Kirsten's Eating Plan

Hey,

I told you that I'd send you the plan my dietician came up with for me. Now this was designed for me based on current weight and BMI, desired lean muscle mass, exercise output per week, resting heart rate, blood pressure, etc. So every persons would be a bit different. But it made me notice how carb-heavy I usually eat (and I do try to eat whole grains). I actually needed more protein to satiate my appetite, but still eating a good carb with every meal. Mom, yours would look a bit different, because you'll have to watch what kind of vegetables to intake as well based on their glycemic index. Anyway, the more important column to pay attention to in this spreadsheet is the number of exchanges. So on the American Diabetes Association website, you can find a list of exchange foods, i.e. 2 starches/breads could look like a baked potatoe, two slices of low-carb bread (or anything with 30 grams of carb), rice, corn, etc. There are books of exchanges and most foods have an "exchange" listed on the side of the box where the nutrition label is.

I'd like to say I'm great at this. But there are times I want some more carbs, so I have them. But when I do follow, I do have more energy, less hungry, and lose weight. This is also a weight loss mode, not maintenance mode (you'd need to add more calories to maintain). The other two points she made sure I followed were required 8 hours of sleep per night (or at least 7), less than that and your body messes up its function and desires more carb. The second part was working out as hard as you can for only 30 minutes a day, no more than 60. More doesn't always mean better.

Hope this helps.

love,
Kirsten