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"Oh, no! Not the Carbs! Anything but the Carbs!"

Posted by:  ( BeachBody )

Whether it's the low-carb beer you can sip at your local watering hole, or Monica and Rachel slinging Atkins quips on the latest episode of Friends, carbohydrates are the new "bad guy" du jour. Fast food joints are offering "protein style" bunless burgers. KFC's latest ad campaign features a skinny dude chomping on fried chicken, implying that a 470 calorie, 28 g of fat (8 g of it saturated), 1230 mg of sodium, 0 g of fiber Extra Crispy™ Chicken Breast will actually help you lose weight—because it's low carb. It's getting ridiculous!

Funny thing is, most people don't even know what a carbohydrate is or what it does—which is sad indeed, considering it's the body's primary source of fuel and a powerful tool for even the most casual of athletes. Like any food group, carbs should be eaten in moderation, but they have an important job to do, so let's shed some light on them. Sit down, set aside that tub of greasy poultry, and let's take a look at our much-maligned little buddy, the carbohydrate.

At their simplest, carbs are sugars, most notably glucose. Also known as blood sugar or dextrose, glucose flows through the bloodstream, where, thanks to the conductor insulin, it is absorbed by every single cell in your body and converted into energy. Excessive amounts of carbs are stored as fat, so it's important not to overeat them. But carb consumption should be directly associated with activity level, since you burn them quickly whenever you do any level of exercise. Excessive carb consumption can make you fat and lethargic, but so can excessive protein, fat, or alcohol consumption. Without enough carbohydrates, your body's ability to perform, both athletically and mentally, becomes compromised.

Carbs come in several forms. They can be simple carbs, complex carbs, or fiber, all of which play important roles in the dietary scheme of things. Let's look at them one by one.

Simple carbohydrates
Also called "sugars," there are six types of simple carbs. Three of them, the monosaccharides, are carbs at their most basic: glucose, fructose, and galactose.

Glucose, as we discussed, is the body's primary energy source. If you get too much, it's stored as glycogen. When your blood sugar is low, your body taps into these glycogen stores. However, in the event that your glycogen stores are also maxed out, then the glucose is stored as fat.

Fructose, or fruit sugar, is the second monosaccharide. Unlike glucose, fructose doesn't go straight into your system. Instead it passes through the liver, where it is usually turned into glycogen, or occasionally glucose—and, as is the case with all sugars, the too-much-turns-to-fat thing still applies. Depending on who you talk to, or whose scientific report you read, this extra step can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Some sources insist that it increases triglycerides, or fat levels, in your blood. Others claim that this extra step prevents blood sugar levels from spiking.

The third monosaccharide, the cosmically titled galactose, only occurs naturally in dairy products. Like fructose, galactose must pass through the liver to be processed.

The other three simple carbs are the disaccharides, meaning, on a molecular level, that they are just two monosaccharides pasted together. They are called sucrose, maltose, and lactose.

The most famous of these is sucrose, otherwise known as table sugar. It consists of a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule. When you consume sucrose, the glucose is quickly digested while, as you may have guessed, the fructose heads for the liver.

In an interesting aside, it's worth noting that high-fructose corn syrup, another villain in the world of healthy eating, is actually approximately 50% glucose and 50% fructose, making it very similar in composition to sucrose. All the hysteria over "HFCS" may indeed be warranted, insofar as Americans are eating too much of it—but at the end of the day, too much sugar is too much sugar, whether it's HFCS or common everyday sucrose.

The second disaccharide is maltose, which is two glucose molecules bonded together. Later we'll learn about starch, one of the complex carbohydrates. When starch is broken down, it turns first to maltose, then glucose.

The final disaccharide is lactose, which comes from dairy products. Lactose is a combo of glucose and galactose. Lactose intolerance happens when your stomach doesn't have enough of the special enzymes needed to separate the two simple sugars.

So there you have the simple carbohydrates. Let's move on to the complex ones.

Complex carbohydrates
Complex carbs are just a bunch of simple carbohydrates bonded together. The fancy name for them is polysaccharides. Again, there are three kinds: glycogen, starch, and fiber.

Glycogen, as we learned earlier, is the way we store glucose for easy access. There's no way to eat the stuff, so there's really no need to discuss it further.

