How to Eat Carbs and Still Lose Fat

It seems as though we are constantly inundated with the message that carbohydrates are nothing short of evil. We hear about low-carb diets, about how bread is making us fat, and about how carbohydrates provide no nutrients for our bodies and are immediately stored as fat.   These statements are misconceptions and failed interpretations of how our bodies actually utilize and benefit from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients, along with fat and protein, that our bodies require to function. Just like fat and protein, there is a massive diversity amongst carbohydrates. Therefore, in order to understand how carbohydrates affect out body, we must analyze which carbohydrates are being analyzed. From this, it is possible to ascertain how carbohydrates, in the correct form, can help us lose fat. 

So, if carbs are fine, what should I avoid?  

  What every nutritionist agrees upon is that the amount of added sugar in our modern diets needs to decrease. This added sugar is not the naturally occurring sugar in fruits and vegetables, but any added sugar to processed foods. Often times, foods associated as “carbohydrates” contain mass amounts of this added sugar. Store-brought bread, pre-packaged pasta dishes, pastries, and breakfast cereals are examples of carbohydrate foods that are heavy in added sugar. Therefore, the negative health impacts of these foods lies not in their nature as carbohydrates, but in the insulin-spiking levels of added sugar hidden within.