Eat"complex" Carbs to lose weight!

So my wife, a teacher, came home yesterday from work and proceeded to tell me about all of the teachers in her school that are overweight and completely out of shape that just complain that they can't eat this and they can't eat this. I guess there was one in particular that said her doctor told her to stop eating carbs. Now this person completely believes that "carbs" blows her up. She told my wife that she just can't eat carbs cause it'll just add more pounds on her.

Keep in mind that a professional doctor told her this. I'm sorry, but I know that doctors (family doctors) do not take even one nutrition class as part of any of their education. I'm so fed-up with so many doctors prescribing the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets, when they don't have a clue what carbohydrates do for the body. Therefore I'm going to tell you right now!

For those of you that just use the word carbs, you better start telling me what kind! Because there are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates.

LEARN THE DIFFERENCE if you are going to talk about them!

The fact is carbs don't make people fat in todays society, sugars make people fat.

Now all carbohydrates are made up from sugars. There are a number of different types of sugars but in the body all carbohydrate metabolism converts sugar to glucose, our body's preferred energy source. Glucose is the main sugar present in many foods but some contain different sugars, such as fructose in fruit, lactose in milk, galactose as well as others. Most sugars are digested and absorbed and converted to glucose, some cannot be digested, we call this fiber.

Complex carbs are basically those in wholegrain form such as wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice (foods with higher fiber). Complex carbs are broken down into glucose more slowly than simple carbohydrates and thus provide a gradual steady stream of energy throughout the day. Natural carbs are also a better choice when losing weight.

The food list below shows many natural complex carbohydrate foods that are frequently used to produce food products or meals. Most foods or products that contain a large portion of these staple ingredients are usually a good high complex carbohydrate source. The best way to provide the diet with complex carbohydrates is to consume foods in their most natural state such as oatmeal, bran and brown rice.

Bran
Wheatgerm
Barley
Maize
Buckwheat
Cornmeal
Oatmeal

The food list below shows good sources of complex carbohydrates.

Whole wheat Pasta
Macaroni
Whole wheat Spaghetti
Brown rice
Red or sweet Potatoes
Other root vegetables
Wholemeal breads
Granary bread
Brown bread
Pitta bread
Bagel
Wholegrain cereals
High fiber breakfast cereals
Porridge oats
All bran
Wheetabix
Shredded wheat
Ryvita crispbread
Muesli
Cassava
Corn
Yam
Oatcakes
Peas
Beans
Lentils

Weight loss progress often slows due to a lowered metabolism. Increase the metabolism before cutting calories (by adding calories), then very low calorie diets wont be necessary.

Simply put if you are not getting AT LEAST 1500 calories per day in your body, you will NEVER lose weight if you want to do it in a healthy manner. Simply try to eat 300 calories 5-6 times per day with a combination of complex carbohydrates and protein. Get's some fats in your diet but only unsaturated fats, from olive oil, butter and dressings.

A good complex carbohydrate intake is essential to exercising effectively and makes each workout more effective in losing body fat! Digestion of complex carbohydrates takes longer. The slow absorption of sugars provides us with a steady supply of energy and limits the amount of sugar converted into fat and stored!

Why are carbohydrates important?

Carbohydrates are the body's primary source of fuel. The energy can be released quickly and easily to fulfill immediate requirement within cells. Carbohydrates do not require oxygen to burn therefore they fuel most muscular contractions, meaning our carbohydrate intake is very important for regular exercise sessions. If carbohydrate stores are low exercise will seem like a real effort!