They are our best source of energy. There are three categories and like good fats/bad fats there are bad, good and better carbs. The first category is monosaccharides which are simple sugars which are found in honey and fruits (good). The second is disaccharides which are found in table sugar (bad). The third and "better" is polysaccharides which are also known as "complex carbohydrates". These are the carbs found in whole grains, vegetables, nuts, fruits and legumes.
Ideally, we are better off eliminating disaccharides or table sugar and products made with table sugar and replacing with monosaccharides which are the simple sugars found in honey and fruits. That leaves polysaccharides or the "better" complex carbohydrates. Staying true to the ISSA 1-2-3 nutritional rule of thumb our diet program should be as much as 50 percent of caloric intake from carbs. That is, the "good" and "better" carbs.
Another measurement for carbs is the glycemic index. This is the measure of the degree to which blood sugar increases after the consumption of food. The lower the glycemic index the better. An example would be white bread with a glycemic index of 100 compared to mixed grain bread with a glycemic index of 28. Or, baked white potato at 85 glycemic index compared to a sweet potato at 54. These are the kinds of substitutions that equal baby steps which lead to weight loss.
To help summarize the many, many choices of carbohydrate food, here is a bullet point list to help identify the low-glycemic food items.
- Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
- Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
- Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
- Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
- Use Basmati or Doongara rice
- Enjoy pasta***, noodles, quinoa
- Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing
*** Too often pasta is the "main" dish. Enjoying a pasta "main" dish meal once a week is perfectly wonderful. More than that however, probably means you are getting more carbs that you need and less lean protein. Balance is the key.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Eat your fats!
We left off on Friday's post with an assumption that you probably need to increase your protein intake. If you're committed to increasing your protein to get more in line with the ISSA 1-2-3 nutritional rule of thumb you will probably need to include lean protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, include two snacks of a quality protein whether it's nuts, yogurt, or a good protein bar between meals.
Our bodies need fat and carbohydrates so we can't leave those out but we can choose healthy fat and carbs. Let's start with fat. Monounsaturated fats actually lower total cholesterol, and LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol.
In general monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - good. Saturated and trans fats - bad.
Here are good sources of fat that should be part of your daily diet. Try and keep the number of grams in line with the proportion of fat that you calculated as 1 part of your daily caloric expenditure. You may be surprised at how easy it is to modify your fat intake with small changes or substitutions and get results! If you've increased your protein you'll find reducing your fat intake easier because you will feel fuller and have less cravings.
Olive oil
Olives
Walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pistachios
Avocado
Salmon
Peanut Butter
Sunflower oil
Canola oil
Tips:
Replace mayonnaise and sour cream with greek yogurt
Replace salty, high fat snacks such as chips, etc with unsalted nuts
Avoid processed and packaged foods
Add olives, walnuts and avocado to salads to replace cream based dressings
It's good to have a cheat day each week. By that I mean anything goes because you know you're going to be back on track the next day.
Our bodies need fat and carbohydrates so we can't leave those out but we can choose healthy fat and carbs. Let's start with fat. Monounsaturated fats actually lower total cholesterol, and LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol.
In general monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - good. Saturated and trans fats - bad.
Here are good sources of fat that should be part of your daily diet. Try and keep the number of grams in line with the proportion of fat that you calculated as 1 part of your daily caloric expenditure. You may be surprised at how easy it is to modify your fat intake with small changes or substitutions and get results! If you've increased your protein you'll find reducing your fat intake easier because you will feel fuller and have less cravings.
Olive oil
Olives
Walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pistachios
Avocado
Salmon
Peanut Butter
Sunflower oil
Canola oil
Tips:
Replace mayonnaise and sour cream with greek yogurt
Replace salty, high fat snacks such as chips, etc with unsalted nuts
Avoid processed and packaged foods
Add olives, walnuts and avocado to salads to replace cream based dressings
It's good to have a cheat day each week. By that I mean anything goes because you know you're going to be back on track the next day.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Get your fat, protein and carbs right here!
A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. That's right, whether you get 2000 calories from carbs or 2000 calories from protein, a calorie is a calorie and too many gets stored as fat regardless of from whence it came. Managing the proportion of the types of calories we consume however, is the key to weight management.
Striking the right balance of protein, carbs and fat will have an immediate impact on your ability to manage your weight. Here's the deal. If you know (based on yesterday's post) you burn 2,073 calories a day, it make sense to limit your caloric intake to 2,073 a day to maintain your weight and less if your goal is to lose. Restricting calories to lose weight however is not always easy. But read on. . . .
I received my fitness certifications through the International Sports Science Association and they have a basic 1-2-3 rule of thumb when it comes to diet. It translates to 1 part of your daily caloric intake coming from fat; 2 parts from protein and 3 parts from carbs. It's easy to figure out the right proportion once you know your daily caloric expenditure. Using the example from yesterday's post of 2,073 daily caloric expenditure we can break it down as follows:
2,073 divided by 6 parts equals 345 (6 is used since we're calculating based on 6 total parts, i.e., 1 part fat + 2 part protein + 3 part carbs equals 6 total parts)
1 part fat would be 345 calories from fat or 38 grams of fat**
2 parts protein would be 690 (345 times 2) calories from protein or 172 grams of protein**
3 parts carbohydrates would be 1,035 (345 times 3) calories from carbs or 259 grams of carbs**
I find that most people realize once they've done the calculations that they are not getting enough protein but rather getting more fat and more carbs than desired. Increasing your protein will have an immediate impact on your appetite. Protein takes longer to digest so it stays in your system longer therefore keeping your blood sugar stable longer. It's the dips in blood sugar that create cravings for something that will move it up again. When that something is protein it stabilizes the blood sugar and reduces cravings.
However, as you can see from the calculations your body needs fats and carbs. I'm not advocating a high protein and no carb diet - at all! Carbs are actually the highest proportion with the ISSA 1-2-3 nutritional rule of thumb. There are good fats and good carbs however and on Monday we'll take a look at them.
** To convert calories to grams use this scale:
9 calories of fat equal 1 gram so divide calories from fat by 9 to convert calories to grams
4 calories of protein equal 1 gram - divide calories from protein by 4 to convert
4 calories of carbs equal 1 gram - divide calories from carbs by 4 to convert
It's Friday again!! Hope you had a great week!
Striking the right balance of protein, carbs and fat will have an immediate impact on your ability to manage your weight. Here's the deal. If you know (based on yesterday's post) you burn 2,073 calories a day, it make sense to limit your caloric intake to 2,073 a day to maintain your weight and less if your goal is to lose. Restricting calories to lose weight however is not always easy. But read on. . . .
I received my fitness certifications through the International Sports Science Association and they have a basic 1-2-3 rule of thumb when it comes to diet. It translates to 1 part of your daily caloric intake coming from fat; 2 parts from protein and 3 parts from carbs. It's easy to figure out the right proportion once you know your daily caloric expenditure. Using the example from yesterday's post of 2,073 daily caloric expenditure we can break it down as follows:
2,073 divided by 6 parts equals 345 (6 is used since we're calculating based on 6 total parts, i.e., 1 part fat + 2 part protein + 3 part carbs equals 6 total parts)
1 part fat would be 345 calories from fat or 38 grams of fat**
2 parts protein would be 690 (345 times 2) calories from protein or 172 grams of protein**
3 parts carbohydrates would be 1,035 (345 times 3) calories from carbs or 259 grams of carbs**
I find that most people realize once they've done the calculations that they are not getting enough protein but rather getting more fat and more carbs than desired. Increasing your protein will have an immediate impact on your appetite. Protein takes longer to digest so it stays in your system longer therefore keeping your blood sugar stable longer. It's the dips in blood sugar that create cravings for something that will move it up again. When that something is protein it stabilizes the blood sugar and reduces cravings.
However, as you can see from the calculations your body needs fats and carbs. I'm not advocating a high protein and no carb diet - at all! Carbs are actually the highest proportion with the ISSA 1-2-3 nutritional rule of thumb. There are good fats and good carbs however and on Monday we'll take a look at them.
** To convert calories to grams use this scale:
9 calories of fat equal 1 gram so divide calories from fat by 9 to convert calories to grams
4 calories of protein equal 1 gram - divide calories from protein by 4 to convert
4 calories of carbs equal 1 gram - divide calories from carbs by 4 to convert
It's Friday again!! Hope you had a great week!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Calories Consumed vs. Calories Burned
If your goal is to lose weight the only way to do that is to take in fewer calories than you are burning. So the question is how many calories are you burning? Here is an abbreviated calculation that will give you an idea of how many calories you burn daily. To compute you need to know your BMR which is your basal metabolic rate. BMR is the number of calories you would burn over 24 hours while just lying around. To determine that follow the three steps below:
1. Convert your bodyweight from pounds to kilograms by dividing your weight by 2.2
2. Multiply your bodyweight in kilograms by 24
3. Using an average lean factor of .95 multiply the number obtained from step 2 by .95
Example:
Step 1. 125 lbs. divided by 2.2 equals 56.82 kilograms
Step 2. 56.82 times 24 equals 1364
Step 3. 1364 times .95 equals 1296 BMR (or calories burned from lying around)
Now we'll multiply your BMR times your average daily activity level to get a final number of how many calories you are burning daily. To determine that choose one of the levels below. Once you determine your correct level, multiply it times the number from Step 3 above.
1.43 - Couch Potato Range: Some walking throughout the day but more sitting, studying, typing, teaching
1.60 - Fitness Buff Range: Walking, jogging, gardening, cycling, tennis, dancing,skiing or weight training 1 to 2 hours per day
1.90 - Athlete or Hard Daily Trainer Range: Heavy manual labor, activities such as football, soccer or body building 2 to 4 hours per day
Example for calculating your daily caloric expenditures if your activity level is 1.60 "Fitness Buff Range":
1.60 times 1296 (BMR from step 3 in above example) equals 2,073
So 2,073 is the number of calories burned daily based upon this example's (me) activity level. That means I can consume 2,073 calories and maintain my current weight. If I want to lose weight I need to consume less that 2,073 calories.
Now that you have that number, we'll use it in tomorrow's post to compute how you can adjust the proportions of your daily caloric intake of protein, carbs and fats. This will put you on the road to weight management.
1. Convert your bodyweight from pounds to kilograms by dividing your weight by 2.2
2. Multiply your bodyweight in kilograms by 24
3. Using an average lean factor of .95 multiply the number obtained from step 2 by .95
Example:
Step 1. 125 lbs. divided by 2.2 equals 56.82 kilograms
Step 2. 56.82 times 24 equals 1364
Step 3. 1364 times .95 equals 1296 BMR (or calories burned from lying around)
Now we'll multiply your BMR times your average daily activity level to get a final number of how many calories you are burning daily. To determine that choose one of the levels below. Once you determine your correct level, multiply it times the number from Step 3 above.
1.43 - Couch Potato Range: Some walking throughout the day but more sitting, studying, typing, teaching
1.60 - Fitness Buff Range: Walking, jogging, gardening, cycling, tennis, dancing,skiing or weight training 1 to 2 hours per day
1.90 - Athlete or Hard Daily Trainer Range: Heavy manual labor, activities such as football, soccer or body building 2 to 4 hours per day
Example for calculating your daily caloric expenditures if your activity level is 1.60 "Fitness Buff Range":
1.60 times 1296 (BMR from step 3 in above example) equals 2,073
So 2,073 is the number of calories burned daily based upon this example's (me) activity level. That means I can consume 2,073 calories and maintain my current weight. If I want to lose weight I need to consume less that 2,073 calories.
Now that you have that number, we'll use it in tomorrow's post to compute how you can adjust the proportions of your daily caloric intake of protein, carbs and fats. This will put you on the road to weight management.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Healing foods - they are your friends.
After posting about each of these powerful foods I began to realize how basic they all are. They are mostly foods that really aren't that unusual to find in your refrigerator - like onions, carrots, broccoli, spinach, kiwi and cherries. The unusual ones for me were guavas, dandelions, kale and watercress and then there are the special recipe items like cabbage and beans. But overall these foods are pretty easy to incorporate into your diet on a daily basis. And that's the key, keeping these powerful healing foods in your system so that you are bolstered each and every day from the onslaught of toxins that are in the air, water, food, food additives, chemicals in the environment and chemicals in the workplace. We know they're out there.
Incorporating these foods into your diet is to me another baby step to healthy living. For example, I roasted a couple of onions the other night for a side, there were wedges left so I stuck them in the fridge and a day later chopped them up and added to a salad. Don't usually put onions in my salads but that was easy enough. Instead of apples I bought a few kiwi. Carrots are back on the shopping list and in my salad. Beans, carrots and onions are nice to have in the house as a base for a good soup. Broccoli and spinach were already standards for me so no big deal there. Guavas, cabbage, kale, dandelions and watercress are the only items that will prove to be an experiment for me but HEY what's wrong with that??
So here they are again. Throw them in your cart and include them in your meals daily - you'll be healthier for it!
Beans
Watercress
Spinach
Onions
Carrots
Cabbage
Broccoli
Kale
Dandelion
Kiwi
Cherries
Guavas
Incorporating these foods into your diet is to me another baby step to healthy living. For example, I roasted a couple of onions the other night for a side, there were wedges left so I stuck them in the fridge and a day later chopped them up and added to a salad. Don't usually put onions in my salads but that was easy enough. Instead of apples I bought a few kiwi. Carrots are back on the shopping list and in my salad. Beans, carrots and onions are nice to have in the house as a base for a good soup. Broccoli and spinach were already standards for me so no big deal there. Guavas, cabbage, kale, dandelions and watercress are the only items that will prove to be an experiment for me but HEY what's wrong with that??
