In the first lesson, you learned that all carbs are not equal and, in fact, there are some carbs that are best for weight loss and others that should be eaten less of or completely avoided to lose weight seamlessly.
In this lesson, I will be sharing with you how to easily identify the good carbs to eat and bad ones to avoid.
You will also be learning about a wonderful type of good carbs which I call SUPER CARBS to eat for weight loss.
If you read the first lesson, you should have known by now that not all carbs are the same and that the best carbohydrate foods to consume are the ones with fiber, as they help regulate blood sugar levels.
Now, the question is: How do you know what foods contain fiber, and how do you know the ones that don’t so you can avoid them?
Luckily, there is a way to know how much impact a food will have on your blood sugar level. Science has made it easy for us to identify using what is called the GLYCEMIC INDEX OF FOODS.
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly carbohydrates in a food raise blood sugar levels after consumption. It provides an indication of the food's impact on blood glucose (sugar) levels and how fast it raises blood sugar levels.
Here is how the glycemic index of foods is determined:
Researchers usually bring equal amount of a reference food, usually pure glucose, same as the one you buy in stores, and then bring the food they wish to know its glycemic index (for example ripe plantain).
They assign the glucose a glycemic index of 100 and then compare how much the ripe plantain raises the blood sugar levels relative to the glucose, and with that information, the ripe plantain is given a value.
The lower the value, the lesser it’s effect on blood sugar levels compared to glucose.
I know the explanation may be a bit confusing, but if you read through it again, you will understand.
The best part is that food scientists have compiled the glycemic index of all the foods eaten by humans, so you don’t have to do that yourself.
In fact, I have categorized most of these foods into three categories, and I will be sharing that with you shortly. But before I do that, I will like to explain why counting calories is an inefficient method to losing weight, especially as you age.
Why Just Counting Calories Doesn’t Always Work Especially As You Age
Most people who give weight loss advice here and there always say things like “If you want to lose weight, all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn, and you will lose weight.”
Honestly, I believe that is a terrible advice.
Because such advice usually misleads people to eating unhealthy without caring much about the quality of food they are eating or the impact it is having on their blood sugar levels.
You see them eating all manner of highly processed foods and sooner than later, they develop insulin resistance and then no matter how little they eat, they struggle with weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight.
Losing weight is far beyond counting calories as the impact of foods on blood sugar levels matters a lot.
To make you understand how important the glycemic index of food is, I will be sharing some examples of foods and their glycemic index below:
A glass of orange juice (110 calories) and a piece of whole fruit (110 calories) have the same number of calories, but the whole fruit has a lower GI.
This means that the whole fruit will cause a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels, while the orange juice will cause a rapid spike. The whole fruit is also a good source of fiber, while the orange juice is mostly sugar.
Same calories but different impact on blood sugar levels and weight loss.
Here is another example:
White rice has a GI of 64, while brown rice has a GI of 55. As a result, carbs in white rice are turned into blood sugar more rapidly than those in brown rice.
In fact, there was this particular review of studies which involved over 350,000 people.
Researchers wanted to find out how eating white rice affects blood sugar levels and what they discovered will shock you.
They found out that those who ate mostly white rice had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who didn't.
What’s more shocking is that they found out that each serving of white rice eaten per day raised the risk of type 2 diabetes by 11%.
There was a study done by some US researchers which showed that higher intakes of white rice were linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes whereas higher intakes of brown rice were linked to a significantly lower risk.
You might be saying that well all the above studies are for type 2 diabetes and none is for weight loss.
The truth is that for you to easily lose weight, you must have normal sugar levels.
It helps to improve insulin sensitivity, which can make it easier to burn calories and lose weight. It also reduces hunger and cravings, which makes it easier to stick to a healthy diet.
The fact is having normal blood sugar levels is essential for long-term weight loss success. If your blood sugar levels are okay, the fat comes off seamlessly and you keep it off for good.
Calories Do Matter but it Doesn’t Fully Address the Weight Loss Problem
No, I’m not saying that calories don’t matter, but what I’m trying to make you understand here is that where you are getting your calories from plays a huge role, especially if you are above 35 years old.
This is because there is a huge chance you are already insulin resistant if you are struggling with weight loss.
Best Carbs for Weight Loss Based on Glycemic Index (GI) of Foods
Foods can be categorized into three groups based on their glycemic index (GI) values:
High-Glycemic Index Foods
These are foods that have a high GI value, typically above 70. They cause a rapid and significant increase in blood sugar levels after consumption, leading to insulin resistance and weight gain.
Examples of high-GI foods include:
Medium-Glycemic Index Foods
These foods have a moderate GI value, usually ranging from 56 to 69. They have a somewhat slower effect on blood sugar levels compared to high-GI foods.
Examples of Medium-GI foods include:
Medium-GI foods provide a more sustained release of energy compared to high-GI foods, but they still raise blood sugar levels more quickly than low-GI foods.
The foods above can still be part of a healthy diet for weight loss when combined properly with other foods, eaten in the right portion size and timed properly.
Low-Glycemic Index (GI) Foods
These are foods with a low GI value, generally below 55. They are digested and absorbed slowly, resulting in a gradual and steady increase in blood sugar levels.
They are the best for weight loss. In fact, I prefer to call them SUPER CARBS.
Examples of low-GI foods include:
Low-GI foods provide a sustained release of energy, help maintain stable blood sugar levels, and often contain additional nutrients and fiber.
It is important to note that how you prepare the above foods are very important as some methods of cooking can decrease or increase the glycemic index of some of these foods.
For example, boiled yellow yam has a GI of 56, while roasted yellow yam has a GI of 75. This means that roasted yellow yam is a high-GI food, meaning it causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels after eating because it becomes dehydrated.
Now that you have learnt the best types of carbs to eat for weight loss, there is yet another mistake which most people make on Nigerian foods that still hinder weight loss.
In fact, you might be eating only super carbs and still be struggling to lose weight if you are making this big mistake.
I will be discussing this mistake in the next lesson. You seriously don’t want to miss out.
See you in the next one.