Weight watchers tend to skip carbohydrates from their diet and run behind proteins and fibers to reach their weight loss goals. Carbs (the way weight watchers address carbohydrates), are in the bad books of weight watchers and are avoided altogether for quicker weight loss.
Though carbs are having such a bad reputation, one cannot deny the fact that they are amongst the essential nutrients needed by the human body. Your diet plan cannot be complete without including certain good carbs as they are essential energy suppliers of your body. Your body needs carbohydrates in some or the other form for proper functioning, but it is quite important to keep these energy boosting carbs in prescribed limits to check unnecessary weight gain. Some carbohydrates may be better to have than certain others and this is how one can differentiate amongst the carbs availed from food.
What Are These Different Types Of Carbohydrates?
Carbs are not bad, but knowing the carbs correctly would help you select the right carbs for your diet. There are two types of carbs, simple and complex. The simple ones are often known as bad carbs while the complex ones are known as good carbs.
Complex carbs have complex chains of sugar which are difficult to break and the process takes longer than usual. The slow absorption and use of these carbs make them good. As stated by owner of renowned Nutrition Works in Louisville, and nutritionist Sandra Meyerowitz, complex carbs provide more energy that stays for longer time. Having these good carbs would keep you full for longer.
Simple carbs on the other hand are simple sugar molecules and easy to digest. These are the basic sugars found in fruits and vegetables, but these naturally found simple carbs are not harmful. Fruits and vegetables have high fiber content and when you consume simple carbs from these sources, your body will need more time for digestion because of fibers and hence even these simple carbs will start working as complex carbs. The carbs in refined foods, cakes, and cookies are also simple, but they are really bad! Your body will digest these carbs very fast and would be deprived of essential energy which can be gained from complex carbs.
Choosing Complex Carbs Over Simple Carbs
Carbs are good and essential part of your body, but making the right choices would matter. You can keep your energy levels high while controlling the weight gain by always selecting the complex carbs over simple carbs. Making these smart choices would go a long way for your health. All you have to do is to make simple alterations like selecting the brown bread over white, brown rice over white, and opting for the whole grain varieties instead of refined food and dishes. Say no to whites, whether it is white sugar or any other refined food as the markets are full of the complex and healthier versions of all these food choices.
Glycemic Index For Making Right Choices
If you find it difficult to distinguish between complex and simple carbohydrates then you can check the glycemic index of the product before including it into your diet plan. Glycemic index gives you the idea about how much time will be taken for digesting particular food and what would be the rise in blood sugar levels. Opt for the food items with low glycemic index as these are mostly the ones with complex carbohydrates.
Keeping it simple, don’t cut off carbs completely from your diet as they provide you with much needed energy. Just make sensible choices and avoid foods that are loaded with only carbs and have no fiber. Stick to the right choices and experience the energy of good carbs.