What exactly are carbs? Don’t carbs cause weight gain? And all carbs are bad for us… Right?
Dr. Cederquist and Nicole RD spill the tea about all things carbs and why you shouldn’t exactly fear them. In fact, our bodies need carbs—but understanding the types and amount we eat gives us the most health bang for our buck.
So if you are confused about carbs, or simply want to understand them better, tune in and find out how to incorporate them into your daily diet for weight management and health.
Dr. Cederquist: Welcome back! Thanks for committing to your journey and learning with Nicole and me.
Nicole: Yes, thanks for joining us. Over the next couple of lessons, we're going to spill the tea on nutrition and the science behind bistroMD and how they help augment your weight loss efforts.
Nicole: So to start, we're going to talk about a macronutrient often misunderstood, otherwise known as carbohydrates.
Dr. Cederquist: Our four main goals this session today are to help you understand several things. First, what carbohydrates are. Second, the differences between simple and complex carbs. Third, what a controlled carbohydrate diet is. And fourth, how carbs can impact your hunger and weight loss.
Nicole: Yes, but before we jump into the nitty-gritty of carbohydrates, it's important to know that carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients—protein and fat are the other two. Macronutrients are nutrients we need in larger amounts that provide our bodies with energy in the form of calories.
Dr. Cederquist: And we often hear weight depends on calories in and calories out, which holds some truth. But we must look at what makes up these calories.
Nicole: Yes!
Dr. Cederquist: Certain foods like simple, and even complex, carbs can stimulate appetite. While other foods help control it, focusing on the amount of carbohydrates in a meal helps control symptoms of insulin resistance like hunger and cravings.
Nicole: Yes, so as you mentioned Dr. Cederquist, carbohydrates come in two main forms: simple and complex. And when we think of carbohydrates, people often think of bread, pasta, and rice but vegetables and fruit are carbohydrates, too! But there is a major difference between the two, most related to how quickly they're digested and absorbed.
Dr. Cederquist: Simple carbs are mostly found in sugary beverages, fruit juices, baked goods, cereals, and candy. Complex carbs include fiber and starch and are found in foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and legumes. Compared to simple carbs, complex carbs are more slowly digested and absorbed and cause a smaller and slower rise in your blood sugar.
Nicole: Yes, and all bistroMD programs and plans not only focus on using more complex carbs, but do so as a carb-controlled diet. And no, this doesn't mean no carbs like the keto diet, right, Dr. Cederquist?
Nicole: Our bodies need carbs for energy and overall health. And even our Keto Flex program offers complex carbs. Our goal is to not get you into ketosis or to vilify carbohydrate foods. We have found that sustained ketosis is not needed for weight loss and fat loss. And it is not sustainable, either.
Dr. Cederquist: That's right. On a ketogenic diet or an almost no-carb diet, if you eat one bite of a carbohydrate, it kicks you out of ketosis, and all your insulin-resistant symptoms can come back. And we don't want this for you.
Dr. Cederquist: In contrast, a controlled carbohydrate diet is focusing on high-fiber, complex carbs that are portion-controlled to keep hunger and cravings at bay. A controlled carbohydrate diet also stabilizes your blood sugar, which helps augment weight loss efforts by keeping you full and satisfied.
Nicole: Exactly. While complex carbs can cause a slower rise in your blood sugar levels, higher levels of carbohydrates can still raise your blood sugar levels. So we are not saying don't eat any carbohydrates; we are simply encouraging controlling carb portions, which typically looks like a quarter of your plate or the size of a tennis ball.
Dr. Cederquist: And to jog your memory, insulin is released when we eat carbs. The more insulin we produce, the more fat storage occurs. We can minimize this risk by reducing sugary foods, controlling the amount of carbs, and including protein and fat with our meals because they do not stimulate insulin production. When enough protein and the right types and amounts of fats are in your meals, the rise of glucose from carbs is blunted to be slower and lower.
Nicole: Right. So to help you visualize the concept of insulin production and release, let's say I ate a carb-heavy bowl of oatmeal for breakfast this morning. There's absolutely nothing wrong with oatmeal, by the way, but eating the oats alone can spike my insulin level and take my blood sugar on quite the roller coaster ride. So I'll get these rapid rises and falls in my blood sugar, which that can stimulate abnormal hunger and cravings and just make weight loss that much more difficult.
Dr. Cederquist: Yes, Nicole. While I also love a warm bowl of oats, pairing it with eggs and two slices of Canadian bacon can minimize blood sugar spikes thanks to the protein and fat in each. A balanced meal like this can stabilize blood sugar for about three hours, thereby helping to minimize hunger and making weight loss easier.
Nicole: Truly, the name of the game is focusing on complex carbs in a controlled manner to keep your blood sugar stable. It's not to say you can never eat a simple carbohydrate, by the way, but also always remember portion control and to pair your carbs with protein and fat.
Dr. Cederquist: And this is the beauty of bistroMD. We've done all the science and calculations to bring you portion-controlled meals balanced with adequate lean protein and healthy fats. All bistroMD meals are carb-controlled and offer complex, higher fiber carbs.
Nicole: Right. So for some of our members on the Diabetic or Menopause or the Keto Flex programs who have known insulin resistance, these plans will include our lower carb meals containing around 25 grams of net carbs or less. This threshold has really come from your work, Dr. Cederquist, and your research on how many carbs to eat at one sitting that won't over-stimulate insulin production for those that do have insulin resistance. And this is all without sacrificing flavor in your favorite foods.
Dr. Cederquist: For sure, Nicole. Our main goal is to provide you with an eating pattern you can sustain and you don't have to give up some of your favorite foods in the process. We truly want you to enjoy your food and feel satisfied and nourished without intense cravings.
Nicole: Yes! We want you to find pleasure in eating for the long haul and we found a carb-controlled diet is a sustainable approach to do so.
Dr. Cederquist: So to recap, the more complex the carb, the more slowly it's digested and absorbed to help minimize blood sugar spikes and cravings. And when we pair that complex carb with protein and fat, this further slows absorption. Controlling hunger is so critical to long-term weight loss results and we can help control hunger with this specific blend of macronutrients.
Nicole: Yes, so we hope you have a better understanding about what carbohydrates are and the significance of a controlled carbohydrate diet. Next up, we reveal and talk about our absolute favorite macronutrient for weight loss and health, so stay tuned!