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Did you know that you can lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight and still eat carbohydrates? And, did you know that carbohydrates should be 45-65% of your daily calorie intake?
Whereas protein should only be 10-20% of your daily calorie intake and fat should be around 20-35%. As you can see, your carbs are pretty important for a balanced diet.
But everybody says you should cut carbs to lose
weight, why is that?
Unfortunately, majority rules regardless of whether or not the tale is actually true, and carbohydrates are bad is a very commonly understood “fact”, that is in fact not a fact at all.
When I studied for my personal training certification, the above percentages of daily calorie intake were in my textbook, and all personal trainers that are certified should have learned the importance of a balanced diet of carbs, proteins and fats.
The problem is, it’s such a common-knowledge statement: “cut carbs to lose weight”, that even the educated tend to jump on the bandwagon of no carbs.
The reason everybody says carbohydrates are bad is because (without further digging and true knowledge on the subject) it is understood that carbs are low in fiber; carbohydrates are linked to a lot of health problems such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
This is partial truth. This statement is based on one side of the story. This side of the story is talking about a certain kind of carbohydrate.
There are two different kinds of carbs. There are complex carbs and simple carbs. It’s important to understand the difference between the two before you throw out carbs in an attempt to lose weight.
Throwing all carbohydrates into the rubbish bin is like saying drinking is bad, and throwing water, soda and alcoholic beverages all in the same category.
Water is very healthy and the others aren’t. See the difference? This comparison may seem weird, but this is how drastic of a difference there is between good and bad carbs.
It’s not the carbs that are putting the fluff over your body, covering your gorgeous figure, it is the kind of carbs you eat and drink.
So let me make it simple for you. These are the carbohydrates that make you fat:
Simple carbs are:
White (table) sugar
Corn syrup
Candy
Ice cream
Cake
All baked goods with white flour
Bread with white flour (you should eat a lot of 100% whole wheat/grain bread!)
Pasta made with white flour
(Most) packaged cereals
ALL sodas
etc.
These are the carbs that don’t make you fat, the ones you need for energy and the ones that should be 45-65% of your balanced diet. Daily!
Carbohydrates, at the chemical level, contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. And yes – they take the form of sugars, starches and cellulose (fiber).
Your body needs sugar for energy and brain function. Sugar is essential for your body to create energy to survive.
The catch is, it’s not necessary to include sugary foods (simple carbohydrates) or added sugars (again, simple carbohydrates) in the diet in order for your body to make energy. For our bodies to be healthy, we need to feed it healthy food, that includes healthy sugars. A diet with adequate complex carbohydrates (from whole grains and legumes – list above) as well as foods containing natural sugar (fruit) will fulfill this role.
In conclusion, all the fun sugary sweet things we like to eat and drink, are the bad carbs.
Potatoes, pasta, whole grain bread, fruits, brown rice, etc. are the good carbs and will not make you fat nor should you take them out of your diet. You need these for fiber and energy!
There are 21 of us in the family and we originally had big. Huge. Plans. For Thanksgiving. But things kind of just kept not getting planned beyond talk, and the summer came and went, school started, and fall started dropping leaves on my doorstep. Hello? Who said it was time for you to visit?
So . . . My boyfriend did what he does best, took control of the situation (in a very kind and thoughtful way), and canceled the entire family gathering event. Not that we don’t love each other, it just wasn’t really coming together.
Sometimes things just kinda go that way.
Now? Well, . . . My boyfriend, kids and I, are on the 3rd floor of our apartment complex. We’re friends with all of our neighbors. So between the four of us, apparently we’re all (ironically), not with extended family this year. So, we’re going to have Thanksgiving together in our breezeway!
Much more chill.
But there’s still stuff to plan, food to make, activities to come up with for the kids, etc.
And we’re not all vegan. Or vegetarian. No. Big. Deal.
I’m not a simplicitywizard, but I am in training for specialized wizardry of sorts, and I am going to show you how this Thanksgiving can get real chill and uncomplicated real quick.
8 WHY’S
Remember the why behind the 8 methods. When you remember why you are doing balance8life, it helps keep you focused and balanced. (It’s to center yourself in mind, body and soul, in case you forgot).
All of the 8 methods that I have been teaching you are a set up for success with things like the holidays.
Balance8life refresher:
Moderation
. . . it is a set up for self control in the dessert section, and the amount of food you load onto your plate. It’s not never eating sweets, it’s keeping it to one and enjoying that one, instead of a plate full or, none.
. . . as I’ve mentioned in other articles, can taste good and be healthy, too. There are so many tasty foods that I adore, that are actually good for you that won’t put on the weight!
. . . is a must around the holidays. When you’re already in a good routine, it is habit to go to bed and wake up at the same time, so why not just stick to the routine? If your routine has to change – just make sure you’re getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep. For your sanity!
