Can you eat carbohydrates and still lose weight?

Thank you for your question. You are not the only one with this, because in practice this question is regularly asked to me.

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Carbohydrates
By carbohydrates we mean all sugars, starches and fibers from our diet. Carbohydrates supply our bodies with energy. In addition, the healthy carbohydrate-rich foods (for example: vegetables, fruit and legumes) provide important nutrients. The advice is to get 40 to 70 percent of our energy needs from carbohydrates every day. A lower limit has been set because our brains and red blood cells are dependent on carbohydrates (glucose).

Eating low on carbohydrates
A low-carbohydrate diet (such as the Atkins diet) means that as many carbohydrates as possible are removed from the diet. As you yourself indicated: no bread, pasta, sugar and soft drinks. Instead, a relatively high-protein and high-fat diet is maintained.

Positive energy balance
People with overweight and obesity have a positive energy balance. This means that the body receives more energy (kcal) through the diet, than the body consumes (for: breathing, digestion, movement, etc.).

Negative energy balance
When a low-carbohydrate diet is followed, fewer calories from carbohydrates enter the body. This leads to a negative energy balance, with the aim: fat burning weight loss. This diet works.

However, it is not recommended to follow a low-carbohydrate diet for too long, because you can get a nutrient deficiency (of: fiber, B vitamins and minerals). In addition, your body may start to burn muscle mass and / or become capable of ketosis (symptoms: fatigue and nausea).

Not only the low-carbohydrate diet works. In fact, all diets work (in the short term). The key is to be more aware of what you eat and drink. This means you eat and drink less, you end up in a negative energy balance, and you fall away.

Arriving after a low-carbohydrate diet
When people stop following a low-carbohydrate diet, they often come back on. This is because they fall back into their old diet and thus end up in a positive energy balance again. This is not due to the carbohydrates, but due to the total diet that kcal supplies calories. For the body it does not matter which macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins or fats) deliver the energy. There is therefore no reason to specifically avoid the carbohydrates.

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Healthy diet
The low-carbohydrate diet is quite difficult to sustain in the long term. The best diet is not a diet, but a healthy lifestyle. Another option is to keep the recommended daily amounts of the Schijf van Vijf. Advice is given on: vegetables, fruit, lubricating and cooking fats, dairy products, nuts, fish, legumes, meat, eggs, bread, grain products, potatoes and drinks (moisture).

As far as carbohydrates are concerned: the carbohydrates (fast / simple sugars) from sugar cubes, soft drinks, sweets and snacks are deleted as much as possible. On the other hand, you may simply eat appropriate amounts of carbohydrates (slow / complex sugars) from vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grain cereal products (such as: unpolished rice and wholemeal pasta) and potatoes. Even then the body ends up in a negative energy balance, and you fall away.

Conclusion
Your body needs daily carbohydrates to function properly. Even if you want to lose weight, carbohydrates can fit into a healthy diet. A negative energy balance is the key to losing weight. You end up in a negative energy balance by eating healthy, varied and not too much. If you also exercise sufficiently (daily at least one hour moderately intensive), the chance is even greater that you will achieve results.

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Linda Hogervorst is a freelance dietician and has a master's degree in Nutrition and Health. She owns the one-man business, Into Food. In the meantime she no longer answers expert questions for the Health Network. Do you have a question about nutrition? Send an email to nutrition expert Patricia Schutte.

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