You’ll be happy to know, I endorse carbohydrates (carbs)…for most people. I know plenty of people who are healing their bodies, getting healthy and eating carbs. I also know plenty of people who are eating carbs and are NOT getting healthy. What gives?!
Carbohydrates are foods that contain a good amount of starch and sugar. The starch and sugar, if your body doesn’t need them right away, turns to FAT. So if you are having trouble losing weight – DING DING DING. This just solved part, if not all, of your problem!
Flour, potatoes and squash are all carbs. Some carbs have nutritional value and some do not.
Mistake #1: Things like processed foods, cake, muffins, cookies, brownies, and pasta used to be my favorite foods. I ate them with every meal. That was a mistake.
Nutrient-Deficient Carbs
Some carbs lack real nutrition. The wheat flour, these foods are made of, is a highly processed, wheat “product”. I call it a product because the flour in bags at the grocery store is far removed from the wheat God made. Food manufacturers strip wheat berries of the nutritious germ and bran. Then proceed to sell them off individually (have you ever purchased a container of wheat germ before?). Consuming wheat in parts and pieces is not how God intended for us to consume wheat. Otherwise He would have made it that way!
Wheat, in its whole form, contains carbohydrates, proteins, fiber (soluble and insoluble), vitamins A, B, E, K, minerals (calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and selenium), and amino acids. God created YOU, so obviously He knows what to fill His Creation with to sustain and enrich human life.
Check the label from the bread you purchased at the store. Most have chemical versions of B vitamins. All have preservatives. This is true for just about anything you buy in a box or bag. Our bodies weren’t meant to consume chemical versions of nutrients. How crazy is it that Americans skip the Produce Department, which is full of God’s abundance, and instead fill their carts with fake, chemical wannabes.
Please start reading the labels of the processed food you buy. Better yet, stop buying it and eat nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits! They were made especially for us by the Creator.
The best way to consume whole grains, by the way, is to buy them whole, then cook them or grind them to make your own flour. I buy wheat in bulk, and grind it fresh as I need it in my Vitamix dry grains container. You can also purchase something called a grain mill to do the job and it will grind flour finer than the Vitamix.
As a side note, I purchased my Vitamix with two containers, wet and dry. This allowed me to have fewer appliances to save space. Since I’m gluten-free, I also grind gluten-free grains such as sorghum, amaranth, quinoa, etc., in the dry grains Vitamix container.
Nutrient-Deficient Carb Loading
Okay, so if you are a marathon runner or triathlete, and find loading up on carbs is beneficial for you, ignore this section. Otherwise, I need to point out Mistake #2.
Not only did I love my nutrient-deficient carbs, but I devoured them like a wild animal. By filling my gut with all those carbs I wasn’t really hungry for anything else. This caused a couple of problems.
For starters, I was malnourished. We need 12 servings of vegetables and fruits per day, heavy on the veggies. I might have gotten a veggie or two per day and some fruit.
Second, these empty carbs fed the bad bacteria and the candida in my gut. This created an unbalanced microbiome and, with the help of antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and tremendous stress, led me down the road to debilitation.
From one friend to another, get this garbage out of your house.
Nutrient-Dense Carbs
Root vegetables and winter squashes are considered starchy vegetables. This is important! You can begin replacing your pasta, chips and crackers with these kinds of vegetables. For example, you can thinly slice sweet potatoes, white potatoes, beets and yucca root, toss them in olive or coconut oil, then roast them in the oven. You can buy them too, but they are expensive in comparison to how inexpensive it is to do it yourself.
Starchy Proteins are considered a carbohydrate and a protein. So having a bowl of peas and corn means you are getting double the starch.
Filling your plate with these is an improvement to the nutrient-deficient carb,
but they don’t fill all of your nutritional needs. You don’t want half of your plate to be starches.
Which is why…
You Want Geometry
Think of your plate as portions divided into fourths. Your options are proteins, starchy proteins, carbs, starchy veggies, and non-starchy veggies. We have a lot of choices about what we put on our plate. How do we make balanced decisions?
So what exactly does this look like? Let me give you some menu ideas that might kick-start your road to a geometrically balanced plate!
Low-carb/low-sugar Plate:
Roasted chicken, roasted carrots and asparagus, & a small side salad
Sautéed shrimp with organic cream and garlic sauce & sautéed spinach and mushrooms, over spaghetti squash
Protein-based or Fruit Option Plate:
This plate allows you to focus on more protein (by choosing a Starchy Protein instead of fruit) or adding a little sweet to your plate with fruit, if you are craving sweets.
Grilled chicken; sliced tomatoes with olive oil, minced garlic and basil; sliced cucumbers, & red grapes (or grilled zucchini)
Sausage, sauerkraut, sautéed red onions, & apple slices (or brown rice)
No carb/no sugar Plate:
Grilled hamburger topped with bruschetta and a salad
Pork chops, steamed cauliflower, roasted artichokes, & sautéed red onions
Your Plate and You
Try each of these plates for about 3 weeks. Paying special attention to how you feel during this process will help you determine which works best for you. Maybe you feel better with a little starch in your diet, maybe you feel better without. Maybe your muscle tone improves with a little more protein on your plate. Maybe after weeks of eating No carb/no sugar Plates, you easily drop a few pounds.
Find what works for you.
I have to mention one caveat. Our bodies are always changing, as are our circumstances. Staying in-tune with your body helps you change what you eat to support the place your body is in. There is never one formula that fits everybody in every circumstance or season of their life. You are always changing, and so should your plate.
Eat well!
12 servings of fruits/vegetables a day!? For real?
Think in terms of servings not like a whole piece of fruit or an entire squash. I make it easy and say about 1/2 cup is a serving for most veggies and half of a piece of fruit for a serving of fruit. You can Google what a serving is for each fruit and veggie, but I feel it’s more important to get variety, which will get you close to 12 servings.
Twelve servings is a lot, but even getting 8 servings is great.
The point is, work in fruits and veggies all day.
Well done, my friend! I love the plate graphics and examples! And I’m with you on the 12 servings…I feel my best when I eat 9-10 cups of veggies/day. When I strive to hit that number, it keeps my sweets cravings at bay. 🙂
Thanks Heather! I feel more energetic and generally happier when I eat more veggies. It’s as if my body feels “wrong” on days I only get like 6 servings of fruit/veggies. I eat small meals and snacks throughout the day, so I’m sure my “serving” is different from the FDA’s but we all have to do what works for our own bodies!