Carbohydrates are they truly EVIL?

Everyone has heard the bad press that Carbohydrates has received over the last 10 years.  How could you not have followed the Atkins craze or the South Beach Diet, or the Zone that allot of Hollywood stars rushed to try.  With all of the press about Carbohydrates I have learned through all of my medical courses in College a few things that I wanted to share.


Carbohydrates are the bodies ideal fuel for most functions.  Yes you heard right.  They supply the body with energy needed for the muscles, brain and central nervous system.  In fact your brain relies solely on Carbohydrates for its energy.  So when you are thinking of going on a low carb diet please keep this in mind.  Your brain does not function well without them.


Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy products, foods made from grains, and sweeteners such as sugar, honey, molasses, and corn syrup.


There are three basic types of carbohydrates; simple carbs that are broken down quickly and complex carbohydrates that are broken down slower over time.  There are indigestible carbs that are considered fiber.  Simple carbs are the ones that can cause extreme surges in our blood sugar, and increase our appetite.  These are the ones that our bodies store as fat.  The complex ones enter our blood slower and actually can control appetite and increase our sugar levels more slowly, which lowers the amount of sugar that is stored as fat.  


Some of you may have had a nutritionist through your surgeons office that helped you to understand this concept, and perhaps some of  you did not.


I just want to say again to everyone, Carbs are not all bad or evil as they have been portrayed.  The simple carbs need to be monitored very closely, the others you need to add and eat each and every day.  For those of us who have gone on low carb diets, you found that certainly you will lose weight.  In fact, it will melt away.  Why is this?  Well there is a scientific reason for it.

With no glucose available for enegry the body uses protein from food for fuel. Therefore this fuel is no longer available for more important functions such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones and antibodies and the regulation of fluid levels.  When carbohydrates are lacking our bodies cannot burn fat in the proper way.  When carbs are lacking the body incompletely breaks down our fat and a by product is produced call ketones.  When the body begins this process you are thrown into a state of famine.  The body believes it is useless to  search for food, and will waste energy so your appetite goes away.  You will get bad breath, become dehydrated and nauseous, dizzy and extremely fatigued you will even become constipated.  Your work outs will not be as productive either, you may find you do not have enough energy to complete the workout.    A person that is on a low carb diet will also be at higher risk for kidney stones and heart disease and even cancer.

So bottom line is to eat your carbs, just keep them in check with your daily allowance and be sure there is a variety of them in your diet.  It is hard for people with the band to eat carbs, when we are instructed to eat our protein first.  We usually become full,and have trouble getting in those vegetables, but it is so imperative that you do.


So the next time you hear the TV ads and see the books and spokes person for that wonderful low carb diet, think again!

Back to work and working out!

 
Yesterday back at work I was swamped.  My new job has me hopping, but I love it.  I no longer dread coming to work, and I do not find myself watching the clock any longer.  I feel very blessed.

I feel guilty because with Thanksgiving and Cole being sick I did not work out.... not once.  I am heading to the gym tonight and I am anxious to get my buns back in gear once again.  I know that my body is craving it because I am beginning to get that tired feeling.  You know the one, the one from sitting on your "ASS"!  The one I had for most of my adult life.

Working out is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Sometimes it is hard to get yourself to go, but I have never not ONCE regretted it once I am done.  I always feel 100% better for going.

 
Someone at work, is counting the days til Christmas.  She has this nifty little sign that changes numbers each day.  I am almost done shopping so I am ready whenever it gets here.  I am enjoying my decorations so it can take its time.  I am sure by New Years that I will be ready to have them down and put away and my house back!

I did some shopping at Kohl's on Monday with my Kohl's cash from my Christmas shopping on Saturday.  I had $150 to spend and it was exciting.  I bought a pair of Lauren Conrad leggings in size L...can you freaking believe it a size L. (I had purchased XL a week before and they swam on me and I could pull them up to nearly under my boobs, Nichole said you need a smaller size so a size L). I was so pumped by this. 

I also got a Sweater dress from Elle and one from Daisy Fuentes and I love them both.  Nichole called me a "skinny bitch"!  Lovingly of course. I know that I am far from skinny but I am beginning to feel good about how I am looking again. My most prized purchase was an Apt 9 black sleeveless wrap around dress from the clearance rack for $16.90.  It fit me so perfectly. I mean really, a wrap around dress that was not in the "big girl" section  (do they even make wrap around dresses in those sizes)?  Do you know how long it has been since I did not have to shop in the "big girl" part of the store.  Well, none of anything I got was from there.  I can kiss that part of my shopping from days gone by "ta ta"!  Good rid dens and I am not sorry to see it go.

