" Why Starchy Carbohydrates " May Not Be As Good For You As You Think

As I work with more bodybuilders from around the world, I’m beginning to realize the biggest problem for most of us (even the most disciplined among us) is over eating starchy or grainy carbohydrates. I think the biggest problem with starchy, complex carbohydrates is that they are very easy to overeat. It doesn’t take very much rice or pasta to add up to a lot of calories.

When you’re on a strict bodybuilding diet, starchy carbohydrates are a godsend!
They taste awesome! They give you that warm feeling throughout your body. They calm you and relax you. They get you out of that funky, bad mood you’re sometimes in when your dieting. You don’t get very much food in a single serving of starchy carbohydrates— especially for the amount of calories that one serving contains. One serving of white rice contains about 150 calories and about 35 grams of carbohydrates. One serving of rice adds up to a puny ¾ of a cup—and that’s after it’s cooked! That’s not very much food.
How often do you stop after eating only ¾ of a cup of cooked white rice when you are hungry, really? Come on! Be honest. “Whoops, I guess I put a little too much in that measuring cup. Oh well.” I know how it goes—I’ve been there too! The difference between one serving and 1½ is 300 calories and 70 grams of carbohydrates over the course of one day (I have four servings a day). That’s a significant difference. I think the reason why a lot of bodybuilders who eat “clean” but can’t get lean as quickly as they want or even stay fat is because they’re unaware of overeating starchy carbohydrates.
I tend to lose body fat more quickly when I avoid starchy carbohydrates altogether. I believe the reason why is because I ingest fewer calories by replacing them with vegetables, or fibrous carbohydrates. You can eat an entire 16-ounce bag of broccoli has only 175 calories and 20 grams of carbohydrates. I don’t know about you, but I’m never tempted to eat extra broccoli!
I used to believe avoiding carbohydrates like rice, potatoes, oatmeal, and pasta and substituting them for vegetables was better for fat loss because I thought different types carbohydrates were digested a lot differently. I now feel that it’s all a matter of calories burned versus calories ingested. That’s how you effectively lose body fat. It doesn’t matter which kind of carbohydrates you eat.
You should get your hands on a calorie-conversion book and look up just exactly what is considered a serving of your favorite carbohydrate, and more importantly, exactly how many calories that serving contains. In many cases, you’ll be surprised just how small the serving is and how large the number of calories it contains. When dieting strictly, what type of foods do you crave the most and find the most satisfying? If you are like me—it’s definitely complex carbohydrates!