Info about Carbs
Carbohydrates are found in starchy foods and sugars. So all grains (flour, bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals), most fruits and many vegetables (especially root crops such as potatoes and carrots) fall into this category. When starch is combined with sugar – in chocolate bars for example – this results in a very high carb count with almost no nutritional value. Carbohydrates are used in the body as fuel. They give you energy. That’s why athletes eat high – carbohydrates diets. However, if your life is sedentary, you don’t need high intake of carbs. When your Grandmother wanted to lose weight, she’d cut out bread and potatoes for a couple of weeks – there’s nothing new about a low-carb diet.
Keep it Sustainable!
At Dynamic we don’t believe in cutting out food groups completely. Of course if you stopped eating Carbs altogether you would lose weight but this would not be sustainable. This is because the next time you did eat Carbs your body would be more likely to store them and not use them effectively. Eating sensible amounts of Carbohydrate also makes you absorb the other nutrients you need from food.
Eat your Carbs earlier in the day so your body can burn them off. So if you’re having cereal or toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch then think of a low carb evening meal. An idea of a low Carb evening meal could be as simple as a chicken & bacon salad.
If you are eating Carbs in the evening…try and have more of the meat and vegetables rather than the rice, potatoes and pasta (for example when eating a chicken roast dinner load up on the chicken and vegetables and control the number of Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes)
Re-think your snacks. Don’t go near the junk food aisle in the supermarket. Junk food is very high in Carbs, with almost no nutritional value. The worst offenders are crisps, chocolate bars or any other sweets (very high in sugar), ice cream (high in sugar), soft drinks and any snacks made from flour, such as cookies and biscuits. Examples of good snacks are fruit, nuts and yogurt