islolate your carbohydrate!
Carbs ain't bad, guys.
Most people think carbohydrates turn into fat.
But really, carbohydrates become fat in the human body at a drastically lower rate than do fats or even protein! When a person ingests carbohydrates, these carbs are either used as energy (thus why athletes need to eat carbs for optimal performance), or they go into glycogen storage for use as energy in the future. And here is the cool part: We have these things called metabolic pathways that can convert carbs to fat, but this process has about a 30% energy cost - meaning only 70% of the carbs that are actually activated to turn into fat, MIGHT. The metabolic pathway in humans is REALLLYYY small: The carbohydrates we eat are actually self-oxidizing; they basically burn themselves away!
Fats, on the other hand, do not work like this. They are already primed for storage/already in stored mode so they are pretty much automatically deposited in our adipose (fat) cells. And, most importantly, when you combine carbohydrates with fats you lose most or all of that energy cost you'd get from just eating carbs without added oils or fats.
Carbs don't just "turn into fat". Combining carbohydrates with fats and proteins cause the body to store fat.
Here is a little list of the main things people THINK are carbohydrates but technically, are not:
1. Pizza
2. Fries
3. Potato/tortilla chips
4. Hamburgers
5. Most baked goods
The reason the above are not true carbohydrates is this: The calories from fat are higher than the calories from carbohydrates. So, it's sort of like saying that rice is protein, because even though there is a lot of protein in rice, there are just more carbohydrates, which is why rice is generally recognized as a "carb". Yes, there are lots of carbohydrates in the above 5 items. But because the fat calories outweigh the carbohydrate calories (when referring to traditional forms of the above items, not low-fat or other such versions), they shouldn't be considered "carbs".
So what's the point? Well, I don't like the bad reputation that carbohydrates get because of misinformation. The reason pizza or fries cause weight gain or other issues isn't because of the carbohydrate content. It's from the fat content, and the food combination (it can also be from other things, like the fact that it could be processed food, contains MSG, has a toxicity from animal fats and proteins, etc.). Like I wrote above, when you combine carbs and fat, you lose that energy cost that you get when you eat a food high in carbs but low in fat and protein.
Think about this: For centuries, people on the continent of Asia have been eating massive amounts of carbohydrates - rice, bread, lentils, beans, fruits, vegetables. Rice is still a major staple for millions of people in Asia, but many eat it without the addition of tons of oils or animal fats. Other lifestyle factors are at play, but the differences between cultures in things like BMI numbers, diabetes, and heart disease is an interesting thing to think about.
Eat carbs, and eat fats. But if you're trying to lose weight or get a handle on something like gastric upset of any kind, eat them separately, at least hours apart. Food takes a LONG time to digest (unless it's fruit).
For a high carb low fat meal plan, more information about how this works, or any questions, contact me at http://www.greenlighthealthconsulting.com/contact-me