No bread, no problem, right? Does this sound familiar? "I want to lose weight, so I'll stop eating bread." Sounds simple enough, sign me up. Well let's explore this. Many people are under so many misnomers about bread. the low-carb craze is going strong —pasta is overrated and bread is on its way out. But we cannot lump all grains into the same category. The effects on the body are vastly different when cutting say refined grains from your diet compared to whole grains. Here's why. 

Once bread is out of the picture, the first thing you may notice is how quickly the weight falls of. But guess what? It's not fat you're losing, it's water weight. As carbs get stored in the body, each gram stores 3-4 times the weight in water. Carbs are the brain's main source of energy and once we cut down on carbs, the brain starts running on fumes, especially when glycogen stores decline. 

Then to make it even more appealing, once glycogen levels have depleted, your body breaks down fat and runs off little carbon fragments called ketones. Then you'll experience bad breath, dry mouth, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and brain fog. Refined carbs make blood sugar levels spike. Recent research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that this spike and then quickly coming back down again activates addiction centers in the brain that most likely will lead to subsequent cravings. Opting for fiber-rich

Carbohydrates are also known to be linked to an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. When carbs are consumed in excess, they are converted into fat by the body. People with excess carbs in their diet are more susceptible to disease. However, unlike saturated fat, carbs are vital to your health because they are the body’s main source of energy. They should never be removed from your diet - just chosen wisely.

The type of grains you eat makes a big difference here. Whole grains are a great source of iron, magnesium, and B vitamins, all of which are critical in maintaining energy levels. Whole grain is one of the sole providers of fiber intake and they also help stabilize blood sugar, reduce risk of obesity and chronic diseases.

Whole-grain intake is a major player in how much fiber you get, according to a recent Nutrition Research study that found that 92 percent of U.S. adults don’t get enough of the grains. Fiber, the indigestible part of plants, like grains, not only helps stabilize blood-sugar levels, reduce the risk of obesity, and chronic diseases, but keeps your bathroom habits regular, says Spano.

And not just because you’re eating all of your sandwiches as lettuce wraps. Carbs—whether they are whole or refined—increase the brain’s levels of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin, says Caspero. So when you cut healthy carbs like whole grains, your mental health goes right along with it.

“Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy for fueling all exercise, including both endurance and resistance training,” says Spano. “Cut carbs, and your energy will drop. Decrease your levels of your body’s stored carbohydrates, and your ability to produce force and power will decrease.” And the suckier your workouts, the suckier your results.