Not all carbohydrates are the same for weight loss. This is a phrase that should not be forgotten when it comes to dieting. For example, it is commonly assumed that 50g of carbs from rice would have the same effect on your body as 50g of carbs from a bagel. This is not true.
Carbohydrates have an indicator known as the glycemic index. This is essentially a gauge of the effect that certain carbohydrates will have on your blood glucose levels. Foods on a glycemic index scale generally rank from 1-100.
Foods with a lower glycemic index will be released into your bloodstream over a longer period of time. On the other hand, foods with a higher glycemic index will be quickly absorbed and ready to use for your body. You may think that you would want to go for foods higher on the GI scale, right? Well actually, the opposite is true.
Generally speaking, for weight loss, you want to aim for foods on the lower end of the Glycemic Index scale. The reason for this is because your body reacts better to a slower-releasing stimulus. In this case, this would be foods with a lower GI.
The below three tables contain common foods and their Glycemic Index levels:
LOW Glycemic Index
| Food | Glycemic Index |
| Yogurt | 14 |
| Peanuts | 14 |
| 100% Whole Wheat Pasta | 32 |
| Apple | 38 |
| Steel-Cut Oats | 42 |
| Whole Wheat Bread | 49 |
| Brown Rice | 50 |
| Ripe Banana | 52 |
| Quinoa | 53 |
MODERATE Glycemic Index
| Food | Glycemic Index |
| Sucrose (table sugar) | 58 |
| Blueberry Muffin | 59 |
| Vanilla Ice Cream | 62 |
| Popcorn | 70 |
| French Fries | 63 |
| White Bagel | 69 |
| Cherries | 63 |
| Special K Cereal | 69 |
HIGH Glycemic Index Foods
| Food | Glycemic Index |
| White Bread | 71 |
| Artificial Sweetener (Splenda) | 80 |
| White Rice | 89 |
| White Potato | 85 |
| Instant Oats | 79 |
| Cornflakes | 93 |
| Rice Crackers/Crisps | 87 |
It is worth mentioning that, depending on how certain foods are cooked, this can affect their GI levels. For example, boiled sweet potatoes have a much lower GI level than if they were baked in the oven. This is also true with fruit. Take a banana for example—a ripe banana has a GI level of 52. An under-ripened banana that is a bit more green has a GI level of 42.
It’s definitely interesting to see how the same food can have different effects on your body just depending on these factors.
Aside from consuming high GI foods, check out my other article on other common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight!
So if high GI carbs are bad, why would I ever have them?
High GI carbs are not optimal for weight loss—that is correct. But this does not mean that they should have no place in your diet.
Carbohydrates on the higher-end of the GI chart should be avoided for the most part as a rule of thumb, except in certain circumstances.
Post-workout recovery, when your muscles have been broken down, is a situation where a higher GI carb would be more suitable. During this state, your body is in need of insulin. Considering your muscles have been worked and broken down, this means they are insulin receptive.
Throughout your normal day, assuming you work a fairly sedentary job, your body generally does not require an insulin spike. During post-workout, you do want to purposely spike your insulin levels, and this can be achieved by consuming foods on the higher end of the GI chart.
Spiking your insulin levels will transport nutrients into your muscle cells quickly. For example, if you were to consume a lower GI carb post-workout, say whole wheat pasta, this carb will not have the same effect as something like white rice.
Whole wheat pasta is a more slow-digesting carbohydrate that, normally, would be optimal for use in your diet for weight loss. Slow-digesting carbs like these help keep you satiated longer and help keep blood sugar levels even. However, now is the time (post-workout) where your body is in need of nutrients and insulin quickly to maximize muscle/tissue growth and repair.
However, this does not mean that you should splurge and eat poor high-GI foods! Just because your body is insulin receptive post-workout does not mean that you can readily accept any carbohydrate!
Foods like doughnuts, cakes, cookies, artificial sweeteners, etc. should be minimized altogether. Based on research surrounding this topic, some high GI level foods that will benefit you consuming post-workout are:
- White Rice
- Baked potato (white)
- Puffed rice (cakes)
- Very ripe banana
- White pasta
Best Carbohydrates for Weight Loss
Now that you know about the glycemic index of various foods, the below are some of the best for weight loss:
Carbohydrate #1: Brown Rice
The first carb we have on the list of the best carbohydrates for weight loss is brown rice.
A carbohydrate on the lower end of the GI chart, brown rice is a great carb of choice due to its slow digestion. Its counterpart, white rice, has a GI that is much higher and should be reserved for post-workout consumption. It is also worth mentioning that food like this can reduce your risk of developing type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Other great benefits of brown rice are the following:
- It may help lower cholesterol
- Promotes bowel movements
- Promotes fullness
- It may help reduce the risk and formation of blood clots
Carbohydrate #2: Sweet Potato (boiled)
Another one of the best carbohydrates for weight loss are sweet potatoes (boiled).
Notice I included “boiled” above? This goes back to what we discussed before regarding how different methods of cooking can increase/decrease GI levels.
For example, boiling a sweet potato for 30 minutes leaves you with a GI of only 46. On the other hand, boiling for just 8 minutes brings the GI back up to 61. Believe it or not, baking sweet potatoes brings the glycemic index up to 94!
