Investigating Low Carb Diet Meal Plans: Are Carbs the Real Culprit?

• Blog Post

  Carbohydrates are a macronutrient and essential for our daily energy needs.

  High-Carb Diets

  Let's start by examining the average American diet. Each meal is high in carbohydrates such as bread, white pasta, and white rice.

  We actually need 45-65% of our calories to be made from carbohydrates. The difference is the type of carbohydrates these are. The average American diet contains way too many processed carbohydrates, and this is where the problem lies.

  When you eat carbohydrates, your body turns them into glucose, which goes into your blood. Your pancreas then releases insulin, which helps move the sugar out of your bloodstream and into cells throughout your body. The cells then use the glucose for energy and store the excess in your liver, muscles, and fat tissue.

  Eating too many processed carbohydrates can cause your blood sugar levels to rise too high. This confuses your insulin production and is why you often feel sluggish after eating a large carby meal.

  Type 2 diabetes develops when you have insulin resistance and leaves you with too much sugar in your blood that can't be turned into energy.

  Although eating too many carbohydrates or too much sugar is not directly linked to developing diabetes, you are often overweight if you overeat. Being overweight and inactive can lead to diabetes.

  The number of carbohydrates you need to consume will also depend on the amount of physical activity you do. If you're a marathon runner, you'll need a higher intake of carbohydrates than someone who sits at a desk all day and does no exercise.

  Healthy Diets and Low-Carb Diet Meal Plans

  So now we've established that eating zero carbs isn't the best way to lose weight; how can we have a healthy diet that incorporates carbohydrates?

  The best way to lose weight, if that's your goal, is to eat a balanced, varied diet. Eating a wide variety of whole foods that are from plants is the easiest way to stay healthy.

  You can also add more wholegrain, healthy carbohydrates into your diet instead of eating heavily processed carbs.

  Examples of healthy carbohydrates include:

  • Beans
  • Lentils
  • Brown rice
  • Quinoa
  • Oats
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables

  You can add these carbs to your healthy meal plans. Here are some ideas for healthy meals that don't force you to restrict yourself or go low carb:

  Breakfast - porridge with fruits, nuts, and seeds

  Lunch - Quinoa salad with vegetables and tofu

  Dinner - Salmon, brown rice, and broccoli

  Eating healthy doesn't need to be complex, and you don't need to restrict yourself. It turns out the most restrictive diets are the ones that cause people to stop the quickest.

  Check here for some healthy meal ideas.

  The lesson here is to eat whole foods, mostly plant-based, and skip the ready meals, the white bread, the processed pasta, and cakes. The closer food is to its original state, the better it is for you.

  Is Weight Loss Just About the Diet?

  So you may eat super balanced and healthy but still not be losing weight. Movement is a vital part of weight loss.

  You can't lose weight if you don't exercise. You need to burn more calories than you take in during the day if you want to lose weight. It's called a calorie deficit.

  Plan in some exercise every day. It can be something gentle, like walking or some yoga that you do in the comfort of your own home. Trying to get moving daily, even just a little, will do wonders for your mental health and your waistline.

  Make sure you also add more vigorous exercise sessions into your weekly routine, such as cycling or a conditioning workout with weights.

  Carbs Aren't the Culprit

  Many diet plans demonize carbs, but the problem is these diets cause you to up your intake of red meat and dairy products. These foods in excess are not good for your health. Eating too much red meat can cause obesity, heart disease, and strokes.

  You also need to think about the quality of the carbs you are consuming. As you have learned, there are many different types of carbohydrates. Lentils and a packet of chips are both carbohydrates but offer significantly different nutritional value.

  Choose healthy carbs as often as you can, and you will have no problems with eating carbs as part of your diet. You won't feel deprived, and you will reduce your chance of binging on unhealthy foods.

  Health is All About Balance

  In conclusion, to stay healthy, you need to keep a balance. Eating carbohydrates isn't bad, they are part of life, and from time to time, we all enjoy a pizza or some fries. Adopting a healthy mindset can help you build healthy habits.

  The key to staying healthy is about what you do the majority of the time.

  So if most of the time you eat a whole food diet centered on plants, you will maintain a healthy weight. Low-carb diet meal plans are unnecessary to lose weight.

  A healthy diet plan combined with regular exercise and enough sleep is the only way to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight. For a fully holistic approach to health, combine your healthy diet with the right supplements; learn more here.

