Yesterday, I started a short series on small changes you can make daily between now and the end of the year to be fully engaged with your changes when 2017 arrives.
Anyone who has read my blogs knows that my one underlying principal change to make in their lives for great health is balanced nutrition with reduced calories. How does this translate into an end of year transition?
First, educate yourself on calories. How many calories are you currently eating at each meal? Where do they come from? The majority of us have many more calories coming from carbohydrates and fats compared to proteins, fruits and vegetables. Knowing what you are eating is the beginning of making a permanent change in your life.
Education and awareness are the basis of making intelligent decisions – not wishing and hoping and feeling good about the foods you eat. We do not need carbohydrates for great health. They can be eliminated and your health would improve accordingly. I am talking about the carbohydrates obtained from bread, rice, corn, potatoes and like sources.
Yes, the Food Guide Pyramid says that we need healthy grains – as many as 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta daily. That is absolutely crazy. The original recommendation was 3-4 servings per day. However, follow the money, as with many things in our world, and you will see the influence of the processed wheat and corn industries. Who makes money when you are eating more wheat and corn products?
I think the Food Guide Pyramid was a good idea but sold out to special interest groups rather than relying on scientific findings. When you have the basis of your daily food selections laden with carbohydrates, simple sugars and fats (not the ones that are healthy for you), the result is obesity, diabetes and other related diseases.
My recommendation, again, along with your physician’s approval/review if you are on certain types of prescription medicines, is to begin withdrawing processed foods and other high-carbohydrate foods from your daily food list. Start out by reducing/eliminating them five or six days a week during December. You can still have that big pasta dinner once a week until 2017.
Red,Robin and I are in absolute agreement with you. The carbs over this holiday weekend has changed my sleep habits, drastically. I wake up in the AMB and sweat. When we were without the carbs, 8 hours of straight sleep was the norm. I’m work traveling this week and have promised myself to eat healthy. It isn’t that hard to stay on track, keeping calories and carbs in mind while enjoying a good meal.
That was AM.