Putting Carbohydrates Into Perspective

One of the misconceptions about the food pyramid guide that's often repeated in many popular diets is that eating plenty of carbohydrates is recommended. yes, the idea is to build a base of grain foods but not an unlimited amount of them.

When fat became villainous in the 1990's, carbohydrate foods became known as a bit of free foods, because they're often fat free. That kind of thinking led to overconsumption of carbohydrates. For example, how many people does a one-pound box of spaghetti serve in your house? If it's fewer than four, you're eating too much. There are eight servings in a pound of cooked pasta; having two would be the equivalent of two servings, the same as a sandwich.

The other lost message in the guide to food pyramid is that most of the carbohydrate servings are whole grains. however, USDA data shows that we eat less than one serving of whole grains a day.

For more information on the Golden Rules to Healthy Eating

Answers to many weight loss questions

Eating Junk Food & Still Losing Weight!

Can we still eat junk foods and lose weight?

This is a question I have see a few times in the weight loss forums online. The answer is simple, YES.

It is possible to lose weight and eat junk foods. Losing weight is about making sure that for the majority of time, we are consuming fewer calories than the body requires. If this is achieved consistently, then weight will gradually fall off.

The problem is many dieters eating junk food, often end up consuming more calories than they should. Put it this way, even if you only consume a little less energy than required, such as 100 calories per day, you still won't see much in the way of weight loss. You need to cut calories by roughly 500 per day (made up of dieting & extra activity), in order to see significant results on the scales.

Junk foods generally provide more calories per serving than healthier foods, thus it's so much easier to go past calorie quotas.
So, yes losing weight while eating junk food is possible, but it may become much harder to see the results on the scales and in the mirror.

What are the pitfalls of eating junk when trying to lose body fat?

Ways to tackle over-eating when dieting to lose fat weight