I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed my newsletter.
One of my clients had a great question that I’d like to answer here. She expressed concern that the carbohydrates (carbs) in the last recipe, on the newsletter, seemed a bit “high”.
The first thing I would ask you to remember is that one meal, slightly “high” in carbs, is not an issue. What’s of bigger importance is the total calorie intake of protein, carbs and fat over a 24hr period.
We’ve all watched the media bounce back and forth between low carb, high protein, fat-free, and an assortment of other inaccurate and short sited responses to losing weight and keeping it off.
I personally don’t believe in the “one size fits all” type of philosophy when it comes to nutrition. I genuinely believe that each person is unique in their metabolism, fitness level, time they have to spend exercising, as well as how many calories they burn just doing their daily activities. That is why I take a body composition analysis on each of my clients, as well as find out what a “typical” week of exercise looks like for them, before I create a customized nutrition program. That way I am sure that the nutrition program meets their individual needs and lifestyle. And to be quite honest, if the “one size fits all” philosophy worked, we’d be seeing a better improvement in the overall health of our population.
With all of the said I can give you a general rule of thumb when it comes to creating your meals. My reading is leading me to believe that perhaps portion control is really the key to losing weight and keeping it off (for those that do not want to measure their food). What I mean by that is this: picture your plate, now divide it down the middle so that you now have two halves. Half of your plate should be full of fresh vegetables (preferably leafy green). Divide the second half into to two equal parts. In one of those halves you would have a lean protein source (eggs, fish, lean meat, poultry), and the remaining space would be filled with carbs (starchy – brown rice, whole-grain breads, etc.). Does that make sense?
Divided Plate Chart
The second general rule of thumb is this: if you tend to start your day “high” in carbs, be sure to taper your intake of starchy carbs throughout the day. The thinking behind this is that you give your body the rest of the day to burn off the starches you’ve taken in during the early hours of the day.
Remember, one size fits all does not work. Find out how your body works by getting a body composition analysis and that information along with your “typical” week of activity, should help put you right on target and ready for summer swimsuit season!
As always, please let me know if this information was helpful.