Ok – so I understand that this weeks mini challenge may not be the most exciting, but it really is important to understand what types of foods we are consuming – especially for those of you who say… I’m really not eating that bad, and can’t understand why I’m not losing weight… Part of the issue may be portion control which we talked about last week, the second part may be the types of food being eaten….So this weeks mini challenge is to be aware of what types of foods you are putting in your body… below are just some of the basics….
Protein – should be eaten with every meal and snack – here is why, the body doesn’t like to let go of fat –if we don’t eat enough protein – the body will take it from our muscles. The goal while dieting is to lose fat not muscle – protein will help prevent muscle loss as well as stabilize our blood sugar and appetite….
Good proteins include – lean meats, poultry (chicken and turnkey avoid dark meat), fish, dairy product (choose low fat or skim), Eggs, Nuts and seeds.
Serving size: 3 – 4 oz – should look like a deck of cards or the size of the palm of your hands.
Carbs are not evil – but there are good and bad carbs. Simple carbs absorb quickly and spike the blood sugar, and your appetite. You want a carb that is complex and takes longer to go into the blood stream – this helps keep the blood sugar stay level, which helps keep the appetite in check.
So how can you tell – well good carb are between 0 and 50 on the Glycemic Index and the not so good ones are between 51 and 100. www.glycemicindex.com or www.diabetesnet.com These charts will show the Glycemic index of food.
Starchy – Serving size: should be about the size of a closed fist, which is about ½ cup of rice, ½ of whole wheat bagel, one orange or a handful of grapes.
Non-starchy serving size: Vegetables steamed or Raw can be consumed in nearly unlimited amounts – load up on these.
Fiber– fibrous foods help to keep you full longer on less calories – some great sources of fibrous foods: whole wheat or unprocessed grain, carrots, celery, green or kidney beans, brown rice, raw or dried fruits, oat or wheat bran, whole oats or oatmeal. So again with fibrous foods – you can eat more, stay fuller longer and consume less calories – this one is definitely a win-win in my book!
Alcohol – the truth about alcohol it is absorbed directly into the blood from the stomach and the small intestine. The liver is responsible for metabolizing this alcohol, but is also responsible for metabolizing fat. When you drink the liver stops processing fat to deal with alcohol, which is seen as a toxin to the body. Now whatever you have eating is more likely to be stored as fat. Some suggestions to help:
- Drink 1 glass of water per drink helps to metabolize it
- Space them out – it takes the liver 1 hour to process 1 oz of alcohol
- Consider it a carb – if you’re going to drink, cut back or eliminate the carbs with your meal.
Fats – good fats – are essential fatty acids – like flax, hemp, salmon, mackerel, avocado, unrefined olive or canola oil, walnuts and Brazilian nuts.
Saturated vs unsaturated – saturated are solid at room temp and are fats from animal products. Unsaturated fat stay liquid and are primarily from plant and fish.
Trans-fats are the worst – This is unsaturated fat from vegetable oil that has been made saturated fat in the lab, which is called hydrogenation and increases the shelf life of products – things like donuts, chips, imitation cheese, cookies, crackers, deep fried food…
Fat serving size: Fats should be eaten sparingly – a tablespoon of oil, a quarter avocados, or a pat of butter.
If you can, try to look at food as fuel for your body – we need it just like we need the air to live – If we don’t eat enough our systems can shut down and we can die – if we eat too much, we risk developing heart disease – which is the leading cause of death in morbidly obese people…. The goal is to find balance, to be healthy, to be aware of what types of food we are putting in our body and the effect those foods have on our body.
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