Don't eat that white rice it will make you fat!
Oh man if you have that potato for dinner it will automatically put 5lbs on you.
Idk how you can enjoy that sandwich, do you know the carbs in that?!
Any of these sound familiar?
What if I told you you can have rice, potatoes, bread and pasta, and STILL lose weight?
Lets' dive in to find out how.
Today's topic is one that I get asked quite a bit.
That is the subject of good carbs versus bad carbs.
And while to an extent, yes there are some types of carbohydrates that are “better” for you than other types of carbohydrates, to make to make it seem like there is good in bad foods is not what this is about.
When at the end of the day, literally all that matters is the calories. What is going to matter in terms of you losing weight.
Losing fat is going to be calories in versus calories out. Now, this is why I want to go more in depth into this because even though calories is the most important thing that matters, I’m not telling you that you can eat pop tarts, pizza and pasta, 1200 calories a day, every single day and lose weight.
What I am saying though is, if you eat the “best” carbs, or protein, or fat, in the world, but you are eating too many calories, you will still gain weight.
Lets talk about an example.
The first one is going to be sweet potatoes versus regular potatoes.
And I'm just going to go over on a non-biased, literally just factual information comparison. White potatoes are a little bit lower in fat and sugar.
Sweet potatoes have fewer carbs and fewer calories.
White potatoes are a little bit higher in magnesium and potassium.
While sweet potatoes are higher in vitamin A and vitamin C.
So to label these foods “good” or “bad” without having context on the situation is impossible.
To now use a scenario of context, let’s say someone has a problem staying hydrated.
If they sweat a lot from their workouts, white potatoes would probably be a better option for them because it has more magnesium and potassium, which are the two of the main things for hydration.
So on that instance the “fattening white potato” would be the “better” option.
Another one could be white rice versus brown rice.
You have probably heard brown rice is better than white rice.
So, let’s chat.
If you are someone who doesn’t digest high fiber foods very well, then brown rice may not be the best option for you.
You would get bloated, you would have digestion issues, you would have low energy.
But since that article online told you brown rice is great for fat loss, you keep chugging along.
When in reality you could be eating white rice, and feeling and performing so much better in and out of the gym.
While it is “technically” processed, it is still a great source of carbohydrates for someone to use as fuel, especially if they are working out.
While on the same note if someone is having trouble being hungry, and is able to digest brown rice fine, then brown rice might be the better option for them.
But unless you have the context of the situation, you cannot label which is good or bad, rather what fits the situation.
What Is Your Reasoning?
Another thing I want to touch on is having a reasoning behind why you eat the foods you do.
As you can see, I am not a fan of you just eating foods because some article on the internet told you to, you saw your favorite celebrity eats it, or even because I told you to.
Find out what works for YOU with YOUR body.
Another example I can give of this is fueling your body for your workouts.
If you are about to workout, and you are going to do an intense session that requires energy, a quick source of carbohydrates would be a great option for you.
They are going to get used as fuel for the workout, you may be able to workout harder, have more energy, sustained energy, better muscle pumps, along with many others.
So if you did have white rice, or white bread, or fruit, they would be a great option.
While on the other hand,