Carbs, Fats and Proteins, oh my!!

The truth about food, simplified.

Let me say first: I am not a licensed nutrionist or in anyway a professional in this field, but I do know more than the average person about healthy food, so here goes:

Like I have discussed before, it is important that you educate yourself about food. Be honest to yourself and know what you are putting into your body. Else you will never understand your own body and what it does. And this is even more important for people that gain weight easily. I am one of those people, luckily I also lose weight quickly.

I think we all know the basic food groups, right? Forget about those for a second. Because guess what, they will tell you we need to eat from all food groups, they just don't tell you how. Let me show you this one, for example:

Source

Are they flippin serious? So many things wrong with this "eatwell plate." Or shall I just say "obesity plate." Yup, I used to eat like this. This plate tells people that they should consume "food and drinks high in fat and/or sugar". Reading this already gives me diabetes. Then they say "bread, rice potatoes and other starchy foods" are 30%(!!!!!) of your daily intake. I need to take a breath and step away from the computer for a second.

Alright. If this is what you think a healthy diet looks like (and you refuse to see differently), please get off my website. I know we aren't all rocket scientists here, but come on!

Now, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention actually knows what they are talking about, and aren't trying to fatten their people. Their basic food groups consist of: vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and protein foods. Sounds a lot better. These are all the things you need in your life. These are all whole foods.

The terms carbs, proteins and fats - you should know them. We need them. All foods can be categorized like that. What a lot of people forget, is to subdivide these, and then look at them more closely.

Carbs: foods high in fiber, sugar, grains, starches, etc. Not all of these are good for you. First of all: natural foods are always better than processed foods. Fiber and grains (complex carbs): good. Vegetables, fruits, whole-wheat, whole-grain, brown rice, even brown pasta. These are all great for you as they take longer to process, especially veggies and fruits of course. Sugar and starches (simple carbs): bad! All the obvious things like chocolate, cookies, cake, soda, but also starches like potatoes, white bread, white rice. They are all unhealthy foods. They will cause your blood sugar to spike, and we don't want that, right? Again, this does not mean you should never eat them. If you like them, eat them in moderation. But to get the best possible results, do not eat them on a daily basis.

Fats: foods high in fat, not a shocker. But here, too, you need to subdivide. There's good fats and bad fats. Skip the french fries and fried, breaded chicken, whole-fat milk. Those are your bad fats. So, what are good fats? You might know that fish (oil) is great for you, high in omega-3. Other foods that contain healthy fats are avocado (ohhh yeahhh), nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts), olive oil, even peanut butter (when there is not too much added sugar and salt). And here is  my dark secret: dark chocolate is great for you - it doesn't have a lot of fat, but has other ingredients that are good for you. I love this as a snack!

Protein: This is incredibly important, especially when you work out a lot. So which foods contain protein, you ask? Almost all meats, especially fish and poultry. Lean cuts of beef, lamb and pork aren't bad either, just try to avoid the cuts with a lot of fat! Eggs are great (so much you can do with eggs!), nuts and beans and soy products like tofu. I like to use protein powder to get to my 33% a day.

I try to keep an even 33/33/33 with my carbs, proteins and fats, and I always opt for the healthier options, (unless I feel like having a cookie every few weeks, I will have one or two).