The Skinny On Carbs

I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed my newsletter.

One of my clients had a great question that I’d like to answer here. She expressed concern that the carbohydrates (carbs) in the last recipe, on the newsletter, seemed a bit “high”.

The first thing I would ask you to remember is that one meal, slightly “high” in carbs, is not an issue.  What’s of bigger importance is the total calorie intake of protein, carbs and fat over a 24hr period.

We’ve all watched the media bounce back and forth between low carb, high protein, fat-free, and an assortment of other inaccurate and short sited responses to losing weight and keeping it off. 

I personally don’t believe in the “one size fits all” type of philosophy when it comes to nutrition. I genuinely believe that each person is unique in their metabolism, fitness level, time they have to spend exercising, as well as how many calories they burn just doing their daily activities. That is why I take a body composition analysis on each of my clients, as well as find out what a “typical” week of exercise looks like for them, before I create a customized nutrition program.  That way I am sure that the nutrition program meets their individual needs and lifestyle.  And to be quite honest, if the “one size fits all” philosophy worked, we’d be seeing a better improvement in the overall health of our population.

With all of the said I can give you a general rule of thumb when it comes to creating your meals.  My reading is leading me to believe that perhaps portion control is really the key to losing weight and keeping it off (for those that do not want to measure their food).  What I mean by that is this: picture your plate, now divide it down the middle so that you now have two halves. Half of your plate should be full of fresh vegetables (preferably leafy green). Divide the second half into to two equal parts.  In one of those halves you would have a lean protein source (eggs, fish, lean meat, poultry), and the remaining space would be filled with carbs (starchy – brown rice, whole-grain breads, etc.).  Does that make sense?

Divided Plate Chart

The second general rule of thumb is this: if you tend to start your day “high” in carbs, be sure to taper your intake of starchy carbs throughout the day.  The thinking behind this is that you give your body the rest of the day to burn off the starches you’ve taken in during the early hours of the day.

Remember, one size fits all does not work.  Find out how your body works by getting a body composition analysis and that information along with your “typical” week of activity, should help put you right on target and ready for summer swimsuit season!

 As always, please let me know if this information was helpful.

Mid-Week Motivation: You Have Choices!

It's time for Mid-Week Motivation.

The holidays are just around the corner. Are you going to be out of control or in control and on track? You know it's all about the choices you make.  Whether it's the holidays, getting out of pain, or getting fit, it's all about the choosing the things that work for you and avoiding the things that don't work (or take you further from your goal).

Click the video below and see what I mean.

Need Some Flavor? 2 Easy Recipes to Keep You on Track

I can't say it enough.  If you're serious about making changes in your body there are 2 specific things you've got to do:

1.) Plan and if possible, prepare your meals ahead of time to make sure you stay on track with your nutrition, and

2.) You've got to get your daily exercise. And if you can't do it daily, start with 1 day a week and build to a minimum of 3 days per week.                                                                                                                                                         
That being said, I can't tell you how often I hear people complain about how hard it is to stay on track with food.  Now of course when questioned they readily admit that they are not sticking to any real food plan, they just kind of wing it all day.  And of course at the end of a few weeks they wonder why they don't see any changes in their body composition.

I know it's a worn out cliche, but if you don't plan for your success how do you think it will happen?

The 2 largest complaints I hear from people when it comes to sticking to a food plan, is that the food is tasteless and uninspiring, and they don't have time.  Well, here are two recipes below that are big on flavor and easy to prepare. They taste good and are darn good for you. Even better is that they don't take any longer to prepare than any other home cooked meal. 

As you know, this month is all about keeping it simple.  Here are two simple recipes to help you stay on track.

Salmon or Sole in Parchment on a bed of Greens & Julienne Root Vegetables
(Salmon_or_Sole_in_Parchment_on_a_bed_of_Greens.doc)

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Problem is most people eat a cold cereal or worse.  Well here's an option that tastes great, takes almost no time to make and is packed with nutrients.

Leafy Green Protein Shake (Leafy_Green_Protein_Shake.doc)

These are courtesy of Elizabeth Brown, MS, RD "The Kitchen Vixen"
eat2liv@earthlink.net

Thanks Elizabeth for keeping the daily grind full of nutrients and flavor.