Starch is the vegetable answer to glycogen—thousands, sometimes millions of glucose molecules bonded together. Corn, potatoes, yams, rice, and other grains are some of the better-known starch sources. It's generally believed that complex carbs, because they are complex, break down more slowly in our system. However, when starch-containing foods are overly processed, they become a lot more like sugar than starch, meaning that your body pumps them into your blood more quickly.

An interesting way to see this in action is to take a piece of white bread, which is heavily processed white flour, and put it on your tongue. Notice, after a second, that the taste becomes sweet. That's the sugars breaking down, right there on your tongue. Now try it with whole grain bread. It doesn't work the same, does it?

Although the overprocessing of the starch is partly the reason for this, another reason white bread converts to sugar so fast is that in the refining process, the wheat is stripped of our third complex carb, the real key to slowing down the absorption of glucose: fiber.

Fiber is the most complex of the carbohydrates—so complex, in fact, that the human body can't digest it. It just passes right through. There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber turns to a gel on your insides and actually soaks up cholesterol. You'll find it in oats, beans, carrots, and apple peel. Insoluble fiber, which shows up in wheat bran and in kidney, pinto, and lima beans, just goes right through you and is essential in keeping you regular.

While these are very important functions, for our purposes, both types of fiber do one other crucial thing: they slow the rate at which your blood absorbs glucose. So for example, if you eat an apple, the sugar doesn't blast into your system because the fiber in the skin holds it back. This gives you a steady flow of energy and reduces the chance of a blood sugar spike, which is great because—as we all know—when blood has too much sugar in it, it converts the extra sugar to fat. Also, when your blood gets too much sugar, your pancreas generates extra insulin—which, once it's dealt with the sugar, will have nothing to do except cause you to crave more sugar, which you really don't need.

Fats and proteins also slow the absorption of glucose into the blood. With this in mind, Canadian scientists came up with something called the glycemic index (GI), a scale of how fast the sugar in carbohydrate foods enters your body. Foods that are mostly carbs with little or no fiber, protein, or fat, such as white bread, rush into your blood. These foods earn higher ratings on the glycemic index. Foods with a slower absorption rate earn a lower rating. The trick is to create a diet that is rich in low-rated foods. When you eat higher-rated foods, make sure to mix them with lower-rated foods, to slow absorption.

Of course, there are times when a blood sugar rush is a good thing. For example, if you're bonking, or running out of blood sugar while being active, you need to recharge fast. Since your glucose and glycogen are low to empty at this point, a sugar spike isn't going to provide enough glucose to create fat. This is when a banana or a sports drink like Gatorade^® comes in handy.

You can also take advantage of low blood sugar with a recovery snack that is 4 parts carbs to 1 part protein. The carbs will rush into your system, replenishing your glycogen stores, and the small amount of protein will piggyback with them, heading right to the muscles and beginning resynthesis. Oatmeal and fruit juice with protein powder are good examples of 4 to 1 snacks.

It's important to remember that the GI rating shouldn't be a primary factor in food choice. Just because a food doesn't rate high on the index doesn't mean it's good for you. Both Coke and peanut M&Ms have acceptable ratings. Coke's carbonation hampers digestion, lowering the GI, but it's loaded with empty calories and has no nutritional value, so there's no point in drinking it. M&Ms have all that fat from the chocolate and peanuts slow things down, but they too have little nutritional value and they're full of saturated fat. When you're operating on a calorie deficit, you need to make every calorie count. These foods count for nothing.

Furthermore, the glycemic index is relatively new to the world of nutrition. While it was founded on solid science, research is still being conducted as to its validity for weight loss. However, when used in conjunction with fiber intake, the case becomes much stronger, as there is more and more research indicating the benefits of fiber.

Simply put, carbohydrates are fuel. If abused, yes, they can be evil, but so can proteins and fats. If eaten properly, they will increase the energy you have throughout the day and during your workouts. A meal filled with lean protein and fiber-rich carbohydrates will help create a healthier you in ways that KFC never, ever will.

The most popular diet on the market today, Atkins, has come under fire recently in the major press. This is nothing new to members of the Beachbody Message Boards community, as we've been critical of this diet from the get-go. But the mainstream has been slow to scrutinize, perhaps wowed by the "all you can eat" lifestyle the diet seems to promote. The recent death of its founder, Dr. Robert Atkins, has spurred the media to take another look, which has uncovered some rather alarming facts and caused a major backtrack in the company's philosophy.

