Katherine B. Chauncey - Low-Carb Diet For Dummies

Very-low-carb diets, allowing no more than 15 to 30 grams of total carbohydrate per day, restrict many healthy foods and do not represent balanced lifetime nutrition. However, moderate restriction of carbohydrates — below the 60 percent recommended by the USDA, but not to the extreme — can produce positive benefits in many individuals.

Not all carbohydrates are created equally. Certain types of carbohydrates can keep you satisfied longer, and eating a variety of foods keeps you interested in the diet. So which carbs are good and which are bad, and how can you tell the difference? It all depends on the glycemic load of the food. Check out Chapter 3and Appendix Afor more information on glycemic load.

Looking at the changes in food intake and the increase in obesity in the past 20 to 30 years, it’s pretty obvious that Americans have gotten away from eating basic whole foods. Much of what Americans eat is processed, refined, or somehow changed from its original form. The intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources, and good fats is severely lacking.

The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan is designed to help you get back to eating basic healthy foods in a satisfying way. The plan shows you how to lower your total carbohydrate intake in a safe and satisfying way, and it explains how you can replace the refined sugars and flour products in your diet with whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Not only do you discover how to eat quality lean proteins and protective fats, but your appetite needs will be met naturally, and you won’t be hungry. Your body will thrive on the nutrients you’re feeding it rather than wilting on empty calories. You’ll naturally start to lose your surplus fat and your health and energy will soar.

The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan consists of the following:

Vegetables and whole fruits

Lean protein, fish, and poultry

Low-fat cheese, low-fat milk (or dairy alternatives), and yogurt

Moderate amounts of fat, especially monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as avocados, olives, olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil, and sesame seeds; and nuts and seeds

Whole grains, and starchy vegetables such as legumes and corn

Sugar, white flour, and other refined grains are limited on the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan, as are fried foods, processed snack foods and processed meats. The following sections discuss the three categories on the plan.

The green light means go. You can move around freely in this section and eat as much as you need to satisfy your hunger. Green Light foods include lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, low-fat cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, salads, nonstarchy vegetables, and fresh whole fruits.

For a full list of Green Light foods, check out Chapter 5. You can also find a great shopping list in Appendix B— don’t miss it!

The yellow light is the control feature of the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan. It allows for your weight loss and lowers your triglycerides and blood sugar if they’re elevated. You’re allowed five carbohydrate choices per day from the Yellow Light group.

A carbohydrate choice is a food that supplies 15 grams of total carbohydrate per serving. (Green Light foods don’t count toward this number.) Your five carb choices should ideally be whole grains, beans, or starchy vegetables, but they can be a piece of cake or candy, or a cookie. (Everyone needs a sweet now and then.)

You’re allowed to vary your Yellow Light foods to one to three carb choices or no carb choices if you want to speed up your weight loss. However, you’ll find these levels hard to maintain long term, so you’ll be glad to have that maximum of five carbs.

Examples of Yellow Light carb choices include the following:

One slice of regular bread

½ cup pasta or cereal

½ cup potatoes, beans, or corn

One serving (15 grams carbohydrate) chips, cookies, cake, or candy

Check out Chapter 6for the real deal on using your carb choices each day.

In addition to the five carbohydrate choices, you’re allowed the following every day:

Two to three servings from the dairy group, which includes skim or low-fat milk, and low-fat yogurt. The carbohydrate in these foods isn’t counted.

Eight monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat choices like avocados, almonds, cashews, peanuts, olives, canola oil, olive oil, or peanut oil; or polyunsaturated fats such as tub or squeeze margarine, reduced-fat mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, salad dressing, corn oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, or sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

For the full scoop on fats, take a look at Chapter 8. Track down the dairy story in Chapter 7.

Although the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan doesn’t have foods in the Red Light category, red is important because it simply means, “Stop and think! You’re about to exceed the limit.” No food is absolutely forbidden on the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan. You just want to make sure that most of the time your five carbohydrate choices per day come from legumes, whole grains, and starchy vegetables in the Yellow Light category. But, if you must have a treat, you can trade it for an equivalent amount of Yellow Light food.

Stopping is what you should do when you’re faced with breads, cookies, cakes, pastries, cereals, gravies, thickened soups, sugar, syrup, chocolate, or soft drinks that can cause you to exceed your carbohydrate limit. These highly refined carbohydrate foods can spike your blood sugar and stimulate your insulin response. You’ll find yourself with hard-to-control hunger the rest of the day. When you do occasionally indulge in these foods be sure to make them part of the five carb choices and you’ll not experience erratic blood sugar and insulin levels.

If any of the following describes you, you can benefit from the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan

You’ve tried other weight-loss plans and have been unsuccessful.

You’re overweight or obese (BMI 25 or over for overweight; BMI 30 or over for obesity).

You have or are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.

You have high triglyceride concentrations in your blood.

You have borderline or high blood pressure.

Check out Chapter 4to determine if lower-carb eating is for you.

Chapter 3

IN THIS CHAPTER

Identifying the different kinds of carbohydrates

Setting realistic carbohydrate goals

Where is carbohydrate? It’s in sugar, bread, potatoes, cereal, pasta, beans, chips, cookies, cake, soft drinks, fruit, vegetables, and dairy. It’s even a substance in your blood that your body depends on for fuel. Carbohydrate is everywhere except in meats and animal fats, and most of it is pretty tasty. Carbohydrate as a nutrient source is an important part of a healthy diet. To restrict all dietary intake of carbohydrate, the way some low-carb diets prescribe, regardless of its food source is short-sighted. Dismissing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans simply because they contain carbohydrates can be disastrous to your health, in both the short run and the long run.