Think It Through Thursday: 5 Things
Hello People!
It has been a few months….6, to be exact, that I have been a blogger. My weight hasn’t really gone down a whole lot during this process, but I have been discussing the reasons why here periodically. Particularly, I think most of my issues relate to blood sugar problems, and I’m currently working those out.
So I wanted to do a post that was upbeat and positive today because there isn’t enough positivity in the world, in my opinion. Therefore, I want to discuss 5 things I have learned during these 6 months of blogging that I will continue to implement for the rest of my life regardless of weight-loss or not. They are healthy habits that I wish to pass on to you, dear reader.
5 Things
1. What You Eat Matters
This means that it doesn’t matter if a “calorie is a calorie.” The quality of the food is utmost important. Forget the counting calories bit. Look to the nutrition of the food/meal/snack first. Calories matter too, no doubt about it, but there is a hell of a big difference between the nutritional makeup of two foods with the same amount of calories: a snickers bar vs. a a few pieces of fruit. Those nutritional qualities differ in that one of those items your body will store most of it’s calories as fat because of the high sugar content, and the other will be used by the body for re-building, supporting, digesting, etc. Now which one do you want?
2. Vegetables & Fruit Are Your FRIENDS!!!
You’re hungry? You want to binge out? Have a tangerine. Still hungry? Have a cucumber. Still hungry? Have a bowl of cherry tomatoes. Still hungry? No?…..Well even if you were, the calories in these foods are so small in comparison to junk foods that even if you binged on them, the worst case scenario would give you gas and bloating. Junk Foods? You will be seen wearing them on your thighs the next day for sure.
3. All Exercise is Not Created Equal
The older you get, the more muscle you lose (up to a pound a year!!!). This is key to understanding why your treadmill antics ain’t working like they were at 20. Don’t do tons of cardio. Do tons of weights/strength training/bodybuilding workouts. Then do some cardio – but no more than 20 minutes (HIIT would be optimal). You can start burning your muscles right off if it’s any more than that. EEEKK!
4. The G-Free Life is For Me
Gluten was giving me blood sugar spikes. Why? Mostly the gluten was in the form of bread which has flour. Flour, in any form, 100% whole wheat or otherwise, digests fast. Gluten was also coating the villi in my intestine causing me to have skin irritation problems. Going gluten free is not easy, but it is doable and I am not starving like I feared I would be. It definitely has cut down on the carb consumption in my life. I am not a no-carb preacher, but I would advocate low-carb (220 grams or less a day) eating. I am eating approximately 120 – 100 grams a day now.
5. Plan Meals For the Week
Not planning what to eat is planning to FAIL! If it is 12:00 noon and you don’t know what you are eating for lunch…you are doomed friend. Your hunger will override any will you had to stick to a calorie regime. Don’t fool around, designate 1 day a week to prepare, cook, and portion out your meals for the week. No second guessing, no last minute drive-thru runs, no excuses. (Video on this subject to come!)
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