What's more important than following a diet plan?

Hi Fabulous Traveler,

So now you're eating one fruit with each of your major meals, incorporating a variety of veggies with each of your meals, and you’re eating fish a few times a week, reducing your red meat consumption along the way.

Now let's get to the third part of your plate, carbohydrates.

What’s most important is the type of carbohydrate you choose to eat because some sources are healthier than others. You don't have to pay too much attention to the amount of carbohydrates in the diet – high or low – because it's less important than the type of carbohydrates.

For example, healthy, whole-grains such as whole-wheat bread, rye, barley, and quinoa are better choices than highly refined white bread or French fries.

Fabulous Traveler, many people are confused about carbohydrates, but please keep in mind that it’s more important to eat carbohydrates from healthy foods than to follow a strict diet limiting or counting the number of calories of carbohydrates consumed.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are found in a wide array of both healthy and unhealthy foods—bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn, and cherry pie. They also come in a variety of forms. The most common and abundant forms are sugars, fibers, and starches.

Foods high in carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet. Carbohydrates provide the body with glucose, which is converted to energy, which is used to support bodily functions and physical activity. 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.

Unhealthier sources of carbohydrates include white bread, pastries, sodas, and other highly processed or refined foods. These items contain easily digested carbohydrates that may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease.

We recommend filling most of your plate with healthy carbohydrates – with vegetables (except potatoes) and fruits taking up about half of your plate, and whole-grains filling up about one fourth of your plate.

This Week

This week, we have a one-time action, and one habit.

Your One-time action

To start this week on the right foot, Fabulous Traveler, you’re going to look for a bakery near your house that sells whole-grain bread.

Buy one loaf of whole-grain bread, and start eating it.

This should be your ritual for starting this week's habit.

This Week's Habit

Three times during the next week, fill your plate with whole grains. You can eat a whole-grain bread or some brown rice, but make sure that this is not a highly refined source of carbohydrates.

Do you accept?

What’s important to keep in mind is that the healthiest sources of carbohydrates are unprocessed or minimally processed whole-grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans.

Have a great week, Fabulous Traveler!