(via fuckyeahstberry)
Confession: Okay, so as I’ve mentioned before in a confession; I am now a Gleek. And ever since Jesse St. James came onto the show I have liked him quite a bit. Although wasn’t entirely sure why. I mean, cute? Yes. But there was something else. Then watching last nights Glee episode it clicked. He looks a whole lot like my ex.
*sigh*
Feck.
SMILE FRIDAY: The I Miss Arizona and J-Dawg (middle) Edition!
Side note: look at how round my face was…this was last summer by the way.
Yes, I too am a
HOLLABACK HEALTH BLOGGER LADY
and so far loving it, even though I just started!
I had stumbled on the website off of the lovely Leah’s Your Nutritionista tumblr and became very intrigued by the content of that website that included amazing women that were not afraid to speak their minds and as Rachel (from Shedding It) so eloquently has put it, “break the mold”.
So, I decided to email the blog (at the time I did not realize it was ran by Rachel) and basically said that I love what their goal is, to live a healthy life while not losing yourself and who you are in the process. And explained that although I am still on my journey to a healthy me, that I hope to one day be a Hollaback Health Blogger. In due time, I received a response from Rachel telling me they already love my blog and I’m in! Is it sad that I was super ecstatic?
When I first began writing about my journey to a healthier me, I didn’t realize just how many people would want to even follow my journey. I have tried my hardest to do my weight loss the COMPLETE healthy way while at the same time not feeling deprived nor hungry, or lose myself aka still have fun, in the process.
Although there was controversy over Rachel’s guest post on Leah’s page, I do see where Rachel’s message was coming from. I don’t think it was a personal attack on anyone documenting their journey for themselves, but rather in the large spectrum of things. You also have to think…there are quite a bit of “unhealthy” blogs here on Tumblr that promote unhealthy ways to lose weight.
Anyway, I am very glad to be in the company of these amazing women (and Jamie Oliver, where are you? I know you’re busy saving the kids of America, but please join Hollaback Health) and I just hope to keep up with them.
I LOVE ASOTV products and the Vidalia Chop Wizard is one of my faves! I hate cutting veggies…I’m totally the girl in the commercial who is struggling with the knife and tomato!
I knew Rachel and I had some sort of bond even though we don’t know each other at all! I agree with so much of what she says and her views, and this just solidified it! I LOVE my Vidala chopper! I too hate cutting/chopping/dicing veggies!
Carbs are Misunderstood
**I don’t know about you, but I am a carb fan, but it has always mind boggled me as to what kind of carbs are out there. Our country went through a ALL CARBS ARE HORRID phase (cue in Atkins Diet)…then I was under assumption that as long as it’s wheat (or made from wheat flour it is fine)….well yes and no, I had much to learn and this article by Rachel from Shedding It hit it right on with some humor on the way…I’ve picked the most informative and of course funny parts to help in understanding**
Sep 10th, 2009 by Rachel
Today, it’s all about carbs. Has any food group gotten as much attention as carbs have in the past five years? It’s like they went from being the quiet, good kid to the wayward outta control teen on The Maury Povich Show. Now they’re shouting, “You don’t KNOW ME!” and you know, that’s true. Most of us really don’t know carbs.
Carbohydrates are responsible for about half of all the calories in the American diet. And more than half of that comes from bread, soft drinks/soda, cake, cookies, doughnuts, sugar, syrups, white potatoes, cereal, and milk. The standard American diet is getting higher in carbs (and lower in healthy fats, a fact many people ignore) and at the same time, everyone’s getting fatter! People freaked out, the carb-obesity connection was heard ’round the world, and “low-carb” became a marketing/labeling gold mine…and a nutritional clusterfuck. (And, oh yeah, everyone’s still fat.)
So…here are some facts to set things straight!
- There are two main types of carbs: simple and complex.
- Simple carbs are sugars. Glucose, fructose, galactose. They give us quick energy.
- When you eat a carb, no matter which kind, your digestive system has at it. The glucose is absorbed very quickly into your bloodstream. To make sure your body’s glucose level (aka blood sugar) doesn’t get too high or too low, your pancreas releases insulin, which helps your cells absorb the glucose. As the glucose is absorbed, blood sugar falls, and then insulin falls. Then your liver starts releasing its stored glucose to keep your blood sugar constant.
- A simple carb is broken down really quickly, so your blood sugar shoots up, and then the insulin causes it to drop. If there’s nothing else to slow this process down (like fiber, fat, or protein), your body wants more glucose. So even though you just ate a bag of pretzels, you get HANGRY and are ready to wrestle someone for some more.
- When you eat a complex carb, the fiber tugs on the reigns a bit and it’s like, “Whoaaa, Nelly!” It allows blood sugar and insulin to rise slowly and peak lower—so you stay full and happy for longer. Protein and fat also help with this process.
- Things like soda and juice are broken down fastest. Apples and All-Bran cereal are the slow pokes. And all those other carbs—pasta, rice, bananas—fall somewhere in between.
- And…here’s my very refined explanation, using wheat as an example: A single wheat plant may start out with tons of individual wheat grains. But then it’s milled. And pulverized. And maybe jumped by a gang and beaten. And each step of the way, it loses fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. (And dignity.) When all is said and done, and you have “refined” wheat flour—aka white flour—and you’ve lost all the good stuff.
- And….we’re back to the beginning—you’ve got a product that is going to make your blood sugar get really high and then crash. Just like Lindsay Lohan.
- Whole grains not only prevent a glucose scandal; they also protect you against diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and digestion problems.
- To know the difference, you have to read they labels. “Made with whole wheat flour” does not a whole grain product make! Neither does “multi-grain.” Flip it over and check the ingredients: you should see whole wheat, whole oats, whole rye, or something else whole and carby listed first.
- Brown = good. White = not so good. Pick whole-grain pitas over white pitas. Brown rice over white rice. Obama over McCain. You get the idea.
- Also give a green light to whole-wheat pasta, whole-grain couscous, bulgur, hulled and hulless barley, old-fashioned oats, Total cereal, whole-grain bread, and whole-wheat flour.
- If you go “no carb” for an extended period of time, you’re going to become a way-too-stressed out biatch, lose the ability to think straight, and pass out at the gym. Seriously.
- Choosing good carbs, eliminating lame carbs, and–this is very important–recognizing an appropriate serving size of pasta (whether it’s white or whole wheat) is the best way to be smart about carbs if you’re making healthy changes to you diet.
**And there you have it! Hope this helps you as it has helped me understand it more thoroughly!**
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