20th March, 2014
By Sharon Jane Akinyemi
Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was. Since cutting gluten from my diet for this season of Lent, I’ve been making some changes, even to my snacking. Now, I don’t actually snack all that much, as a general rule, but I do like my nuts.
So I picked up some gluten free grains at the market under the pretext that they were for a friend. But, you know. I wanted them. I don’t know why I wanted them, as I assumed they wouldn’t be good. They were.
Which, in retrospect, makes sense. Because, really, it’s pretty hard to process these grains locally and eat. So, armed with that knowledge, I ate them mostly for breakfast. My family also enjoyed this delicious local cereal (made from millet, which can also be called pap) as well.
Here’s the thing: while a handful or cupful of it isn’t the healthiest thing, it’s not the worst, either. Not just because they’re gluten free, but more because the total calories consumed was pretty low.
This had to do with the fact, I think, that because I made the decision to give up gluten, I had to be very diligent reading labels and checking ingredients. By virtue of that, I wound up comparing about 5-6 different products to one another. And when you look at that many nutrition labels, you tend to eventually settle on one of the better options. Which is what I did: I chose gluten free cereals over gluten free mini-pies or snacks generally because the cereals had about half the calories. This illustrates something that I talk a lot about: “FILTERS”.
What Is Gluten?
A protein substance that remains when starch is removed from cereal grains; gives cohesiveness to dough. Although not every body type is opposed to gluten, my body type is allergic to it. Being “gluten free” creates a filter–every single time you want to eat something, you first have to check if it’s gluten free. The same thing goes with being low carbonhydrate, low sweet, low fat , or anything else.
For example, if you’re 100% allergic to gluten or dairy that means you don’t eat gluten or dairy, etc. So if you pick up a food item and see that it’s gluten free, you then check to make sure there are no dairy derivatives in them.
The more filters you have in place, the more closely you need to look at your food and decide if it meets approval with them. More pertinently, the more likely it is that most foods you come into contact with won’t pass through all of those filters.
As a result, you eat fewer foods. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you eat LESS food. You just get your nutrition from a narrower selection of items.
When you’ve got a ton of strict filters in place, most of these items will tend to be natural, organic, and generally unprocessed.
That’s the exception, of course. Most of the time, you’ll wind up eating whole foods packed with nutrition, which helps you prevent overeating.
Of course, that’s one reason that people tend to lose weight on something like the strict organic (naturally grown foods) diet. Now, don’t get me wrong — the vast majority of people are also reaping massive health benefits from eliminating various allergens and foods that may cause them to have adverse reactions.
But, those things notwithstanding, if you eliminate a lot of the foods you normally eat, you’re typically going to wind up consuming fewer calories. All of which is to say that EVEN THOUGH I checked nutrition labels on the packaged foods to make sure they were gluten free, a secondary filter encouraged me to choose them over another, higher calorie gluten free food.
Which brings me to your homework for this week. I want you to put ONE filter in place for the next month. Maybe two months. Whatever feels right to you.
Just put ONE filter in place that makes you stop and think about the food you’re eating before you put it in your mouth.
It could be “no gluten.” It could be “no dairy.” It could be “no sugar” Or no animal products, or low carb, or all organic. It doesn’t matter.
The point is that if you put this new filter in place, you will immediately begin to look at all of your food through that lens, and be infinitely more likely to make better nutritional decisions. It’s really that simple.
It’s been working for me, and I didn’t eat that much gluten to begin with! In fact, I would say that since I put this new filter in place, my diet has been just about perfect. Hey, even though I ate cereals, they were still within my caloric and macronutrient needs for the day.
Here’s a breakdown:
Friday: Training was pretty simple; did some cardio, then stretches and finally a quick shoulder workout. My husband and I planned a date night, and had an awesome meal at a nice place. I started with the fruit salad and then had grilled fish with onions. We skipped dessert and went over to a local joint to have some “suya”. I had enough of water to drink. Best part: I stayed within my calories and macros.
Saturday: After a nice morning work out day with my family, I had my cereal. Then I had a wrap of moimoi with steamed vegetables for lunch. Later that night, some family friends came over for dinner. We got some awesome fish pepper soups bowls and just had fun. Training that day was just stationary bike riding and some bodyweight stuff.
Sunday: Trained very lightly early in the morning at home. Went to seek God and happened to see some friends.
Best part? I celebrated mothers day with family and friends. How awesome it was!
Anyway, rather than munch on cupcakes, I had some fruits that were available . Assorted kinds of fruit with all the goodies in it. Ihey were delicious.Sunday night, dinner was a huge salad with chicken, oranges, tomatoes, and lots of greens.
Now, I DID mention I’d share a workout with you, so, this was my Sunday leg workout:
A1) Front Squats to a box – 6 x 6
A 2) Lying Leg Curls – 6 x 6-8
B) Walking Lunges – 4 x 10 steps per leg
C) Squat – 3 x 15-20
D) Glute Bridge – 5×10
That’s it. Nothing crazy, just a 35 min leg exercise. Relax, watch a movie and connected with the heavens before I retired to bed. The idea is that hit leg curls between sets of squats; definitely helps my lower back feel better.
So that was my weekend.
These Tips Will Help You!
• Remind your family to eat slowly and chew food thoroughly in order to receive the maximum benefit from their food.
•.As much as possible, serve meals at regular hours and avoid snack between meals.
•. Experiment with more vegetarian dishes that include dry beans and legumes. Try to limit the amount of oil you use.
• Gear up for fitness . Make exercise a part of your life. Engage your family in simple morning exercise. You can jog on the sport, jump rope and stair climbing.
5. Rest and sleep are very necessary. Don’t put yourself under undue pressure. You don’t need to oppress or intimidate anyone to get full satisfaction and your worth. Be yourself, be happy and stay blessed.
For questions and answers connect with me @ www.facebook.com/BodyConfidenceFitnessClub.