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The Big 5 & Water
Our credibility is what we KNOW works based on our own experience… two different bodies, different challenges but both fantastic and rewarding results. We’ve learned on our own bodies, the visible and invisible results, and the trial and error of playing around with different portions of THE BIG FIVE—
So what is the BIG 5? The “Big 5″ is a TM of It’s My Now. It is what we coined to describe the 5 things we tracked each day. They are the components of every food that have a function to support a healthy body! CALORIES, FAT, PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATES, and FIBER. These are the FIVE elements of food that we will Focus on educating and tracking as a part of the IEATFIT healthy Lifestyle.
Calories
CALORIES “All calories are not created equal” 1100-1300 daily. For those of you who read the governments or other sources of calorie recommendations, you are welcome to try them. We know these are healthy, filling and that they will produce results. IF losing weight is not a part of your goal, then you may be able to consume more calories. You still need to understand that all calories aren’t equal. If you eat two 500 calorie candy bars, clearly you won’t be getting the same value then if you chose foods containing healthy proteins, fats, and carbs.
Fat
FAT—Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fat is OUT. Select purest forms from flax oil, flax seeds and olive oil, and foods with naturally occurring fat. We strive to keep fat grams between 20-35 daily.
Protein
PROTEIN—Protein is the building block for muscle. There are many options –LEAN meats—POULTRY- chicken and turkey. CLEAN FISH—salmon, tilapia, halibut, and cod. Soy products—tofu, Beans, Eggs, Seeds and Nuts. 85-120 grams daily. This will be a challenge for many of you. We focus more on the high number here.
Carbohydrates
CARBOHYDRATES—“ALL CARBS are not created equal” Carbs are categorized into two main types. Refined CARBS such as sugar, white flour, processed cereals, candy, cakes and chips process quickly in your body (because they are already partially processed) and they quickly elevate your blood sugar levels. A goal of your blood sugar is to keep the levels STEADY. Spikes alter your metabolism efficiency and they risk putting your insulin production in a danger zone. Refined carbs are unhealthy carbs.
Healthy carbs are also healthful looking—they are COMPLEX carbs which take longer to break down in your body once consumed. These carbs stabilize your energy longer. No spikes. Complex carbs are made up of whole grains, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, high quality vegetables and fruits.
Your body will either burn available carbs or burn fat. You want to get your body fired up to burn fat for fuel. Choosing the healthiest carbs will support that process.
Fiber
FIBER—25-35g+ THE MORE the better! The average American eats 8g of daily fiber. We wonder why so many unexplained diseases run rampant in our society! Fiber is critical for optimal health. The more fiber you get, the more freedom you have in your nutrition plan. Why? You SUBTRACT the fiber grams from the CARB grams to get your RAW CARBOHYDRATE count. If you eat 100 carbs but have 30 g fiber, you count 70 g raw carbs which will be a WEIGHT REDUCING portion!
Water
Your goal each day is going to be to drink at least 64ozs of water. Water is so important to flushing out toxins that are stored in our bodies and keep us properly hydrated. Water is essential for digestion and absorption of vitamins and minerals. It keeps our skin moist and supple, and is a natural lubricant for our joints and internal organs.
High-fiber foods
I got a question today from a very close friend who is just getting into the tracking. It took a while to get her on board and at first she was just writing down the foods. Writing down the foods with no numbers is no help!!! SO, this week she starting looking up and writing down the Big 5 numbers and today ask : How do I get my Fiber up? HELP!!! It was a perfect timing question because I was thinking of what information we could this week that would assist those of you tracking with us! So, here it goes:
Why do you want to add more fiber to your diet? Because, Fiber — along with adequate fluid intake — moves quickly and relatively easily through your digestive tract and helps it function properly. A high-fiber diet may also help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Here’s a look at the fiber content of some common foods. Read nutrition labels to find out exactly how much fiber is in your favorite foods. Recommended fiber amounts for women is 21 to 25 grams a day and for men is 30 to 38 grams a day. Remember for IMN we have you tracking 25-35 grams just in between these two numbers. Remember Carbs minus fiber = Raw carb number. Higher fiber numbers make carb number lower and gives you more choices in that category for tracking.
