How to Eat Carbs and Lose Weight

To lose weight and feel good about yourself, you need to know which carbs to eat, when to eat those carbs, and how much of them to eat. Basically, carbs allow your brain to make serotonin which makes you feel good and shuts off your your appetite. Women and people on antidepressants benefit most but there's a reason we all seek out comfort foods (carbs = comfort). The damage to the waistline comes from eating too many and those that are too fatty. You need more serotonin later in the day so shift your carbs to afternoon and evening (and an optional hour-before-lunch carb snack to take the edge off your lunch appetite) - leave the protein for breakfast and lunch (you can always keep dinner fish, chicken, or meat leftovers for the next day).

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Wholesome carb snacks like pretzels, whole grain crackers, low fat breakfast cereal, popcorn, half a bagel, and rice cakes
• Wholesome carbs for dinner like rice, bread, potatoes, tortillas, polenta, and other grains
• Lots of vegetables and some fruits
• Low fat protein to include at breakfast and lunch like fish, poultry, lean meats, tofu, and beans

1. Snack wisely: choose a low fat, low protein carb of pretzels, breakfast cereal, half a bagel, rice cakes, or popcorn (around 150 calories) to have an hour before lunch, at 4 or 5pm, and/or a few hours after dinner. You decide when you need the snack the most.
2. Skip the protein for dinner (except for a bite or 2) and have wholesome carbs and vegetables. Rice with veggie stir-fry, pasta with vegetables, roasted potatoes and vegetables, salad with hearty bread, corn on the cob and vegetarian quesadillas are all great choices.
3. Include protein at breakfast and lunch along with fruit and vegetables. For breakfast, eggs, toast, and fruit are a great combination or a protein powder, milk, and fruit smoothie. For lunch, salad with grilled chicken or a beef-vegetable stir-fry (skip the rice) are great options.

Tips & Warnings

• Get enough sleep (boosting evening serotonin should help)
• Aim for wholesome carbs (cut down on refined sugar but give yourself a sweet treat when you need it so you don't feel deprived)
• Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time so you're not tempted to eat whatever is in reach
• Don't fear carbs - if anything, avoiding them will make you binge and sabotage your weight loss efforts
• check our http://serotoninpowerdiet.com for tips and resources
• Always check with your health care provider regarding safe weight loss