Day One Hundred and Fifty Eight!!!!!!

Foods are made up of three macronutrients which are sources of dietary energy. Carbohydrates which are the sugars, starches, and fibres is one main macronutrient. Carbohydrates have two categories; simple and complex. 


Simple carbohydrates, means that they are easy for your body to access and mostly come from sugars that we add to our food.


Complex carbohydrates, are more difficult for your body to access, higher in fibre, and therefore digest more slowly. Fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains have not been processed and so they are unrefined complex carbs. They are absorbed more slowly, keep your blood sugar stable, are full of nutrients, have fewer carb grams, and help control hunger. 


Refined complex carbs on the other hand, are processed foods like white bread or fruit juice which have been stripped of their fibre and have lost most of their nutritional value.


The other two macronutrients are proteins and fats. Healthy fats are an important part of a healthy diet. A higher protein and fat regiment allows you to feel full, satisfied, improves weight loss, and also improves cholesterol. 


Along with the bodies need for macronutrients, comes the need for hydration, and so it is really important to be hydrated and helpful to your daily need for hydration is to eat foods that have high water content. When you eat foods that have a high water content this helps your daily diet regiment to maintain your hydration. For example, all of these foods that I am going to list have more than 90% water content; cucumber, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower, watermelon, spinach, baby carrots, broccoli, and grapefruit. 


I think the key is to find a passion for these nutritional foods. The truth is, that these nutritional foods are actually filling, and tasty, and good for you. 


Unfortunately we associate certain foods that are high in carbohydrates with pleasure and comfort. When we smell certain aromas of foods we feel a sense of reliving child hood, feeling safe, and reliving a sense of family. These high carbohydrate and lovely smelling foods become a blanket for emotions that provide that sense of love and comfort and belonging that we crave. These foods are fine for celebrations, but they are not conducive to maintaining a healthy weight on a daily basis.


The idea is that when we go to the grocery store we need to stay on the outside aisles which comprises your meats, dairy, your cheese, your fruits and vegetables. These are the daily constants of a healthy diet.


Unfortunately, we spend the majority of our time walking up and down the inside processed food aisles looking for simple carbohydrates and refined complex carbohydrates. 


We do this because it has become habit. We also do this in order to fill that sense of food as a reward, food as friend, food as love, food as support, and a way to numb unwanted emotions. 


In order to actually feel good about eating healthy we actually need to develop a passion for it.  It is the passion to be healthy and look good that keeps us directed to the foods that give us what we really need, which is a true reward of doing, feeling, and looking good.