More on the Food Rules
LisaThunderstorm
Posts: 13
Food Guidelines and Rationale
You have the list of food guidelines for the Summer Nutrition Challenge but you may be wondering why the heck some of the foods are allowed and others aren’t. Here is more of the rationale behind our choices as to what you can and cannot eat.
What you can eat
Veggies - Provide essential nutrients that support critical cellular functions
Meat - Provides protein and fat, which are both necessary for development of muscle and body fat reduction; The higher quality meat source, the better (think at least antibiotic-free but preferably organic or grass-fed (in the case of beef))
Tubers - These are nutrient rich and provide a great source of carbohydrates
Healthy fats - nuts, avocados, olive and coconut oil, grass-fed butter - fat fills you up and you need to eat it to burn it. Make fats, like nuts, a go-to snack during the challenge.
Beans - Another nutritious source of carbohydrates
Berries; Apples - Fruits are tasty and they can help satisfy a sweet tooth. They provide vitamins and carbohydrates. Fruits tend to be high in sugar and are easy to overeat. Berries and apples tend to be on the lower sugar spectrum when it comes to fruit.
Grass-Fed Dairy (whole-fat only) - Grass-fed dairy contains a naturally higher amount of Omega 3 fatty acids than does other dairy. Also, many people who are lactose/dairy intolerant tend not to have a problem with grass-fed dairy. You want to stay with full fat dairy for this challenge. It will keep you full longer and the defatting process alters milk to remove beneficial constituents.
Plain Greek Yogurt - Greek yogurt has way more protein and less sugar than regular protein by virtue of how it is made
Eggs - A great portable snack packed with protein and fat
What you should limit
Sugary fruits (bananas, peaches, etc) - As mentioned before, some fruits, including bananas, are very high in sugar. Part of the idea behind this challenge is to reduce sugar in our diets and a great way to do so is reduce our sweet tooth. That said, if you are having a sugar attack, it’s way better to have a banana than a candy bar. If you are going to have a high sugar fruit, before or after a workout is a great time to do so.
Wine/Liquor - Ultimately, it’s best to avoid these all together for the challenge. Wine and liquor are lower carb than beer and they remain on the list for that reason. Their consumption should really be limited, however, because they are practically empty calories that could be taken up by something more nutritious and also because once one starts to drink, they might not be as diligent about following the food guidelines. A couple glasses of wine a week, though, is fine.
Grains other than wheat - What’s so bad about grains? Some claim that they are full of anti-nutrients and even toxins and they may be right to some extent however, we are limiting them here because they are huge sources of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are wonderful but Americans eat way too many of them. There are already plenty of carbohydrate sources on the list which contain more nutrients than grains.
What you can’t eat
Processed Foods - Contain a lot of non-food ingredients, many of which are horrible for you in a variety of ways (causing cancer, autoimmune disease, uncontrollable appetite, impairing liver function, etc.)
Trans Fats - These screw up the metabolism of your cells. They cause plaque build up in the arteries. They cause more fat to be stored in the stomach. Trans fats are evil!
Sugar substitutes - Again, these are excluded in the nutrition challenge because we are working to nip our sweet tooths in the bud. Some of the synthetic sweeteners are terribly bad for you. The natural ones tend not to be but we want to steer mostly away from sweet things during this 25 days. That said, those that follow the rules and earn their points will occasionally be allowed a pass to explore a naturally sweetened goodie or two.
Refined and/or added sugar - This is where a lot of people get into trouble with their diets and one reason why Americans get too many carbohydrates. They do not realized how much sugar they are consuming. In order to avoid these things, you must read labels. It’s great that MyFitnessPal will let you scan the UPC of everything you eat so that you can log it but you have to read labels to check for added sugar. Label reading will make you more aware of what you eat. Being more aware of what you eat will cause you automatically make better choices.
Non Grass-Fed Dairy - See the section on grass-fed dairy above
Wheat - Wheat is another offender when it comes to eating too many carbs. Plus, almost all convenience food is a processed wheat-based product. It’s hard to find anything containing wheat that isn’t processed or doesn’t contained added sugar. Additionally, many people find that they feel better when they eliminate wheat from their diets. Eliminating it for a few weeks is a worthwhile experiment.
Beer - Sorry. Beer is full of empty carbs but you may be able to earn a beer or two during the challenge if are following the rules and getting your points.
Fruit juice - Fruit juice is very high in sugar. If you are sick of water, go with coconut water (watch for added sugar!) or coffee.
