When I was a little girl I loved watching cartoons on Saturday morning. I would wake up at 6 am, make breakfast, run down to the basement and watch cartoons until they were over. You have to remember this was the 70's and cartoons were only on on Saturday mornings for several hours. There were some mornings I got down so early the screen would have the colored lines before the channel came on.
I kind of skipped over that breakfast part.... it was not just your everyday, simple breakfast. Ohh nooo! I went to great lengths to get make it just right. I would make toast, but each piece had to be different. One with plain butter. One with butter and honey. One with peanut butter, sometimes with butter melted over the top (it makes even chunky pb so creamy!). One with peanut butter and honey. One with butter and cinnamon sugar. And, the ultimate combo, one with butter, peanut butter, honey and cinnamon sugar. Yes! Six pieces of toast! I probably had a tall glass of orange juice to go with it, too, but I only remember the big stack of toast. I don't know if my mom ever knew what happened to half of her loaf of bread most Saturdays.... but she does now! LOL
Okayyy. I have to be honest here. I still love toast! And, I still eat my favorite combos. However, instead of 6 slices of bread, I may have 4 halves so I can still taste all of my favorite combos, adding cinnamon (no sugar) on an occasion. Or, sometimes, I may have just one slice of toast and add peanut butter to one bite, a little honey to another, and pb and honey to another. I just can't give it up!!
I guess my main point today is that carbs recently seem to bad for you and that you need to give up all of those foods you really love. I disagree. Carbs have been an integral part, and to continue to be a mainstay, of a healthy diet for thousands of years. Why are they such a problem now? Well, especially in the American diet, simple carbs with long shelf lives have become the norm over whole foods. I also think people have forgotten that vegetables and fruits are carbs. Okay, fruits have become evil, too. But, they are both full of vitamins, minerals and fiber that are essential for properly functioning bodies. My personal goal is to eat a minimum of 4 cups of vegetables per day. Some days I eat well over that, and some I'm well short. I just want to have that guideline to keep me thinking of adding in those foods each day in some way. I'm also working on adding in more fiber by adding in beans and whole grains, such as pinto beans, brown rice, steel cut oats, and sprouted grain flours. The less processed and more natural, the better.
I know you'll see all sorts of health aficionados out there that proclaim they have all of the answers to weight loss. I'm personally skeptical of those proclamations. There is so much about the human body that we don't yet know. (For example, think about eggs... they've been good, not good, and then good again. And that's just one food item!) Add in the ethnicity and cultures, along with the personal chemistry, of each individual, and it's even more complicated. One thing is true, however, throughout history people have eaten whole foods. The introduction of processed and mass-produced food is quite new. Coach Dani at InCourage Health LLC is not about eliminating carbs. The goal is to find a way of eating that makes you feel physically good. You will be amazed at how much better you'll function by just adding in 4 cups of vegetables a day. Not only that, you'll most likely lose weight, reduce pain, and have more energy. If that sounds enticing to you, check out InCourage Health LLC to see if Coach Dani may be able to help you reach your health goals. Visit www.incourage-health.com for more information and to contact Coach Dani.
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