Last week, most major publications ran articles revealing that Atkins himself was obese, a fact that no one seemed to care much about while he was living. This story originated in The Wall Street Journal, which cited a report by the New York City medical examiner which stated that before his death, Atkins had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure, and hypertension. At 6 feet tall, he weighed 258 pounds, which is considered obese by his own definition.

The Atkins Physicians Council in New York was quick to say the examiner's report was false, claiming that Atkins' heart problems were due to cardiomyopathy, a condition thought to stem from a viral infection. His wife, Veronica Atkins, told the WSJ: "I have been assured by my husband's physicians that my husband's health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet, or any diet."

However, the fact that another Atkins revelation surfaced in the press just a few weeks prior lends an air of "smoke screen" to this report. Back in January, The New York Times reported that Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. was advising its clients to limit their intake of saturated fats by cutting back on their former staples: meat, cheese, and butter. This advice contradicts Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, first published in 1992, which states that beef, pork, lamb, and butter are "foods you may eat liberally."

According to The Times, Colette Heimowitz, director of research and education at Atkins, now says saturated fats should account for no more than 20% of their clients' calories.

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The Good, the Bad And the Awful of Low-Carb Food 
Posted by:  Elizabeth Freeman (eDiets )

Taste buds don't lie. In a quest to see what this low-carb stuff is about, we sampled plenty of products. Some were tasty, some were so-so and a few were almost inedible. 

And just in case we had different standards from carb-counters, we enlisted a few dieters in the project and compared notes on how the products tasted. 

In most cases, low-carb foods don't come cheap. When you indulge, the first place you'll lose weight is in the wallet. 

"Low carb is going to be the hot button this year," said Leo Darrow, category manager for Dierbergs Markets. "The demand for low-carb items started before Christmas. It's hard to keep up with the demand, and some manufacturers are changing and redefining their labeling for carb-conscious consumers. They don't want to be left behind." 

Schnucks offers a variety of low-carb foods for customers and is constantly trying to expand the variety, said Lori Willis, director of communication for Schnucks Markets. 

Straub's has its carb-conscious prepared deli foods reviewed and analyzed by Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian. At Wild Oats, consumers can look for shelf labeling throughout the store that identifies food products containing 10 carbs or less. 

Even Walgreens has hopped on the bandwagon with a low-carb product section, and some tasty Russell Stover low-carb candy can be found at some store checkout aisles for about $1 per piece. 

Just what classifies a food as low-carb? The jury's still out. 

Unlike legally defined label designations such as "reduced fat" and "low calorie," no official definitions guide terms such as "low-carb," "reduced-carb" and "carb-free." The Center for Science in the Public Interest argues that such terms should be regulated, and the Grocery Manufacturers of America recently petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to set up reg ulations for carb claims. 

In the meantime, manufacturers are rewriting labels and refocusing the marketing of foods that are even moderately low in carbs. If you're counting carbs, be sure to check the nutrition facts box. Many food manufacturers boast of what they call "net carbs," subtracting carbohydrates from sugar alcohol and fiber, so read the fine print for the full picture. 

Here's the breakdown on our taste-test results. In most cases, the low-carb eaters agreed with those who aren't restricting carbohydrates. 

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THE GOOD

-Atkins Crunchers Barbeque Snack Chips (1 ounce, $1.29), 4 net carbs 

If you're on a low-carb diet and crave a crunchy snack besides pork rinds, these aren't bad. They're a chiplike snack made with soy protein. Almost as good: Atkins Crunchers Sour Cream & Onion Snack Chips, with 5 carbs. 

-All In One Dexatrim Diet Bar (1.77 ounces, $1.99), 1 net carb 

White Chocolate Raspberry 
This is by far the best of the meal-substitute diet bars we tasted. Almost good enough for dessert. (We weren't nearly so enthusiastic about the Lemon Bar Crisp flavor, which had a bitter aftertaste.) 

-Atkins Endulge Mint Wafer Crisp (1 ounce, 99 cents), 4 net carbs 

Kind of like a mint Twix bar; pretty tasty stuff. 

-Pure De-lite Milk Chocolate with Almonds bars (1 1/3 ounces, $1.99), 3 net carbs 

This sugar-free bar made from Belgian chocolate has a rich flavor, despite the artificial sweetener. 