So here they are again. Throw them in your cart and include them in your meals daily - you'll be healthier for it!
Beans
Watercress
Spinach
Onions
Carrots
Cabbage
Broccoli
Kale
Dandelion
Kiwi
Cherries
Guavas
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Healing Foods - Dandelions
I'm talking about the ones that grow in your yard and you try to get rid of. This is another "who knew" for me. I don't recall seeing dandelions in the grocery store or farmer's market. I haven't looked mind you, but I will. Here are a few reasons why:
Among all foods it is one of the richest sources of vitamin A; among all green vegetables, it's one of the best sources of beta-carotene. It has 535% of the RDA of vitamin K, and 112% of the RDA for vitamin A. In addition to being a good source of vitamin C, calcium, iron, fiber and potassium.
It's been used for centuries to treat hepatitis, kidney and liver disorders such as kidney stones, jaundice and cirrhosis. As a natural diuretic, dandelion supports the entire digestive system and increases urine output, helping flush toxins and excess salt from the kidneys.
Availability could be a problem and the pungent flavor would probably make it one of those love it or hate it items. However, the recipe I found sounds so good with other ingredients that the pungent flavor of the dandelion might fit right in.
Roasted Baby Pears with Herbed Goat Cheese
Among all foods it is one of the richest sources of vitamin A; among all green vegetables, it's one of the best sources of beta-carotene. It has 535% of the RDA of vitamin K, and 112% of the RDA for vitamin A. In addition to being a good source of vitamin C, calcium, iron, fiber and potassium.
It's been used for centuries to treat hepatitis, kidney and liver disorders such as kidney stones, jaundice and cirrhosis. As a natural diuretic, dandelion supports the entire digestive system and increases urine output, helping flush toxins and excess salt from the kidneys.
Availability could be a problem and the pungent flavor would probably make it one of those love it or hate it items. However, the recipe I found sounds so good with other ingredients that the pungent flavor of the dandelion might fit right in.
Roasted Baby Pears with Herbed Goat Cheese
Monday, August 2, 2010
Healing Foods - Gotta have some Kale!
I've seen it in the market - long, deep green, kinda thick and wrinkly looking leaves. Pretty intimidating actually so I've stayed away from it. But not anymore. I gotta have me some kale and here's why:
Kale is in the same plant family as broccoli and cabbage, and, like its cruciferous cousins, it contains high levels of the cancer-fighting compound sulforaphane, which guards against prostate, gastric, skin (now you really have my attention kale), and breast cancers by boosting the body's detoxification enzymes and fighting free radicals in the body.
It has an astounding 1,328% of the RDA for vitamin K (builds strong bones and helps anchor calcium to the bone, protects the heart)
192% of the RDA for vitamin A (protects and moisturizes skin)
Extra rich in beta carotene
Great source for vitamin C, calcium and iron
In Chinese medicine kale is used to help ease lung congestion (including asthma)
Like so many of these healing foods it is recommended you eat them daily or "as much as you can."
Cooking helps tenderize the leaves so try adding to soups and stews or adding some to your protein shake to which you've added fruits. You'll never know it's there.
I found this 4 1/2 Star recipe for Kale Chips. It sounds easy enough and while the picture won't win any awards the reviews all say very tasty. I think it would be easier to work with larger pieces and probably wouldn't sacrifice texture or taste. I'm giving it a try but PLEASE share any tasty ways you have cooked or incorporated kale into your diet. Happy Monday!
Kale is in the same plant family as broccoli and cabbage, and, like its cruciferous cousins, it contains high levels of the cancer-fighting compound sulforaphane, which guards against prostate, gastric, skin (now you really have my attention kale), and breast cancers by boosting the body's detoxification enzymes and fighting free radicals in the body.
It has an astounding 1,328% of the RDA for vitamin K (builds strong bones and helps anchor calcium to the bone, protects the heart)
192% of the RDA for vitamin A (protects and moisturizes skin)
Extra rich in beta carotene
Great source for vitamin C, calcium and iron
In Chinese medicine kale is used to help ease lung congestion (including asthma)
Like so many of these healing foods it is recommended you eat them daily or "as much as you can."
Cooking helps tenderize the leaves so try adding to soups and stews or adding some to your protein shake to which you've added fruits. You'll never know it's there.
I found this 4 1/2 Star recipe for Kale Chips. It sounds easy enough and while the picture won't win any awards the reviews all say very tasty. I think it would be easier to work with larger pieces and probably wouldn't sacrifice texture or taste. I'm giving it a try but PLEASE share any tasty ways you have cooked or incorporated kale into your diet. Happy Monday!
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