Are You Eating the Right Whole Grains?

This time of year, we’re all thinking get thin, get healthy, and whole grains fit right into these goals, right? It depends.

If you want to shed pounds, some whole grains are good for you. And some, well, you’ll probably need to limit them or you’ll take in way too many calories.

The right ones

The good-for-weight-loss whole grains are those, like brown rice, whole oats, unhulled barley, and buckwheat groats, that have not gone through the grinding, or processing, of their kernels into flour. These whole grains contain only about 500 calories per pound, which means you can eat them until comfortably full without being concerned that you’re going overboard on calories.

Not good for losing weight

The not-good-for-weight-loss grains are those, like whole-grain breads, whole-grain bagels, and whole-grain crackers and chips, in which the kernels have been ground into flour. When this processing happens, the product becomes very calorie dense. Whole-grain breads have a calorie density of around 1,200 to 1,500 calories per pound. Whole-grain, fat-free chips are 1,600 to 1750 calories per pound. That’s right, ounce for ounce, you’re getting about three times as many calories than if you were eating unground, unprocessed whole grains.

And, boy oh boy, do those ounces disappear quickly. Think about it. We can easily put away five slices of whole-wheat bread in one sitting. Five bowls of oatmeal? No chance.

“Dry” versus “wet”

Another way to think about it is “dry” versus “wet.” Highly processed, ground whole grains are all dry grains, which makes them more compact (and less filling). By contrast, unground grains like whole oats and brown rice are cooked in water (therefore wet), which adds bulk and a lot more stomach-filling satisfaction, but not more calories.

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