I feel good about the work I have done since July 5th and that fill.  I know that I can complete this journey now, and that I am not on a time table.  I think that when I lightened up on attacking myself for not making certain weights by certain dates, that things have sort of fell into place for me.

I am making healthy choices 95% of the time, and I am following the band rules and Commandments that I like to call them.  I know that by doing this, I WILL be successful.  I just cannot let the "excuse ass" get back in the door.


I think that is why my body is changing, because my mind is also healthy.  I am happy, and I feel good about myself, exactly the way I am right now.  I am still fat!!!!!!!!!  However, I can honestly say, that I am happy, because I know that being skinny is NOT what is going to bring me happiness.  I love that I have learned this.  Without this knowledge, I would still be beating up myself and my self esteem, which is a huge commitment and confidence crusher in my humble opinion.  It is what lead me to fall off the proverbial wagon!

Liquids are going semi OK, I did eat some turkey chili for supper last night, but I was hungry.  So I do not feel bad about doing it.  I have told myself if you are hungry, then eat.  If not, then don't.  It is working very well.  I am getting lots and lots of water in this time.  

I love my MIO!!  It has made sticking with drinking my water easier than ever.  My favorite is the Berry Pomegranate...YUM!  I will not drink anything that has aspartame in it ever again or eat for that matter.  I proved to myself over the past four years that it causes us to crave carbs.  When I stopped drinking crystal light, I was no longer hungry between meals, when I stopped chewing gum laid en with it, I was no longer hungry between meals.  I have been using MIO for over 5 months and it does not increase my cravings one little bit.  Yeah for me!

I have done posts on the importance of water, and why you have to drink water to be healthy and to lose weight.  I know that WATER is one of the keys to success!

I am looking forward to ZUMBA tonight! 

Wednesday Wisdom! Emotional Eating

For many of us, healthy habits go down the tubes when we are upset, bored, stressed or sad.  

Suppose you have the healthiest set of habits that you have ever had. you are eating more veggies than Bugs Bunny.  Your sleep is so consistent that the neighbors rooster doesn't get up until you do.  You exercise so often that your gym shoes start lacing themselves.  It is tough to think that something could get in your way.

Something can, and it often does.......Emotional Eating!

Emotional eating is quite possibly the #1 enemy of continued healthy living.  Sometimes we eat for the strangest reasons, bad day at work may escalate with a bag of chips on the couch.  An argument may drive you to the fridge to calm down.  A rough round of golf may lead you to the clubhouse for a chilli dog and a beer.

You have come so far, you are nearly at the end of your weight loss journey.  You have worked so hard to improve the day to day actions that point you in the right direction.  As we become masters of these habits we should be better prepared to combat some of the reasons behind the emotional eating pitfalls.  You can --and should--eliminate the emotional triggers so they no longer have a change to sabotage your lifestyle and healthy habits.

Emotional eating is a common problem.  In fact it is estimated that 75% of weight gain is due to emotional eating or mindless eating.

It is not always easy to pinpoint the root of these problems.  But you can take some steps to help to draw out these reasons and squash them like bugs.

     1.  Recognize the problem - you may be an emotional eater and not even know it.  Do you graze for no reason even though you are not hungry?  Do you find yourself in front of an open fridge and not know why?  Do you react to stress by opening your mouth and sticking an eating utensil in it?  Do you tend to gain weight when going through hectic/stressful times in your life?

     2.  Identify and Investigate Trigger Times - Become aware or danger times and situations.  Is coming home from work often an emotional time for you?  A visit with the in-laws?  Talking with the EX?  Do these times overlap with unhealthy eating episodes?  The best way to figure this out is to track your reasons for eating.  Hopefully hunger is the most common reason.  If you find there are others then you can plan for these triggers ahead of time.

     3.  Look at the reasons triggers have power - The root of emotional eating often lies in bigger picture questions.  Are you going through a stressful period at work, at home, in your marriage, or in some other way?  Have you had a recent failure that is crushing your self esteem?  Are you unhappy with your day to day life?  Have you gone through a traumatic experience, such as a death, divorce, bankruptcy or loss of job?