. . . should be like eating. Something you just do daily! I get up at 5:00am every day – trust me, on Thanksgiving vacation, everybody is going to be sleeping in and ready for breakfast around 11, so go to the gym or exercise at 5:30am and you still have time to make breakfast before everybody gets up. Or whatever – hit the gym mid-afternoon while everybody else is napping, take the family, do something active together as a group. Just make it happen.
. . . is a little difficult to get when you’re inside cooking and cleaning, but one of our family traditions is to take a walk together after lunch. All you need is 10 minutes, so help the fam out and make it 30 – exercise and get fresh air and vitamin D/ sunshine all at once!
. . . doesn’t have to be traditional meditation with legs crossed isn absolute silence. This can even happen in the early morning while praying or focusing on a positive proverb or saying. It is just a time of quiet peace away from the chaos and doesn’t have to be more than 5 minutes, but can be as long as you want! It really brings the chaos into perspective.
. . . is a must when you’re taking care of feeding the troops or chasing after kids and grandkids. Keep a pretty pitcher on the bar or in an easy place, and make it easy for you as well as the family, to stay hydrated. Make it pretty and add lemons and apples or limes! It can look and taste amazing!
SHOW TIME
When you’re at the point where you know you’re about to reach the place where you stress the most, or freak out the most, and become less balanced, this is when it’s show time for balance8life in motion! This is when you get to show off everything you’ve been learning . . . Or, maybe everything you’re learning get’s to show off?
Read my article Balance8life In Motion for a reminder on how to actually live these 8 methods for balanced health in mind body and soul, on a day-to-day basis.
When the above 8 things are always present in your day, you just simply feel better and your stress level naturally decreases. The fresh air, sunshine and meditation are especially for stress, so don’t leave these seemingly insignificant methods out of your day, especially during the holidays!
WRITE STUFF
So to the actual holiday stuff!
I am a huge advocate of planning and writing things down. I don’t, however, do it much. But, a little “time out” with a pen and a piece of paper, planner, marker board, chalkboard, or the palm of your hand, works, too.
Write the crazy stuff down, all the way down to what color decor you want to re-do the entire house in before the family piles in. (I don’t mean that literally, but if it makes you feel better, do it). Seriously though, write down what first comes to mind, (activities, food, outfits, new candles, date and time of day, etc.). The main big stuff. Write it down. The complicated stuff. Write it down.
Then, get real. What is most important to you. Not your mom or your great aunt. You. Write that down.
EAT DIRT
The root of every plant is always covered in dirt. If the root of Thanksgiving is being thankful, then the thing closest to the root is what’s around it -the dirt. Obviously, I’m not literally saying “eat dirt for thanksgiving dinner”!
I’m saying, remember that it isn’t about the decor and the food. Strip away the fluff and get down to the “dirt” (the vibe) that bonds with the roots (thankfulness). If you start there (at the root) and work your way out, only include what you can actually handle without hyperventilating about re-painting the dining room, and make the holiday truly memorable.
MEET NO
No? Okay. Fine. Be that way. I’m just saying what everybody else says. No is a great word. I’m still learning how to pronounce it and define it and live with it. But I suggest you do the same. Chew on it a bit. It might taste a teensy bit bitter on the front end, but it’s smooth on the back end with a little zesty notes on the edges. It’s quite delicious, eventually.
Savor the meaning and action of the word, “no”.
HANDCUFF THE DOUGH
Lock down your budget and don’t let it go. Put cash in your wallet/purse and leave your credit cards behind. Go shopping with a detailed shopping list, and don’t deviate from it. And, if you do, deviate by way of eliminating even more than you set out to do. Keep it simple, keep it basic, keep it all about the ‘tood, not the food. Good vibes, thankfulness and smiles with some mashed taters and a basic salad is fine and dandy.
THREEZ A CHARM
Keep the menu simple? Maybe do three main dishes? Maybe not? But simplify the amount of food you make so that you can spend half your day cooking and the other half cleaning, instead of one day for each. Nobody is going in your closet (and if they are, they deserve the smell of dirty laundry).
INCOMPLETE CHAOS
And this is the end of this article. I am going to let you figure out how you want to complete (or leave incomplete) the chaos (or peace) of your holiday.
I’m all about balance, and sometimes balance means letting things go, even your feelings of guilt for not meeting the expectations of your family or even, possibly, your own self.
FINAL OKAY
Last, but not leastest . . . It’s okay to actually be okay with not doing things traditionally, or perfect. It’s okay to just let it go. (And go watch Frozen or something. . .)
If you have any cool ideas to add to the stew of great holiday balance ideas, I’m totally down to hear them! Hit me up on any of the social media platforms you enjoy the most. I’m on (almost) all of them. . . Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest ,Linkedin, and balance8life.
