SLOW CARBS BURN FAT FAST

Discovered: Top doctors share exactly how to enjoy your favorite carbs without consequences—and lose belly fat and inches in the process

- LISA MAXBAUER

WHO KNEW?

74% OF STORE- BOUGHT PACKAGED CARBS CONTAIN ADDED SUGAR

-UCSF

If you're looking for permission to enjoy more comfort carbs, we have deliciously good news. Choosing the right type of carbohydrates can help you lose more weight than ever before—even more than on a carb-deprivation diet.

The science suggests that women may need more carbohydrates than men on our weight-loss journeys. Indeed, Swiss research published in the journal Osteoporosis International in 2017 shows that women’s bodies are more likely to become overly acidic and suffer from inflammation—making us hold on to weight—when eating a strict low-carbohydrate diet.

But the quality of the carbs we eat matters. In fact, in a 2023 Italian study published in Clinical Nutrition, women with metabolic syndrome spiked their blood sugar 23% more in just one day and 37% more over 12 weeks when eating simple carbs like pasta and flatbread than when eating an equal amount of complex carbs like couscous and potatoes.

“I have found over the past 25 years of seeing patients for weight loss that most women do prefer more carbs than men, suggesting there are hormonal processes involved in metabolism,” says internist and physician nutrition specialist Melina Jampolis, M.D., host of the podcast Practically Healthy by Dr. Melina.

Which hormones are at play? It goes beyond the usual culprits of leptin (the stay-slim hormone) and ghrelin (the stay-hungry hormone). JAMA Network research finds that going ultra-low carb boosts women’s primary stress hormone cortisol. Strict diets can also deplete our happiness hormone, serotonin.