Thursday, November 13, 2008

Low Carb Diets, What to Eat and What Not

By Ricardo d Argence

Foods containing sugar and starch are designated as carbohydrates. These foods are the ones that provide the fuel and energy for our bodies. All food groups, including carbs, are the pieces that make up a balanced diet. The basic concept is to take pleasure in eating foods in healthy portions and select compex carbohydrates whenever you can.

When you hear people talk about carbs, they are shortening the name for energy items called carbohydrates. Carbs are usually targeting those foods with higher concentrations of sugars or starches. Carbohydrates are present in almost all the foods we consume.

Many of the high carb foods are processed food items, including sweets, white bread, potatoes, and pasta. If you want to follow a low carb diet, you need to stay away from canned foods and choose fresh fruits and vegetables. Stick to unprocessed foods like brown rice and whole wheat bread. If you want cereal, plain oatmeal is a very good treat to try.

Two kinds of carbohydrates exist, one being simple carbs, including sugars, candy, white bread, pastas as well as dairy products and also several fruits. This is the body's top source for energy. Complex carbohydrates are second in terms of furnishing our energy source. Your body takes longer to break down these carbohydrates which is why you can go longer between meals and not feel hungry. Foods such as veggies, various fruits, beans, potatoes,pasta and whole wheat bread include these types of carbohydrates.

When you are trying to lose weight with a low carb diet, you should try to keep your carbohydrate count at 20-50 gm per day. If you are maintaining your weight, 180-300 gm per day of carbohydrates will work nicely. You might be surprised to learn that almost all foods contain some carbohydrates. If you want to leave carbs in the basement range, you can eat lean turkey meat and a few other protein rich foods.

Glucose can be pulled from the liver for energy if carbohydrates are not present in the bloodstream due to a low carbohydrate diet. Without the immediate energy source of carbohydrates, the body will reluctantly begin to burn some of the fat supply existing in its cells.

Vegetables are usually low in carbs, but there are some exceptions such as, corn, potatoes, a few mushroom varieties, green peas and rhubarb; which carry a higher carb content and may derail your diet if eaten too often. Even Shiitake mushrooms are almost 25% carbohydrate. Generally, cucumbers are low in carboyhydrates, but if you are watching your carbs, the 10 gm they have can really add up. Good for low carb diets, most lean meats can be enjoyed baked or grilled. Beans are an excellent option even though they can put a minimal amount of carbs in your daily total. Don't eat processed foods, sugary foods, and starches in big quantities--and leave canned food items alone.

Remember to do your exercises if you want to diet correctly. Even a low carb diet is not enough to successfully and quickly burn fat. You must exercise everyday to promote the process of fat burning. Exercise is good for you but there is a tip for you to use. Any exercise can boost your heart rate to where it needs to be, try a walking quickly for a quarter of an hour.

If you do this, for the next 30-45 minutes your body will be burning fat cells to supply your energy needs. This is because it takes about 15 minutes for your body to use up its supply of stored glucose. You should not eat just before exercising, you do not want to have extra carbs in your bloodstream for your body to burn, you want to target the fat. - 15252

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