Healthy Schmealthy

 As promised today I will be posting the menu my doctor put together for me.  For the first 4-6 months I stuck to this without change.  I was scared into this because of the diabetes so I was terrified to eat anything else!  However, once I lost more weight and I was able to walk so much more, I had to add food to help me keep my sugars level, especially when I was able to stop taking the medication. 

~When exercising~

When you exercise more you should always add healthy carbs.  Fruit, potatoes, sports drinks or energy bars would all do the trick, and are generally best consumed 30 minutes to two hours prior to your hard workout (the bigger meal, the longer the time you’ll want to allow for digestion).

~A healthy tip from Sean Flanery.~

Take Metamucil- two HEAPING spoonfuls of the Orange flavored Metamucil in a cold glass of water every night.  It is good fiber and fiber also helps with your blood sugar if you are diabetic.

~Back to the basics~

Basically it isn’t so much about eating the fat-free variety of things, because a lot of that stuff has chemicals and crap in it that it is harder for your body to process.  The organic people have it right, but you don’t have to eat solely organic.  Just try to eat natural stuff.  I.e.; kick out the bags, boxes and cans in your house.  When you shop at the grocery store, hit the outside of the store.  If you go down the aisles let it be for barley, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, coconut oil, or quinoa (great source of protein, kind of high in carbs, but they are good carbs). I typically do not eat pasta or rice but if I do, I go for the whole grain stuff.  Also, bread… I could go on and on about bread, I have tried it all.  I did the sandwich thins like my doctor suggested for about the first year before I switched to Dave’s Killer Bread.  That stuff rocks! It is also organic so you are getting less processed and more natural ingredients. And after eating those sandwich thins for so long, just one piece of bread for toast or a sandwich is actually enough to fill me up now.  A good friend of mine eats the Ezekiel bread.  I have heard this is really good for you too because it is the bread that God tells Ezekiel to make in the bible (Ezekiel 4:9).

~Good carbs vs. bad carbs~


 

A good carb is what you find in fruits and veggies, where as bad carbs are what you find in processed foods like donuts, potato chips and cookies.

The following chart explains it a little better than I can...

~In conclusion~

·         Skip refined and processed foods altogether.

    ·         Read the label to see if there is added sugar. Be wary of the "-oses" like high

               fructose corn syrup.

 

    ·         Choose whole grains (oats, some cereals, rye, millet, quinoa, whole wheat

                      and brown rice), beans, legumes, fruits and vegetables.

    ·         Try to have 40% of your total caloric intake come from complex

                     carbohydrates.

    ·         Avoid the lure of low-fat foods, which contain a sizable amount of calories

                     from sugar.

    ·         Avoid the lure of low-carb foods, which sometimes have more calories

                      from fat.

~And finally, the MENU~

Breakfast:
Orowheat sandwhich thin (toasted) Egg
1/4 small avacado (or substitute with sargentos light provolone)

Snack:
protein bar (low carb and low calorie) or 1 string cheese

           Lunch:
           Flatout bread (best life)
           1/4 small avocado (or substitute with sargentos light provolone)
           2 slices of foster farms 98% ff turkey
           Tomato slices 

Snack:
protein bar  (low carb and low calorie)

          Dinner: Low fat lean pork, chicken, turkey, fish or r tuna
          Spinach salad:
          50 g spinach
          100 g tomato
          100 g cucumber
          50 g bell pepper
          50 g mushrooms
          50 g onion
          30 g paul newmans lite balsamic vinaigrette
          200 g of steamed veggies (either asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli )

Evening snack:
1/2 yoplait fruit smoothie 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (I usually just use a cup of frozen fruit, the Yoplait is spendy)

~  ~  ~

Today's blog was a little different, but I just wanted to give some of you a place to start.  I still cannot express enough the importance of checking with your doctor before you start any kind of eating plan or even an exercise program.  I had to start from the basics and work my way up.  I still eat a variation of this menu, but since I am a much different size now, and the amount of time I spend walking and working out have changed, I have had to change it up a bit. 

If there are any of you out there who have any good recipes or food plans that you have found helpful, please post in comments about them. I  would love to hear from all of you! 

As always God bless you all and remember to SHINE!