Based on this information, it is certainly best to boil these. I always found when boiling them to add some pure honey/cinnamon. This will make them nice and tasty—give it a try!
Additionally, there are a host of benefits that come along with consuming sweet potatoes. Some of these include:
- Rich in vitamin A (eye health, helps to fight off infections)
- Help to manage/prevent diabetes
- Can minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease
- Enhances hair and skin health (due to their rich vitamin A content)
Carbohydrate #3: Steel-cut oats
This one is one of my favorite carbohydrates for weight loss: steel-cut oats.
With a glycemic index between 40-52, steel cut oats are a favorite amongst people trying to lose weight.
Compared with their counterpart (instant oats), steel-cut oats are a much better choice! Instant oats release sugar quickly into your bloodstream, which may prevent you from losing weight. It may also cause you to gain weight if kept up for long enough.
The good thing about these oats is that they can be consumed at any time due to their low GI level. They are commonly eaten for breakfast, in the afternoon, and even at night before bed. Personally, I like to consume them in the afternoon (usually after lunch). This helps keep me full longer to last until dinner time. For this reason, they can also be consumed as a nighttime snack.
Benefits of consuming steel-cut oats are the following:
- Improved heart health (proven to lower harmful LDL cholesterol)
- Keeps you fuller longer (due to the low GI and slower digestion)
- Regulates bowels (due to its fibrous content)
- Helps to manage diabetes (soluble fiber content can prevent blood-sugar increases)
Carbohydrate #4: Quinoa
Moving on down the list of other excellent carbohydrates for weight loss, we have quinoa.
Before I really started getting into nutrition, this was something I never even heard of before. Quinoa tends to appear like seeds, and they are part of the plant family.
A great attribute of this carbohydrate is the fact that it contains higher protein content than brown/white rice. The fact that a diet higher in protein and lower in carbs aids in weight loss means that quinoa is the perfect option!
Unsure of how much protein you should be consuming? Find out how much you need here.
It is also worth mentioning that the fiber content in quinoa is greater than that in rice, so these factors make quinoa actually a healthier option.
The downside here, at least in my opinion, is that quinoa doesn’t taste nearly as good as rice. However, there are an array of recipes that are available online that I’m sure you can implement if you do decide to try this out.
Aside from the facts that quinoa has more fiber and protein than rice, there are a host of other great benefits:
- Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids (necessary for building muscle)
- It’s gluten-free (Considering many individuals have a gluten intolerance, this makes quinoa an excellent carb choice.)
- Rich in iron
- Loaded with magnesium (muscle recovery and overall wellness)
Carbohydrate #5: Ezekiel Bread
Before you get caught up in thinking that all bread is bad for you, allow me to introduce to you Ezekiel bread. One of my favorites (and secrets!) in recent years, this bread is another top carbohydrate for weight loss.
This may be another carbohydrate source that you have not yet heard of. Let me explain a bit about it and the difference between this bread vs. others.
Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted grains, as opposed to its counterpart (white bread), which is made of refined wheat flour. Moreover, white (and other) bread is generally made with one grain. Ezekiel bread contains six sprouted grains. What this means is that, like quinoa, Ezekiel bread contains all nine essential amino acids. With many of these amino acids coming from the abundance of grains, this makes this bread loaded with nutrients that you would not normally get from other bread.
It is also worth mentioning that, because Ezekiel bread contains no preservatives, it cannot be left out in a bread box—it will spoil. It must be kept in a fridge/freezer. This is a good thing because preservatives lead to weight gain.
The glycemic index of Ezekiel bread is astonishingly low, coming in at 36! This means that this bread has a lower GI than boiled sweet potatoes, brown rice, and even quinoa! Not bad for a “bread” product, right?
Other great benefits that stem from the consumption of Ezekiel bread include:
- Contains all nine essential amino acids (which will aid in muscular development)
- Packed with more beneficial nutrients than your standard bread, including vitamin B, zinc, calcium, iron, and magnesium
- Rich in fiber
- Helps to improve the absorption of other nutrients (due to the sprouted grains)
The Bottom Line
Now that you have the full rundown on various carbohydrates, their glycemic indices, and the impacts they have on your body, you could easily distinguish which choice would be best depending on the circumstance.
Generally speaking, your diet should consist mainly of carbs on the lower end of the GI scale. Unless you’re consuming carbs post-workout where your body is in need of insulin and something fast-acting, it’s best to stick to lower GI choices.
Using the table above (and others found online), you could easily see how healthy carbs have not-so-healthy counterparts (i.e. white bread vs. 100% whole-wheat bread). I suggest for you to monitor your carbohydrate intake, and if you happen to be consuming something on the higher end of the GI scale, try consuming the lower counterpart instead.
It is also worth mentioning that just because some foods have a low GI doesn’t always make them better for weight loss! Take peanuts as an example, where 1 oz. equates to 170 calories. Even though their glycemic index is only 14, they are very dense in calories (from the fat content). Although a healthy source of fat, the density in calories outweighs the low GI score, so they should be consumed in moderation like everything else.
All of the carbohydrates listed above can certainly aid in and expedite your weight loss journey. These carbohydrates not only score well on the GI scale but provide other excellent benefits for your mind/body. For these reasons, you should aim to incorporate them into your regimen, and I can assure you will reap the benefits!
Check out my other posts here, where you will find heaps of other training and nutrition guidance!
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