To overcome these cravings for carbs, the first thing to do is to understand a little bit about what carbohydrates are and how the body uses them.

Carbohydrates are found in just about every food we eat, even vegetables. While I’m sure by now you’ve heard of low carb diets and maybe even have tried a few of them, the bottom line is that carbohydrates alone are not your enemy when it comes to losing weight and dieting. A carrot has carbohydrates – is eating carrots going to make you fat? Of course not.

The problem is there are different kinds of carbs and that is where it starts getting confusing and where a lot of diets have problems.

Here are a few examples of different types of carbohydrates:

Complex Carbohydrates: These carbs are the best type for weight loss because they do not get released immediately into your blood stream. Your body takes longer to digest and process them, so when eating them you don’t release glucose as quickly which keeps your blood sugar levels in balance. Foods that fall into this category include whole grains, potatoes, and other starchy vegetables.

Simple Carbohydrates: These are the worst for your diet, as these foods get absorbed pretty much immediately and can cause your glucose levels to quickly rise which can great influence cravings and the other symptoms of sugar addiction.

Glycemic Index: Carbohydrates are also classified by whether they have a high glycemic or low glycemic index. Again, this is much like simple vs. complex – the higher rated foods will be absorbed faster and cause your insulin levels to rise, the lower rated ones do not cause that dramatic spike in your blood sugar levels.

Now that we have a basic understanding of carbs, the next step if you want to overcome those cravings for good and start losing weight is to learn about which carbs are okay to eat, how to eat them, and what to avoid.

Here are a few pointers:

1. Balance Carbs With Protein: You should always try and balance carbs with proteins when possible, as this will help reduce how quickly it goes into your blood stream and help keep glucose levels from shooting up that could cause you to crave them.

2. Skip the Sugar: Eating sugar will obviously have an impact on your blood sugar levels. For some the effect might not be dramatic, but many people can have huge mood swings or feel extreme changes in energy levels such as feeling very tired when they eat too much sugar.

3. Eat Unrefined Carbohydrates: When foods such as grains are refined it can turn them from complex carbohydrates into simple ones. This is why when dieting it is very important to eat whole grains primarily – whole grain pasta, whole grain bread, whole grain rice. These ones do not impact your glycemic index as quickly as refined grains found in food such as white bread and regular pasta.

4. Learn the Best Ones to Eat: Learning the best carbs to eat when balancing with protein during meals will greatly help you in losing weight. Here’s a short list of which ones will help you fight cravings and lose weight: All Whole Vegetables, Whole grain bread, whole grain cereal, whole grain rice, whole fruits, seeds, beans, nuts, and legumes.

Once you start eating right, you’ll notice that your cravings lessen within just a few days to a week for some. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but getting a head start on eating right can greatly help with overcoming carbohydrate cravings.

Another thing that is interesting to consider is that your cravings for carbohydrates could be a signal that you are actually intolerant of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barely, and rye. While speaking to your doctor and testing is the only way to know for sure if you are sensitive to gluten, it is something to look into and research further. Many people are shocked once they stop eating wheat in their diets how quickly pounds melt off – as well as other health benefits they may see.

Have any thoughts or questions? Share them in the comments below!