     
4.  Take it one trigger at a time - Write in your blog how these lifetime experiences are effecting your good food choices as well as your motivation.  First, figure out how these times are about to trigger an emotional eating episode and how to neutralize it.  Then think about what steps you can take to keep the issue from having a hold on you at all.  Focus on one at time, and be patient and generous with yourself.  This may take some time.  

Emotional eating triggers have  no easy answers, but ignoring them will only make things worse. Until you deal with these issues you make continue your ride on the diet roller coaster, no matter how hard you try to keep your healthy habits alive.  You can DO THIS!

Stop the insanity..................NOW!

A healthy lifestyle is not an all or nothing proposition.  Plans will go awry and obstacles will pop up.  Don't get down.  Get down to business.  






It doesn't matter how often you fall.  What matters is how you land and where you end up.  Cats have nine lives, and always seem to get second chances.  Cats also land on their feet when they fall.  Coincidence?  Healthy living is a process of learning.  Life does not always pan out as we thought, and fate has a toolbox full of wrenches to throw into your plans.

In the years ahead, you will go through success and failures, highs and lows, steps forward and steps back, times of plenty and times of difficulty.  When the dust settles and the books of life are squared away, you are doing well if you come out the other side, better, stronger and happier for the experience.

Some of us see weight loss and healthy living as struggles.  I believe this is because we have an all or nothing approach and will only accept perfection.  When we have to face anything less than 100% success, we fall into the vat of guilty despair, convinced that we have failed.  We then revert to our old habits and the cycle begins again.

Guess what, it does not have to be this way.  Healthy living is a process of learning.  Setbacks can show up in a lot of ways.  

Plateaus:  "the scale is just not moving anymore!"
Burnout:  "I just can't keep up this tough regiment anymore!"
Week Moments:  "I had a really bad week, and spent all weekend drinking, eating cheeseburgers, and donuts!"
Discouragement:  "I'm never going to make it all the way, I might as well just give up now!"
Interruptions:  "Why did I have to get sick now!"
Injuries:  "Can't believe I pulled a muscle right when I was starting to see progress!"

Since you are developing a new healthy life style, you can choose to do things differently this time.  Instead of expecting perfection, you can concentrate on damage control, on bouncing back.



Keep a positive attitude:  Studies have shown the optimists reach more goals than pessimists.   You see, a setback is not a brick wall that must be climbed, it is merely a gate that must be opened and gone through, you will soon be on your way.

Trust in your plan:  You spent allot of time, money and energy deciding to get your band.  You laid out the steps before you.  You knew it was only a matter of time to reach your goal.  You also knew, it was not an easy fix.  What was true in the beginning of your journey, still holds true today.  Stay the course. 


Believe in yourself: Self discipline is hard.  But you have what it takes to build a healthy lifestyle.  When things go wrong, do not beat yourself up, instead give yourself a pep talk.  You are worth the effort.  Your weight loss goals deserve another shot.  You are already doing more than most people even try to do.


Give yourself good reason to keep going: return to the basics of motivation to get back on track.  Look back over the reasons you got your band.  Remind yourself of how you felt those first weeks after surgery when you had no intention of cheating what so ever. Who can you connect with that can give you a lift?  Are you rewarding yourself often enough?  The answer to those questions may hold the golden nugget of motivation that you have forgotten about. 

Breaking Your Sugar Addiction

 

For me, my cravings before my surgery revolved around, sweets and salty.  So things like diet soda, chips, ice cream, candy bars, my mothers tremendous homemade pies, coconut cream, deep dish apple, cherry and these kinds of junk food is one reason I put back on 50 pounds of my initial weight loss.  I allowed sugar in many forms to creep back into my daily diet.  This is a long post but stay with me. 

That white, powdery substance just makes you feel good. You can't get it off your mind, and you keep coming back for more. The more you have it, the more you want it! But even when you try to stay away from it, it finds ways to sneak into your life almost daily. What can you do? 

