25 good carb recipes your diet needs (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 carb to avoid? ›

1. Sugary Foods. Most people already think of many of the foods in this category as unhealthy treats. Candy, soft drinks, and sweet desserts such as cake, chocolate, and ice cream are all expected entries on a list of carbs to avoid to lose weight.

So if you get 2,000 calories a day, between 900 and 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates. That translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbs a day. You can find the carbohydrate content of packaged foods on the Nutrition Facts label.

With so much talk about so-called 'bad carbs', oats have been written off and cut from many diets. But the truth is, whole grain oats are a complex carbohydrate with nutritional benefits. A bowl of cooked oatmeal breaks down to become energy that's slowly absorbed by your body.

But carbohydrate quality is important; some types of carbohydrate-rich foods are better than others: The healthiest sources of carbohydrates—unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans—promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients.

Refined carbs such as sugar or white flour are often added to processed foods. Examples of foods with refined carbs are white breads and pasta, cookies, cake, candy, and sugar-sweetened sodas and drinks.

What happens if you eat no carbs for a week? ›

What happens if you don't eat carbs for a week? Very low carb diets typically promote rapid weight loss in the first few weeks. However, this is usually due to a quick drop in water weight because every gram of carbs holds approximately 3 g of water in your body.

What are some of the best sources of healthy carbs? Romito suggests these foods: Whole grains: Farro, quinoa, whole-grain breads and pastas, bulgar wheat, and brown or wild rice. Starchy vegetables: Potatoes (preferably with the skin), green peas, corn and winter squash like butternut or spaghetti squash.

Bad carbs are added to processed foods as starches and sugars, which have a variety of consequences. These are called simple carbs, which are absorbed into the bloodstream and become blood sugar.

Which foods are high in carbohydrates to avoid? You should be careful of foods that are high in carbs but have little nutritional value. Although they taste good, limit your helpings of cakes, pastries, full-sugar sodas, candy, and refined starches (like white pasta, white bread, and white rice).

THE FIVE RULES OF THE SLOW-CARB DIET RULE #1 Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, or grains. RULE #2 Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch.