Im back

We were out of town this past weekend in AR for my Grandmothers birthday...

I did NOT do well on the trip. The first day (up until dinner) I was really watching my calories like I had planned and had been doing all weekend... and at dinner my aunt ordered pizza and salads and it was all down hill. So, I took the weekend EASY but off of my diet. I did gain some weight back and did NOT feel 100% when I was eating junk but overall it gave me perspective on what NOT to eat and how much better I feel when I eat good!

****
Since I do NOT just want this post to be about me telling on myself I decided to add an article my friend sent me about carbs...

Day #3

Day 3 on calorie counting and eating healthy!
The good thing about doing this FOOD lifestyle change is that I can really eat anything I want just in small amount and keeping it within my calorie budget!
Yesterday I went to Chick-Fil-A and ate what I would normally... the grilled sandwich with NO butter on the bun and small fry... the small fry only has 280 calories (not too shabby) Of course they are NOT super healthy but I got to eat what I wanted and still ate within my goal!
I have lost 9lbs since I started... thats GRRREAT!

Here are some AWESOME recipes I have blogged about in the past!
They are FAST, Healthy and YUMMMMY!
click here

New Carbs Article

The Truth About Carbohydrates

Not all Carbs are Created Equal

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

It’s true. A carbohydrate-rich diet can inflate appetite and girth. Low-carb diets do promote short-term weight loss, but are accompanied by some severe dangers. So what should you do? The truth is, you can have your carbs and eat them too—you just have to know how to choose them.

The Truth about Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates are the body's ideal fuel for most functions. They supply the body with the energy needed for the muscles, brain and central nervous system. In fact, the human brain depends exclusively on carbohydrates for its energy.
• Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy products, foods made from grain products, and sweeteners such as sugar, honey, molasses, and corn syrup.
• The body converts digestible (non-fiber) carbohydrates into glucose, which our cells use as fuel. Some carbs (simple) break down quickly into glucose while others (complex) are slowly broken down and enter the bloodstream more gradually.
• During digestion, all carbohydrates are broken down into glucose before they can enter the bloodstream where insulin helps the glucose enter the body’s cells. Some glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for future use, like fueling a workout. If there is extra glucose, the body will store it as fat.

All carbohydrates are not created equal.
There are basically three types of carbohydrates:

1. Simple carbohydrates are composed of 1 or 2 sugar units that are broken down and digested quickly.
   
   Recent research has shown that certain simple carbohydrate foods can cause extreme surges in blood sugar levels, which also increases insulin release. This can elevate appetite and the risk of excess fat storage.
   
   
2. Complex carbohydrates (also referred to as starch) are made up of many sugar units and are found in both natural (brown rice) and refined (white bread) form. They are structurally more complex and take longer to be broken down and digested.
   
   Complex carbohydrate foods have been shown to enter the blood stream gradually and trigger only a moderate rise in insulin levels, which stabilizes appetite and results in fewer carbohydrates that are stored as fat. Unrefined or ‘whole grain’ carbohydrates found in products like brown rice, whole wheat pasta and bran cereals are digested slowly. They contain vitamins, minerals and fiber which promote health. Fiber and nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits and beans which are carbohydrates also have many important functions for the body and are important for good health.
   
   
3. Indigestible carbohydrates are also called fiber. The body is unable to breakdown fiber into small enough units for absorption. It is therefore not an energy source for the body but does promote health in many other ways.

Simple carbs, complex carbs, and fiber are found in many foods. Some provide important nutrients that promote health while others simply provide calories that promote girth.

• Sugar, syrup, candy, honey, jams, jelly, molasses, and soft drinks contain simple carbohydrates and little if any nutrients.
• Fruits contain primarily simple carbohydrate but also valuable vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
• Vegetables contain varying amounts of simple and complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
• Legumes such as beans, peas, lentils and soybeans contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein.
• Milk products contain simple carbohydrates along with protein, calcium and other nutrients.
• Grain products contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. The amounts vary depending on the type of grain used and the amount of processing. Selecting whole grain options whenever possible is recommended.

What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance.

The Body’s Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate Diets
When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions:

• With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance.
• When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy.
• Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration.
• Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result.
• Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine.

The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets
When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects:

• The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet.
• Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout.
• Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets.
• Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis.
• The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss.

The Million Dollar Question
How do you include carbohydrates in you diet in a safe, effective, and controlled way? The “Please KISS Me” (Please Keep It So Simple for Me) plan for carbohydrate control is a wonderful tool that only contains 3 simple rules:

RULE 1: Include the following in your diet:

• Fruits: 2-4 servings daily
• Vegetables: 3-5 servings daily
• Whole grain breads, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal, and brown rice: 6-11 servings daily
• Legumes, beans and peas: 1-2 servings daily
• Low-fat and non-fat dairy products: 3 servings daily

RULE 2: Limit the following to less than 2 servings daily:

• Fruit Juice
• Refined and processed white flour products (bread, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal)
• White rice
• French fries
• Fried vegetables

RULE 3: Eliminate the following from your diet or eat only on occasion:

• Sugary desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, candies
• Doughnuts and pastries
• Chips, cola and carbonated beverages
• Sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly, molasses

That’s it! A simple, effective carbohydrate-controlling plan that, when combined with your SparkDiet, allows you to reap the countless benefits of complex carbohydrates and fiber while enhancing your health and maintaining a healthy weight. The long term result will be a healthy you!

My new info

I went to the nutritionist the morning and learned a ton of awesome things....
First of all I have never been to anyone that has the knowledge of the correct ways to eat, so this man was incredibly interesting to me!
We went over my health and blood issues and then he pulled out a list of papers and explained a ton of things to me... He taught me the "right" way to read labels for the amount of fat... taught me all about dietary fibers, the unhealthy, neutral and healthy proteins, and all about GOOD fats!

I am going to share a bit of what I learned with you guys!

How to read a label... to find out if there is too much fat in the item you are eating.

It is called the Fat Test and this is what you do:

Total Fat... on the label it is the first thing under the calories.
this label has 2g of Fat /serving

Multiply that number by 30
this answer =60

The answer you get (60) should be equal to or less than the calories...
This item has 110 calories so we can for sure eat this product! because 60 is less than 110... make sense? If oyu want to know more about this... email me!

Dietary Fibers:

Soluble Fibers are the best ones for me and my issues! They help normalize your blood and lwer cholesterol.

They include : apples, apricots, black & blu berries, kiwi, nectarines, oranges, pears, raspberries, strawberries, oat bran, oatmeal, all bran, dried apricots, prunes, figs, beans or peas, brown rice, winter squash and yams. then these are 4 veggies that have low calories and some fiber: brocoli, carrots, spinach and brussel sprouts.

Here is a link to read about Fibers... Fiber 101 Soluble & Insoluble


Proteins:

He taught me that meat should not be considered "good" and "bad" that it really needs to be placed in 3 categories... dangerous, neutral and healthy.

~Dangerous proteins include: Filet's, high fat cut meats, and all fried items
~Neutral proteins include: chicken, turkey, pork, lean ground beef, (all without skin)
~Healthy proteins include: fish, shell fish, all nutt butters, and soy products.

He focused a ton on fish products...
Fish is high in omega 3 fatty acids and are awesome for a well balanced diet!

There is though a risk of getting to much mercury when eating a lot of fish so he did give me a list :
Let me share it with you!

Best choices for fish:
anchovies, mackerels (excet King), oysters (fully cooked), Salmon (farmed or wild), sardines, striped bass (farmed), sturgeon (farmed), shrimp, trout (rainbow, farmed) tuna (canned, light, yellow) and caviar.

Fish to eat 1 time a week:
herring, mahi-mahi, tuna(canned, white), crab, lobster(rock, spiny), cod (Atlantic)

Fish to eat 1 time a month:
Halibut (pacific, atlantic), pollack, bluefish, sea bass (wild), tuna (steaks), lobster (maine, northern, american), grouper, marlin, orange roughy, snapper(red)

Fish to be avoided:
Mackerel (king), sharks, swordfish, titlefish, bluefin tuna

And this is a list of alternative Omega 3 Fatty acid foods:
Egglands Best & Pilgram Pride eggs ( you can eat the yolk)
Milled Flax Seeds

Good Fats:

The good fats provide valuable vitamins and minerals!
here is a list:
almonds( 6), avocado (2 Tbsp), cashews (6 nuts) , flaxseed ( 2Tbsp milled), olives (8-10), peanuts (10 nuts), pumpkin seeds (1Tbsp), sesame seeds(1Tbsp), sunflower seeds (1Tbsp) and walnuts (4 halves)

Oils:
~Healhty Oils: Canola, Olive, Peanut, Anova

~Condiments: Smart Balance (do the fat test!)

~Oils to AVOID!
Anything starting with Palm..., coconut, cotton seed, and of course hydrogenated

~Neutral Oils: Soy, rapeseed, sunflower seed ect...


So My homework was to go through this list and clean out my cabinets of food that does not fit the fat test or apply to the other lists! Then shop to fill the cabinets back up with the good stuff!
I will see him again in 2 weeks to work on the amount of food intake!

I am so optimistic right now and excited to fix my blood :)

I hope this info helped some of you guys! Thanks for the support and love!
Please email if you want to know more or have any questions!
xoxox
Lindsay