We gave our chickens away to a new home. They will be bug-catchers down by Utah Lake. I hope they are very happy with their new chicken friends. I will say I was slightly sad, and felt like I was abandoning them. In a kennel. By a mailbox. But their new owner said thank you, so I feel better.
Each 10 days I've written into the meal plans "complex carbs". What exactly does this mean, you ask? Let's discuss.
Carbohydrates all have 4 calories per gram. They are classified as simple carbs or complex carbs. (FYI: protein=4cal/gram; fat=9cal/gram)
Simple carbs are made up of one or two simple sugars. These are absorbed quickly into our bloodstream, and raise blood sugar quickly and dramatically, leading to spikes and lows.
Complex carbs are made up of 3 or more sugars linked in a chain and are full of fiber. Because of their complex nature they take longer to absorb, even out our blood sugar, and are our main fuel for energy production.
Complex Carbs are also classed as "fibrous" or "starchy", "natural" & "refined". The best type of carbs are natural, fibrous & starchy.
Here is a list of Natural Fibrous Carbs. These are great because they have low calorie density (meaning less calories compared to the same volume of other foods) and are high in fiber, which make them the ultimate health and weight loss foods. When you see a calorie count for a food that says "net carbs" it means the grams of carbs minus the grams of fiber, as fiber is a flusher. Is is nearly impossible to overeat on these foods so go hog-wild:
artichokes
asparagus
green beans
broccoli
brussel sprouts
cauliflower
spinach
zucchini
lettuce
squash
tomato
green/red peppers
mushrooms
cucumbers
celery
carrots
bamboo shoots
alfalfa sprouts
cabbage
eggplant
collard greens
onions
salad vegetables
kale
okra
leeks
Here are the Natural Starchy Carbs. These food are more calorie dense than the fibrous carbs, and should be eaten in moderation, Eat these after you've filled up on your fibrous carbs and proteins, or first thing in the morning for breakfast. These are a healthy way to carb load if you are training hard or preparing for a long hard workout:
yams
oatmeal
barley
cream of wheat
cream of rye
brown rice
corn
sweet potatoes
white potatoes
red potoates
rye
lentils
chick peas
black eye peas
green peas
millet
legumes
butter beans
pinto beans
kidney beans
garbanzo beans
white beans
lima beans
(tips for beans: boiling them and soaking them help eliminate the gassy effect they have)
The next carb group is Refined Starchy Carbs. Eat these in moderation, and only if you really must. These products can be slightly processed and are calorie dense. These foods do not help you lose weight. Rather they are substitutions for your current full-fat or full-processed foods you are eating today. If you are a junk-food eating couch potato, eating these instead will help you lose weight. For most of us, this does not apply, so avoid these:
Bread, whole grain (max two slices per day)
Bagels, whole grain (max one per day instead of bread)
pasta
boxed whole grain cereals
white rice
muffins, whole grain, low fat
whole grain pretzels
low fat, low sugar breakfast bars
low fat, sugar free cookies
low fat potato chips
low fat tortilla chips
low fat crackers
cream of rice
grits
Simple Carbs come in two groups: Natural and Refined.
It is much better to reach for a piece of fruit than a piece of candy or dessert. That being said, Natural Simple Carbs are also sugars, and should be eaten in moderation for weight loss. Keep consumption to before mid-afternoon to give your body time to be active and burn off the quick acting sugar. Fruit is fibrous and has a high water content, making them a great way to get vitamins and nutrients. However, keep quantities of dried fruit and fruit juice, however natural, to a minimum. Dried and juiced fruit are calorie-dense, and the sugar content is higher per serving because you've eliminated that healthy fiber and water:
Fruit (fructose)
Dailry (lactose)
As the worst choice carbs of the lot, Refined Simple Carbs are on the "avoid at all cost unless you are going to kill someone" list. This is the sugar we are avoiding as one of our goals for the 10 day periods. These are calorie-dense and completely empty, or devoid of nutritional value. These spike your blood sugar like a Six Flags roller coaster and cause us to crash and feel burned out.
white sugar (sucrose)
corn syrup
high fructose corn syrup
brown sugar
honey
molasses
agave nectar
invert sugar
maple syrup
dextrose
rice syrup
levulose
turbinado sugar
beet sugar
cane sugar
confectioner's sugar
white bread & flour
sweetened box cereal
sweetened oatmeal and hot cereals
A note about sugar substitutes: I use a sprinkling of a sugar substitute in my oatmeal and cereals. I haven't reached the point where a mashed banana cuts it. I have taste buds with a spidey-sense for fake sugar and so I have not embraced them in my baking; I believe in going all-out if you're going to go to all that effort. As the jury is still out about what these substitutes do to us, I'm not going to weigh in either way. I have found that a little Stevia, which is a natural plant sugar substitute, works for me. A good place to be would be not to need it at all, but I'm not there yet.
I hope this helps you make good food choices today. Choose low density high fiber foods and you will burn fat and feed your muscles!
Be a fat-burner today!
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