Here's a SNEAK PEEK of my May Yoga + Fitness Newsletter! If you would like to see the rest, just let me know and I will email it to you! There's some great exercises and articles you can checkout to get you ready for swimsuit season :)
Let's talk about FAD DIETS!
There are so many fad diets to choose from these days. The South Beach diet, the Cookie diet, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers, Nurtisystem, Atkins diet and on, and on...Most of these, especially the Atkins diet, emphasize the importance of eating LOTS of protein (usually animal protein) and limiting your carbohydrate intake. These diets also encourage extreme calorie restriction and focus on foods that lack natural fiber and nutrients. When you eat only animal protein and processed "diet" food you are lacking the powerful minerals and enzymes from fruits and vegetables that promote beauty from the inside out! A great question I always ask myself when I'm picking out food is "How close to its natural state is this food?" For example, we are led to believe meal replacement bars are good for you. They are high in protein and fiber and claim to help you lose weight, right? Well have you taken a look at the ingredients in these bars lately? I've included th ingredients of an Atkins bar below that I used to eat before I started to understand the importance of eating REAL foods. Tell me if you can even pronounce half of the ingredients or have any idea where they came from?
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Atkins Advantage Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar Ingredients:Protein Blend (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate, Sodium Caseinate), Glycerin, Polydextrose, Peanuts, Hydrolyzed Gelatin, Palm Kernel and Palm Oil, Water, Peanut Butter (Ground, Roasted Peanuts), Cellulose, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Natural Artificial Flavors, Vitamin Mineral Mix [Tricalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Vitamin A Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Sodium Ascorbate, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), DL-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Niacinamide, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Zinc Oxide, Folic Acid, Chromium Chelate, Phytonadione (Vitamin K1), Sodium Selenite] Olive Oil, Clarified Butter, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Salt, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Sucralose, Mono and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Acesulfame Potassium FR01
CONTAINS PEANUTS, SOY AND MILK.
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Our bodies were not meant to properly digest these kinds of "foods" so we aren't actually absorbing anything beneficial. I've had so many clients complain about how these kinds of meal replacement bars and protein shakes wreak havoc on their stomachs. It's pretty easy to understand why if you just pay attention to what you're actually eating.
Animal protein (beef, chicken, venison, lamb, pork, fish, eggs, etc) is difficult to digest as well. To back up, let's understand protein. Our bodies don't actually use protein per se, it uses amino acids. Long chains of amino acids make up protein. The human body has to break down the amino acid chains and reconstruct them in a certain order specific to our bodies. So it's important to not only look at how much protein we are eating, but the
quality of our foods' amino acids and how readily available they are. Most animal protein is cooked, which can destroy the amino acids, making them toxic and largely unavailable for our body's use. In addition, animal protein takes about twice as long as other foods to pass through our digestive system leaving large amounts of acidic residue in our bodies including uric acid, purines and ammonia by-products. These toxins are then absorbed into our blookdstream through the colon and circulate all around our body. When our blood is clogged with toxins, it cannot transport as many beautifying minerals leading to the aging and clogging of our facial skin cells. To proteact our vital organs, our body has to store these toxins and acidic residue somewhere. So fat cells are expanded and hold onto these harmful remnants caused by an overload of processed food and animal protein. The more toxicity you have in your body, the faster you will age and the more you will struggle with maintaining your ideal weight
consistently.A 2002 study published by the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine researched fifty-one obese people that were put on the low-carb Atkins Diet. Over six months forty-one subjects maintained the diet and lost an average of twenty pounds. The participants were consuming an average of only 1,450 calories per day which is 35 percent less than the average American consumption of 2,250 calories per day. So in other words, anyone can lose weight when they restrict their daily calories by at least 35 percent, at least for the interim. However, the additional side effects of eating the high protein diet low in fruits and vegetables included: 68% of the subjects reporting constipation, 63% reporting bad breath, 51% reporting headache and 10% reporting hair loss. In addition, 53% had an increase of the amount of calcium excreted in their urine, which is a huge problem for bone density and health. Scary stuff!!! Other complications from a high protein, low carb diet founded by a study published in the
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition included heart arrhythmias, cardiac contractile function impairment, sudden death, osteoporosis, kidney damage, increased cancer risk, impairment of physical activity and lipid abnormalities.
Now, I'm not promoting the elimination of animal protein completely from your diet. I'm not a full-fledged vegetarian or completely raw or vegan. However, I eat A LOT more natural plant-based, REAL food than animal protein and processed foods because I know the facts and I've experienced the DIFFERENCE in how I feel and look. And yes, I'm getting plenty of plant-based protein in my diet by eating an abundance of nuts, seeds, spinach, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, summer squash and asparagus. How do these foods have protein you ask? Remember the amino acids we talked about earlier, well all of these foods have an abundance of the essential amino acids needed to be considered a "complete protein." In fact, 100 calories of broccoli has 11.2 grams of protein, while 100 calories of steak only has 5.4 grams of protein. Interesting, huh? In addition to protein, you are getting an abundance of minerals, enzymes, vitamins and fiber that you can't get anywhere else leading to a consistently healthier body and mind!
Remember - You can't always believe what the media tells you! Knowledge is power and when we know better we do better! For additional information on how you can become healthier, checkout:
The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder.
