Weight loss is usually a fairly common goal in any type of population. Both sedentary people, those who have begun to be physically active and those who have been doing physical activity for a long time, usually start strategies, more or less effective, to lose weight.
The first thing we need to clarify is difference between losing weight and losing body fat. Losing weight, as its name implies, lowers the numbers on the scale. That is, if we weigh 80 kg, we go from this figure to, for example, 75 kg. Within 5kg, we found that we were losing water, glycogen, body fat, and muscle mass.
During any weight loss, losing water, glycogen, and body fat is most desirable. Instead, losing muscle mass is the last thing that should happen during a loss of body fat.
Whatever the reason, losing muscle mass during this process of losing body fat is paradoxical, as losing muscle mass will not only make you our aesthetic change will definitely get worsebut our health will decrease. Losing muscle mass only produces disadvantages, such as the following: Loss of strength, increase in insulin resistance, poorer ability to lose body fatworse body composition (you will have more fat and less muscle mass), increased chances of suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, etc.
Definitely, losing muscle mass is the worst idea that can be had when wanting to achieve a change, either at an aesthetic level or at a health level.
On the other hand, losing body fat means losing only water, glycogen (especially at the beginning) and body fat (which is lost throughout the process).
Carbohydrates and body fat loss
Carbohydrates are probably the most feared of the three macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates). carbohydrates in the diet improve performance in endurance and strength sportsas they are the preferred muscle energy substrate at moderate to high intensities.
What is the best carbohydrate we can consume to lose body fat
Knowing the importance of carbohydrates when it comes to losing body fat, we want to tell you that, without a doubt, the best carbohydrate for loss is the potato. Why?
The potato is a tuber that only it has only 88 calories per 100 grams of product. It is very nutrient dense. They are a rich source of Vitamin C, B6, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, niacin, folic acid and starch, which is the complex carbohydrate that it contains.
The potato has a lot of fiber too, which makes the gastric emptying is slower and, therefore, satiety is prolonged in time. On the other hand, their carbohydrates are complex, that is, they are not sugarsso the digestive system takes longer to digest the food.
The fact of having so few calories per 100 grams means that to reach an X amount of carbohydrates throughout the day, we have to include a lot of potatoes. And having larger volume of foodwe tend to have higher levels of satiety.
Finally, it is a very versatile food that can be cooked in many waysalthough I always recommend combining it with vegetable foods such as vegetables, legumes, etc., which are very healthy foods, which they have few calories and they provide us with many nutrients.
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