Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your Amarillo personal trainer. Today we’re going to be talking about how you shouldn’t turn your meal into a math equation. If you have any questions about today’s blog, then please give us a call at (806)-322-3188
How often have you gone with friends to maybe their house, a new restaurant, and they are pulling out the food scales or getting the measuring spoons out and they’re trying to figure out how many calories are in every bit of food that they are consuming. They are so concerned with losing weight and they just seem to be moving in the wrong direction because no matter how much they weigh and measure, they seem more stressed and frustrated than happy and successful.
I’ve met many people like that in my life, probably just a consequence of the industry that I work in, but it seems like a lot people get this idea that if we just weigh and measure everything then somehow we are going to get this miracle equation and it’s all going to fit right. Now, the sad news is if that was the truth, if all it took was a mathematical equation, wouldn’t you think that a lot more people would be healthy and fit right now rather than having a country that is so severely overweight and obese? If it just took a mathematical equation, then we would have a lot less to worry about right now.
Having a equation for one person doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for the next person or the person after that. Also, it causes frustration and stress just from the fact that you are trying to count every calorie. Now, if you’re counting calories, maybe you’re not weighing and measuring, but if you are just counting calories you are still turning it into a math equation. You’re counting your calories, you’re counting your carbs, you’re watching you’re proteins, you’re watching your sugars, and by the end of the day you have counted so much but you may have still eaten all the wrong things.
Did you know that food labels can actually be off by 25% in either direction, good or bad? That’s really just because of the casualty of the science that they get it from. The way that it’s processed and figured out is not an exact science. And so whenever we are going through these things and we are counting these numbers, we start getting tied up in it. Right?
You start to get obsessed with it and then you start to over analyze every single thing you even consider consuming. You look at a piece of food and start running through it in your mind: “I don’t know what’s in that… how many calories is in that… what if i eat that and it causes me to start gaining weight again?” and if you are living life that way, you very well might. Because you may be restricting more calories and more nutrition within your body than what you realize, and that causes your metabolism to slow down. It also causes your body to react to situations that it normally wouldn’t.
Take for instance the people that cut out carbs and then when they slowly start to add a few back in, they start to notice weight gain. What they aren’t thinking about is that body’s working, they are to the fact that they just gained weight from it. What their body is doing is reacting by drawing more water in and it panics everybody. It causes stress and chaos and panic.
So, there are really three major areas that we need to look at if we’re talking about taking the math out of our meals.
Number one is the balance of our meals. If we balance our meals it means that we are getting enough protein, enough carbs, enough vegetables, and enough healthy fats. And yes, for those of you that have mentioned it before, carbs do include vegetables because vegetables are a fibrous carb, but what I mean when I mention carbs is your grains and your starchy carbs. And we need to have those. I know a lot of people cut those out with keto, but believe it or not, your body will actually start to break down muscle tissue and store fat if you’ve restricted carbs for too long. So we have to have those starchy carbs in, the body requires it. Without them the body will start to break down it’s own tissue, and that would not be good.
Number two is rainbow. Sounds really silly, but in order to keep the math equations out of your food, we got to repeat the rainbow everyday. The more of your fruits and vegetables that you get in or all different colors- and we’re talking purples, and oranges, and whites, and greens, pretty much any color that you can get in. If you can get that rainbow in, then you are going to have a much higher level of health. Your body will be taking in more nutrients, more phytochemicals and the body is going to be able to use those to function at a higher level.
So, first you have to balance and make sure that you get all of the right components for your plate. Second, you have to make sure that those components are of all different colors. And third, of course, you have to watch those portions.
I have dealt with people anywhere from eating two extra large platters at dinner, to eating on a teacup saucer. It depends on where you’re at. You may need to shrink those portions and you may need to grow those portions.
So, if you are wanting the accountability and help with creating an action plan to see results, or are wanting to someone to help create a workout plan to push you to your greatest potential, then that’s what we’re here for. We work with our clients not just on fitness, but also nutrition. What we do is we will ensure that you are supported throughout every aspect of your health and wellness journey, and that includes making those eating changes. We have an entire team of dedicated professionals to help you with your health and fitness goals. To get your consultation set up, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or email us at info@customfitness.biz At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day.