But Don’t Carbs Make Me Fat?

No, carbs don’t make you fat. They keep you spunky and thin too – if you eat enough to fill you up – and ALIVE! Oh, yeah, minor detail – life!

Confused?

Let’s see how carb clear you are.

Introducing the good guys and the very bad boys.

Good guy carbs, weight warriors and health heroes:

-come from whole plant foods, like fruits and vegetables, brown rice, and beans.

-give you the most nutrition for your calorie buck.

-give you energy (no, not protein). Carbs, like the gas in your car, make your engine run. Proteins build the engine. Not enough pep? The fruits and vegetables you ate yesterday give you energy today.

-satisfy your hunger drive – not protein or fats. Shoot – how many apples can you eat at one time anyway! That’s my point. It’s easy to stop eating apples or salads when your brain says, "I’m full!" – that’s before too many calories make your stomach beg for mercy.

-crush cravings! Imagine – freedom from cravings! I know – hard to believe that fruit and veggies can conquer that chocolate monster – but it’s true!

-can be simple or complex. Forget the simple/complex issue. Fruits are simple carbohydrates, best-for-you foods that grow from the ground and trees. White flour is a complex carb – a very bad boy!

Bad Boy Carbs:

-come from refined, processed foods: white sugar, white flour, white rice, candy, chocolate (even the darkest of stuff must have sugar to make it edible), sweets, pastries, baked goods, desserts, 99% of all breads, boxed cereals, quick oats, crackers, pasta, muffins, bagels, tortilla shells . . . you get it!

-give you no nutrition.

-give you lots of calories, and we all know where those calories end up!

-trigger overeating, cravings, excess weight, and food addiction.

-contribute to killer diseases, like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and more.

-hang out with other bad boys – sugar, white flour, salt, oils, and manmade chemicals.

-wear you down and out – aging you before your time.

Simple suggestion: first fill up on the good guy carbs, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

Avoid those very bad boys.

Now back to the question. But don’t carbs don’t make you fat?

Not at all. Carbs, the good guys, give you life and energy!

Those extra layers come from one place - too many calories in – a factor of all the foods and drinks you put in and not nearly enough calories out. After all, it takes 12 miles of walking – at one time – to lose one pound of fat!

Fill up on the good guys, and leave those bad boys where they belong – on the other side of the tracks, and don’t go there. Your body, your life are at stake!