There I said it. And I’m not ashamed.
When Irfan and I decided to cut dairy, meats, and poultry out of your diet (not completely, but to about 30%), I needed to rely more on carbs to fill me up.
I was always under the assumption that protein = no fat = satiety = help with muscle growth.
And fat and carbs are the enemy, right? Protein to the rescue always.
Since our usual source of protein was cut out, we actually did have to rely on carbs to fuel us up – and literally to my surprise, I was eating more carbs but not gaining weight. If there was weight fluctuation, it was because I didn’t watch myself over the weekend and over did it a little. But otherwise, man I don’t know what I would do without my bowl of oatmeal in the morning. Just thinking about it gets me excited for the next day.
So, to all those individuals that say
“Oh yeah I’m cutting out carbs,”….why though?
There’s probably a couple reasons why you feel the need to cut out carbs:
- Because you feel like they don’t fill you up
- Because they’re categorized as chips, pizza, and fries
- Because they’re evil
Let me tell you something – if you want to reach your fitness goals, then carbs are going to be your best friend.
Baked garlic sweet potato fries, Mexican rice quinoa, cinnamon sugar oatmeal, Mediterranean pasta…don’t all of these dishes sound amazing?
Guess what, they’re all carb based! But, the right kind of carbs. Complex carbs.
Complex carbs are the starchy, fibrous ones that leave us feeling full for longer.
Carbs come in three forms: sugar, starch, and fibrous.
When you say you’re cutting out carbs, yes you may be cutting out the sugar (cookies, flavored yogurts, breakfast cereals, fizzy drinks), but cutting out the starch and fibrous carbs won’t actually benefit you.
You need these carbs to feel full and satiated.
But what about protein? Can’t that just keep me full?
I’m glad you asked! Protein and carbs do contain the same amount of energy per gram (4 calories), so it’s not that it can’t do the trick, but you really need a healthy balance of both, because even when you eat protein (in the absence of carbs), it still gets burned into glucose.
I always thought I needed to eat eggs for breakfast and some whole wheat bread and fruit, and it’s not that that is a bad option for breakfast – but once I started having oatmeal for breakfast, it kept me full for much longer! And again during lunch and dinner, I would still have carbs. It’s about balancing the starchy carbs (rice, pasta, bread) with fibrous carbs (fruits and vegetables).
You need carbs as a source of energy, fiber, and satiation. It’s just about choosing the right ones!
Here’s my go-to starchy carb list:
- Brown rice
- Rolled oats
- Sweet potato
- Bulgar
- White rice
- Whole wheat tortilla
- Whole wheat bread
- Sprouted bread
- Rice cakes
These items I normally have in my pantry on a weekly basis. It’s all about portioning it out properly.
When someone asks, how do you have rice at night, I say it’s easy! I measure it out and always have some sort of veggies on the side to fill me up and balance my calorie intake for my rice. It’s the best of both worlds!
Since understanding that carbs are not the enemy, it’s allowed me to embrace the healthy eating even more as I don’t feel deprived in any way!