When it comes to weight
loss, pale is out. White bread is evil, brown rice is best, and if you do
spring for pasta, it better be whole-wheat. Quinoa pasta is cool too.
The whole-grain trend does
make sense. After all, while grains naturally contain three distinct,
nutritious parts—the bran, germ, and endosperm—white breads and pastas are
stripped of everything but the endosperm, a.k.a. the starchy part, explains
registered dietitian Jonathan Valdez, R.D.N., owner of NYC-based Genki Nutrition and
a spokesperson for the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
So, with only the endosperm
on board, white, refined grains are low in fiber and sky-high in simple sugars,
threatening to spike you blood sugar and fat-storing insulin levels. Not
exactly a weight-loss superfood.
Still, white grains are
also ridiculously fluffy and yummy—meaning that a lot of us have a hard
time giving them up. Fortunately, you don't have to. It’s important to remember
that no one food on its own will keep you from hitting your weight-loss goals,
explains registered dietitian Alissa Rumsey, R.D., author of The
5-Minute Mindful Eating Exercise.
“So, if you really enjoy
white bread and pasta, don’t cut them out,” she says. Just make sure you take a
healthy approach to them.
Here, experts share five tips
to help you make your love of refined grains work for your weight-loss goals.
PAY ATTENTION TO CALORIES
While counting every
calorie is enough to drive any woman bonkers, keeping a rough idea of your
caloric intake is always important when you’re trying to achieve a caloric
deficit, a requisite for weight loss, explains registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix,
R.D.N., author of Read It Before You Eat It. The average slice of white
bread contains roughly 75 calories and 15 grams of carbohydrates. Most balanced
weight-loss diets recommend getting about 40 percent of your daily calories
from carbs. If you're eating, let’s say, 1,800 calories per day, that works out
to about 180 grams of daily carbs.
PAIR WITH PROTEIN AND FAT
White bread may not be
particularly high in calories, but the body absorbs starchy foods relatively
quickly, which can result in blood sugar and insulin spikes. The result: fat
storage and a cycle of cravings, Valdez says.
Your move: Pair your white bread
or pasta with some protein, fat, and fiber to slow down your body’s digestion
of the carbs and release of sugar into your bloodstream, Rumsey says. When
making pasta or a sandwich, opt for protein sources such as meat,
chicken, eggs, tofu, and pulses, which include peas, beans, lentils, and
chickpeas. The latter two are also rich in fiber. Great pasta- and
sandwich-friendly fat sources include avocado, nuts, cheese, seeds, and olive
oil.
TRY GOING HALFSIES
Try mixing white pasta with
whole-grain pasta. “If you do half a serving of the pasta you love, plus half a
serving of the nutritious stuff, you won’t have to compromise flavor to get the
nutrients and fiber,” says Taub-Dix. “And, besides, you might even begin to
like whole-grain pasta.” When searching for the right whole-grain mix-in
for your pasta dish, make sure that “whole wheat” or “100% whole grains” is the
first food on the ingredient list, she says. Also, when cooking, either cook
your pastas separately or give your whole-grain pasta a head-start, since they
tend to take more time to cook.
KNOW YOUR SERVING SIZES
If you’re more of a “white-carbs
or bust” kind of person (meaning going halfsies is way out!), then your best
bet is to focus on portion size, suggests Valdez. For example, one
standard serving of pasta equals one cup (cooked), and usually amounts to
roughly 220 calories and 45 grams of carbohydrates. Most women serve themselves
a lot more!
DOWNSIZE YOUR NOODLES
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