I am not talking about some dangerous or illegal drug here; I am talking about sugar. Although it's considered harmless in comparison, sugar, in excess, can cause a host of problems for a lot of us: cravings, binge eating, weight gain and heart disease among them. According to the USDA, the average American consumed 151 pounds of sugar in 1999—an all time high. Since then, consumption has dropped slightly and in 2010 the average American consumed 132 pounds. (To put that into perspective, consider that the number was just 4 pounds in the year 1700.) At least half of the sugar we consume comes from soft drinks, fruit drinks, and sports drinks. The rest sneaks into our diets in the form of ketchup, teriyaki sauce, chocolate milk and the obvious sweets like cookies, cakes, ice cream and even breakfast cereal. Surprisingly, some "healthy foods" such as yogurt and instant oatmeal can  pack in an additional  20-30 grams (5-7 teaspoons) of unnecessary added sugar! It seems like we're drowning in sugar, and nobody is wearing a life vest.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we limit our daily sugar consumption to 7% or less of our daily calorie intake—that's about 6 teaspoons (100 calories) for women and 9 teaspoons (150 calories) for men. But that adds up fast. Just one 12-ounce can of regular soda contains 8-10 teaspoons of sugar and 130-150 calories. One glazed donut contains 6 teaspoons, and a half cup ice cream (the standard serving size, although most portions are much, much larger) contains 4 grams of added sugar! 

Why Should You Care? Is Sugar Actually Bad for You?

 
Well, aside from the increased bulge around the waistline, diets high in sugar are strongly linked to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, elevated triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol levels, and heart disease. Sugar intake has also been linked to depression, migraines, poor eyesight, autoimmune diseases (such as arthritis, and multiple sclerosis), gout and osteoporosis.

Recent research has shown that a high intake of carbohydrates, including sugar, releases a feel good chemical in the brain called serotonin. Think of how you feel after indulging in a high sugar meal or treat—almost euphoric, right? The high of a sugar rush is temporary though. After a few hours—or even a few minutes—you start to crash and you become tired, fatigued and lethargic.

Although sweet foods are tempting and delicious to most people (blame Mother Nature for that!), the more sugar you eat, the higher your tolerance becomes. So if you have a strong sweet tooth or intense cravings for sugar, chances are not that you were born that way, but that your dietary habits and food choices created the sugar monster you may have become.

 

Fortunately, we can reverse this tolerance in just a couple of weeks by cutting out sugar. Once you have decreased your threshold, something that tasted perfectly sweet a few weeks ago, will begin to taste too sweet to eat, and that can help you reduce your intake of the sweet stuff.

Cutting Out Sugar: A 4-Week Action Plan
 
While the occasional sweet treat won't make or break your weight loss or your health, many people have trouble stopping after a sensible portion or saying no to sugar when it's available. If you feel out of control around sugar, then a sugar "detox" is a great way to reduce your cravings, eat better, and bring sugar back to where it belongs: as an occasional treat that you consciously choose to eat in a mindful manner, not a daily treat occurrence that controls you.

Follow this month-long plan to break your sugar addiction!

Week 1: Identify Sugar and Where It's Hiding
The first step in conquering your sugar habit is to rid your pantry and refrigerator of added sugar. Some things (think ice cream, cookies and candy) are obvious, but most of us need to look closer at where the sugar in our diets is coming from. This will require a bit of label reading in the beginning, but after a while, it will become easier.

In order to cut back on hidden or added sugar, scan the ingredients list of a food label. If you see any of the following terms listed, then sugar has been added to the product in one form or another and it is best left on the shelf at the store—especially if that sugar shows up within the first five ingredients of any food product.

Agave nectar Agave syrup Barley malt Beet sugar Brown rice syrup Brown sugar Buttered syrup Cane sugar Cane juice Cane juice crystals Carob syrup Confectioner’s sugar Corn syrup High fructose corn syrup Corn sugar Corn sweetener

Corn syrup solids Crystalized fructose Date sugar Dextran Dextrose Diatase Diastatic malt Evaporated cane juice Fructose Fruit juice Fruit juice concentrate Glucose Glucose solids Golden sugar Golden syrup Grape sugar

Grape juice concentrate Honey Invert sugar Lactose Malt Maltodextrain Maltose Maple syrup Molasses Raw sugar Refiner's syrup Sorghum syrup Sucanat Sucrose Sugar Turbinado sugar Yellow sugar

This first week is about awareness. Reading labels before you buy—or bite. How many of your favorite foods contain hidden sugars in the top of their ingredients lists?

