Eating Right-- The War on Carbs is OVER (Part 1 of a miniseries on eating right)

So, unforuntately, we gals get caught up in issues regarding our weight. Now, when you become a crazy runner chick, health generally takes a priority in your life, because you have to fuel up properly and you run off a bajillion calories so you tend to stay slim. With that in mind, people always have to add their input regarding our health, their own justifications for their health, and the ability or excuses that make up our world of diet and exercise. That being said, we're going to talk about some of the things that we commonly hear from our friends and coworkers and families, and hopefully share just a little information. (Disclaimer: we are not scientists. Or doctors. Or dieticians. Or snake-oil vendors.)

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Here's a fun little conversation I get to have with people at least once a week.

Them: "I cut carbs right out." "I don't eat carbs" "I'm doing low carb diet."
Me: soooo.... are you eating your fruits and vegetables?

"Oh yes, of course. I have salads and carrots and celery and apples...."
You know those are carbs right?

"What?!"
fruits and veggies... carbs...

"Oh, well I mean I cut the carbs like breads, pastas, rice...."
so how are you getting your Vitamin Bs? Or Fiber?

"What?"
Your whole grains are your best sources for fiber and vitamin B and other minerals.

"Oh, well I will have some whole grains."
Right. So you do have fruits and veggies, you are eating your whole grains. But you're saying you're not eating processed junk food, is that right?

"Uh.... I guess..."
GREAT!!! Just keep doing that!!!!

I'm by no means the carb police. I am a fitness instructor and a chef and I had my own weight loss journey and I put myself out there with this blog. And, not to brag, but I am slender enough that people often need to ask me what I do or tell me what they do. I honest-to-goodness get people coming up to me in the grocery store to tell me about their diet plans. And most of the time, people have no idea what they are doing.

And me? I'm not qualified to tell you what to do.

But if you tell me you don't do carbs, or sugar, or fat, or that you are trying to "eat healthy" then maybe I can make a few suggestions. Primarily:

I wish I could say that there was indeed, weight loss in a bottle or a specific diet that would work for anyone, everyone, and be super easy and cheap and delicious. But here's the cold hard science: 1 pound = 3500 calories. How you spend or control those 3500 calories is entirely up to you. Trade your greasy hamburger for TONS of lettuce that is lower in calories? It will work. Exercise an hour a day and change your afternoon snack from soda and sugary granola bar to water and a banana? It will work. Drink a smoothie that claims to be a weight loss miracle but, in reality, just has a lot of fiber and protein to sit heavy in your stomach and just relies on calorie deprivation? That will work too. Not because it's a miracle product, but because it's relying on basic calorie deprivation.

So you see, I have no real simple answer about what to eat and what not to eat. Most of the time, I have no idea what to say when you tell me that you are eating healthy, because I don't know what that looks like compared to how you used to eat. I have a feeling if I sold you on a diet plan that consisted of only 1200 calories of chocolate cookies and then told you you only had to walk 30 minutes... you'd still lose weight eating all those cookies because of the simple calorie deprivation. (But don't do that. That seems just a bit irresponsible.)

But for the sake of my sanity, please quit telling me you don't do carbs. You NEED carbs.

Do you know what carbohydrates are? A group of organic compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogren, and oxygen, which can be broken down into energy.

How does that relate to the 3500 calories = 1 pound principle? A calorie, is in fact, a measure of energy. Actually, it measures in terms of heat which is why we refer to "burning off calories."

So, you know how you move and breathe and think hard all day right? You NEED ENERGY!

I like to ask people to think of their bodies as a warehouse. If you take in the amount of carbs that you need send out as energy, your warehouse stays clean, right? It comes in, it ships out. But if you take in excess carbs or even low carbs but you don't send them back out as energy, they have to pile up on the shelves, waiting for their turn to get used up and shipped out. Your body/warehouse starts storing up lots and lots of excess energy, and eventually, you have to expand your warehouse to hold this excess. You know what this looks like on your actual body? Yeah, fat. Sorry, no nice way of putting it.

So maybe slow down the intake and start sending out more energy bundles and you'll start clearing the shelves and your warehouse will be light and clean again, right?

Okay. Bottom line people. Educate yourself. Don't do "no carb" because it worked for someone else. Don't buy into someone's miracle shakes when the ultimate principle is still calorie deprivation. Burn off more energy. Break down that stored energy and send it on its way. Walk, run, dance with your kids and grandkids. Don't eat pizza for an entire week. Quit drinking sodas and enjoy the great outdoors more.

Love your body. Be gentle with yourself. Eat your fruits and veggies. Move more.

Also, if you do lose weight eating only 1200 calories in cookies, send me the before and after pictures. And money, because I copyrighted that miracle diet.

Happy Eating and Running! ~Jen