-Breadsmith Reduced Carb Raisin Cinnamon Bread (16 ounces, $5.89), 7.5 net carbs per slice 

Although Breadsmith makes several reduced-carb breads, this one was favored by everyone. This product had a good overall flavor. One note: The slices seemed small for the number of carbs incurred. 

-Sara Lee Delightful Bakery Bread (16 ounces, $2), 9 net carbs per slice 

Sara Lee makes several low-carb breads. Tasters favored the white version. A slice is the same size as regular sandwich bread. 

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THE SO-SO

-Adam Matthews Low Carb Sugar Free Cheesecake (32 ounces, $12.99), 3 net carbs 

Those of us who aren't watching our carbs thought this product was adequate but objected to the aftertaste. The carb-conscious didn't mind so much. 

-Atkins Quick Quisine (8 ounces, $3.29), Orange-Cranberry Muffin Mix, 3 net carbs 

Even the carb-conscious were divided on this product. One dieter thought the muffins tasted fine, while another disliked the taste and texture. A taster who's not counting carbs likened the flavor and dry consistency to sawdust. 

-Cabana Ice (16.9 ounces, 99 cents), No carbs 

We sampled cherry and lemonade versions of this drink. Except for the supersweet aftertaste, they tasted like powdered drink mixes marketed to kids. 

-Atkins Advantage Shake (Chocolate or Creamy Vanilla), (11 ounces, $1.69), 1 net carb 

This reminded us of traditional canned diet meal supplements. Both had an unpleasant aftertaste, which was more pronounced in the chocolate version. 

-Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics, Herb Roasted Chicken (8 ounces, $3.39), 25 carbs 

This frozen entree tasted pretty much like most other frozen entrees we'd tried - not a lot of real flavor and on the salty side. The vegetables, which included potatoes, were mushy. We also thought the carb count was high for carb-conscious consumers.


THE AWFUL 

-Darielle Pizza (7 ounces, $5.79), 10 net carbs 

You need to read the label carefully on this one - one pizza is considered two servings. It tasted like cardboard with tomato sauce and cheese. 

-Think Thin! Low Carb Diet Meal Alternative Nutrition Bar, Mixed Berry Lite (2.1 ounces, $1.99), 3 net carbs 

We really disliked this bar, which bore no resemblance to any berries we've ever tasted. It brought to mind some horrible protein bar meal substitutes we sampled several years ago. 

-Keto Bar Oatmeal Raisin Crunch (2 ounces, $1.99), 3 net carbs 

This chewy concoction tastes more like peanut butter cardboard than anything else. 

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Oprah Trainer's 6 Weight Loss Secrets! 
Posted by:  By Kim Droze (eDiets )   

What possesses a man to get on his bike and ride across the country in the name of good health? What motivates this same guy to help fast food giant McDonald's shed its unhealthy image by promoting healthy happy meals for adults? And what drives this in-demand fitness coach to spread his message to anyone and everyone who will listen?
The answer is knowledge... and Bob Greene has plenty of it. Best known as the personal trainer who helped talk show host Oprah Winfrey get in the best shape of her life, Greene has the fitness and nutrition plan you need to get fit. Greene has made it his mission to ride forth and battle the obesity ogre that's threatening America and the world!

With 1-in-3 people obese and as many as 6-in-10 overweight in the U.S. alone, there is plenty of fat fighting to keep him busy. Greene recently wrapped up a public awareness campaign that encourages people to make better choices. For the Go Active! American Challenge -- a five-week walking and cycling event -- he peddled his way into 36 different communities to educate residents on how to eat right and exercise properly.

The whirlwind cross-country campaign was just one of Greene's many fronts on the obesity war. His main offensive, Bob Greene's Get With The Program! , is a gradual 12-week fitness program comprised of functional exercises, cardiovascular exercises and strength exercises with a component on eliminating emotional eating behavior. Powered by eDiets, the program offers the much-needed guidance most dieters crave. 

Have you failed at a fad diet or other quick-fix weight loss plan? Greene says it's crucial you scratch beyond the surface when it comes to getting rid of your extra pounds. In other words: you need to look further than just healthy eating and exercise. And that's one of the things that sets Get With The Program! apart from many other diet plans. 