Once you have identified the sources of sugar in your diet, clean out your kitchen. Throw out or donate all of the products that contain hidden or added sugars, including any juice, soda, candy, sweets and seemingly healthy snacks like granola bars, fruit and grain bars, instant oatmeal and sports drinks. This may sound drastic, but stay with me!

Remember, you don’t have to throw away everything that is sweet! Natural sugar, like the kind you find in whole fruit, contains vitamins, minerals and fiber, which are lost in the processing of juice. Milk contains naturally occurring sugars, but also provides calcium, vitamin D and protein. So unlike soda, fruit juices and other processed foods, whole fruit and dairy products provide us with essential vitamins and minerals that our bodies need.

Be wary of certain fruit- or milk-based products that contain added sugars though: flavored milk, many yogurts, fruits canned or jellied in added sugar or syrups, and the like. Opt for unflavored skim or 1% milk, plain yogurt or Greek yogurt, and whole pieces of fruit. Remember, we are trying to cut out the 151 pounds a year of added sugar, not the naturally occurring sugar found in whole foods.

When choosing a refreshing beverage to quench your thirst, keep in mind that you want to eat your calories, not drink them. Choose ice cold water flavored with a squeeze of fresh lemon or an orange slice. Or flavor unsweetened iced tea with fresh mint, crushed raspberries, or a squeeze of citrus.

One tip to help you avoid added sugar at the supermarket is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible. Think about the general layout of a grocery store: The outside is home to fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, dairy products, and whole grain breads and the inside aisles are stocked with cookies, chips, soda, fruit juice, cake mixes, and other processed foods. Spend most of your time on the outside and only go down the inner aisles for specific products, like whole-grain pasta.

Never shop on an empty stomach and always shop with a list. Shopping while hungry can lead you to adding all kinds of snacks and impulse buys to your cart. Meal planning can be a tricky task at first, but following a meal plan is an important part of breaking the sugar addiction. It will help to keep you on track and help prevent stopping for fast food when you don't have a game plan for dinner. Spend a little time on Sunday afternoons jotting down some meal ideas for throughout the week. Make a list of the food items you will need to make the meals you wrote down and stick to it!

                   What About Sugar Substitutes?

Sugar substitutes and sugar alcohols have their place and they may be beneficial in helping you to break the sugar addiction or they may not. You will have to experiment and see how they affect you and your cravings. Even though they may not add additional calories to your diet, sugar substitutes and sugar alcohols might not help you to BREAK the sugar addiction since they are adding the sweet flavor to your diet. In some people, they may even increase your sweet tooth.

Week 3: Stop the Cravings
Now you really start to put your plan into action. You’ve identified the sources of added sugar in your diet and replaced those foods with healthier and more wholesome alternatives. Your kitchen is now set up for success!

This week’s focus should be on making a conscious effort to avoid sugary foods. When a craving strikes, try going for a walk or simply drinking a glass of water. Take a hot bath or get lost in a good book. Typically any craving will pass if you wait it out long enough. But it's important to begin understanding the difference between true hunger and food cravings. If you are truly hungry, a handful of nuts or some raw veggies dipped in hummus will sound appetizing, so go aeat one of your healthy snacks. But if you're craving something sweet or a specific sugary food, use a distraction technique.

The first week of saying no to sugar will be the hardest, but the more diligently you stick to your plan, the better you'll fare in the end. Even a tiny taste of sugar during this time period can lead to setbacks.

After a couple sugar-free weeks, your sugar threshold will start to decrease and you will find that you no longer crave sugar or sweets as you once did. As with any lifestyle change, the first couple of weeks are the hardest. Eventually, it will become habit to reach for a mint tea or piece of fruit instead of juice and candy.

Week 4: Game Plan for Life
Now that you have yanked that sweet tooth, it's time to devise a plan to prevent a sugar relapse. Although sugar isn't necessary for health and it's perfectly fine if you want to continue avoiding it, it probably isn't realistic for most people to avoid all forms of sugar forever.

So if you want to allow a little sweetness back into your life, that's OK. Moderation is key. Don't let sugar and sweets become a daily habit. Instead, consider them to be special occasion treats only. With your lowered threshold for sweetness, that shouldn't be too hard. But if you begin to indulge too often or overindulge over a short period of time (such as a week long vacation), you could find yourself back in trouble with sugar all over again.

