For most women on a diet, carbs are public enemy No. 1. As much as pasta, bread and cake is helpful for your sense of emotional wellbeing, they get in the way of your weight loss. That said, does this mean every carb will make you fat? Of course not. Carbs make up an important part of your nutritional wellness, providing the energy you need to prevent you falling off the weight loss wagon. According to Lyssie Lakatos, RD, one half of the Nutrition Twins with her sister Tammy Lakatos Shames, RD, you need the right kind of carbs that are dense in nutrients with at least two to three grams of fibre per 100 calories. This is because your body breaks down fibre more slowly, and so having plenty of it in your system means you’ll feel fuller for longer. Let’s take a look at some healthy carb contenders:
1. Barley: In half a cup of cooked pearl barley you’ll find 22g of carbs, 3g of fibre and just 97 calories. Swedish researchers have suggested that barley raises your blood sugar at a much slower rate than say, doughnuts, which helps you to bypass the sugar spike—and crash—that leaves you famished. While pearl barley is the most popular option, if you plump for barley groats or whole hull-less barley, you’ll give your body even more healthy nutrients, including 20 to 25% of your daily fibre in just one serving.
2. Green Peas: This contender is even better for your weight loss than barley, providing a whopping 4.5g of fibre, 12.5g of carbs and a mere 67 calories in a half-a-cup serving. This size serving also provides you with 12% of your recommended daily intake of zinc, which can help to protect you against colds. Plus, zinc can help with weight loss, as this mineral boosts your body’s level of a hormone called leptin, which alerts your brain when your stomach has had enough.
3. Whole-Wheat Pasta: For every two ounces of dry whole-wheat pasta, you’ll get 198 calories, 43g of carbs and 5g of fibre. Here in Britain, research has shown that eating more wholegrains – or about three servings every day – lowers your BMI and abdominal fat. However, Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet, warns that you need to keep noodle portions between 100 and 200 calories (about half to one cup cooked), as nutrient-rich carbohydrates are part of a balanced meal, not the entire meal.
4. Acorn Squash: There are 115 calories, 30g of carbs and 9g of fibre in one cup of cubed and baked acorn squash. This carb contender certainly receives the “most fibre” award when it comes to winter squash (unless you count hubbard squash which has one more gram per cup—but good luck finding that in most supermarkets!)
5. Beans: Sorry, we’re not talking baked beans here. However, when you hear that half a cup of canned low-sodium black beans contains 109 calories, 20g of carbs and 8g of fibre, you’ll start to see the benefits. Moreover, according to research in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, eating beans lowers your risk of an expanding waistline by 23%, and reduces your risk being obese by 22%. There are varying amounts of fibre in different types of beans, but all of them pack plenty of protein and iron so they’re still good choices. Lakatos Shames adds that you need to rinse any canned beans to reduce the sodium content, but other than that you’re good to go.
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