Complex Carbohydrate Shopping Tips

Here are some shopping tips for selecting healthful carbohydrate souces.

• Select breads and cereals that are made with whole grains such as wheat, oats, barley, and rye.  Make sure the label reads "whole" before the word grain.
• Choose foods that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per serving.
• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible.  When appropriate, eat them with the skin left on.
• Buy frozen vegetables and fruits when fresh produce is not available.  Check frozen slections to make sure there is no extra sugar or salt added.
• Be careful when buying canned fruits and vegetables, as many are high in sodium and added sugar.  Foods that packed intheir own juice are more healthful than those packed in syrup.
• Buy plenty of legumes, and eat some every day if possible.  Add them to soups, casseroles, and other recipes.  If you are trying to consume less soduim, rinse canned beans to remove extra salt or choose low-sodium alternatives. 

Is Honey More Nutritious Than Table Sugar?

Sucrose (table sugar) consists of one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule joined together.  Don't stop reading!!  I know it seems scientific but I will deciper in a minute :)
From a chemical perspective, honey is almost identical to sucrose (table sugar) since honey also contains glucose and fructose molecules in almost equal amounts.  However, enzymes in bees' "honey stomachs" separate some of the glucose and fructose molecules, resulting in honey looking and tasting slightly different from table sugar.  As you know, bees store honey in combs and fan the honey with their wings to reduce its moisture content.  This also alters the appearance and texture of honey.  HONEY DOES NOT CONTAIN ANYMORE NUTRIENTS THAN SUCROSE, SO IT IS NOT A MORE HEALTHFUL CHOICE THAN SUCROSE.  In fact, per tablespoon, honey HAS MORE CALORIES than table sugar. 

Are raw sugar and molasses more healthful than table sugar?  Actually the "raw sugar" available in the United States is not really raw.  Truly raw sugar is made up of the first crystals obtained  when sugar is processed.   Sugar in this form contains dirt, parts of insects, and other by-products that make it illegal to sell in the United States.  The raw sugar products in American stores have actually gone through more than half of the same steps in the refining process used to make table sugar.  Raw sugar has a coarser texture than white sugar and is unbleached; in most markets it is also more expensive.

Molasses is the syrup that remains when sucrose (table sugar) is made from sugarcane.  It is reddish brown in color with a distinctive taste that is less sweet than table sugar.  It does contain some iron, but this iron is a contaminant from the machines that process the sugarcane!  Incientally, blackstrap molasses is the residue of a third boiling of the syrup.  It contains less sugar than light or dark molasses but more minerals.

 
Janice Thompson and Melinda Manore. Nutrition An Applied Approach 2nd Ed. 122.

Why do you eat what you eat?

Whether you're trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your current healthful weight, you’ll probably find it intriguing to keep a log of the reasons behind your decisions about what, when, where, and why you eat. Are you eating in response to internal sensations telling you that your body needs food, or in response to your emotions, situation, or a prescribed diet? Keeping a "cues" log for 1 full week would give you the most accurate picture of your eating habits, but even logging 2 days of meals and snacks should increase your cue awareness.

Each day, every time you eat a meal, snack, or beverage other than water, make a quick not of:

• When you eat. Many people eat at certain times whether they are hungry or not.

• What you eat, and how much. A cup of yogurt and a handful of nuts? And apple? 20oz cola?

• Where you eat. At home at the dining room table, watching TV, driving in the car, and so on.

• With whom you eat. Are you alone or with others? If with others, are they eating as well? Have they offered you food?

• Your emotions. Many people overeat when they are happy, especially when celebrating with others. Some people eat excessively when they are anxious, depressed, bored or frustrated. Still others eat as a way of denying feeling because they don't want to identify and deal with them. For some, food becomes a substitute for emotional fulfillment.

• Your sensations. What you see, hear, or smell. Are you eating because you walked past the kitchen and spied that batch of cookies, or smelled coffee roasting?

• Any diet restrictions. Are you choosing a particular food because it is allowed on your current diet plan? Or are you hungry, but drinking a diet soda to stay within a certain allowance of calories? Are you restricting yourself because you feel guilty about having eaten too much at another time?

• Your physiologic hunger. Rate your hunger on a scale from 1-5 as follows

o 1 = you feel full or even stuffed

o 2 = you feel satisfied but not uncommonly full

o 3 = neutral; you feel no discernible satiation nor hunger

o 4 = you feel hungry and want to eat

o 5 = you feel strong physiologic sensations of hunger and need to eat.

After keeping a log for 2 or more days, you might become aware of patterns you'd like to change. For example, maybe you notice that you often eat when you not actually hungry, but are worried about homework or personal relationships. Or maybe you notice that you can't walk past the snack bar without going in. This self-awareness may prompt you to take positive steps to change those patterns. For instance, instead of stifling your worries with food, sit down with a pen and paper and write down exactly what you ware worried about, including steps you can take to address your concerns. And the next time you approach the snack bar, before going in, check with your gut: are you truly hungry? If so, then purchase a healthful snack, maybe a yogurt, a piece of fruit, or a bag of peanuts. If you're not really hungry, then take a moment to acknowledge the strength of this visual cue--and then walk on by.

Janice Thompson & Melinda Moore. Nutrition: An Applied Approach. 2nd Edition. 86.

Tips to Keep You on Track

I found these great tips on thenest.com.  They can help everyone stay on track with fitness goals.

1. Shrink Your Meals

Don’t want to give up your favorite foods just yet? Then start by cutting your portions down to size. You can still eat the foods you enjoy, but eating them in smaller amounts can cut hundreds of calories from your diet.
 
2. Slow Down

Eating slowly can help you eat less since it takes your brain more time than your stomach to realize that you’re no longer hungry. Try eating at your kitchen table instead of in front of the TV, at your desk, or in your car.

3. Split up Your Plate

Half of your plate should be fruits and veggies, a quarter should be protein (lean meats, eggs, fish), and the remaining quarter should be whole-grain carbohydrates (whole-wheat pasta, bread, quinoa).

4. Take Half Home When Eating Out

Restaurants are notorious for serving heaping portions of food (nearly double what’s needed). Split your plate in half, and take the remaining food home to eat at another meal.  Tim and I like to order one dish and split the food between the two of us.

5. Use the Smallest Plate

There’s no better strategy for portion control than using the smallest plate available.

6. Always Leave Food on Your Plate

Don’t feel obligated to clean your plate. By leaving a little bit, you’ll minimize your intake.

7. Survey Your Options

Aimlessly loading up your plate will lead to disaster. Look at all of your food options, choose the healthiest, and serve yourself proper portions.

8. Keep a Food Journal

Writing down everything you eat and drink during the day will help you evaluate the quality of your meals. From there, you can cut back where necessary or add protein, healthy fat, etc., if needed. I do this every single day!

You can do it everyone---one little step at a time!

Dream even bigger,
Candace
http://www.muscleandwealth.com/