If you slip up, don’t beat yourself up over it. Accept your action and decide to make a better decision next time and move on. Continue to experiment with your new, healthy foods and recipes. You'd be surprised at how many ways you can make treats healthier and use far less sugar than a recipe suggests.

And remember: It generally takes about 3-4 weeks for a new behavior to become habit, the most important thing is to stick with it.

I still after four years cannot stand the taste of soda.  I will tell you that I did for a few months start drinking Orange Crush and quickly saw my sugar cravings return. The colas taste horrible to me now. This proved to myself that once it is eradicated from our daily life it is much easier to recognize that we do not want it.  I was a Mountain Dew Whore.  I drank it like water before my surgery, and I drank the diet kind. (smiling here) trust me those so called diet drinks that we all thought were keeping our asses slimmer, only increased our craving for sugar and carbs.  Remind yourself to look at the soda and vending machines sometime.  The person who is getting their diet soda's are not skinny usually, and they always want something to go with it, chips, candy bars.   There is truth to this claim.

I know this was a very long post, and I hope that it helps some.  For me, I allowed sugar to come back into my diet and this was a huge mistake.  I thought I could control it.  Little did I know, about the power of SUGAR!

Not All Carbs Are Created Equal

It's true, a carbohydrate rich diet can inflate appetite and increase girth.  There is no secret here, we all are aware of this.  Low-carb diets do promote short-term weight loss, but are accompanied by some sever dangers.  So what should you do?  The truth is you CAN have your Carbs and eat them to - - you just have to know how to choose them.

The TRUTH about carbohydrates:

• Carbohydrates are the body's ideal fuel for most functions. They supply the body with the energy needed for the muscles, brain and central nervous system. In fact, the human brain depends exclusively on carbohydrates for its energy.
• Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy products, foods made from grain products, and sweeteners such as sugar, honey, molasses, and corn syrup.
• The body converts digestible (non-fiber) carbohydrates into glucose, which our cells use as fuel. Some carbs (simple) break down quickly into glucose while others (complex) are slowly broken down and enter the bloodstream more gradually.

• During digestion, all carbohydrates are broken down into glucose before they can enter the bloodstream where insulin helps the glucose enter the body’s cells. Some glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for future use, like fueling a workout. If there is extra glucose, the body will store it as fat.

All carbohydrates are not created equal.
There are basically three types of carbohydrates:

1. Simple carbohydrates are composed of 1 or 2 sugar units that are broken down and digested quickly.
   
   Recent research has shown that certain simple carbohydrate foods can cause extreme surges in blood sugar levels, which also increases insulin release. This can elevate appetite and the risk of excess fat storage.
   
   
2. Complex carbohydrates (also referred to as starch) are made up of many sugar units and are found in both natural (brown rice) and refined (white bread) form. They are structurally more complex and take longer to be broken down and digested.
   
   Complex carbohydrate foods have been shown to enter the blood stream gradually and trigger only a moderate rise in insulin levels, which stabilizes appetite and results in fewer carbohydrates that are stored as fat. Unrefined or ‘whole grain’ carbohydrates found in products like brown rice, whole wheat pasta and bran cereals are digested slowly. They contain vitamins, minerals and fiber which promote health. Fiber and nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits and beans which are carbohydrates also have many important functions for the body and are important for good health.
   
   
3. Indigestible carbohydrates are also called fiber. The body is unable to breakdown fiber into small enough units for absorption. It is therefore not an energy source for the body but does promote health in many other ways. 

Simple carbs, complex carbs, and fiber are found in many foods. Some provide important nutrients that promote health while others simply provide calories that promote girth.

• Sugar, syrup, candy, honey, jams, jelly, molasses, and soft drinks contain simple carbohydrates and little if any nutrients.
• Fruits contain primarily simple carbohydrate but also valuable vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
• Vegetables contain varying amounts of simple and complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
• Legumes such as beans, peas, lentils and soybeans contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein.
• Milk products contain simple carbohydrates along with protein, calcium and other nutrients.
• Grain products contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. The amounts vary depending on the type of grain used and the amount of processing. Selecting whole grain options whenever possible is recommended. 

What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance.

The Body’s Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate Diets
When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions:

• With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance.
• When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy.
• Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration.
• Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result.
• Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine.

