I know, I know…. It’s about time….
You have been asking over and over, for so long…..”Jessy, please tell me HOW TO EAT in order to help me get lean and fit, and reach my goals.”
Well don’t worry, I will be making some awesome new videos soon that will invite you into MY kitchen with ME, so that you can learn how to get a better body by eating healthier.
I will be showing you STEP-BY-STEP how to make healthy breakfasts, lunches, suppers and snacks.
But FIRST, it is really important for you to know the BASICS about foods, so that you can understand WHY you should eat a certain way.
So I want to teach you about Carbohydrates (Carbs) today.
I want you to know which carbs are good for you and which ones you should stay away from.
I also want you to know how much carb you should be eating, when you should eat carbs, and when you should avoid them.
Okay so let’s start with what carbohydrates are.
A carbohydrate is a food that gets broken down by your body into sugar (also known as glucose).
Examples of carbohydrate foods are: breads, cereals, rice, pasta, grains, fruit, starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, carrots, peas, squash, beans like chickpeas, lentils, kidneys), and sugary foods like desserts, candy, chocolate and pop.
All carbohydrates will get broken down into glucose.
We need glucose in our blood for energy.
Glucose is like our gas. It’s fuel for our body!
The problem arises when we have TOO MUCH glucose in our blood, because high amounts of glucose in our blood are actually TOXIC.
Diabetics who can’t handle glucose properly, can actually DIE if they have high blood sugar (glucose) levels.
Our body is really smart and can protect us from toxic amounts of sugar in our blood.
Different hormones will actually turn these sugars into something called glycogen which is stored in our liver and muscles.
Our bodies can only store a certain amount of sugar as glycogen though.
Once our glycogen stores are full, our body will turn the rest of the sugar into fatty acids and store them as fat in our fat cells.
Does this make sense to you?
Reread this if it doesn’t because it is important for you to really get this so that you can make wise choices about how much carb you should eat and when you should eat it.
Don’t worry if you have to read this over a couple of times.
My mom taught me all of this and I didn’t get it at first either.
Now that I understand this, it really makes it easy for me to choose my foods wisely.
Okay so let’s get into a bit more detail…
When small amounts of carb are eaten, the glucose that comes from that small amount of carb will enter the bloodstream and be used immediately.
When you eat a meal that is really high in carbs, or you eat candy, chocolate, desserts or pop, too much glucose enters the bloodstream.
Your body will be triggered to BURN glucose INSTEAD of stored body fat as it’s main source of fuel.
Now if you are lean then burning glucose is ok.
If you have a goal to BURN FAT, then you obviously don’t want to be a “sugar burner.”
The other problem with eating a lot of carbs is that if you are not very active (like before bed), or you only had a short Power Girl workout, your body MUST store the extra glucose.
Once your liver and muscle stores of glycogen are full, the rest of the glucose from the high carb food or snack will get turned into fat.
It is really about common sense.
Ask yourself, “Is it wise to have cookies and milk before bed?”
And by the way, milk has more carb in it than protein.
I hope you said no to my question above.
Let’s talk about why…
The cookies will get broken down into sugar (glucose) and since there is some carb in the milk, there will be even more glucose for the body to deal with.
All this glucose WILL end up being stored either in your liver and muscle (as glycogen) or in your fat cells.
Let’s face it. The chance of your body burning anything before bed is pretty slim unless of course that is when you do your Power Girl workout.
Another reason you don’t want to eat a high carb snack before bed is because the hormone responsible for lowering your blood sugars (insulin), will soar because of the high amount of sugar in your blood.
High levels of insulin at bedtime is really bad because it blocks Human Growth Hormone (HGH) release.
HGH helps to repair your body and grow gorgeous Power Girl muscles.
High insulin levels before bed will also leave you feeling groggy in the morning and even hungrier because your blood glucose levels dropped a bit too much.
So eating carb before bed is a BAD idea.
Does that make sense? I hope so.
If it still doesn’t make sense to you, then read over this material until it does.
Don’t worry if you don’t get this right away – remember, it took me a while to understand all of this too.
So what would be a good snack before bed?
Veggies are definitely a great choice.
Avoid the starchy ones before bed.
If you are really active then extra protein before bed is a good idea too.
You definitely don’t want to have alot of anything before bed because even too much protein will get stored as fat.
I’ll talk more about protein in a future blog.
I sometimes will have half of my protein shake before bed.
The really cool thing about protein is that when you eat some with a carb, it slows down how fast the sugar (glucose) will enter into your blood.
Less of the blood sugar lowering hormone (insulin), will be produced.
Remember that insulin drives glucose to be stored as Fat, and it blocks the Growth Hormone that build your gorgeous muscles.
Keeping in mind that a little protein with a little carb is a good snack, why not have a 1/4 or 1/2 of a banana with some almond butter.
A rice cracker or half a slice of a whole grain bread with some chicken or low fat cheese is another option.
A small amount of greek yogurt (1/4 cup) plus a few berries is another great bedtime snack.
Keep in mind that during the night you don’t burn that many calories – so keep your snack small and stick to veggies if you can.
The bedtime snacks mentioned above are great things to snack on during the day as well.
You may need to increase the amount by a bit to keep your Power Girl body fuelled.
Okay…just a bit more.
How much carb should you aim for at a meal? Well I would suggest 1 to 2 fistfuls. If you’re super active maybe 3.
So if you make a fist that is probably about 1/2 cup worth or 1 small slice of bread.
If you want to loose weight then you should stick with a fistful.
If you want to maintain your weight then 2 fistfuls is ideal.
If you want to get your body super busy and push your Power Girl workouts to a more intense level, then 2-3 fistfuls should do it.
Remember that you should never eat carbs alone.
Protein with carbs is always a good idea as it slows down the speed at which the sugar (from carb), is entering your bloodstream.
The best carb choices are ones that are low in sugar and high in fibre.
Veggies are the best!
Other high fibre, low sugar choices are: whole grains, oatmeal, beans and sweet potatoes or yams.
Try whole grains like: millet, wild or forbidden rice, quinoa, aramanth, spelt or kamut.
Fruits are high in fibre but also higher in sugar so DON’T eat lots of fruits thinking you’ve made a great choice. 1/2 -1 fruit per meal is plenty.
Well this is my longest blog to date.
I am committed to giving you what you’ve been asking for.
In future blogs I’ll talk about Proteins and Fats like I did today with Carbs.
My goal is to help you be the BEST you can be!
Remember, you really are what you eat!
Be great!
Your friend and coach,
Jessy Lipke
