This was a question I got regarding my recent blog post on the 1 2 3’s of nutrition…

Q: I regularly follow your blog, so I am grateful for the good input and ideas I get from the blog.
But now you say that I cant eat pasta? When I do eat pasta it is wholegrain pasta, is this also bad?
And in what way is a bad, if you could elaborate on this?

A: Thanks for the feedback, I’m glad you like the blog. If you are going to eat pasta then whole grain is the best way to go but even then it is very easy to consume too many calories in one sitting. Because it is calorie dense and nutrient poor it also usually takes the place of better choices such as fruits and vegetables which are much more nutritious. The other problem is that people tend to eat it for dinner which is the wrong time to eat a bunch of carbs. If you are going to eat pasta the best time is in the first half of the day, like an early lunch, and in the hour after training.

If you are happy with your current body composition levels then fine, but most people tend to carry a little extra around the middle and processed carbs are usually the number one thing keeping them from getting leaner. When I give advice it is usually from a general perspective and everything can be evaluated on a case by case basis.

BTW, you also need to check the fiber content on “whole grain” pasta. If it does not contain 3-5 grams per serving then it is not what you are looking for despite what the label says.

Hope this helps…