MMMMACRONUTRIENTS! - PART 3 (CARBOHYDRATES)

NOM NOM FREAKING NOM! When we think of carbs, we think of delicious indulgences like cake, chips, cookies, waffles, toast, candy, crackers… It’s no wonder we love to eat carbs! A low carb diet? Kill me, right? That’s so hard when I’m over here drooling over French toast!

In the most recent of times, carbs have been given a bad reputation out there on the streets- they lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, they make you feel bloated, fluffy… The list goes on.

But I’m here to tell you that carbs are important! They are especially important for functional fitness athletes and those individuals looking to increase their lean muscle. Carbs can be your friend! And just like friends, it’s important to choose the quality of your carbs… Choosing good friends and carbs are both important :)

So why are carbs important?

Carbs mean energy! Carbs are the main source of energy for our bodies, not just for our gym activities, but also for our internal bodily functions! Carbs are needed for our nervous system, our kidneys, our brain, our muscles…everything! CARBS ARE GOOD!

But why are some diets high in carbs vs low in carbs? Well, here’s what I know:

• For fat loss: Your carb allotment will typically be lower than the rest of your macros. Why? Weight change boils down to one simple concept: If you can burn more calories than you consume, this will result in weight loss. If you burn less calories than you consume, this will result in weight gain. But why carbs? Why not protein? Remember the blog entry “Mmmmacronutrients – Part 2 (Protein)“? In there, I discussed that proteins are the building blocks for tissue and require energy to be built. In other words, protein synthesis (the act of putting the protein “building blocks” together to make something, like muscle) burns calories. The presence of the protein that we eat coupled with a good exercise program stimulates the body to work/burn calories and helps us lose body fat. In a lower carb diet, the body doesn’t readily have the energy it’s used to using to build proteins, so it goes to other macros for energy: FAT (and some protein too, but for now, just think fat).
  • Why can’t you eliminate carbs completely from a diet for weight loss? Remember that carbs = energy! If you are an athlete, lead an active lifestyle, or anything of that nature, carbs are even MORE important because we need an energy source for our proteins to be built! If I had a pile of bricks that I wanted to turn into a house, but I had no construction workers to help put the bricks together, my pile of bricks would just sit there. Eventually, they would just collect dirt and I’d have to store them away because they weren’t getting used. BUT if I had an entire crew of construction workers, the bricks would be lined, walls would be built, and I would eventually have my house! Well the same goes for proteins and carbs. If we consume proteins but no carbs, our body would not be able to build! The protein would just sit there and eventually they would be stored…. AS FAT.
• But what about for muscle gain? Your carb allotment will typically be more than the rest of your macros. Why? Well, taking the flip side of what we discussed about proteins and how they need carbs to be built, we need to fuel our protein synthesis like crazy when we are looking to bulk/gain. Plus, more calories IN than out, mean an increase in weight.

Not all carbs, however, are the same! I mean, YES, this is Flexible Dieting which means “if it fits then you can eat it”, BUT if you’re REALLY looking to lose fat or be healthy in general, you better brush up on what your “good” carbs are! Here are some of my favorite carb choices- some are better for you than others, and I’ll go into why…

• SWEET POTATO – Zero fat, packed with fiber, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C, the sweet potato presents as one of the best choices for carbs. It’s a fave of mine and a huge bag at Costco is only around $6. They keep for a very long time if you take a hiatus from them so it’s always worth the money.
• BROCCOLI – Zero fat and packed with the same stuff as sweet potato, the only down side is that you have to eat quite a bit of broccoli to reach any sufficient amount of carbohydrate. This can get tough- and if your digestive track isn’t used to broccoli…. well, let’s just say it’s one of the gassiest foods on the market.
• DRIED FRUIT – Also packed with fiber, fruits are Mother Nature’s candy. Watch out, though, they contain a lot of sugar, which you don’t want a whole lot of. I like to eat the dried mangos.
• OATMEAL – A super easy way to get your carbs in with not a lot of volume. Low in fat, high in iron.
• WAFFLES – I personally am in love with Eggo’s lately. The small squares that hold my sugar free syrup are perfect for storing all the flavor… A box of 72 waffles at Costco is only $10!!! CARB IT UP! Obviously NOT the healthiest of choices, but they make for a delicious treat every now and then. I like to put some fat free ice cream on top of a waffle and drizzle honey on it all for dessert. YUM :)

Those are my favorites… what about you??

