Tag Archive for 'carbs'

Here are some very common reasons we get off track with nutrtion. Check the list and take  note of  your  habits. Which ones do you need to work on or change?

1. Carryout/pre-prepared food- these foods are high in salt, fat and calories. It’s important to know what you’re eating. Before you head to a restaurant, check the nutrition content of some meals that appeal to you and know what you’re getting.

2. sleep deprived- having too little sleep raises the  level of cortisol in your bloodstream which is linked to abdominal fat storage.

3. Too little calories- when you consume too few calories, your body goes into starvation mode. Your metabolism slows and your body will also pump  out cortisol which, again, increases abdominal fat storage. A healthy range for most women is about 1500 calories. Where do your calories fall in line?

4. Trigger foods- we all have one or many foods that we can’t just eat a little bit of and be satisfied. Mine happens to be peanut M & M’s. There’s no way I can stop at one or a few! Identify your trigger food and keep it out of the house.  If it’s not there- you can’t eat it! I’m not saying never eat what you love…just have a plan to not keep it around all the time!

5. Unprepared for the week- plan, plan, plan! Use your down time on the weekend to shop for groceries/healthy snacks and chop, bag and store the food you will need for the week. Boil eggs for a quick snack, cut up veggies/fruit to snack on, put single servings of pretzels or whole grain crackers in a bag, etc.  We’re all busy, the more prep you do on Sunday, the easier time you’ll have eating healthy during the week. Remember- nobody is perfect….strive to eat well 90% of the time!

6. consuming too much sugar- too much sugar in the bloodstream spikes insulin level. Insulin moves the sugar out of your bloodstream and stores whatever isn’t used for energy as fat! Eating sweets at night is not a good idea b/c you are much less active and less likely to burn it off. But, don’t stop eating fruit…it contains fructose which is processed a little differently in the body.  I recommend using a natural sugar called Truvia or PureVia. It does not cause an insulin spike and is zero calories. It’s not an artificial sweetner and does not contain any chemicals. Check your lables…if HFCS or sugar is in  the top 5, avoid it when possible!

7. Too many carbs- well….the wrong carbs anyway. Carbs are good for you-your body needs them for energy. Eliminate white products from  your diet and replace them with whole grain and  whole wheat. Eliminating carbs entirely will just make you crave them more- aim to eat protein with every meal and get all or most of your carbs from whole foods (fruit, vegetables and whole grains)

Try writing your meals and snacks down for three or four days- take a look at what you eat and get a ballpark of how many calories your eating and where those calories are coming from. It’s a great way to see if you are on the right track and see if you’re eating enough fruit/veg/protein/dairy.  You can’t change what you don’t know- take the challenge and start logging your food! I’d be happy to take a look at it and offer suggestions if necessary.