Recently, one of my clients from FASTer Way to Fat Loss® said to me I am just now realizing that carbs are not the enemy. I love this. Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy.
For a long time, carbs have gotten a bad rap. Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients that our body needs to function properly. They are needed for energy. Restricting your carbs consistently can cause all sorts of problems in your body. That is why we use Carb Cycling in the program FASTer Way to Fat Loss®. If you aren’t familiar with Carb Cycling you can check out my post here.
Not all carbohydrates are created equal. There are the good carbs (vegetables) and there are the bad carbs (pastries). Bad carbs rarely have any nutritional benefit.
My Favorite Carbs
My absolute favorite carbs are sweet potatoes. I literally think I could eat one every day. But just like anything I think it is important to vary things up.
Some more of my favorite good carbs:
- Butternut Squash
- Gluten Free Oats
- Quinoa
- Brown Rice
- Baked Potato
- Chickpea pasta
- Lentils
One of my favorite places to shop is Trader Joe’s. I have found all sorts of great items to add to my meals. Whenever I am shopping at any grocery store. I do look at labels. I first check out the ingredients and usually if sugar is in the first 3 ingredients I put it back on the shelf.
Other great options for carbs are fruits and veggies. I will be honest there was a time that I eliminated most fruits from my diet because of the sugar. The more I learn, I realize that eliminating a whole food (minimally processed food) from your diet is probably not a good idea. Most whole foods have nutritional benefit.
I love the title of Mark Hyman’s book Food What The Heck Should I Eat? It is the truth, we are given so many false messages about what we should and should not eat.
My basic approach comes down to if it has a “Mother” or it is a “Plant” then I eat it. I do eat some processed foods in moderation but I listen to my body and if I don’t feel well after I have eaten something I think back to what I ate. For instance, farro is a good complex carb, however, for me, it makes me very sleepy. So I do not eat farro.
The bottom line is we are all bio-individuals and we all need to find what works best for our bodies. Finding a good relationship with food and being intentional about choosing the right foods to fuel our bodies properly.
