subject: How To Lose Your Stomach Fat - Lower Your Carb Intake [print this page] By eating too many carbohydrates you actually become fatter. Carbohydrates increase the glucose in your blood stream. Your body then produces insulin to lower the glucose.This creates a problem because the insulin stores the excess carbohydrates in the form of fat in the liver and muscles. The liver breaks fat down and sends it around the body via the blood stream but the muscles do not do this, so the fat just sits there.
What are carbohydrates?
They are really sugars. Most of us know they are sweets, pasta and breads, but some of us may not know they are also vegetables and fruit. We need to eat fruit and vegetables to supply us with vitamins, minerals and fiber and to help keep up our energy. Fruit and vegetables are the good carbs. In fact, these foods should be the main source of our carbohydrates. Highly refined carbohydrates such as white flour, white rice, white sugar and sugary drinks are the bad carbs. These send the blood sugar level up quickly, resulting in the production of insulin to combat these higher levels.
Why do we need carbohydrates?
The body needs glucose, which it gets from carbohydrates. The brain uses an enormous amount of glucose - about two thirds of the glucose the body produces. The body needs this constant supply to stay healthy. It is the type and quantity of carbohydrates that can cause problems, as the excess not used by the body is stored as fat. To make matters worse, when the body produces insulin to lower the blood sugar level, it causes hunger, which is why you can be looking for food a couple of hours after eating. That is why high carb diets do not help you lose weight but, in fact, they actually cause you to put on weight and to keep it on.
A Balanced Diet
A balanced diet should include healthy carbohydrates found in fruit and vegetables. It should also include natural fiber, as this helps to control the amount of blood sugar produced, which in turn lowers the insulin. Our diet should include natural fats, such as olive oil. Eating too many carbohydrates is counter productive as they will add to your stomach fat.
A diet that has a balance of carbohydrates, fiber, protein and ample water will work much better than a high carb diet. Add to this a regular exercise regime and you will be well on your way to a lifetime of good health.
