A lot of diets are tried. And a lot of diets fail. And when I say diet here, I am talking about set up, follow the rules, eat this-not that, kind of diets.
For the most part, I am not a big fan of "diets." I do like the idea of dieting, literally meaning controlling one's intake of food, but I do not like dieting with diets. Get it?
To me there are behavioral reasons why diets fail. The point of this article isn't to make you feel like a failure, or tear apart other diets. I want you to be able to take away from this some helpful hints of what to expect, what you could possibly fix, and what you think about dieting in general.
First of all, when people go on diets they usually start due to some fad diet, someone's success story, or sometimes a personal goal. This can be great! I want people to have a reason for dieting. Whether it's losing weight, cutting fat, getting more calories, eating more whole foods, or cutting down on sugar, there are plenty of good reasons. I want you to go in with an idea of what you want to accomplish. Yeah, a goal. Here's what's not a good idea. Using others' success stories as a goal for yourself. I'll say it again, but your body is different then everyone else's. It could work amazingly for someone and have the opposite effect on someone else. Keep that in mind.
When most people start diets, it's fun and exciting. This is mainly because you are eating new foods and hopefully trying new things. This is the point! Don't lose that part of your diet. All good dieting behaviors require some variety. Otherwise, BORING. This can happen with a lot of those "you can't eat that" diets. Try to keep things new and refreshing, or go back and rehash some old recipes that work. You can still follow most of your diets, but try to think outside the box. Get in the kitchen or go look online. Cheating is usually discouraged, but understand that there's cheating and then there's ruining your whole diet. Cheating is like eating that food you probably shouldn't once per week. Ruining the diet is giving yourself exceptions everyday or at every meal.
People love to look for loopholes. The best example I can think of is vegetarians going vegetarian to be healthier, but they max on french fries whenever they can. Don't do that. Don't look for cheap exceptions. You're just "fooling" yourself.
My last point is an important one, especially for you athletes. Make sure your diet can suit your lifestyle. I recently read into the Paleo diet (eating like a caveman pretty much) and came to the conclusion that it seems like a pretty cool diet to try, but could be disastrous to athletes. It cuts out grains. That's a main source of energy for athletes. Athletes who burn through grains so fast it's ok to eat them. Pretty much at all times. So for you athletes out there, read into ANY diet you are considering. Talk to those who know about it or maybe just ask friends and teammates to see what worked for them. You don't want to hurt your game by trying to make it better. Make sense? If you want the biggest tip from me about dieting and playing sports? Eat more whole grains, vegetables, and drink more water. Start there. That simple.
Just be careful everyone. Make your diet into dieting, not the other way around. I hope that made sense ;)
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Summer Food: Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt has exploded onto the food market. I came back from Italy and looked at the grocery store and found a bunch more to offer in the realm of Greek yogurts. More flavors, more varieties, more brands, etc. Let's take a closer look at Greek yogurt.
The real reason I spotted this stuff and must write about it is because of the Olympics. Chobani! Huge sponser and all over the commercials. Must be doing well if they can pay for that commercial spot right now. I mean, not too long ago I didn't even know what Chobani was! But the point here is that Greek yogurt is built for athletes. They're sponsoring our athletes for a reason.
Greek yogurt is a lot like normal yogurt, made from milk and bacteria cultures, but at the end, it gets strained to remove the whey. That gives this yogurt its texture and sour taste. Removing the whey shouldn't scare you though; it does nothing to the protein content of the yogurt. In fact Greek yogurt has a higher protein content then normal yogurt (usually about 16-18g in comparison to 10g). Removing the whey this way leaves only solid proteins left which givese this awesome profile.
This yogurt is also going to be low in carbohydrates and fat. You can usually cut down on about 50% of your sugars! This lower sugar count and higher protein profile makes Greek yogurt an amazing snack because of its low glycemic index. This will give you some nice long term energy or help you recover from a hard work out.
I've read that Greek yogurt has a higher probiotic profile (good bacteria in the yogurt) than normal yogurt, but in my opinion, it just matters what kind of yogurt you are buying. They sell yogurts with more probiotics in them and at pretty decent prices. Overall, you're still getting awesome probiotics which will aid in your digestion regardless!
If yogurt is a preferred snack for you, grab and eat this stuff! Feel free to add some deliciousness to it like strawberries, blueberries, granola, or even honey! Those with a dislike for the yogurt can still find this stuff useful to add to smoothies. And like always with yogurt, Greek yogurt comes in a nice portable container which makes it a quick snack or easily packable lunch item.
Another awesome yogurt product to check out if the taste of Greek yogurt doesn't do it for ya is Kefir. This is like a yogurt drink (not very watery though, fruit smoothie consistency) but packed with protein and probiotics. This stuff can be really simple to have and use (treat it like a glass of milk or juice!). Plus, the stuff should only run you about $4 tops for a 4 serving bottle. Try it!
The real reason I spotted this stuff and must write about it is because of the Olympics. Chobani! Huge sponser and all over the commercials. Must be doing well if they can pay for that commercial spot right now. I mean, not too long ago I didn't even know what Chobani was! But the point here is that Greek yogurt is built for athletes. They're sponsoring our athletes for a reason.
Greek yogurt is a lot like normal yogurt, made from milk and bacteria cultures, but at the end, it gets strained to remove the whey. That gives this yogurt its texture and sour taste. Removing the whey shouldn't scare you though; it does nothing to the protein content of the yogurt. In fact Greek yogurt has a higher protein content then normal yogurt (usually about 16-18g in comparison to 10g). Removing the whey this way leaves only solid proteins left which givese this awesome profile.
This yogurt is also going to be low in carbohydrates and fat. You can usually cut down on about 50% of your sugars! This lower sugar count and higher protein profile makes Greek yogurt an amazing snack because of its low glycemic index. This will give you some nice long term energy or help you recover from a hard work out.
I've read that Greek yogurt has a higher probiotic profile (good bacteria in the yogurt) than normal yogurt, but in my opinion, it just matters what kind of yogurt you are buying. They sell yogurts with more probiotics in them and at pretty decent prices. Overall, you're still getting awesome probiotics which will aid in your digestion regardless!
If yogurt is a preferred snack for you, grab and eat this stuff! Feel free to add some deliciousness to it like strawberries, blueberries, granola, or even honey! Those with a dislike for the yogurt can still find this stuff useful to add to smoothies. And like always with yogurt, Greek yogurt comes in a nice portable container which makes it a quick snack or easily packable lunch item.
Another awesome yogurt product to check out if the taste of Greek yogurt doesn't do it for ya is Kefir. This is like a yogurt drink (not very watery though, fruit smoothie consistency) but packed with protein and probiotics. This stuff can be really simple to have and use (treat it like a glass of milk or juice!). Plus, the stuff should only run you about $4 tops for a 4 serving bottle. Try it!
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