When it comes to carbs, the trick is to focus on complex carbohydrates that will make you feel full instead of simple, refined carbs that do not satiate you for long. That's why we've put together a list of ways to eat carbohydrates and still lose weight.
Choose the right carbs
Take potatoes, for example - full of fiber, filling, and low energy density. On another hand, potato chips, deep-fried in oil, with salt and pepper, and maybe even a dipping sauce. Now you have a really fattening meal that is easy to over-consume.
Instead of chips, consider roasting potato wedges with olive oil and rosemary as a healthier substitute.
Throw in some berries
Researchers suggest berries can slow down the digestion and absorption of starch. A study in The Journal of Nutrition showed that consuming 150 grams of strawberries (about a cup) with a 50-gram slice of white bread decreased insulin response by 36% more than that of berry-less bread eaters.
A mixture of strawberries, bilberries, cranberries, and black currants was even more successful, lowering the glycemic profile of white bread by 38%. Study authors credit the findings to berry polyphenols, and this is good news for you because evidence shows that a diet containing moderate amounts of low GI carbohydrates is especially good for weight loss.
Drink green tea
Washing a high-carb meal with a calming cup of green tea may be a good diet technique, according to Penn State scientists. Their review, published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, showed that an antioxidant in green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) when mixed with carbohydrates, may help to control starvation hormones and balanced metabolism by lowering blood glucose levels.
Mice fed EGCG and corn starch had a 50% drop in blood sugar spikes relative to mice that had not been fed the compound. Researchers claim that one and a half cups of green tea are enough to see the same benefits.
Choose fresh
You'll slash carbs from your diet by selecting a fresh apple over an apple muffin, but you won't absolutely remove the carbohydrate count. Believe it or not, all fruits and vegetables contain some carbohydrates. In fact, one apple has 34 grams of carbs-more than you would find in two slices of whole wheat bread. And since juice extracts the satiating fiber from whole fruit, a cup of fresh fruit juice will do more harm than good.
Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health have shown that individuals who eat one or two servings of fruit juice per day have raised their chance of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 21%. And a second report in the journal Nature showed that liquid carbohydrates were 17 percent less filling than solid carbohydrates. As a rule of thumb: eat your fruits; don't drink them.
