People who are overweight are more desperate than ever to find a diet that will help them shed the pounds. The good news is that they have plenty of options available. However, one diet you do not want to try is one that encourages you to completely remove carbohydrates from your diet. This diet won’t work, and it isn’t healthy. Any successful diet will include a variety of healthy foods from all of the food groups. You can’t just not eat anything at all from a food group.

Carbohydrates are some of the most commonly found nutrients in the foods we eat. The carbs in our food consist of sugars, which the body uses to create energy. When the body doesn’t need any more energy, it stores the carbs as fat. Dairy products and plain sugar have what are called simple carbs in them while foods like pasta, potatoes, cereals and bread contain complex carbs. If your goal is to lose weight, substitute simple carbs for complex carbs.

When your body doesn’t enough carbohydrates, it burns protein and fat for energy instead. When there is no more protein, your body starts consuming your muscles. Your body is forced to consume itself in order to survive so this is not a healthy situation. Your body and your brain need the energy produced by carbohydrates in order to function properly.

To help people choose good foods for weight loss, health practitioners created the glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index helps people determine the carbohydrate content in foods. So if you’re dieting, you’ll need to eat foods with a GI below 50 because anything above that will be stored in your body as fat.

When you are on a low GI diet, your body regulates your insulin better. When your insulin is regulated, you don’t have the cravings you often have when dieting. Exercise is important because it uses more energy, which burns fat. If you combine a diet of low GI foods and regular exercise, you can succeed at weight loss and stay healthy.

Stick to foods with simple carbs, not complex, like fresh produce. If you eat bread or other grains, eat go with the whole wheat variety. Add some nuts and legumes to your diet for even more weight loss success. If you have to have potatoes, try sweet potatoes because they have a GI that’s a lot lower than regular potatoes.

If you want to lose weight, the solution is not to get rid of carbohydrates altogether in your diet. Instead, use the glycemic index as your guide and exercise regularly. The key to successful weight loss is exercising and eating right.