Brown rice
Potatoes
Brown bread
Bagel
Corn
Yams
Beans
Peas
Lentils
Pasta
Wholegrain cereals
As I stated earlier complex carbs take a lot longer to break down so they provide your body with a sustained, slow form of energy.
What does this mean to you when you are trying to lose weight? It means you need to closely monitor your intake of carbohydrates and if you are not active then you shouldn't increase the level of carbohydrate intake.
This bears repeating, when you consume carbohydrates your body converts the carbs into sugars and these sugars provide energy for your muscles and body. If you consume carbohydrates and aren’t active, the sugars are converted and stored as fat which will be used by your body at a later time. The human body is programmed to burn the most recent energy source first. The consequence is if you are not creating the calorie deficit I talked about earlier then it will be much more difficult to lose weight because of the additional stored fat for the carbohydrates.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
Your nutrition is one of the main tools you use to lose weight. It is imperative that you develop a well-rounded and easy to implement nutritional plan. Being serious about this and making sure you stick with it will make an enormous difference in the amount of weight you will lose. The key is finding the right foods and combine that with the right exercises and when you do this you will reach your weight loss goals.
At this point I need to stress that you can still eat all your favorite foods. However you must be aware of portion size but never starve yourself. Your meals must be filling and satisfying. The mistake you can make is to eat a meal that leaves you unfulfilled and hungry. When you do this you will find that you are craving more food and then your nutritional plan begins to fall apart.
Here are a few suggestions when you are creating your nutritional plan:
Make sure you include foods from all four groups. If you do this you will have a well-rounded and nutritionally sound plan. If you focus on one food group more than the others then your plan will be bland, boring and will destine you to failure. The other consequence is that you will not be supplying your body with all the nutrients it needs to function properly, so take foods from all the groups and enjoy the variety that is available to you.
Control your calories. Don't put a meal together at the last minute and don’t keep eating until you are full. In those moments when you are going to eat too much just think of all the work it is going to take to burn off the extra calories.
Avoid high fat foods. These foods will pack on the pounds. You can treat yourself, on occasion, with a piece of cake or a small ice cream, just don't make it a part of every meal.
Keep a close eye on carbs. When you eat carbs make sure that you have a physical activity planned. You need carbs for energy but if you eat a diet heavy in carbs you will put on weight.
Drink water and then drink some more water. Your body needs water, as much water as you can give it because the body uses that water to clear toxins and waste.
To lose weight you need to educate yourself. You need a plan because without a plan you won't know where you are starting and you certainly won't know where you will finish. A concrete, well thought out, practical plan will be a critical component in your long term weight loss success so take the time now and you will thank yourself later.
If you change how you eat you will lose weight but when you incorporate an exercise plan along with the nutritional plan your weight loss will be much more dramatic and long lasting.