I asked my trainer this morning about 'low carb', really referring to the plan we had worked out together food wise. Her response to me was 'well low carb is open to interpretation and is very broad, I like to think of what we are doing here as 'lower starch' which really means that you are actively cutting out the bread/white flour/pasta/rice/white potato and instead choosing healthier, cleaner foods that provide more nutritional value and are easier to digest and move through your system'. I liked this interpretation! And I know when I stick to the approach, it works.
She also went on to reiterate that the point of cutting back on the starches is to open myself up to other things. Things that I wouldn't see if I were just reaching for that potato or filling up on lean cuisine pasta dishes to the tune of 1200 cals per day. That it's important to try to eat close to the source and when you are actively cutting back on starches your eyes become more wide open to these things that are available.
It also means dipping into fat stores to burn calories rather than having too many readily available glycogen stores in my liver and this is what we want! We want to burn off that cellulite on the back of my thighs, we want to get rid of the flab on the back of my arms, we want to dip, dip, dip into these stores and burn it right off, while maintaining a digestive track that works and moves everything through, while learning how to put energy in to get energy out, rather than putting energy in to simply store for that potential lack of food catastrophe that is more than likely never coming my way.
I enjoy doing lower starch. What have I got out of it so far? I've learned how to eat more vegetables and now get a once weekly delivery box of fresh vegetables from locally grown sources. I like how my body works and feels when I cut out the white flour and sugars. I am actively engaging in preparing food rather than reaching for Amy's low cal mac and cheese and logging in the calories consumed. I feel like I have energy on the days that I plan well. What usually results in a lack of energy is not planning properly and skipping meals or not having enough food readily available and making less than the best choices as a result. I don't crave things I used to enjoy like cake, pizza and chocolate. I can get a pizza in for my kids and not even wish for a slice. Before I used to find myself even eating their uneaten crusts at times. I was so addicted to white flour!
Things are good and I can see the progress that I am making when it comes to my relationship with food. I am grateful for the positive influences in my life that are helping me find my right rhythm!
Happy Monday!