If you are trying to lose fat, you will ultimately need to cut carbohydrates. The more you have to cut, the harder it will be. Harder, but not impossible. The key is to choose wisely—to choose nutrient dense options.
I have been testing the Renaissance Periodization Diet App (RP Diet App) to shed some pounds and to have the experience to bring to my classroom. Overall, I have having great success. Last week, though, I didn’t lose much (though the days surrounding my weigh-in days were actually lighter than my official weigh-in). As a result, the app cut my carbs for this week pretty significantly (to 30 g per day—I should note that I also requested a more aggressive approach). This presents a challenge when the app calls for 5 g of carbohydrates for meals. Thus, I am looking for carbs that will fill my stomach and sustain me through to the next meal. This means less fruit and no more oatmeal. Five grams of carbs, by the way is as close to nothing as you can get. I don’t plan to keep to this for more than a week, but it will be an interesting experiment.
So, what is 5 g of carbs?? Beginning with high-density carbs, that is approximately 0.7 oz (0.2 medium) banana, 0.2 oz (0.2 slice) wheat bread, 0.7 oz of black beans, 0.3 oz (0.1 cup) quick cooking oatmeal, 0.9 oz (about 3 large—I measured) grapes, or 0.5 oz of cooked pasta. Among the low-density carbs, that is 1.4 oz (0.2 medium) green apple, 1.2 oz (0.2 cup) blueberries, 2.6 oz (0.5 cup) strawberries, 2.1 oz (0.5 cup) cantaloupe, and 2.1 oz carrots. Compare these to vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and mixed vegetables, of which you have to eat 3 oz to get 5 g of carbs. Leafy greens like spinach and arugula barely register on the RP Diet App. (The app doesn’t show that the macro has been met until 6.5 oz of spinach or 4.5 oz of arugula. Lettuce registers at 7.5 oz. That is a lot of greens!) So, salads it is! Preferably, I would also suggest supplementing a protein shake with some Super Greens to boost the nutrients. (The brand I use is about 8 g of carbs per heaping scoop, so a half scoop puts me in the range of 5g.)
Cutting the carbs, short-term, is a good way to cut the calories. Maintaining the proteins at approximately 1 g per pound of body weight will help sustain muscle and provide more satiety to the meals. Some fat is essential (especially to add flavor to that arugula salad). For me, that has been 5 g post-workouts and 15 g for the rest of my meals (70 g per day). Personally, I need food in my belly to be satisfied. The bulk of the fiber rich foods help.
As you can guess, there is no room for sugary foods when carbs are tight. You just have to suck it up and eat your veggies!
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!