Galahad's

     Many dieters are told to stay away from carbohydrates. That advice is false. Yes, limit your intake of them, but do not cut them out. You don’t want to have what nutritionists call a "carb crash." You will burn out, feel tired and could become quite irritable which will heighten your stress levels.

 

     The most important thing regarding carbs when it comes to losing weight is what kind of carbs you are putting into your system and where they are coming from.

 

     There are two main types of carbs that you will find on your nutritional information labels: sugar and fibre.

 

     You do not want to ingest too much sugar, especially refined sugars. Keep them to a minimum, but don’t stop getting sugar altogether. If you can eliminate all refined sugar, do it, but that will be quite the challenge and is not expected from you for success. Just limit it. Raw sugar and natural sugars have not been chemically treated and are better for your body, but still consume moderately at about 10% of your daily caloric intake or less.

 

     Fibre, on the other hand, is your friend. You don’t need a lot of it, but quite possibly more than you are getting. The average person is recommended to consume about 20-25 grams of fibre a day. If you can’t hit that mark, don’t worry about it too much. Make sure you are getting some fibre and, by eating better, it’ll be found naturally in your fruits, whole grains and vegetables.

 

     The main purpose of this short chapter was to make sure you are aware that, yes, you do still need carbohydrates in your diet and to keep away from refined sugars as best as possible.