Comprehending Calories: The Role of Carbs In Your Diet
My relationship with carbs is love-hate. In the form of veggies and fruits, they’re pretty awesome. So that’s love. But in the form of processed ...
by Erika Nicole Kendall
Mmmm... burnt toast. Yum.
My relationship with carbs is love-hate. In the form of veggies and fruits, they’re pretty awesome. So that’s love. But in the form of processed foods, packaged with excess sugars and serving as carriers for excess salts and unnatural fats? That’s hate. In fact, I usually have a violent reaction to carbs in their processed form most days.
I know there are people out there who really champion the “high carb/anti-Atkins diet” crusade, and I hear y’all. I do. However, between the slew of fat-free/low fat products on the market and the onslaught of American cooking done merely by processed foods (that are high in carb and “low in fat”)… the “high carb, low fat” diet isn’t working very well for us, is it? At what point do we tell the emperor that he’s a little naked?
Like I mentioned the other day, fats are an integral part of our diet. Many of the vitamins that our bodies use can only be properly taken into the blood stream in conjunction with a small trace of fat. (I mean, really – the average carrot even has a little fat in it.) They’re full of calories that, when not eaten in excess, are burned by your body (it’s the body’s job to burn fat, and it’s quite efficient at doing so.) Carbohydrates serve as a secondary source of energy. Secondary. A diet with enough fat in it will cause the body to simply store the excess carbs, right? Orrrrr maybe a diet with enough carbs in it will store the fat?
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9 Responses to “Comprehending Calories: The Role of Carbs In Your Diet”
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What a coincidence that you are blogging about carbs! I recently began reading a book called The Paleo Diet. You can eat unlimited fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and lean proteins but no grains, dairy or legumes. That means no soy milk!!!! At first I was a bit reluctant to give up my soy milk until I realized that I only drink soy milk WITH GRAINS–specifically with cereal and bread. Organic, flour-less, gluten-free bread and cereal, but still bread and cereal. So if I didn’t eat the bread, I didn’t miss the soy milk.
I said I would give it 3 weeks and if I didn’t like it, I would try something else. You can try anything for 3 weeks right? I have lost 6.7 pounds in 10 days! I was working my butt off exercising and not losing any weight because I was over-training and eating the wrong carbs. I was also only eating about 1,800 before–I am not eating about 2,000 and LOSING weight. More energy, better workouts, etc…
Years ago, I would shy away from the low carb thing because the early low carb diets restricted fruits and some vegetable even. I cannot live without fruit (nor am I supposed to!), so I was terribly constipated on those plans. But between the fruit and the nuts that are allowed on this plan, I no longer have that problem. It seems that nutritionists and doctors have finally found a low carb plan that is reasonable can be permanent for most people. Also it is about time we all learn that the focus should be on the QUALITY of the food, not the quantity.
I am really enjoying it so far and I recommend the book to you and your readers…
I’m familiar with the book, and a definite advocate of the Paleolithic lifestyle. I tried to not lean to heavily into that in my post, but I do think looking at food through the lens of evolution is a big, big, BIG indicator of how our bodies should interact with food. That’s partly why people say that “tradition” should lend insight to our eating habits… however, “tradition” in the Black community has experienced its share of obfuscation.
Thank you for sharing! It’s a small piece of information that makes a HUGE difference. Glad you came through!
I did the low carb diet a few years back and lost 63 lbs. Eventually I gained it ALL back but I did like it because I never felt hungry. I’ve tried several times to do it again but just haven’t been able to stay on it. The above book mentioned looks very interesting. I’m going over to Amazon to check it out right now.
The Paleo diet (or something close to it) is the way I eat now. I made the changes about a month ago, and basically I don’t eat anything that isn’t found in nature. No bread (where’s the bread tree?), no high fructose corn syrup, no Crystal Light in my water, etc. It has made a total difference in the way I feel.
As always a very lovely article Erika!
Reading that NY article link – very long – but this statement from the piece stopped me cold.
“The classic example is the statement heard repeatedly that 95 percent of all dieters never lose weight, and 95 percent of those who do will not keep it off. This will be correctly attributed to the University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Albert Stunkard, but it will go unmentioned that this statement is based on 100 patients who passed through Stunkard’s obesity clinic during the Eisenhower administration.”
I’m always struggling in the back of my mind with any diet changes wondering will this really work. Anecdotal and scientific evidence are all against me. “But if all the stat is wrong, then I might actually have a chance to succeed with my lifestyle change” – is the thought I’m struggling to accept. But I feel lighter, more hopeful already.
Whenever I hear that it’s healthier for you to limit your carbs, I wonder about what else you can eat to replace a cheap, (semi) nutritious, convenient food staple. If we’re talking Paleo then purchasing more fruit, vegetables, and quality meat can get pricy fast. I once did reduce my carb intake, but I accidentally cut out a 1/3 of my required calories and lost weight I didn’t want to lose. (What’s funny about losing the weight is that I got comments about how my face was tired, sickly, and washed out at the same time I got more compliments on my figure.)
If I could cut out processed carbs and replace my calories with something else on a budget, then I’d be willing to give it a try. Even whole grain bread is not as expensive as quality protein. Rice and beans are pretty cheap if you buy in bulk. It would take a lot of fruit and vegetables to get enough calories. Dairy’s cheap, but I found out I’m allergic to milk.
Have you heard of Isabel de los Rios? She suggests limited carbs, or rather no pasta or bread with a focus on fruits, veggies, nuts, quinoa, rice, etc. I think eliminating refined, fibre deficient carbs would make sense. I think Jorge Cruise is on the same things. I don’t know very much about the paleo diet I’ll have to research that more. Thanks for the article
I’m on a modified version of the slow-carb diet. Basically it alows for vegies, protien, and beans (2 cups worth- seems like alot, I know) at every meal and no fruit , dairy, sugar, or alcohol. I don’t eat as many beans, maybe 1/2 cup per day, and I do aow myself a fruit after a workout if I feel I need/want it. Also I alow myself a bit of cheese for flavor, and a little dark chocolate once in awhile. I want this way of eating to be sustainable for the long-term and , in my opinion, life is not worth living without a bit of good cheese and dark chocolate now and again! I’ve recently made drinking water a priority and have been consuming 1 gallon a day. I do use stevia occasionally, but I’ve cut out all other processed items (no crystal light, ect.) It’s only been 4 days, but I’ve lost a pound, my skin looks great, and most importantly I have more energy for my cardio/ strength routine. I actually look forward to working out, now! I ‘ve also lost the belly bloat in my waist that I used to have, and have noticed a diminishing of cellulite in my legs.