| Fruits |
Serving size |
Total fiber (grams)* |
| Raspberries (great to add to shakes and oatmeal) |
1 cup |
8.0 |
| Pear, with skin |
1 medium |
5.1 |
| Apple, with skin |
1 medium |
4.4 |
| Figs, dried |
2 medium |
3.7 |
| Blueberries |
1 cup |
3.5 |
| Strawberries |
1 cup |
3.3 |
| Banana |
1 medium |
3.1 |
| Orange |
1 medium |
3.1 |
| Raisins |
1.5-ounce box |
1.6 |
| Grains, cereal & pasta |
Serving size |
Total fiber (grams)* |
| Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked |
1 cup |
6.3 |
| Barley, pearled, cooked |
1 cup |
6.0 |
| Oat bran muffin |
1 medium |
5.2 |
| Bran flakes |
3/4 cup |
5.1 |
| Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked |
1 cup |
4.0 |
| Popcorn, air-popped |
3 cups |
3.6 |
| Brown rice, cooked |
1 cup |
3.5 |
| Bread, rye |
1 slice |
1.9 |
| Bread, whole-wheat or multigrain |
1 slice |
1.9 |
| Legumes, nuts & seeds |
Serving size |
Total fiber (grams)* |
| Split peas, cooked |
1 cup |
16.3 |
| Lentils, cooked |
1 cup |
15.6 |
| Black beans, cooked |
1 cup |
15.0 |
| Lima beans, cooked |
1 cup |
13.2 |
| Baked beans, vegetarian, canned, cooked |
1 cup |
10.4 |
| Sunflower seeds, hulled |
1/4 cup |
3.6 |
| Almonds |
1 ounce (22 nuts) |
3.3 |
| Pistachio nuts |
1 ounce (49 nuts) |
2.9 |
| Pecans |
1 ounce (19 halves) |
2.7 |
| Vegetables |
Serving size |
Total fiber (grams)* |
| Artichoke, cooked |
1 medium |
10.3 |
| Peas, cooked |
1 cup |
8.8 |
| Broccoli, boiled |
1 cup |
5.1 |
| Turnip greens, boiled |
1 cup |
5.0 |
| Sweet corn, cooked |
1 cup |
4.6 |
| Brussels sprouts, cooked |
1 cup |
4.1 |
| Potato, with skin, baked |
1 medium |
4.0 |
| Tomato paste |
1/4 cup |
2.7 |
| Carrot, raw |
1 medium |
1.7 |
*Fiber content can vary between brands.
Two of the BIG Five that challenge us—Carbs and Sugar!
By now you know that not all calories are NOT created equal! And within that, all CARBS are not created equal! With so much buzz about carbs—hi-carb, lo-carb, carb, carb, carb, it’s important to know what a ‘good carb’ is, what a ‘bad carb’ is, and how to make the best choices in the carbohydrates you put in your daily meal selections.
In essence a ‘bad’ carb is a SIMPLE carb– one that breaks down in the body very quickly. The result of this is a quick insulin release and fat storage. Simple carbs are found in refined sugars and overly processed grains. The reason they break down so quickly is that man has already messed with them, altered them chemically through a method of processing, usually to increase shelf life! Packaged foods with ‘expiration dates’, white bread, pasta, rice, crackers, desserts that are blended and baked and any food made with ‘enriched’ white flour falls into this category. Additionally, these carbs contain virtually no fiber, the very BENEFIT of a grain!
Good carbs are distinguished in that they are in their original form, they contain important minerals, vitamins and nutrients to meet the biological needs of our bodies. COMPLEX carbs are ‘good’ carbs because they have not been tampered with! They digest slowly which creates less need for insulin release into the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar levels stable, and improving the fat burning opportunity!
Your body will burn fat or available energy (new carbs), so the goal remains: keep your blood sugars ‘stable’ by choosing the BEST in whole grains and good carbs from ‘low-glycemic’ fruits, vegetables and greens.
SUGAR… my personal challenging addiction. And I mean that. Processed Sugar has an addictive quality. Processed. White sugar, brown sugar, any kind of sugar. Mix it with white flour and butter or crisco, and you have a nutrition disaster! Blood sugar levels surge, moods swing, fat stores, and … it really just wasn’t worth it! Now GETTING that knowledge to agree with the mind and lips in a ‘crunch’ is a different story.
Personally, I have found that the DECISION to abstain from sugar for X number of days out of obedience and discipline is a start. ONLY you can control your thoughts and ONLY you can decide what goes in your mouth. You ARE in charge here!
Once the decision has been made, it would be really beneficial to have some good foods that ‘feed’ the need for sweet. But be WISE! Just becase you add organic honey and less processed sugar to refined flour, you still have an insulin mess. My two DAILY favorites ‘sugar feed substitutes’ are the oatmeal I eat in almost EVERY breakfast (called my Power Breakfast from the menu samples in the journal) and my daily Protein Shake. To prepare them:
OATMEAL
Start with steel cut oats. Slow cook! (vs. ‘quick’! That’s a clue that they have already been altered or processed in some way (partially digested—ik!) I use ¼ c. dry oats to ¾ c. filtered water. Bring the water with salt-to-taste to a boil and add the oats. Reduce the heat, cover for @ 10-12 minutes (you choose how soupy or thick you like it).
Once cooked, I add liquid Stevia (herbal sweetener), Cinnamon, Molly Mcbutter (one of the FEW chemicals I concede to L). Then I add fresh blueberries (small hand full- @ ¼ c.) plus 4-5 fresh raspberries. I keep these CLEAN in my fridge ALL the time!
This coupled with 3-4 egg whites and a freshly sliced tomato… it is such an incredible breakfast, and quite frankly, the oatmeal tastes like cobbler to me! AND, I could eat it any time of day!
The second ‘sugar substitute’ is in my daily Protein Shake! Again, the sweet is going to come from fruit.
1 scoop of Jay Robb vanilla whey (www.jayrobb.com or Kroger grocery store, organic aisle)
8-10 oz filtered h20
½ T. flax oil (good fat that actually ‘moves’ fat!)
A titche of liquid stevia
½ c. Frozen Raspberries.
Again, this is sweet, filling and delicious! It has 25g protein and 4.5g fiber (from the raspberries!). There are MANY variations of this awesome shake, but this one is my daily staple.
These two foods I eat DAILY! I hope this helps!
–Pamela