fvandy's blog: "Get fit"

Many nutritional experts say that excessive carbohydrates are not healthy. Look around and you will see that more and more people, including children, are overweight. It is estimated that by 2030, 9 out of 10 people will be obese. Your body does need carbohydrates for energy, yet eating too many of the wrong kind will end with you as one of these statistics before 2030.

Let's talk about good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, because both exist. First off, what exactly is a carbohydrate? A carbohydrate is made up of carbon and hydrogen and provides your body with energy. Good carbohydrates are found in foods such as: whole grain cereals, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and legumes.

These foods have been unprocessed and are eaten in their natural state. They have not been refined, or changed, and, thus, provide you with the optimum type of natural energy. These carbohydrates are high in fiber, which help you feel full longer. When you are feeling full longer, you will tend to not overeat. This is a good thing! Less overeating means less of a chance ending up as a statistic on an overweight chart.

Good carbohydrates also provide you with sustained energy and you will not be left feeling lethargic after eating them. Good carbohydrates help stabilize your insulin and blood sugar levels, thus keeping you healthier. You have most likely heard about insulin and blood sugar levels related to diabetes. A diabetic's body is unable to produce insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels.

When you eat bad carbohydrates, your body metabolizes the carbohydrates into a sugar called glucose, quickly. Your body is unable to process these carbohydrates which leave you with extra body fat, and blood sugar levels that spike dangerously high, leaving you feeling lethargic. This can lead to many long-term health conditions, such as: obesity, heart disease and strokes. Bad carbohydrates can be found in: white flour, white sugar, white bread, pasta, cereals, rice and snack foods-all the ones that we love to eat!

So what is the average person supposed to do? Quite honestly, you need to take a food inventory and truly look at all of the foods that you are eating. If you want to have a healthy body that is full of energy and vitality, it is time to make some changes. Let's compare your body to a car. When your car is low on fuel, you add more. You do not add extra oil to the fuel tank, just gasoline. Your body is the same.

When you need energy, you need to add the good carbohydrates to fuel it properly, not the bad carbohydrates, which will leave it stalled. I find that when I think of that analogy, of fueling my body in a healthy way, I make better food choices. When you are making food choices, choose those good carbohydrates! Remember that you do not want to end up as a statistic on a chart because you ate too much of the wrong kinds of foods. http://weight--loss--diets.com Weight Loss Diets Best Weight Loss Diet Quick Weight Loss Tips