Cut Out Carbs, Lose Weight and Become Younger

I’ve just come back from a relaxing and rejuvenating trip to Goa, India where there’re stretches and stretches of long beautiful beaches, breathtaking sunrises and sunsets just minutes away from our resort at Morjim.

When we first got there, the locals thought that I was only 28! Can you imagine my glee…hehe (oh no it’s bubbling up again, haha!)

And then, when my husband and I were out celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary on a house boat cruising down the amazingly calm Chapora River another couple on board said that we looked too young to have been married for a decade!!

Ah… what bliss! *G-R-I-N-S*

Truth is, you can lose weight and reverse aging naturally when you cut out carbs. That’s because carbs and sugar cause “inflam-aging” = inflammation + accelerated aging – a term coined by health experts.

Along with cutting out all manners and forms of sugary drinks from your diet, cut out carbs also because,

CARBS = SUGAR

So simply put, carbs and sugar do nothing but add to your weight and waist. Worse still, carbs are converted to sugar and they AGE our bodies like nothing else! In fact, some studies have shown that carbs and sugar feed and grow cancer cells in our bodies.

Carbs here refer to stuff like (this list is by no means exhaustive):-

bread – white, brown, wholemeal, wholegrain, multi-grain, corn, puri, bagel, baguette, pita

rice – bryani, rice cakes, glutinous, jasmine, basmati, paella, risotto, sushi-rice

noodles – all kinds, including bee hoon/vermicelli, tang hoon, yellow/laksa noodles, mee pok, kuey teow, kuay chap, mee tai mak literally translated to mean mouse or rat tail (I think you get the idea! And it doesn’t matter if they’re fried, steamed, baked, broiled, grilled, whatever!)

prata and its equivalent – in all its forms of cos! Thosai (dosa), tissue, chapati, naan

pasta – linguine, spagetti, angel hair, penne, fusilli, fettuccini, macaroni, lasagne, farfelle

potatoes – unless they are purple or sweet potatoes!

cereals  – (yes, you heard me right) wholemeal, cornflakes, muesli, honey stars, fruit loops, granola, oatmeal squares, oats (unless it’s steel cut oatmeal)

popiah skin (doesn’t matter if they’re fried or steamed. Even though it’s very thin, it’s still carbs nonetheless)

soon kueh/peng kueh/orh kueh or yam cake/fried carrot cake (includes both black and white)

cakes – layered, nonya kueh kueh, coconut, gula melaka, cheese, coffee, carrot (carrots become carbs when cooked so I only eat them raw!)

biscuits – salted or cream crackers, jam sandwiches, vegetable-flavoured

pastries – financiers, madeleines, macaroons, macarons (and all of their fancy names)

waffles/crepes/hot cakes/pancakes

pretzels, crackers (including nachos and tacos), and chips

The list goes on and on so broadly carbs include anything and everything that’s made from flour! (Might also be useful to note especially since Chinese New Year is just around the corner!)

But I hear you, those are staples! And leaving out the carbs is counterintuitive to the typical Asian diet where we usually eat a lot of rice or noodles with meats and veg. So instead of total abstinence, would it help that we just ate less carbs? And if really carbs are not good for us, what do we eat? What about the famous food pyramid, and the suggested food combo of  proteins and carbs and all that jazz about balanced meals that we ought to have?

Answers to these questions and more in my upcoming post, winks!

Love,
Lynette Tan