Nutrition For February 25th, 2011

A lot of women ask me how to control bloat. Our weight can fluctuate 5 lbs either way, on a daily basis. It is discouraging to weigh yourself and see that you are up 3 lbs when you have been working out like crazy and eating a healthy diet.

The way to control bloat is to watch your refined carbs. One gram of starchy carbs holds four grams of water, which is one of the reasons I adhere to a lower carb diet. I mainly stay between 50-100 grams of carbs a day and I stay far away from anything starchy (rice, bread of any kind, potatoes, etc. Oh yeah and SUGAR!). I do eat Fiber One every morning but the amount of fiber in that cereal lowers the the amount of carbs that you count toward your daily total. I'm sure you have heard the phrase 'impact carbs'. The amount of impact carbs in any given food is grams of total carbs - grams of fiber. For example a serving on Fiber One is 1/2 cup. It contains 25 grams of carbs and 14 grams of fiber. 25 - 14 = 11 grams of impact carbs.

Here is my nutrition intake for 2/25/11:

On this particular day I took my kids out for lunch so it shows what you can do if you do the same thing.


Breakfast
Muscle Milk Protein Bar
Snack
100 calorie pack of almonds
2 ounces of cheddar cheese

Lunch
Triple stack hamburger
3 pieces of American cheese
1/2 a hamburger bun

Snack
2 chicken thighs (just the meat from a teriyaki place that I had left over from the day before)

Dinner
2 fried chicken wings
1/4 cup rice
1 Bourbon and soda

Total calories: 2,277
Total carbs : 57 grms
Total Protein: 176

I am not suggesting that you eat the way that I do. A couple people commented on the fact that I eat no fruit and almost no vegetables. That's true. I do try to get more leafy greens in my diet on a daily basis. I manage to do that about three times a week in the form of spinach, broccoli and lettuce. Yes, you should eat vegetables but I do suggest that you are careful with how much fruit you eat. Research shows that the body still recognizes fruit as sugar.

Diet Tip

If fat loss is your goal, this week try eating half of everything you make or order. It is hard when you are really hungry.

All blogs/books/DVDs/Infomercials/trainers will tell you to think about how hungry you are before you eat, right? That's good advice but you have to know what real hunger is first. Until you can identify the difference between 'I want a sandwich' and 'I need to eat' it will be very difficult to figure out that true hunger cue. If you make yourself a whole sandwich, eat half and walk away. Check your e-mail, fold some laundry, walk your dog again....anything. After that, ask yourself how hungry you still are. You would be amazed at how little can make you feel full. Beside what is wrong with eating the second half and hour or two later? Eating every 2-3 hours is a great way to stay satiated all day. The food police are not going to arrest you for eating throughout the day, as a matter of fact they would probably REWARD you. It's a much better way then the three-squares thing.

It's sort of the same thing as the put-your-fork-down-between-bites or eat slowly advice except that you have a very clear goal. Stop at half. Plus if you are eating out with someone you get caught up in the conversation and may not think about putting your fork down. Everyone should enjoy going out!

I remember when I was bodybuilding I avoided going out. I never accepted dinner and party invitations and I refused date-nights with my husband. All I thought about was food. I didn't enjoy any of it! That's an extreme because I absolutely could not waver from my diet, but I was miserable without friends and family to enjoy some time with.

Socializing is part of our nature. So don't stop going out! Look at your plate, decide what's half and then have some fun.

I think it's easier at home. After I eat out I have to carry my doggy-bag with me and it's very enticing. Try putting it in the backseat and think about something else.

Try it this week and see what it does for you!!!