kick it to the Carb!

Building meal plans can be confusing with all the contradictory diet advice out there. There are however six key elements every meal plan should include. Today we are diving deeper into element number three: Fats. Fats are one of three macronutrients. As you recall we have already gone over one of these three big players in our macro line up: protein.  Fats got a bad wrap a few years back (before everyone decided carbs were bad), but her is a big secret for you and possibly the topic of another blog but all three macronutrients are essential to your health and your bodies optimal performances. Unless you have a medical condition that impacts how your body uses certain things, you doctor can advise you of this. You need fats and each of the other five key elements to nutrition.  Your body needs fats for several reasons including:  Provide energy for the body. Containing 9 calories per gram they have a higher energy punch then either protein or carbohydrates Aid i...

I am always a little confused when someone tells me they don't eat carbs, because fruits and vegetables are a key source of vitamins and minerals. Usually after several questions I find they mean they don't eat grains which while still a carb is not the sole inhabitant of the name carb. I am here to clear up the confusion. First some background. I remember when we had a food pyramid. I may be dating myself but this is important. The food pyramid created a hierarchy of food and a misconception about how much of each food group we should be eating. The Base of the pyramid was grains (bread, pasta,rice etc) and we were told 6-11 servings of these a day aka the bulk of your diet. Next up was fruits (2-4 servings) and vegetables (3-5 servings) topped  by meat, beans eggs and nuts (2-3 servings) and dairy (2-3 servings) and at the very top was fats, oils and sweets with the suggested serving of sparingly. What this pyramid did was give us a very confusing way to create our ...