Love pasta, hate the calories? Try this!

I have my opinions about past.. I LOVE IT! I also Battle with it!
Here is a fabulous solution to help cure your carb fix!

Blog by Carrie Chesloff Rossenfeld, “Getting real about weight”.
Check out her web site!

http://gettingrealaboutweight.blogspot.com/

The Pasta Question

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know how I feel about starchy, refined carbs–limit, limit, limit! They really contain very little nutritional value for the calories consumed, and they can put weight on you faster than almost any other type of food. Yet I don’t believe in completely eliminating any food from your diet (except for trans fats, which I’ve explained before). So how do you incorporate pasta–a delicious starchy, refined carb–into your diet?

First of all, consider the type of pasta you’re eating. Is it made from 100% refined grains, 100% whole grains or some combination of the two? The more whole grains it contains, the great the fiber and nutrient content and the more healthful it is. This leaves room for a little more pasta indulgence. Second, how much pasta are you eating in a serving? A standard pasta serving is 1/2 cup and weighs in at around 200 calories, which is far, far less than what you’d typically serve yourself for an entree and way less than what a restaurant or takeout place would serve you. It’s very easy to consume large amounts of calories from pasta, particularly if it’s the main course of your meal–and also because it’s so yummy, right?

My solution is, on the infrequent occasions you eat 100% refined pasta, make it your side dish or “tasting” item rather than your main course. Sure, you can add veggies to it and a healthful sauce, but you’re still likely to consume more calories than you think and the type of nutrients your body will store rather than burn. Translation: fat storage! If you make pasta your side dish, you’ll be controlling your portion sizes more easily and leaving room for the stuff your body needs and that will help you shed pounds: lean protein, veggies, fruit, etc.

So be judicious about your pasta intake and you can treat yourself now and then so you won’t feel deprived. Pasta is one of life’s great pleasures, so enjoy–in moderation, of course.