"The decision to start eating right and exercising is easy," Greene tells eDiets. "Sure it takes willpower and schedule adjusting but the hard part is figuring out your personal traits and issues of why you eat. Most people haven't done this in the past.

"Get With The Program! digs deeper. You're asking yourself, 'Why do I really want this?' You're scratching the surface by asking, 'Why am I overweight and what are the personal characteristics that keep me overweight?'"

Doing your emotional homework is critical to your success. That's 

where the magic is, Greene says. It's about discovering the reasons behind the unhealthy habits. A big part of the weight loss process is self exploration. 

No matter how much weight you need to lose, putting your habits under a microscope is the first major step in getting to the heart of the matter. You'll want to raise certain questions like: What are your personal strengths? What are your weaknesses? Why do you eat? Why don't you like to exercise? 

Greene notes, "We all use food to get us past certain moments, whether it's stress or boredom or something else. We're using it for things other than nutrition. It's important to start recognizing those moments when food is being used for emotional reason. These are all things that are in your best interest to pursue."

One mistake we commonly make is to cut calories prior to becoming active. Big mistake, Greene says. He'd prefer to see you taking in extra calories at first... as long as you are working out in some form. Getting enough to eat prevents the metabolism from shutting down. That is what can happen when your body senses your caloric intake is too low. 

Greene strongly suggests you consult a physician to find which type of exercise program will prove most beneficial. This is especially true if you suffer from any health problems (i.e. heart, diabetes, knees).

It's important to remember that nothing is going to happen overnight.

Greene says, "You're dealing with someone who, for whatever reason, hasn't been active most of their life, whether it's because of procrastination or because they don't like to exercise. Physical activity has to be built into your life. We all respond better easing into things, not radically changing the way we lived most of our lives. Small steps are important because they foster our needs for patience. 

"One of the greatest reasons why most people fail is they are impatient with a pound or two a week. In reality, those are the people who are more successful long term. The process requires patience especially when the scale is not as active as the body wants it to be. The important thing is to focus on the little things today that benefit our lives in the future. More people focus on, 'How quickly can I get rid of this 50 pounds?'"

Get off on the right foot with Greene's 6 golden rules for getting with the program!

1. Know what you really want! 

2. Make an unwavering commitment to your goals! 
Your commitment to yourself is as sacred as your commitment to others. 

3. Build exercise into your life! Find a time that works for you (the best is always in the morning) and remember: Your exercise is not negotiable.

4. Eating habits are developed over a lifetime and shouldn't be changed radically overnight! Gradually moderate consumption of foods that aren't in your best interest and replace them with healthy counterparts. Also work to increase your physical activity accordingly. 

5. Powerful results come from taking small steps towards your goal each day! 

6. Meaningful change comes from recommitting yourself daily to your chosen path!

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About South Beach Diet

Posted by: Arthur Agatston, M.D.

Since the diet became popular in Miami and the book The South Beach Diet became a best-seller, I’ve heard from countless people eager to tell me about their weight loss successes. I’m encouraged by how easy the program is to learn and put into practice. Now there is a Web site designed to make the diet even easier.

How? The Web site has the flexibility to provide personal feedback and guidance to help you reach your goals.

It also has the ability to put you in touch with thousands of others following the plan. In the Message Boards, you’ll be able to ask questions and get answers from a large community of dieters with similar experiences, as well as from our expert nutritionists. You'll get regular advice from me, too, in the Daily Dish newsletter and the Ask Dr. Agatston Q&As.

The site’s interactive tools are also designed to provide personal support. In the Weight Tracker, for instance, you can key in your weight, chart your progress, and get immediate feedback on how you’re doing on the diet. The site will tell you if you’re losing weight too fast or too slow, and what you can do about it. It’s like having your own personal trainer pointing out areas for improvement, telling you that you’re doing better than you think, and keeping you motivated.

In the Meal Plans section of the site, you’ll find Daily Menus for whatever phase of the diet you’re in, a Recipe Search to help you find delicious new dishes quickly and easily (including vegetarian-only recipes), and a Shopping List Generator that will print out lists of ingredients automatically.

By following the South Beach Diet Online, you’ll not only get help gaining control of your weight and your heart health, you’ll also be helping us make the diet better. Science is changing and improving all the time, and I see this diet as an evolution. As we learn new information about dieters’ needs and experiences, we’ll be able to continually improve the Web site, the plan, and our ability to help people.

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