The One Food Group I Avoid

I call my eating plan a balanced one, and it truly is. But there is one category of foods that I severely restrict because the negative effects of eating them far outweigh the nutritional benefits they offer. This group is starchy, refined carbohydrates: white bread, pasta, rice (except brown or other whole-grain rice), crackers--pretty much anything made with refined flour that has 1g of fiber or less per serving. Instead, when I was trying to lose the weight, I opted for whole grains: high-fiber cereals, 100% whole-wheat bread and crackers, brown rice, barley, whole-wheat couscous. Know what? They taste really good and keep you satisfied for a lot longer than the white, refined stuff. The fiber also helps fill you up and move the food through your digestive system more efficiently, which helps you lose weight. Now I know it's nearly impossible to cut starchy, refined carbs out of your diet completely--and really, a hot, fresh bagel is hard to resist--but if you make an attempt to at least reduce your consumption of these foods and switch to whole grains more often, you'll see the weight drop faster and you'll feel better. There are so many delicious whole-grain, high-fiber cereals on the market now (I love Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax) that it's easy to start your day with a tasty breakfast that will give you energy and help you in your weight-loss endeavors. Just watch those portion sizes as you fill up the bowl! And every supermarket now offers a wealth of choices in whole-grain breads and crackers. Start reading ingredient and nutrition labels to make sure you're getting 100% whole-grain products--those that just say "wheat" on them aren't necessarily the real thing. Next post: How to read those labels!