Eating a diet packed with the right kind of carbohydrate is the little-known secret to getting and staying slim for life.

By MyRecipes
Updated November 17, 2010
CarbLovers Starches

Include carbohydrates in your healthy eating plan to help shrink fat cells, boost fat burning, preserve muscle mass, curb cravings, control blood sugar, and keep you feeling full longer than other foods. A diet packed with the right kind of carbohydrate, especially the type known as Resistant Starch (RS), is the secret to getting and staying slim for life. Resistant Starch is a carbohydrate that resists digestions and is a natural appetite suppressant and metabolism booster. According to Health's The Carb Lovers Diet, here are 9 reasons you need carbs in your life:

1. Eating carbs makes you thin for life. A recent multicenter study of thousands of people found that the slimmest people also ate the most carbs. Researchers concluded that your odds of getting and staying slim are best when carbs comprise up to 64% of your total calorie intake.

2. Carbohydrates fill you up. Many carb-filled foods act as powerful appetite suppressants. These foods fill you up because they are digested more slowly than other types of food. They trigger a sensation of fullness in both your brain and belly keeping you satisfied longer.

3. Carbs curb your hunger. Carbs raise levels of satiety hormones that tell your brain you are full.

4. Carbs control blood sugar and help prevent diabetes. The right mix of carbs is the best way to control blood sugar and keep type 2 diabetes at bay.

5. Carbs speed up metabolism. When you eat carbs with Resistant Starch, it moves through your digestive system releasing fat-burning fatty acids that encourage fat burning, especially around your belly.

6. Carbs protect muscle while burning fat. The right carbs produce a fatty acid that helps you preserve muscle mass—and that stokes your metabolism, thus helping you lose weight faster.

7. Carbs blast belly fat. Carbs help you lose your belly fat faster than other foods, even when the same number of calories are consumed.

8. Carbs keep you satisfied. Carbs flip on the fullness triggers in your body by releasing fullness hormones in the intestines.

9. Carbs make you feel good—about you. "Dieters feel so empowered once they lose weight on carbs. For the first time, they are able to lose weight by eating in a balanced manner, without cutting out entre food groups," says Sari Greaves, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.