Visited my internal medicine doctor last week, for my six month check-up. Because I have high blood pressure, I like to keep it monitored.
I was actually looking forward to the visit because it would be the first time I weighed, since staring my new power walking regime.
Unfortunately, I GAINED 3 pounds! I was devastated!
My doctor assured me, walking the 2.6 miles at least 3 times a week was great, but perhaps I had boosted my appetite with my new routine.
He said eating carbohydrates would trump any exercise I had endured. Time for a
CARBOHYDRATE CUT BACK.
What are carbohydrates?
Any food containing refined sugars, starches, fibers and starchy vegetables the body eventually converts to glucose, the body’s primary source of energy.
There are two classes of carbohydrates
Simple carbs
Glucose = sugar
Fructose found in fruits and vegetables
Sucrose from beet or cane sugar
Lactose from milk
Quickly absorbed into the body
Provide almost no nutrients
Complex carbs
Starches
Fiber
Whole grains
Legumes
Take longer to digest
Provide more nutrients
What my doctor told me to avoid
My doctor’s advice: “Foods to limit the quantity include: bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, peas and corn.”
Other research I have done con-insides with my doctor’s advice.
If any of these items are listed as an ingredient – DO NOT EAT IT!
- Hydrogenated oil
- Processed soy
- Corn syrup
- High fructose corn syrup
- Enriched wheat flour
- Bleached or unbleached flour
- Sugar
- Acetic or lactic acid
- Sodium Nitrate or Nitrite – a known carcinogen
See my article Eliminating Processed Foods
These are foods which do NOT occur in food naturally – aka – CHEMICALLY PROCESSED.
Our bodies are not made to digest such foods.
Simple doctor recommendations
You can substitute whole wheat for the bread or pasta, use brown rice or wild rice instead of white rice.
Try non-processed breads such as 100% whole grain.
Some whole grains (like quinoa) are considered complete proteins (containing all 8 essential amino acids), once thought to only come from animal proteins or a combination of plant-based foods.
Sweet potatoes contain less calories and carbohydrate and contain more vitamin A and fiber than white potatoes.
Consume as much broccoli and cauliflower as you like.
Limit yourself to 100g of protein daily.
No need to ELIMINATE carbohydrates completely. According to my doctor, “You can still eat these foods but consider limiting quantities, such as use 1 medium potato, 1/3 or 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta.”
He asked me, “make a fist.” So I did.
This is the size of potato I should be eating.
He then said, “open your hand and cup it like as if you are holding water.” So I did.
This is the serving size of carbohydrates I should limit myself.
If you have an intensive exercise regime, carbohydrates are necessary to provide energy for the body.
One banana can provide the necessary energy to help you through your workout.
Carbohydrates, particularly whole grain varieties, also provide valuable nutrients such as B vitamins, so those who reduce carbohydrate intake to very low levels are at risk of deficiencies.
Doctor’s Bottom Line
Since I was unhappy with my lack of weight loss, my doctor suggested reducing my carbohydrate intake to boost my caloric burn.
He discouraged me from eliminating exercise because it has allowed me to gain better sleep.
But we will see if the curbing of the carbs will kick start my weight loss goals. Wish me luck….
4 Comments
Renee E Goddard
Good Luck JoAnn. I noticed you didn’t eat the bread the other day.
JoAnn
Thank you Renee for commenting. I tried a new recipe today, loaded cauliflower. It is like a loaded baked potato but with cauliflower instead of potato. It was tolerable but not enjoyable.
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samuel
I came across your blog while doing some research regarding processed foods. I couldn’t not agree more with you. I am also in the process of changing my eating habits. I have tried vegetarian, vegan, keto among other trendy diets, and none of them gave me the results I wanted. I am not trying to lose wight, in fact, I am trying to gain muscle. surprisingly, the magic formula to have a good health, lose or gain weight and have a glowing skin is nothing more than eating natural. And that’s what I have been doing for the last couple of months. my diet consists only in eating natural foods, meaning just fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk. That is it, no more grains, refined sugars, breads, pastries, chips and a whole list. One of the foods that was hardest to get rid of was bread, maybe I am allergic to gluten, but ever since I gave up bread, my overall health improved. So, it obviously depends on each person, but one of the things that is making people sick and no one talks about it is the bread (industrially made). Just look at the list of ingredients, literally there’s like 20 plus ingredients in there. I am not going to eat bread for a good minute, but if I ever crave bread, I am going to make sure I bake it myself.