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Get healthy? What does that mean? How does a beginner even… go there?
I get it! Starting off on your health journey can be really hard when you don’t know where to start.
My article, Balance8life In Motion is a great example of how to incorporate all 8 methods of health into a single day without feeling overwhelmed.
But let’s just get started here with a few tips for beginners, because, if you’ve never in your life done anything particularly “healthy”, getting started is overwhelming!
ONE – YOUR MIND
Get into a healthy mindset. What does a healthy person think? Well, since everybody is different, I don’t know what everybody else thinks! But, I think self improvement, and self improvement means: learn, study, be open to change, set goals, ask questions, etc.
Ask yourself, “Is this a healthy choice?”
Even if you don’t know the answer, start by asking the question, then begin the learning process. You don’t have to go far, browse my blog for lots of great stuff for healthy thoughts, healthy food, exercise, how to get good sleep, how to set goals, etc.!
Meditation isn’t something everybody is comfortable with. If you are comfortable with the idea, take some time to search “meditation for beginners” on Pinterest or Google, and begin to train your mind to be calm.
TWO – YOUR DRINK
Replace sodas and all other drinks with water, and try to get 8 cups of water (or 4, 16oz water bottles) in per day.
THREE – YOUR PLATE
Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies with your meals, not between. Try to begin the process of not eating anything between your meal times.
FOUR – YOUR MOVE
Get active. Depending on what you’re used to doing, this can mean anything from cleaning your house to bumping up your activity level to a 5K.
If you’re used to doing absolutely nothing, start by walking (walk quickly, as if you’re in a hurry to get somewhere) and just be active in general.
Clean your house – mopping and vacuuming actually gets your heart rate up. Walk the neighborhood. Swim. Get creative, do whatever it is that you can think of, that you might enjoy, that keeps you off the couch or out of bed.
Be active for 30 minutes total in your day. If you need to break this up into 10 or 15 minute intervals throughout your day, that is a fine place to start. But make sure you time it.
Whatever it is you’re doing, when you start feeling your breathing become slightly difficult, and you can’t talk unless you stop, that is where you need to be for as long as you can, while you’re doing your 10-15 minute intervals.
While your heart rate is high like this, never sit down. Just slow your walking pace until you can breath normal again before you sit. (This is called a “cool down”).
FIVE – YOUR SLEEP
In order to have a clear mind and a good attitude, and the energy it takes to make successful change, your body needs 6-10 hours of sleep. 6 if you’re older, 10-12 if you’re under 20 years old.
SIX – YOUR AIR
Fresh air helps with sleep, cleans your lungs, clears your head and makes things smell good. Air out your home and car. Let in all that fresh air. It’s good for you.
Better yet, get out in it! Meditate, exercise, eat, or just sit on your phone outside if social media is your thing and you’ve got a break at work, take a “social media break” outside.
SEVEN – YOUR SHINE
Sunshine is good for you. No sunscreen here! 10 minutes is all you need in an entire day to get your vitamin D. And you need vitamin D so that your bones can absorb calcium.
EIGHT – YOUR INDULGENCES AND ADDICTIONS
We all need a break, even from the things we love. And we all like things that aren’t exactly good for us.
Moderation is where it’s at. Moderation is great friends with meditation. It is good training for self-control.
Start practicing self control by limiting yourself to treats (whether that is a food, a drink, a TV show, an activity, etc.) to only certain times in the day or week. Start spacing the time out between your indulgences to once a week or month and then every other month, (depending, of course, on what it is you’re doing), until you have a good handle on your self-control.
The cool thing with self control is, the more you practice it, the stronger it becomes.
This way, you begin the process of moderation by only allowing yourself to engage in things that aren’t exactly good for you, every once in awhile. This is good training for your future fitness and health goals once you’re ready to take it to the next level.
This is also a great way to begin the process of eliminating the things that are really bad for you! Some things just have to go, if you truly want to be healthy.
But don’t worry – we’re not focusing on that right now.
IN CONCLUSION
It is always best to start small. Baby steps is the only way to begin. Read my article Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last once you’ve gotten a few days or weeks into what we just talked about! This will help you take things to the next level!
If you have any questions, I’m here! And if I don’t have the answer, I’ll either find the answer or someone else that can give you an answer. So please don’t hesitate to ask! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.
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Grocery shopping for healthy food is a lot easier now more than ever, because healthy food is sort of popular – or at least more popular than it was about ten or fifteen years ago. But how do we know what is really healthy when we’re out grocery shopping?
There are so many things that look “healthy” on the front of the package. “No artificial colors”, “Gluten free”, “No sugar added”, “natural”, “low sodium”, etc.
To be honest, a lot of this is simply savvy marketing skillz to reel you in.
