If you missed our last articles, Step one in weight loss: Ditch the sugar, Step two: Take a break, Step three in weight loss: it’s very fluid and Step four: move it move it, read them [here].
You are now steadily but slowly losing weight weekly, if you are implementing Steps 1 to 4 correctly as covered in our previous articles.
To speed things up a bit, let’s switch up a gear. While we have not yet discussed the 3 Macro Nutrients, Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats we will get ahead of ourselves and discuss what it means to go Low Carb.
In the 1950s scientists and doctors started to blame the consumption of fat for rising rates of cardiovascular and other diseases. The unfounded witch hunt against fat was so successful that much of the food industry substantially lowered the amount of fat in processed foods and replaced it with highly processed carbohydrates such as High Fructose Corn Syrup.
The fact that carbohydrates tend to bulk you up is nothing new. Already according to old farmers wisdom, if someone put on too much weight you reduce the amount of bread and increase the percentage of meat.
So a few years ago, armed with electron microscopes and other modern technology, science proved the old wisdom to be correct. Simple carbohydrates are making us fat and sick and not the fat we eat.
This has created the perception that carbohydrates are now all of a sudden to blame and people in droves started going “Low Carb” (consuming fewer carbohydrates) …but for many that did not help.
Why ?
Well, not all carbohydrates are created equal. It’s the simple carbs we need to be mindful of.
Simple carbs are basically all forms of sugar and most highly processed plants and flours/meals.
Through the high level of processing such foods have most of their nutrients removed to a point where only the calories remain. We call these empty calories. White flour for example is so highly processed to produce a very fine snow-white powder that all of the healthy plant material containing most of the nutrients has been stripped away in the process. Consuming this, the body gets its calories but very little or no other nutrients.
These empty calorie simple carbs also spike your blood sugar and insulin levels very quickly. They are less satiating than other foods and will make you feel hungry again much faster. Simple carbs are also one of the main reasons we tend to overeat.
So when nutritionally we talk about going Low Carb we don’t actually mean fewer carbohydrates but much less simple carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates and fibres found in whole foods such as fruit and vegetables are for the most part not an issue with regards to weight gain.
So to accelerate our weight loss journey we are going to watch the quality of the carbohydrates we eat and ditch simple carbs wherever possible.
Examples of simple carbs are: All sugars, products made of white flour such as white bread and pasta. Avoid processed foods as most of them contain added sugars and other nasty stuff.
Avoid fast foods as they are typically high in simple carbs and are highly processed.
If pasta means something special to you, of course, you can have the occasional plate of Spaghetti but mindfully, as a special treat and only one serving.
When the waiter brings the breadbasket to your table at a restaurant, you don’t have to have a piece or you could choose a dark one, not the white bread and of course, don’t eat till the basket is empty. Stuffing yourself with simple carbs before a meal is possibly one of the most efficient ways to gain weight.
At our Shambhalife weight-loss resort on the island of Koh Chang in Thailand, we often serve pasta dishes, however, we use oat fibre noodles which contain almost no simple carbs and are very low in calories. So yes, during our weight loss retreat we eat Spaghetti Carbonara. We also teach our guests how to calculate and bake low carb bread.
If you take this fifth step and really move your life low carb, as often as possible and indulge in quality carbs, together with continuing the prior 4 steps, you will instantly see an acceleration in your weight loss.
Join us in our next article where we will continue to accelerate your weight loss even further.
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