So I sorta, kinda found a diet plan to follow ... maybe. I actually started it Monday and must admit after just 5 days of clean eating I'm feeling a million times better already. I say kinda because I'm not following it to a tee, but more on that later. And despite some heartfelt and most likely wise advise NOT to diet from some friends and family in response to my last blog, I’m still gonna give it a go.
The plan is one that comes with a new workout craze that's out in the market of late called Insanity. If anyone stays up watching late night infomercials on t.v. you'll know what I'm referring to; it's also the successor of P90X, another very popular workout series from a few years back.
I must admit when I first heard of this workout and its accompanying meal plan, I assumed that it would be a waste of my time ... extremely low cal, low or no carb, and super restrictive in terms of choices and variety. Well I ended up eating my own words. It's actually, IMHO, a pretty damn good plan.
It has you calculate the required amount of calories to eat per day based on something called the Harris Benedict equation, the very same equation that my nutrition book recommends as a means for healthy eating. The formula first calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the number of calories you would burn at rest; just to live and breathe. It then factors in daily activity, resulting in a number that represents how many calories you should consume daily to maintain your current weight, based on your current level of physical activity. Then to gain or lose weight you simply add or subtract from this number. It also recommends doing this by no more than 500 calories, which would result in a gain or loss of one pound per week. 500 x 7 days per week = 3500 calories, the equivalent of one pound. Yes, it's still ALWAYS about the numbers ;)
Other than the fact that it allows a safe and effective amount of calories that won't leave you feeling deprived and/or starving, I like it because there's lots of variety (there are over 50 recommended meals included), it has you eating 5 or more times a day (woot woot !!), and most of all it includes plenty of carbs !!
So to address the title to my post today, to carb or not to carb, my answer is abso-fucking-lutely :)
I do now, and always have, and always will, eat carbs. And here’s why ...
* the body needs carbs - it's our primary source of energy for working out, and for basic everyday living
* carbs do not make you fat
* carbs are not the enemy
* I love my carbs :)
* and last but not least ... CARBS DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT !!
I really don't want to get in to all the technical aspects of it, but please please please trust me on this one. This is actual fact, not information from some journalist, or a "doctor" with a PhD in horticulture that decided to get on the multiple-million dollar diet bandwagon by taking advantage of the latest fad and writing a diet book, thereby getting rich off millions of desperate hopefuls looking for a miracle cure.
The bottom line is you get fat by exercising too little and eating too much, of anything !! Anyone who loses weight on a low carb or no carb diet does so because by limiting or restricting carbs they are by default reducing their caloric intake. Period.
Yes yes, there are "bad carbs" out there that we should try and avoid, or at least minimize. Cakes, pies, sweets, donuts and all those other sugary sweet treats that most people tend to crave. However not all carbs fall into this category and the rest of them are not only part of a healthy, balanced diet, they are 100% completely necessary in your diet. Whole grains, fruits, veggies, brown rice and pasta; for god’s sake people please eat and enjoy these wonderfully delicious and nutritious foods.
That being said, it’s even okay to eat those bad, evil carbs now and again (white bread and white rice ... OH THE HORROR !!!). Eating them in moderation won't kill you or make you fat. Deprivation never works in the long run, trust me on this one. You know how many times I've heard people say "I'm gonna do that (insert the name of a low carb diet here) again, it really worked the first time"? If it really worked the first time, why do you need to do it again ?!?!
So that's why I said in my first paragraph that I'm not following this new diet to a tee. I'm following the general guidelines and have used several of their meal suggestions this week, but even then not 100% of the time. If I go out with friends or to a party or event, I will enjoy said event and not think about restricting my food or alcohol intake. I mostly just need to keep that in check. No stopping off at 7-Eleven to load up on junk food on my way home :( No more 3, 4 or 5 day binges of eating everything in site until I’m nearly ready to puke.
OK maybe not never, but not nearly as often ;-)
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