• Related Content
   Related Content

  We encourage you to take advantage of this related Wellness content on our website.

  

  8 Great Fall Recipes for Weight Loss

  Healthy eating can be difficult at any time of the year. But as the weather cools and the holiday season approaches, fall is often an especially tough time to stay on track.

  ---

  

  A Stay at Home Wellness Guide: Eating Better

  Many of us turn to comfort and convenience when our routines get disrupted and when we get stressed. This is particularly true regarding our food choices. Nobody is perfect but there are some simple and practical things we can do to eat better no matter our current circumstances.

  ---

  

  A Stay at Home Wellness Guide: Exercise

  Physical activity is a great way to facilitate better health and reduce stress. While we are spending more time at home, consider these suggestions to alter activities you are likely already doing, to provide more movement in your daily routines.

  ---

  

  How to Find the Best Weight Loss Program for You

  You can reduce the risk of suffering health issues by following a weight loss program that fits into your lifestyle. You could soon enjoy fantastic benefits such as an improved mood, better mobility, and reduced cholesterol levels. The key is to cut through the noise and find the weight-loss strategies that are most likely to work for you.

  ---

  

  How to Improve Microbiome Imbalance

  How can you ensure you maintain a healthy gut? What daily lifestyle changes can you make to keep stomach upsets and digestive problems at bay? Try these tips and you should see improvements in your digestion in no time.

  ---

  

  Sticking to Your New Meal Plan: Five Tips That Will Help You Eat Healthier for Life

  Creating a meal plan is always an important step, but sticking to it is what really matters. You could spend many hours developing a health-enhancing meal plan only to fall back on old, bad eating habits within days or weeks.

  ---

  

  The Most Effective Ways to Deal With Stress Weight Loss

  Currently, three-quarters of Americans experience moderate to high levels of stress. In small doses, periodic stress can be good. Stress can improve motivation, resilience, and cognitive function.

  ---

  

  Understanding Inflammation's Link to Obesity, Diabetes, & Disease

  This article provides introductory knowledge on the role of blood sugar and body fat on inflammation. Inflammation is the center-point of disease and the main contributor to obesity.

  ---

  

  What Is the Standard American Diet (SAD)?

  How aware are you of what's going into your body? Are you eating to live or living to eat? In reality, we all have different nutritional needs, but the standard American diet (SAD) doesn't suit most of them (or most people, for that matter). Your diet might be making you sick, sluggish, and at-risk.

  ---

  

  Whole Foods Plant-Based (WFPB) Diet

  How many times have you jumped on-board the diet train with high hopes of weight loss and improved health, only to discover limited food choices, difficulty staying on-track, and few measurable health benefits? Diet fads come and go, but one - the whole foods, plant-based diet (WFPB)- isn't a fad.

  ---

  

  Why You Should Care About Gut Health

  The Gut (think intestinal/digestive tract) is where approximately 80% of your immune system lives. It's been overlooked in the general healthcare world, and here's why you should care about and for it.

  ---

• Discussion Forum
  Are you human? Enter Code Incorrect Captcha Code

  ×

  ×

  Questions or Feedback?

  Ask questions. Share your thoughts.  Note that we cannot answer questions relating to specific medical conditions - please refer those to your qualified healthcare provider.

  Post a new Comment or Reply to an existing one. Help for using the Discussion Forum.

  Post Comment

  Comment is required

  
  Post

  Discussion Forum Help

  ---

  Comments are displayed in order of the last one posted so the most recent one is at the top and the oldest one at the bottom.

  Replies within a Comment are displayed in reverse order with the oldest one at the top and the most recent one at the bottom.

  Each post identifies who made the post and the date and time the post was made.

  Mouse over the icons for tooltips that explain what they mean.

   

  If you see this icon you can attach an Audio file to your post.

  ---

   

  If you see this icon you can attach a Document file to your post.

  ---

   

  If you see this icon you can attach an Image file to your post.

  ---

   

  If you see this icon you can attach a Video file to your post.

  You will see the Ban icon (Report Post as SPAM) immediately following the Timestamp of the post. Click this icon if you feel strongly that the content posted is not appropriate and should be reviewed by the Forum Moderator. You will be provided with a confirmation dialog to be sure you wish to submit this post for review. If submitted, the Forum Moderator will be notified to review the post and will determine what type of action to take.

  Click in the upper right corner of this Help modal or anywhere on the web page outside of the modal to exit Help.

  ×

You are idle for seconds.