 

The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets
When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects:

• The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet.
• Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout.
• Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets.
• Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis.
• The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss.

The Million Dollar Question
How do you include carbohydrates in you diet in a safe, effective, and controlled way? The “Please KISS Me” (Please Keep It So Simple for Me) plan for carbohydrate control is a wonderful tool that only contains 3 simple rules:

RULE 1: Include the following in your diet:

• Fruits: 2-4 servings daily
• Vegetables: 3-5 servings daily
• Whole grain breads, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal, and brown rice: 6-11 servings daily
• Legumes, beans and peas: 1-2 servings daily
• Low-fat and non-fat dairy products: 3 servings daily

RULE 2: Limit the following to less than 2 servings daily:

• Fruit Juice
• Refined and processed white flour products (bread, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal)
• White rice
• French fries
• Fried vegetables

RULE 3: Eliminate the following from your diet or eat only on occasion:

• Sugary desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, candies
• Doughnuts and pastries
• Chips, cola and carbonated beverages
• Sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly, molasses

That’s it! A simple, effective carbohydrate-controlling plan that, when combined with your LapBand, allows you to reap the countless benefits of complex carbohydrates and fiber while enhancing your health and maintaining a healthy weight. The long term result will be a healthy you! 

We all know this is not as simple as it sounds.  I was a carb addict!  I could not wait to get my fix of carbs, and when I did I was thinking about the next, and the next.  It is a viscous cycle the carb addiction.  This country caters to it, in print advertising as well as TV and Internet.  

I know that I have to gain complete control over this aspect of my diet, for me to be successful in my long term goal and to maintain it.


Happy Friday Everyone, Have A Safe Labor Day Weekend!

Tuesday Afternoon - - Do you know where your CARBS are?

There are so many fad diets, I have tried so many of them I lost track over the years, but you probably know some of them. I thought we should take a look at some that make that list:  Eat subway lose weight, Atkins, Low Carb, No Carb; watermelon, grapefruit juice, cabbage soup, tuna diet, scared heart, acai berry, zone diet, Beverly Hills diet, apple cider vinegar diet; well you are getting the picture there are literaly hundreds of them out there.

 The sad part of this is people will try anything because we become so desperate to lose our fat.  When a diet fires off promises of one losing an immense amount of weight, in a short span of time, this is a red flag.   These diets "may" indeed allow you to shed quite a bit of weight rather quickly for some.  However, you will gain it back and usually more.  These diets do not last.  Some of them are even extremely harmful to our bodies.  When we try to diet by starvation; in other words limiting our calories so strictly our bodies are smart machines.  They fire down the furnance and shut down the metabolism and shed pounds slower.  This makes weight loss harder.  When we deprive our bodies of nutrients and vitamins we only cause the well oiled machine that our body is to malfunction.

The old saying of "dieting doesn't work" is very true.  One reason I chose my BAND was so I could kick dieting to the curb forever.  I never again want to say I am going on a diet.  I never again want someone to ask me what diet I am trying or using.  This is a lifestyle.  This is my new way of life.  I now eat to live, rather than live to eat!

I love when people ask me questions about my band.  I am ready to talk about it to them. So where are your carbs today?  Too low, too high?  Just right?   Carbs are important, very important for our brains.  Without them, we become sluggish and foggy thinkers.  So make sure you are eating your carbs.  Moderation is the key.  There are good carbs and some not so good.  Just be mindful of the choices you make.  


We are in control.  We say what does or does not go into our mouths.  We pick and choose the foods that we consume.  So our bands are not cures.  The band is simply a tool to help you achieve your weight loss and ultimately maintain it by eating less food.

If you continue to dine on ice cream and cake and cookies, and pasta and sauces and heavy calorie laden foods that will slide right through the band, trust me, you will not be successful.  I did this!  I gained back 50 pounds of my initial weight loss doing just that.


Why did I do that?  I suppose there were many reasons, or excuses that I use.  I just know that it will happen, it can happen,  and it did happen to me and I will never again fall victim to it.  I have learned the valuable lesson about food and how my body reacts to it.  I know my triggers, and I now use exercise rather than food when I feel stress coming on.

You may say well are you perfect?  I am laughing out loud here, Hell No I am not, I do eat things that are not always the best choice, I just do it rarely.  If you want to see the scale move you have to do YOUR PART!

When you take control there is no looking back!