| Carbs Necessary for a Healthy Diet -- Even if You Want to Lose Weight |
|
Pasta has been key to helping me maintain my weight. Many people believe that pasta will kill your diet. But I'll go out on a limb and say it can be your weight loss friend. It's low in calories, nutritious, and it comes in so many varieties you could cook it every day for a year and never eat the same thing twice. But, you may say, aren't carbs bad for people trying to weight? Let's clear this one up; carbs are not evil. They weren't sent to destroy your weight loss efforts. Your body needs them. In fact, the US government recommends that 45-65 percent of your daily caloric intake be made up of carbohydrates. Now, that doesn't mean you're supposed to go out and fill up on cookies, cakes, and other sugar-loaded goodies. The types of carbs that break down quickly during digestion cause blood sugar levels to spike, which results in feelings of hunger. Such foods are believed to induce cravings. Pasta is not in this category. Carbs such as pasta provide a wonderful and wholesome source of energy. Didn't you hear about Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps packing away the pasta when he was racking up world records and gold medals? High-quality durum wheat semolina and whole grain pastas have staying power. Cooked al dente, the way Italians like it, pasta has a low glycemic index. It gives you a slow and steady steam of energy while allowing your blood sugar levels to stay constant. (That decreases the desire to snack.) Let me tell you about my friend, Anne. She had been in the habit of eating a lettuce salad for lunch in an attempt to keep her weight down. You may have tried this, too. I'll bet it didn't work for long. It didn't work very well for Anne, either, because after starving all day, she'd make up for it later by bolting down two big bowls of low-carb chocolate ice cream. Which sabotaged her efforts, made her feel bad about herself and put her back to square one. Then Anne learned how to nourish herself like an Italian. She started incorporating satisfying foods such as pasta into her diet. And much to her surprise, she lost the desire to snack between meals. What an achievement! She stopped raiding the freezer because she didn't feel hungry. She was even paying more attention to the taste of her food. She learned to chew slowly and enjoy every bite instead of inhaling food so fast that she hardly even noticed what she was eating. If you try to cut carbs out of your life and exist only on rabbit food, don't be surprised if you find yourself rummaging through your kitchen like a hungry bear and stuffing your face with whatever you can find. Rather than starving and binging, a more sensible approach would be to eat carbs wisely. Incorporating pasta, or whole grain pastas, into your diet in appropriate portions may work wonders, as it did for Anne. Remember the Italian portions: two ounces dried pasta if it's accompanying a protein dish. (It will double in size when cooked.) Think three, maybe four ounces if it's the main course. And don't forget to accompany it with nutritious vegetables and/or a salad. Love your pasta!
Sign up here to receive Chapter 1 plus Jill's Italian Weight Loss Checklist for free! |