Have you ever been annoyed by someone who mentions something in passing during conversation and never makes reference to it again, even though that very passing statement was the thing that interested you most? For instance:
You: "I love shopping at Ross! I found the best dress there!"
Annoying Person: "Yeah, and I found this really great navy suit there for my upcoming trial for holding my baby over a balcony like Michael Jackson. It was only $30! Say, we should go back sometime for pumps! I still need those for my suit. Unless you have any I could borrow...can we look in your shoe closet?"
You (sputtering): Um, sure...is black OK?"
Annoying Person: "Well, I don't know...what do you think? I was going to try for navy to match the suit, but do you think black would work? My silver heels are too flashy. Too bad, though...I got those for $7."
In the meantime, you could care less about the shoes. You are just wondering why your friend hung her baby over the balcony. And why in the world she would want to imitate Michael Jackson. And if now would be a good time to inform her that one of the Neverland Ranch pet tigers just died.
Anyway, I think I may have been that annoying person in my last blog. I kind of did this whole "balance proteins with carbs" spiel, and then never really followed through so you knew why that was part of my 30-day bridesmaid makeover. So, to avoid being likened to a psychotic King of Pop imitator, today's blog is following up on that, er, dangling thought.
One of the most critical elements that I stress in my health class is including both protein and carbohydrates in every meal and snack. And I am a little bit of a Journal Nazi about it when I review a person's diary that reveals that they only included one or the other in their snack time. I know that my students are trying to be really healthy, and that for them to list their snack as being an apple or watermelon instead of King-sized bag of M&M's is a huge step in the right direction. But, I also know that fruit alone just won't cut it. And when they swap out their Cheetos for a cheese stick, I'm really proud of them, but I remind them that something is missing.
The truth is, our bodies desperately need both components to survive. It really is a balancing act. While I may be a huge advocate for the elimination of processed carbohydrates like rice and white bread, I won't tell them to eat as much bacon as they want in lieu of their favorite bag of potato chips. This isn't Atkins 1.0. My students aren't supposed to be afraid of the GL of watermelon or apples or carrots. In fact, according to the developers of my class curriculum, doing so is downright dangerous. Consider this sobering information:
Fun Fact: In a review of diet participants on an eating plan similar to the high-protein/low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, all participants who lost weight still had the same percentage of body fat at the end of their weight loss that they did going into it. Instead, participants lost water weight, glycogen stores, and muscle mass, but no real fat was burned off.
Translation: When deprived of the glycogen fuel stores that your body obtains from carbohydrates, your system turns on itself like some creepy alien child in a sci-fi movie. Once it works its way through water weight and the three-day supply of glycogen reserves, it starts literally eating itself, feeding off your muscle as fuel, which is pretty darn gross. And it doesn't even eat the fat off to take care of the real problem. So it's pretty much pointless.
I'm not a huge proponent of my students literally wasting away. Or of creepy alien sci-fi movies. So, I make sure they are replenishing their glycogen stores all the time by the inclusion of clean carbs with every lean protein source. And since many protein sources have little to no GL, they can still stay easily within their target GL range of 10 or less, while giving their bodies extra fiber that protein just can't provide.
But I don't want to see them eat only to fuel their glycogen stores, either. If glycogen is the fuel source of the body, the muscles are the metabolic engine. Just having an apple as a snack or a salad as a meal isn't really accomplishing anything, either. And that's where protein comes in.
Protein helps build the muscles that my students develop through a more active lifestyle, and when that happens, their bodies can literally burn fat while they sleep. As if that weren't awesome enough, protein is also the critical element in making their new healthy lifestyle sustainable. When a student seems to be struggling with dropping energy levels or constant hunger, I can almost bet you that they are eating only rabbit food and neglecting their protein intake. I hate seeing a journal that lists a salad for lunch. Unless that bad boy has some grilled chicken or chopped eggs on it, there is no way two cups of lettuce and a cucumber is going to get you through the demands of a work day. And since I don't want my girls ever going hungry, I hate to see them think that 3 celery sticks is all they need to survive. That is absolutely the quickest way to shut down your metabolism, my friends. It's amazing how a little Greek yogurt ranch dip or a couple of eggs added to that celery will carry you! Protein promotes satiety and gives you the stamina to power through until the next meal, and it is the best insurance policy against a metabolic crash.
So, in a perfect world, what does a good combination look like?*
- Crustless quiche with a side of fruit
- An apple dipped in Greek yogurt
- Cottage cheese with fresh pineapple
- Diced hard-boiled eggs on salad loaded with veggies of your choice
- Air-popped popcorn sprinkled with Parmesan cheese
- Black Bean soup
- Grilled chicken with bell peppers and pineapple
- Grilled fish with a side of quinoa
- Deli turkey wrapped around a few pickle spears (don't knock it 'til you try it)
- Caramel Turtle Nut Brownie with milk (no, seriously, it's good for you!)
*Thanks to my friends Bob and Vicki Mihaylov at Trinity Health Weight Loss for these fabulous ideas...it's highly unlikely I would have come up with ideas nearly that good. I mean, I don't see Cinnabon with Cream Cheese Frosting on here (cream cheese is protein, right?), so I'm pretty sure my ideas would have been a little sketchy....
OK, well I hope that this little post has cleared things up a bit and not left you lying awake at night with unanswered questions. Except for the enticing part about the brownie. I guess I'm more annoying than I thought.
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