very helpful to us. Many low carb diets operate on the idea that many overweight people are very resistant to insulin and thus by keeping the insulin levels low in the body they will be able to better lose weight. This principle can work but there are lots of other things going on in the body that needs insulin as well, such as the storage of energy in our muscles.
So far it might seem that carbs are generally bad or they are something you should mostly avoid. That’s not the whole truth though, there are many different foods that have carbohydrates in them that provide lots of nutrients that our body loves. So the real question becomes how can you know what carbs are good and which ones are bad. To address that let’s examine something called a glycemic index. The glycemic index of a food is basically a rank that tells you how fast a particular carbohydrate will break down in your body, remember we talked about fiber helping you feel satisfied longer well this is because those foods that have high fiber also tend to break down slower and thus have a lower glycemic index. In the glycemic index foods with a high rating will tend to break down in the body quickly providing a burst of energy and then typically a crash of much less energy. Anyone who’s needed a nap not long after eating a big piece of cake can relate to this. This is why that it is recommended to try to pick foods with a lower glycemic index because they will break down more slowly in the body providing a longer more level supply of energy and will keep you feeling fuller longer between meals as well. Also it’s important to realize that the rate of digestion is also slowed by eating fats and proteins, so you may eat a high glycemic index food but eat it with some protein and it would lower the total glycemic index and slow the digestion of the entire meal which is a good thing.
The Glycemic Index. No It’s Not From Wall Street!
So what foods have a low glycemic index. Typically most green vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, many fruits will have low glycemic index values while white breads, candy bars, baked potatoes and white rice will have high glycemic index values. As a rule most things that are white (white bread, white rice, white pasta) has had most of the fiber and nutrients removed through processing leading to a much higher glycemic index value. Most any type of carbohydrate that is high in fiber will also have a low glycemic index value, this is one reason fibrous carbohydrate sources like beans and broccoli are so good for you. You can also find many lists online of the glycemic index values of food that can help you make good decisions on the types of carbs you will take in.
Ok, I Wasn’t Listening Can You Just Tell Me The Point of All This Carbohydrate Talk Already?
Ultimately just remember carbohydrates are not strictly either good or bad it all depends on understanding them and understanding your body and what your body’s needs are. Sometimes, for example directly after you do a workout containing weight lifting, you need “simple” high glycemic index carbs like sugars or breads to replenish your muscles stores that get spent while working out and other times your body just need sustained energy which it can get better from some lower glycemic index foods. It’s all about understanding what we’re putting in our bodies and remember that at the end of the day burning more calories than you consume will be what makes you lose weight so anything that can help you consume less while not feeling deprived will go a long way to helping you reach your goals.
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