Weight loss foods: rice cakes

Rice cakes often eaten by people who want to lose weight. But do they help?

Dieters believe rice cakes are low on calories. Funny enough, they seem to be ignorant of the fact that this “low-calorie” food is preventing them from losing weight fast.

These people make such poor food choices because almost always they think in terms of “calories”. They feel that in order to lose weight, all they need to do is to reduce their total calorie intake.

Now, calorie-wise speaking, rice cakes are of course low on calorie. But if you wish to burn fat fast, they are harmful for you. They are equally bad if you wish to strengthen and tone up your muscles.

You see, when you are on a diet, you will inevitably feel hungry because you are eating much less food than you are used to. As a matter of fact, when you are dieting, you are actually eating the RIGHT amount of food. However, since your body is used to your overeating habits, it has difficulty in adjusting itself to your new food habits.

Enter rice cakes.

Have you noticed that with every lump of rice cake you put in your mouth, you get hungrier and bite on another cake? It is not actually your fault; rather, the inherent fault of rice cakes. Even though rice cakes are low on calories, they don’t satisfy you. They are just like any other light snack; you won’t feel satiated until after you have consumed a whole sack of rice cakes. I don’t think I need to tell you that overeating results in weight gain.

Does this mean that you could never eat rice cakes? Ideally, if you are serious about weight loss, you should snack only on those foods which are rich in fiber content, as they would fill you up quickly. Keep in mind that the less food you eat, the faster you would lose weight. But if you are addicted to rice cakes, you would never be able to control your food intake.

The only time you could have rice cakes is when your body is in serious NEED of carbohydrates. Normally, your body uses carbohydrates to produce energy. Usually, after a long and intense workout session, your body loses its carbohydrate storage. This is when it needs carbs the most, and you could replenish your body by eating rice cakes.

Generally, try to avoid rice cakes as much as you can and if ever you want to have them, never eat them except after a hard day’s workout or strenuous activity.

Technorati Tags: weight loss foods, rice cakes, lose weight

Tagged as: Lose weight, rice cakes, weight loss foods