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How many times have you heard to cut out all "white" carbs to lose weight: white pasta, white bread, white rice, and white potatoes? Many people assume that eating these carbs will translate to automatic weight gain. Turns out, you can eat plenty of carbs and still lose weight [3].
As fat-loss coach Carter Good explained in an Instagram post, you can totally eat white rice and white potatoes along with brown rice and sweet potatoes as part of your weight-loss plan. In fact, one cup of cooked white rice has fewer calories (205) than one cup of cooked brown rice (216), and 200 grams of cooked white potatoes have fewer calories (172) than 200 grams of cooked sweet potatoes (180).
Carter explains that this original thinking was due to the glycemic index, which rates foods based on how much they will spike your blood sugar. While the glycemic index was originally thought to help people lose weight, it's not comprehensive. For example, soda and chocolate have a lower glycemic index than some fruit, even though fruit is arguably much healthier.
"Instead, what ACTUALLY matters for losing and gaining weight is, you guessed it, the number of calories you're consuming [4] each day," he wrote in his caption.
Plus, each food has its own set of nutritional benefits: brown rice is higher in magnesium and potassium, but white rice has more calcium and folate. White potatoes also have more potassium, iron, and magnesium than sweet potatoes.
You can totally eat carbs and still lose fat [5]. Just be sure to measure out your portions and find enough room in your daily calorie budget for them. If you're calculating macros, make sure you are reaching for natural sources of carbs: fruit, potatoes, rice, whole grains, etc., rather than processed, refined carbs (pretzels, potato chips, sweets, etc.).