You'll find that when you are interested in weight loss that the question of carbs comes up quite quickly, whether you are trying to shed those last few pesky pounds or you are looking at making drastic lifestyle change. When you are on a low carb diet you have a wide selection of foods available to select from, there are many foods in the market claiming they are low in carbs.
There are some facts you need to know about them before you make a decision. For example, what carbs are? Or, does cutting them out really cause you lose weight?
Initially, it is important that you are aware of what carbohydrates actually are. Carbohydrates, generally referred to as carbs, are very important in providing energy to the body.
There are two kinds of carbohydrates. Sugars -simple carbohydrates- are the first. There are also starches, also called complex carbohydrates. The difference between them is that your body spends more time digesting one than the other. Sugars are processed through your digestion much faster than starches. Simple carbs are foods such as pizza, chocolate, cake, and other processed food with sugar additives. Certain highly nutritious fruits such as apples, bananas, grapes, and raisins fall in the category of simple carbohydrates too.
Complex carbs are found in breads, cereals, nuts, pasta, and vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and corn. Complex carbohydrates, take a long time for your body to burn and will give you energy that lasts.
As you might expect, both simple carbs and complex carbs are necessary for your body to function correctly. Think about the fact that sometimes you do need a short burst of energy to get you going, and that at some points, you need food that will keep you going.
The best way to make sure that you keep your energy going with simple carbs is to have a bit of fruit in the morning to get you started and eating well rounded meals that have good complex carbs in them. You store energy in the form of fat when you eat too many carbs. That's the reason why we gain weight.
You will understand now that it is quite important to look carefully at diets that claim to help you cut carbs. Carbohydrates are problematic only to the people that tend to consume too many of them.
Unless there is a problem with your body's ability to cope with it, cutting a whole food group out is a poor idea. Keep in mind that while carb reduced diets can help to a certain extent, that's happening because you are in fact cutting back. That's not a healthy way to lose that extra pounds! So, you know now that carbs can be good or bad for your body. It all depends on how much of them you consume.
What you should do, instead of cutting carbs, is just eat them in moderation and get a lot of exercise. Exercise can go a long way towards getting you the right kind of weight loss that you need, particularly when you are eating well, and it will help you get toned up and looking great. This is an important part of getting the body you want.
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