Page 18 of Big Girls Do It Stronger
Chapter 10
Carbs Are Not Evil Monsters!
“Foods high incarbohydratesare an important part of a healthy diet.Carbohydratesprovide the body with glucose, which is converted to energy used to support bodily functions and physical activity.”
—Harvard.edu
Okay friends, we’ve talked about thisad nauseam,but I think it’s REALLY important, so we are going to go over it again. The things I call “healthy carbs” are not your enemy—they were designed to help your body. When used correctly, carbs will make your body stronger, will give you more energy, and will help you feel ready to run!
Here’s my list of healthy carb options (WHITE PLATES):
Sprouted bread: Ezekiel, Silver Hills, Pepperidge Farms, Aldi Brand
Sprouted or whole wheat tortillas
Cereal: Ezekiel, Uncle Sam Original
Blue, baked corn chips
Old Fashioned Oats
Apples (green have lower glycemic impact)
Banana
Popcorn (minus butter or oil)
Quinoa
Rice (brown or sprouted)
Brown rice pasta
Beans
Hummus
Lentils
Carrots
Sweet potato
Butternut squash
other fruits depending on your tolerance
Now, let’s just be honest about this ... many of us grew up in a time when low carb and/or low fat diets were popular fads. It’s only normal, then, that many of us are afraid to load up on carbs, but not all carbs are created equal. The carbs I listed above won’t hurt you, and they will actually help you gain strength and be more energetic. They aren’t the nasty, highly-processed carbs of our youth. The carbs on my list aresuperfoods. They give us energy and help us find our strong.
When we started theBIG GIRLS DO IT RUNNINGFacebook group I received message after message after message about carbs. This is one of the biggest issues most women of my generation have in terms of health and nutrition. In fact, the current paleo trend is primarily a knee-jerk response to our current fear of carbs.
I wouldnevereat any of those nasty, evil, processed, fake food-like-product carbs, but that doesn’t mean we need to toss outallof the foods in this group. When you look at the foods God created for us to enjoy, each one plays a very important part in our overall nutrition, so let’s allow our bodies to enjoy these comfort foods in a healthy, nourishing way.
When I say you need to eat lots of these healthy carbs on White Plate days, what exactly does that mean? Well, it means that you really need to focus on eating a lot of healthy carbs on those days, and not just dip a toe into the carb pool. I remember when we first started the first 8-week Wilder Way challenge someone sent me a photo of their White Plate dinner, and I think it had one tiny spoonful of rice. That’s not going to work, people! We need to have a reasonable portion of carbs for this regimen to be effective. Three or four grains of rice just isn’t sufficient. Sorry!
Below is an example of a pretty typical White Plate day for us:
WHITE PLATE DAY (Jasinda’s day of meals and snacks—eating approximately every two hours):