A Day in Cooler 1 (ok actually a really long lesson on food)

Here's the thing, cooler 1 might be restrictive but by no means does it lack in quantity of food.  And no I don't mean I'm eating like a rabbit (bushels of greens).  Many people will assume that because I'm losing weight I must be starving myself.  Ohhhh couldn't be farther from the truth, I actually get very tired of eating by day 5.  The other thing that people assume, "ohhh I guess you aren't eating fats and carbs".  Again, not true.  But I suppose it would be easier to beleive me if you read what I actually consume in a day. 

First of all I consume all the macronutrients which are essential in keeping me alive, I am consuming all the nutrients needed to support my body, my activity level and my baby.  Ok short biology lesson, skip the next few paragraph if you don't want the lecture!  Macronutrients are: protein, carbohydrates and fats.  We pretty much know what protein is, but just in case, proteins are made up of amino acids; basically these fit together like jigsaw to create what ever is needed, muscle (obviously), all cells, hormones, enzymes...you get it right?  They make things, they fix things... So obviously you need protein to live!

 Next is carbohydrate...  ooooohhh that big scary word that everyone on a diet thinks they don't need or should cut out!  Oh lord!  That thought actually pains me,  would you expect your car to run on water!  Nope, your body needs carbs because it is the energy (I think a high school teacher once told me a car would run on sugar water???)  Your body needs energy to LIVE!!!! Just in case you don't beleive me, understand this at least, your brain can only use carbohydrates to work (not fats,not proteins)! Ok seriously now that we understand that conscept.  Lets understand that carbs are not all made equal. Simple carbs are short chains of sugars that cannot be broken down anymore. These are the ones that I try to avoid at all costs.  These are the "white poison" of the food world.  These are the carbs that spike insulin levels which then makes your body "store, store, store"... NOT what you want when you are trying to lose weight!  Complex carbs..(complex and long strings of sugars) in short, are pretty much everything else (that isn't a fat or protein).  So yes, my celery is a complex carb, my oatmeal, my apple, my sweet potato, my green juice, my cherry tomatoes....All carbs.  Now I'm not going to bother with the fancy shamcy words like disachharides, oligosachharides, poly-sachharides... just know that fibres are also carbs, and the higher the fibre content of food the longer it takes your body to break down these "long" chains of carbs into "usable form" aka, glucose.  (anything ringing any grade 11 biology memories??)  I'm not sure if you've ever head the term Glycemic Index, well this basically means "how long it takes your body to break down and process carbohydrates into usable fuel", the lower the number the better!!!  I know it doesn't make sense, but trust me.  High GI foods (white bread, white potatoes, pineapples) think this, they have a high number, ZOOM into your blood stream.  Not good!  Low GI foods (oatmeal, sweet potato, celery) low number, SLOW into your blood stream.  Make sense? 

And now Fat...  ohhh the lovely and most delicious of all macronutrients.  It is the most energy efficient form of food.  Saturated fats,Monounsaturated fats,Polyunsaturated fats,Trans fatty acids = these are all fats.  Ok simply put for me: monounsaturated fats,polyunsaturated fats are the good guys.  The other two should be avoided as best as possible (if you want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight).  So let me be a bit more practical.  Fats from animals (not so good) fats from plants, seeds, nuts (good).  Some of my favorite fats are peanut butter, almonds butter, flax seed oil, olive oil, coconut oil, walnuts, avocados, chia seeds, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.  I've learned a few tricks over the years of weight loss and educating myself.  Eating a healthy fat in combination with a carb will essentially lower the GI of the meal (overall), ha ha I've also learned that this can also be manipulated, ie a peanut m&m has a lower GI than an apple.  Doesn't mean I should be eating m&m's all day!  It just means that the fat from the peanut lowers the overall average (because obviously the candy shell and the chocoloate contain simple carb chains.. )  But as I discussed in yesterday's post, eating healthy fats can essentially lubricate all your body's metabolic functions so everything runs more smoothly and efficiently. 

Wow that was long winded!  Getting back to what I ate yesterday.

• 1/2 c. GF oats with Bee pollen (basically the multivitamin of the "naturopathic world), cinnamon, 1 tbsp chia seeds, tbsp flax seed oil and a bit of unsweetened almond milk
• 4 egg whites (one yoke)
• a serving of turkey chili (packed with veggies)
• chicken and veg stir fry with a tbsp of flax seed oil
• 1/2 sweet potato made into crunchy chips and 5 inches of cucumber
• a protein smoothy made from cucumber, 1/2 frozen apple, parsley and water
• a hand sized piece of salmon (made with dill and lemon), half a plate of grilled asparagus drizzled with lemon juice and flax seed oil (yes I love my flax seed oil)
• green juice (celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, lemon and apple)
• and well over a gallon of water throughout the day

Now you tell me I'm not eating enough!!!!