Iâve just about had it with several things nutrition related:
- Carbs donât make you fat. ----------- Carbs are good for you!
- Fruit doesnât make you fat. ---------- Fruit is so good!
- Sugar is not the
devil. ------------------ Sugar is perfectly fine in moderation. I cannot imagine never eating dark chocolate or ice cream, or making and cookies with me niece. I can just die now!
I recently had dinner with my step daughterâs boyfriendâs family. Dinner was delicious, btw. Guess what?! We had lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. The mom asked if we ate lasagna as we were building our plates. Of
course, we eat lasagna - do we eat all the time? Nope, but it has it place for every now and then. We eat all the foods - especially the foods that we love. Bless her heart; she assumed that because we are âbodybuildersâ that we donât eat carbs. P.S. the definition of a bodybuilder is anyone that lifts weights to build muscle, as we all should in some form because we all know at this point that muscle on our frames has so many positive benefits. It hurts my heart if you are not doing some type
of resistance training.
I know my work is not finished, and it probably never will be, because the fads and extremes seem to never die.
Why is it that we believe that we shouldnât eat carbs? It really irks me when people say that they donât eat carbs. So, you donât eat vegetables or fruit then? What
most people are saying when they say they donât eat carbs, is that they donât eat starch. Followed up with I donât eat pasta, or I donât eat bread.
When I dig deeper with folks, the culprit is that they have been lead to believe that pasta and bread are bad for them. Why do you think that and who said so? Blank stare and no clear answer. We want to demonize foods and place blame, instead of turning
within and looking at things objectively.
The no carb craze began years ago, and it still seems itâs not going anywhere. But it truly is a myth- carbs arenât bad, and you are not bad for eating them.
Like I said earlier in many emails before, all foods can be part of healthy lifestyle. Ask yourself
this, when you say you donât eat carbs â will you never eat carbs again? Remember that this means no fruit or vegetables either. You seriously wouldnât be able to function. I know, I am saying this in a sarcastic manner, because you do eat carbs.
Sure, we tend to overeat carbs (starchy ones), but that doesnât mean you should eliminate them to see any progress. You just must get balanced as a whole
with your nutrition. It comes down to the amounts and type of carbs. Yes, we should eat more of the unprocessed ones, but thereâs also room for other kinds of carbs as well.
- We know that we should always pair carbs with protein. It slows down the absorption/digestion of the carbs.
- Carbs are our number one fuel source.
- Carbs are brain fuel. Donât eat carbs at all and tell me how your head feels.
- Lastly, if you try to lift heavier weights or get stronger, not happening without some source of carbohydrates.
P.S. Sugar falls into the carb category. I also want to say; yep sugar is everything. So, if you plan to ban sugar, let me know how that is working out for you. I really want to know, all sarcasm aside. I believe itâs a very extreme and anything that calls for extremes wonât last very long. Extremes perpetuate the diet mentality cycle. Excess sugar is the issue, not the sugar itself. I do realize the media/weight loss industry has planted this notion that we shouldnât have sugar and itâs
really hard to let go of the idea.  The idea is if I quit sugar all will be solved and then I am a good person if I quit sugar and if I don't then I am not - Hogwash!  Here we go with tying morals to food, which needs to stop.Â
I wrote a piece on
sugar, check it out here.Â
I wanted to also share this article on sugar as well; itâs excellent and so very true.
Again, yes, we should minimize sugar, but itâs not downright evil or toxic, definitely not comparable to Heroine. I challenge you to look at your nutrition as a whole. Donât look at what you can take away but look at what you
can add. Occasional treats are fine and perfectly okay. Moderation is a practice, and I practice every single day and every single meal. I truly believe everyone can do #Moderation365, but it will take work, it doesnât happen overnight. Being able to navigate the gray area no matter when, what, how, or why â the environment, situation, or holiday. When you do get there, thatâs when you have truly achieved Food Freedom with no strings attached. The alternative is struggle city and yo-yo dieting. I donât know about you, but that sounds miserable.
