CG Fitness: Personal Training, Nutrition & Yoga

Carbs, carbs & more carbs! Low-carb, no carb, good carbs, & bad carbs! Carbs can be quite confusing and addicting as well.

I’m not going to tell you to stop eating carbs or to go the low-carb route or which carbs you should or shouldn’t eat. Every body is different and everyone has different metabolisms. Some people can eat a ton of carbs and not ever gain any weight and other people think about eating carbs and gain 10 pounds. Sometimes it has nothing to do with carbs and it might actually be your hormones that are causing your weight gain or maybe it’s some digestive issues. What I will share with you though, are some ways you can enjoy carbs without having them have such a drastic effect on your blood sugar. Too much sugar in your blood stream can cause internal damage and eventually lead to diabetes, heart disease, stroke & other health problems.

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Ways to have your carbs & enjoy it too:

• Cook your pasta al dente. No matter what type of pasta you are cooking (multi-grain, organic, brown rice pasta, quinoa pasta, white pasta, or whole wheat pasta) you should never over cook it. Cooking it to al dente–meaning it’s still a bit firm when you bite it…not super soft—will keep the GI lower which will in turn keep your blood sugar levels from spiking high.
• Eat your bananas slightly unripe. I’m not a big fan of super ripe bananas to begin with so when I eat my daily protein shake I always add a slightly unripe banana to it. Eating a banana that is slightly unripe has more resistant starch than a fully ripe banana. Resistant starch is a dietary fiber that resists digestion from your body. Resistant starches can also help promote good bacterial growth.
• Eat leftover pasta. Ever since I was little I always preferred leftover spaghetti over fresh. The process of cooking pasta (al dente) then letting it cool and then reheating it creates resistant starch…which we know now resists digestion from you body so it will be digested slower in your body which will keep your blood sugar level low.
• Cook, then cool your potatoes. Similar to pasta, your potatoes have more resistant starch if you let them cool.
• Eat Steel-Cut or Rolled Oats. Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition finds that the smaller the particle size, the higher the glycemic response. So bigger is better. A sampling of their GI findings suggests large-flake oats, steel-cut oats, muesli and granola provide a low to moderate glycemic response; quick-cooking oats and instant oatmeal cause a high response. So skip the instant and quick-cooking oats and savor a bowl of large-flake or steel-cut oats instead. Instand and quick-cooking oats are usually loaded with extra sugar and artificial flavors too. Add your own maple syrup or honey and fresh or frozen fruit with some nuts for a healthy version. I love using rolled oats to make my overnight oats.
• Cook rice with coconut oil. Cook rice along with coconut oil, then cool it to significantly boost resistant starch (perhaps tenfold) and potentially cut in half the calories! Research conducted at Sri Lanka’s College of Chemical Sciences suggests this: Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to boiling water, add a half-cup of unfortified white rice, simmer for 40 minutes, then refrigerate for 12 hours. It’s OK to reheat it afterward. (check out my last post about whether you should use Unrefined Coconut oil or Refined Coconut Oil)
• Use a Carb Blocker Supplement. If you really love carbs and refuse to give them up but still want a way to reduce the amount you eat, then a high quality carb blocker supplement may help you. I love the one from Top Trainer because of the amazing high quality key ingredients it has:

  

  • White Kidney Beans​- Aids in weight loss. Helps you feel full longer. Curbs hunger cravings, this also helps with healthy digestion
  • Chitosan-  ​Attracts fat and binds it to the intestinal wall for elimination. Great for weight reduction. Helps lower cholesterol.
  • Cinnamon​- Regulates blood sugar spikes. When less sugar is stored as fat, this translates to better weight loss. Helps lower bad cholesterol.
  • Cassia Nomame– Naturally blocks the absorption of fat into your bloodstream by impairing the enzyme that makes fat breakdown possible. Suppresses hunger & aids in fat burning. Helps Expel excess fluids from the body.
  • Glucomannan-​Takes up space in stomach and promotes satiety.Sponges up water in digestive tract reducing absorption of carbs & cholesterol.Reduces absorption of proteins & fats.

Do you follow a high-carb or low-carb diet? What are your carb-eating tricks?

Stay Healthy my friends!

XO,

Carrie A Groff