Does eating pasta actually help you lose belly fat? Is pasta really fattening as opposed to rice? Is pasta healthy for weight loss?
Does pasta really help you lose weight? The short answer is yes. The long answer is that there are some good whole grains that are better for your health than white rice or wheat pasta. However, these whole grains come in two flavors: brown rice and whole wheat pasta. They also have their own distinct qualities. This research suggests that eating moderate quantities of pasta as a part of a balanced, low-GI diet is probably not going to result in excessive weight loss, and can actually help people lose only a small amount of weight.
To illustrate the impact of this research on the weight-loss equation, let’s take a look at how the low-GI diet affects body weight. According to the Atkins Diet, low-GI diets should be adopted by people who want to lose weight. A large percentage of the world’s population fits into this category. It stands to reason that people who are used to eating foods like white rice and white bread will have a very difficult time adopting a low-gi diet.
Let’s assume that pasta is not really bad for you, and you want to eat it, but just in moderation. You eat one gram of pasta for every one gram of rice, per day. Sounds like a lot of pasta, doesn’t it? In fact, the average American consumes about one and a half grams of pasta per meal. That is much pasta, and very little rice.
On the other hand, if you eat the food in its most natural form – meaning, with whole grains, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, then you will be consuming significantly more carbohydrates than your plate would contain if you ate a serving of pasta. In fact, the plate would be completely empty! You would be gaining weight, simply from eating the right kinds of food. This doesn’t mean, however, that pasta has to taste bad, or that you can’t add flavorings to your noodles; in fact, many kinds of noodles actually taste much better when they have extra flavorings added.
If you have an aversion to pasta, consider replacing it with another type of grain that contains a reasonable amount of carbs. Oatmeal for example is a good choice, as it contains relatively few carbs, yet contains protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that your body needs. Switching to oatmeal is easy to do, and will help you lose weight while staying satisfied. As long as it is eaten in moderate portions, it will help you stay full.
While eating healthy can make you feel great, it can also make you lose weight if you are not careful. Eating too much can cause a lot of unhealthy consequences, so if you want to lose weight, you should cut back on the junk food and eat healthier. However, eating healthy does not mean that you have to give up all of your favorite foods. You just need to make sure that you are getting the recommended daily allowance of carbs each day. If you eat more than you should, you will gain weight instead of losing it.
So, while the new study is exciting, it doesn’t really tell you how to lose weight eating pasta. The important thing is that you start paying more attention to how many carbs you are consuming and start including more healthy carbs in your diet. This will help you lose weight and feel great. And just like the famous saying goes, “you are what you eat.”