Good Carbs: I have so many clients who are obsessed with counting carbs and restricting them out of their diet almost completely, not knowing that your body needs carbohydrates for energy and for optimal fat burning. People just need to know the differences between your good carbs and your bad carbs.
Good carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals, grains, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, just to name a few. The carbohydrates found in these foods are an excellent source of fiber and energy. It is important to remember that you want to buy these items in their natural unprocessed state, meaning don’t think eating a fruit cup sitting in light syrup is okay, eat fruit in its natural state.
If your body doesn’t get the proper amount of good carbs to convert into energy while you work out, your body will have to find other sources of energy in your body and the first place your body will go to for that energy is protein, (i.e. your muscles!) And that is the last thing you want to have happen, because the fastest way to burn fat is too build lean muscle, and if you aren’t eating enough of the right carbs you will start burning away your muscle, reducing your bodies ability to burn fat.
Protein: Protein is a very important “ingredient” in the makeup of the human body. From your hair and nails, (mostly made up of protein) to the repairing of your muscular tissue, protein is the building block of many essential human functions. From bone growth to blood circulation protein is an integral part of our diet.
There are many places we can get our protein from, the most obvious is in red meat, poultry and fish, but also beans, lentils and tofu for example have great protein properties while usually containing less fat then their non vegan alternatives.
Fats: Ahh the dreaded fats! But not so fast, we need fat for energy to help assist those carbs into burning fat. Sounds a bit strange doesn’t it? Yes burning carbs helps burn fat, but remember if you don’t have enough fat and carbs in your diet, you will burn protein for energy and we don’t want that! So what fats are good for you?
We know that in many of the carbs and proteins listed above there are good fats. For instance, in most fish like salmon there is fat called Omega 3 a fatty acid. Omega 3 fatty acids are unsaturated fats essential to human health, development, brain function and growth that our bodies cannot produce on their own. You can also find them in nuts and grains like peanuts and almonds.
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