MMMMACRONUTRIENTS! - PART 2 (PROTEINS)

Proteins can be one of the hardest macronutrients to meet when starting a flexible diet. In a world where carbs and fats are easily accessible, convenient, inexpensive, and delicious… well OF COURSE meeting protein numbers is going to be hard!

So why are proteins so important?

• They help with enzyme and hormone production (among other bodily chemicals)
• They are the building blocks of bone, cartilage, and tissue (like muscle!)

For athletes, getting enough protein is HUGE in recovering from your daily training schedules- they are, after all, the building blocks for our muscles. The typical and general explanation can be understood as this: During a workout/training session, your body utilizes muscle and breaks it down. In order for your body to be just as strong or even stronger by your next training session and in the future, you need to re-build this muscle tissue. Well you can’t rebuild if you don’t have your building materials (PROTEIN)!

For others on a flexible diet, maybe your goal is to lose fat, lose weight, lean out, etc… well protein is just as important for this process as it is in your recovery after the gym!! For weight loss, your body needs to burn energy/burn calories/workworkwork! What better way to make your body work than by giving it a job to do: BUILD! Think of protein as a bunch of bricks that need to be a house- as you build this wall, brick by brick, you’re using up energy- BURNING CALORIES. By consuming protein, your body is now saying, “I need to do something with this… let’s get to work.” Typically (and against common belief), in a weight loss plan, your protein numbers are actually going to be higher than a weight gain plan. I’ll be going into this reasoning in the blog entry Mmmmacronutrients – Carbohydrates (Part 3).

Here are some good proteins to add into your diet:

• Meat – This is a pretty obvious one if you were born in this millennia. Meat is a main source of protein for many of us and if we are looking to build muscle or maintain our lean muscle mass, it only makes sense to eat muscle tissue! When incorporating meat into your diet, it’s important to remember that animal protein can contain a good deal of fat. Just be sure to count the fat too! Some of my favorite meats:
  • Beef – can be high in fat dependent on the cut.
  • Salmon – fats from salmon are the good kind! This makes salmon a good source of healthy fats too!
  • Cod – nearly zero fat making it a good source of JUST protein when you need it.
  • Chicken Thigh – I think a lot of people think dark meat is “bad” and therefore lean more towards chicken breast or white meat. Chicken breast is really hard for me to enjoy and, really, the only reason it’s considered “healthy” is due to a low fat content. But that’s the beauty of flexible dieting: I can eat fat if it fits!
• Greek Yogurt – I like getting the non-fat plain greek yogurt which is 0 fat a few carbs and loads of protein. Doing this allows me to control for how much “other stuff” can be put into it. For example, instead of buying greek yogurt with fruit already in it, I can buy the plain greek yogurt and add my own. I can add fruit, I can add honey, OR if I want to limit my sugars/carbs, I actually put stevia into it for a 0 carb 0 calories sweetener.
• Cottage Cheese – Similar to greek yogurt for me in the sense that I eat it pretty much the same way.
• Peanut Butter – This becomes super handy when I need protein AND fat. Goes on anything or I can just eat a spoonful of it!
• Protein Powder – A SUPER easy way to meet your macros because you can literally pour out how much you need. I usually have 1-3 protein shakes per day, but if you’re looking to have less, then I suggest just having this in the house so you can top off your macro tank at the end of the day with whatever protein you have left to reach. My favorite protein powders: Pro7ein Synthesis, Forzo Pro Protein, and Xendurance Extreme Xecute… all 3 products I purchase atNutrishop South Valley.

Are you a vegetarian? Vegan? Here are some other options for protein sources!

BE CAREFUL- many foods advertise as having protein content but some foods only contain incomplete proteins. This can apply more for vegetarians or vegans, but regardless, you want to be sure you eat COMPLETE proteins! What are complete vs incomplete proteins?  Click the question to read an article about the difference, but I’ll be blogging about that in the future too :)

So what proteins work for you? Leave a comment and let other people know!

MMMMACRONUTRIENTS! - PART 1 (FATS)

The most common questions I get when people begin their new flexible diet are usually related to finding foods that contain their specific macro need.

“I need something that’s fatty/carby/proteiny…”

If you’re following a flexible diet, I’m sure you can heavily relate to this. Usually, this happens at the end of our day when, although we’ve carefully planned out our entire day’s worth of food, we are left with a few grams of this or a few grams of that. And if you’re new to the flexible dieting game, finding these foods can be hard!