You have the list of food guidelines for the Summer Nutrition Challenge but you may be wondering why the heck some of the foods are allowed and others aren’t. Here is more of the rationale behind our choices as to what you can and cannot eat.
What you can eat
Veggies - Provide essential nutrients that support critical cellular functions
Meat - Provides protein and fat, which are both necessary for development of muscle and body fat reduction; The higher quality meat source, the better (think at least antibiotic-free but preferably organic or grass-fed (in the case of beef))
Tubers - These are nutrient rich and provide a great source of carbohydrates
Healthy fats - nuts, avocados, olive and coconut oil, grass-fed butter - fat fills you up and you need to eat it to burn it. Make fats, like nuts, a go-to snack during the challenge.
Beans - Another nutritious source of carbohydrates
Berries; Apples - Fruits are tasty and they can help satisfy a sweet tooth. They provide vitamins and carbohydrates. Fruits tend to be high in sugar and are easy to overeat. Berries and apples tend to be on the lower sugar spectrum when it comes to fruit.
Grass-Fed Dairy (whole-fat only) - Grass-fed dairy contains a naturally higher amount of Omega 3 fatty acids than does other dairy. Also, many people who are lactose/dairy intolerant tend not to have a problem with grass-fed dairy. You want to stay with full fat dairy for this challenge. It will keep you full longer and the defatting process alters milk to remove beneficial constituents.
Plain Greek Yogurt - Greek yogurt has way more protein and less sugar than regular protein by virtue of how it is made
Eggs - A great portable snack packed with protein and fat
What you should limit
Sugary fruits (bananas, peaches, etc) - As mentioned before, some fruits, including bananas, are very high in sugar. Part of the idea behind this challenge is to reduce sugar in our diets and a great way to do so is reduce our sweet tooth. That said, if you are having a sugar attack, it’s way better to have a banana than a candy bar. If you are going to have a high sugar fruit, before or after a workout is a great time to do so.
Wine/Liquor - Ultimately, it’s best to avoid these all together for the challenge. Wine and liquor are lower carb than beer and they remain on the list for that reason. Their consumption should really be limited, however, because they are practically empty calories that could be taken up by something more nutritious and also because once one starts to drink, they might not be as diligent about following the food guidelines. A couple glasses of wine a week, though, is fine.
Grains other than wheat - What’s so bad about grains? Some claim that they are full of anti-nutrients and even toxins and they may be right to some extent however, we are limiting them here because they are huge sources of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are wonderful but Americans eat way too many of them. There are already plenty of carbohydrate sources on the list which contain more nutrients than grains.
What you can’t eat
Processed Foods - Contain a lot of non-food ingredients, many of which are horrible for you in a variety of ways (causing cancer, autoimmune disease, uncontrollable appetite, impairing liver function, etc.)
Trans Fats - These screw up the metabolism of your cells. They cause plaque build up in the arteries. They cause more fat to be stored in the stomach. Trans fats are evil!
Sugar substitutes - Again, these are excluded in the nutrition challenge because we are working to nip our sweet tooths in the bud. Some of the synthetic sweeteners are terribly bad for you. The natural ones tend not to be but we want to steer mostly away from sweet things during this 25 days. That said, those that follow the rules and earn their points will occasionally be allowed a pass to explore a naturally sweetened goodie or two.
Refined and/or added sugar - This is where a lot of people get into trouble with their diets and one reason why Americans get too many carbohydrates. They do not realized how much sugar they are consuming. In order to avoid these things, you must read labels. It’s great that MyFitnessPal will let you scan the UPC of everything you eat so that you can log it but you have to read labels to check for added sugar. Label reading will make you more aware of what you eat. Being more aware of what you eat will cause you automatically make better choices.
Non Grass-Fed Dairy - See the section on grass-fed dairy above
Wheat - Wheat is another offender when it comes to eating too many carbs. Plus, almost all convenience food is a processed wheat-based product. It’s hard to find anything containing wheat that isn’t processed or doesn’t contained added sugar. Additionally, many people find that they feel better when they eliminate wheat from their diets. Eliminating it for a few weeks is a worthwhile experiment.
Beer - Sorry. Beer is full of empty carbs but you may be able to earn a beer or two during the challenge if are following the rules and getting your points.
Fruit juice - Fruit juice is very high in sugar. If you are sick of water, go with coconut water (watch for added sugar!) or coffee.
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