The Lowdown Regarding Carbs

To be effective, your weight loss program has to include the calculation of how many carbohydrates you are eating. Often referred to as carbs these days, they are to be found in many foods such as bananas, rice, pears, candy, breads and potatoes.

These foods are transformed into glucose once the starch and sugar they contain have been broken down inside your body. Glucose gives your brain and muscles the energy they need to function correctly.

If the glucose is not used by your body as energy, it’s converted into a substance called glycogen. Your liver and muscles are where the glycogen is then stored as an energy reserve.

About half of the daily energy requirements of your body can be stored as glycogen in this way. But if you’re eating more carbohydrates than your ‘spare tank’ can hold, the excess will be turned into fat, which is exactly what you want to avoid if you’re trying to lose weight.

Carbohydrates can be either ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ and it’s useful to know the difference.

Simple carbs are those in very sweet tasting foods, such as syrup, fruit, honey, candy and cakes. They give our muscles a quick boost when we’re active, as their energy passes into the bloodstream very rapidly after eating.

Complex carbs come in the form of grains (rice or wheat, for example) and vegetables. As well as providing energy, these foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. They give us energy over a longer period of time than simple carbohydrates do, too.

It’s advisable to try not to eat too many carbs in one go, as this overloads the system, but eat small portions frequently in the course of the day. This allows you to cover your energy needs without inducing your body to store fat.

Too few carbs in your diet will make you feel as if your energy levels are at rock bottom. To stay healthy and active you need to keep a certain amount of energy available in your body.

But if you reduce your intake of carbs in a controlled way and stay active, your body will draw on its store of fat as a power source and you’ll start losing weight!

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