Well fear not! The next few blog entries will be about my “go-to” foods with a little explanation why I think they’re so good. Sometimes, foods are good because they’re convenient, other times, they’re good because they’ve got awesome nutritional properties, and sometimes, they’re in between!

Check out the list below and if you have any “go-to” foods of your own, leave a comment so other people can give it a go!

FATS

If you are brand new not only to Flexible Dieting, but also to structured and healthy eating, you’ve probably been taught that fat is bad; that it leads to weight gain and a slew of other ailments like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc. While there is some truth to that, there is also truth in what has been deemed “good fats” that are actually good FOR you! Good fats help regulate our moods, they help fight fatigue, and can even help with weight loss! The key to fats in our diet isn’t to eliminate it, but to choose the right kind.

1. GHEE – If you have no clue what this is, that’s okay! I was recently introduced to it and as I read more and more about this stuff, I started realizing how amazing it is for you!! Ghee is clarified butter- basically, all of the water and milk is cooked out of the butter, leaving only the purest form of it! Good ghee is made from organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed cows.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: improved digestion, decreased inflammation, rich in Vitamins A, D, E, K, weight LOSS, decreased risk of heart disease…
   • WHERE TO GET IT: I bought my current jar of ghee at Whole Foods made by Purity Farms. Ghee won’t be sold in your standard grocery store unfortunately, but any whole foods or farmer’s market type place should have it. You can also order it online as well!
   • HOW TO EAT IT: You can use ghee in anything you’d use butter for! It has a high smoking point making it awesome to cook with, you can melt it on top of bread, you can can even eat it by itself (although I wouldn’t recommend it- I’ve tried). I usually put 2-3 teaspoons of it in my bulletproof coffee in the morning- DELISH.
2. GRASS FED BUTTER – Similar to ghee, this is regular butter made from grass-fed cows as well. It’s got many of the same health benefits as ghee, but it a little bit easier to spread (since it still contains the water and milk contents vs the clarified butter). This is a bit more affordable than ghee.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: Similar to ghee!
   • WHERE TO GET IT: Again, grass-fed butter won’t usually be found at your standard grocery store. You are sure to find it at stores described above such as Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and any farmer’s market. Some brands to look for (that I’ve tried): Kerrygold Irish Butter and Organic Valley.
   • HOW TO EAT IT: Just like ghee! Again, it’s easier to spread, so this may be a good one for bread, waffles, etc. Again, I wouldn’t recommend eating it on its own- but I’ve tried it…
3. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL – You know what this is and I’m sure you’ve cooked with it in the past at LEAST.
4. HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM – Yep, you read right… whipping cream. The stuff they put into the bottle with the little N2O charger attached to the handle to make whipped cream that goes on top of your Frappuccino. This stuff is SO good in coffee, so good on its own, and just….well… tasty.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: Unfortunately, this isn’t really the best form of fat, so take it in small quantities. I put it on this list because it’s often time convenient, cheap, and easy to add to so many things.
   • WHERE TO GET IT: You can get a half gallon at Costco. I don’t because I can’t possibly drink that much heavy whipping cream and stay within my macros before it spoils. You can easily find this at any grocery store in almost any size up to a quart. It’s cheap and easy to find making it a convenient fat.
   • HOW TO EAT IT: I’m sure you’ve got ideas…
5. AVOCADO – Unlike the other fats listed above that are ONLY fat, avocado has other macro properties, so you have to remember to add them in.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: SO high in fiber and filled with good fats!
   • WHERE TO GET IT: I hate that avos are so damn expensive. One time, I found them at the Ghetto Grocery Store (as my old roommate called it) for $0.50 each- AND THEY WERE GOOD STILL. Since then, my price standard for avos increased to a level where every time I see them at the grocery store for $1.99+, I rarely allow myself to buy them anymore. I’ve bought them at Costco, 6 for $6.99 a few times.
   • HOW TO EAT IT: By itself, with salted sunflower seeds, guacamole, with mayo (more fat!), with an egg cooked in it, on a salad… the list goes on.

This list is short, but just a few of my “go-to” fats. It’s important to remember that FATS CAN BE FRIENDS! Through flexible dieting, we learn to eat in moderation and through good choices, we can maintain a healthy lifestyle!!

What are your “go-to” fats? What works for you??