5 Low-Carb Swaps That Encourage Your Body to BURN Energy Rather Than STORE Fat

Carbs may make you feel full and satisfied, but that doesn’t mean they are great for you.

What’s the big deal about carbs anyway?

Carbohydrates stimulate the production of insulin in your body. Insulin is a hormone that tells your body whether it should store your glucose (sugar) intake as either energy or fat. Having too much insulin in our bodies can disrupt the leptin signal in the brain.

What is leptin?

Leptin is another hormone generated by fat cells. It basically tells our brain when our body is full and doesn’t need any more food. However, when that leptin signal is blocked by insulin, our brain doesn’t get the message and thinks we are hungry, causing us to over-eat.

Long story short:

Consuming too many carbs leads to too much insulin
This then leads to a blocked leptin signal to the brain

Brain doesn’t know you’re full
You eat more
Leads to weight gain

While it’s a common belief that consuming more calories than you burn is what leads to obesity, experts are now saying that it’s our hormones that play a much more active role in this process.

Rest assured, you can still have some comforting, familiar dishes when cutting back on carbohydrates or cutting out grains. Here are some of my favorite healthy swaps for pasta, bread and wraps.

The following info is from our friends over at drfranklipman.com and is used with permission.

By Be Well Health Coach Katrine van Wyk

Vegetable Noodles

Try making noodles or spaghetti with vegetables like zucchini, sweet potato or carrots. If you are looking to cut down on calories, carbs and starches, these “noodles” are sure to satisfy that pasta craving! Use a spiral slicer or a mandolin to make thin, long spaghetti-like strips, dress with some fresh tomato sauce or a nutty pesto!

Kelp Noodles

This is another great noodle or pasta alternative made from the sea vegetable kelp. It has a nice chewy texture and requires no cooking. Eat it cold tossed with a pesto or an almond butter sauce. Deliciously satisfying.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a wonderful comfort food! Roast it and scoop out all the insides – it will look a little like spaghetti and is delicious with some stew on top or a nice bolognese. Here’s a great article on how to cook it.

Lettuce and Collard Greens Wraps

Instead of bread, wraps or tortillas, try using leafy greens. Boston lettuce and romaine works great as little cups or shells to hold minced meat and some guacamole, while the larger, sturdier collard greens work great as wraps. Fill them with vegetables and leftover chicken for a quick lunch or snack.

Root Vegetable Medley

Roast a variety of root vegetables – turnips, carrots, daikon radish, beets etc. You can also toss in some Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and onions! Serve it as a side dish with dinner and use the cold leftovers as a salad topping the next day.