Because health has become more trendy, food manufacturers are tapping into this trend with their clever marketing artistry. But just because it looks like it’s healthy, or alludes to the fact that it is with just the right wordage, doesn’t mean it is.
In the mean time, lets break this healthy, complex, grocery shopping business down into pieces.
First, you need to . . .
MAKE TIME TO SHOP
Rushing through shopping isn’t going to do you or the people you’re cooking meals for, any favors.
You need time to read labels.
If you don’t read labels, it is highly likely that you could be buying food that isn’t food at all.
HAVE A SHOPPING LIST
No list means a waste of time and money.
It’s important to have a meal plan and a grocery list when you’re about to go grocery shopping. When it comes down to convenience later on in meal prep, it is a must! Plus, this saves money. I promise.
A shopping list is also important if you’re new to healthy shopping, because reading labels takes time. If you don’t know what you need and are reading labels, too, this could result in a lot of money out and wasted time and still very little to work with once you get back home.
READ LABELS
Some foods just aren’t really foods, and you won’t know this until you start to try to read the list of ingredients. (I say try because, half the time, something looks great until I try to read the label). These labels are usually either a mile long and I don’t have that sort of time, or a mile long and the print is too small, or a mile long and I can’t pronounce the list. I give up. Mile long reads aren’t my thing unless they’re written by J.R.R. Tolkien.
If it is a long list, either quit and put it back, or, if you really, really want the food and want to see if it’s really that bad, get Siri out and start asking your robot to define these crazy words, then decide if you still really want it. My guess is, you’ll probably start discovering some pretty interesting things about the so-called foods you’re eating!
I looked at the label of a cheap jelly just today, thinking I could save money. It didn’t have fruit or fruit juice in it. What? How is this jelly? It was full of multiple sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors and things I couldn’t pronounce. Not at all a food. I definitely didn’t want my kids eating that!
If you don’t read labels, you’re likely to buy “foods” that are high fat, high sodium, high sugar (if it even has real sugar in it), highly synthetic, and highly filled with preservatives. Which, can and will add, high cholesterol, high BMI, high risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. Nobody needs these sorts of highs in their life!
Side note: don’t forget to teach your kiddos to read the labels! Better to start young!
WHOLE FOODS
Buy whole foods. Pre-packaged foods are always going to have longer labels to read, more preservatives, and are going to be more expensive, and almost always unhealthy. (Notice I said “almost” and this is where reading labels comes in handy! Some companies are actually getting better at making healthier pre-packaged foods). But this is rare. When I buy pre-packaged foods, it’s generally a “treat”.
Buy canned, fresh, frozen and dried goods that you can cook meals with, from scratch. Pinterest has endless amounts of recipe options. I use Pinterest all the time. When I find a recipe I like, I print it. (Because I’ve actually made boards for recipes and had some go missing, so if I love it, I just print it!)
MONEY SAVING
If you’re on a tight budget and have very little money to buy groceries with, this is when buying healthy food gets tricky (but not impossible). Because cheaper foods typically are not healthy.
Cheap, unfortunately is just that. It is cheap. I don’t mean that as “inexpensive”, I mean, low quality.
This is when cooking from scratch kicks in. Buying whole foods is a must for health, and for the budget.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR
There are a few things I always keep a look out for.
One, is sugar. If it says sugar, I breathe a sigh of relief. So many so-called “healthy” foods say “no sugar” but have added synthetically made sweeteners that are far worse than sugar. (More on this later on in another article).
Sugar isn’t bad; too much sugar is bad. This is where one of the 8 methods of balance actively kicks in: say hello to moderation.
Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, are just bad whether you eat a little or a lot.
Watch for artificial and chemical preservatives. These things are placed in your foods to keep them from going bad for a longer amount of time. Unfortunately, preservatives can cause chronic health problems, effecting your heart and lungs.
Watch for words you can’t pronounce, and use Siri when you are reading the ingredients of a so-called healthy food. It might not necessarily be bad, it might just be something you’ve never heard of before. Just learn about what you’re eating.
Other things I look for are added colors, and artificialanything.
Always only purchase items that say 100% whole grain/wheat. All flour is made from wheat, but not all are “whole.” It is possible to think you’re buying whole wheat bread when it is labeled “wheat”, when in fact, you are simply buying white bread with colorant in it that makes it look darker.
Know your foods. Read labels. Use Google to define things you can’t pronounce. Think whole, think fresh, think simple.
When you cook from scratch, your food will be purer, taste better, and will be a lot healthier.
Side note: keep in mind that when you cook and bake foods at home, your foods need to be refrigerated immediately after eating. Without preservatives, foods will go bad quickly.
If you still need help, I’m here for you! leave a comment below and share this post with your friends and on social media! You can find me on other social media platforms as well, if you’d like to see what’s going on with balance8life! I’m on (almost) all platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.
