Here are some tips I give to my gluten-free customers at Skinny Fork who want to lose weight. It's a good place to start. These tips are applicable to most individuals, gluten-free or not.
1. Focus On Each Meal, NOT On Each Day
Whether you're dieting or maintaing your weight, eat 5-6 mini meals per day or 3 main meals and two snacks. Each meal should be approximately three hours apart. The biggest, unintentional mistake people make is they "bank" calories. They skip breakfast and lunch and then eat a huge dinner. Your body is an Awesome Machine that will totally screw with you to stay alive and viable. If you skip meals, no problem. Awesome Machine says, "Let's just slow down this metabolism and produce less energy." When you finally fuel Awesome Machine with a Tex-Mex Combo Platter, it says, "Let's store some of this...no, better yet, let's store LOTS of this because sometimes we go for awhile without being fueled."
True story, I struggled with my weight for years. In high school (I was 20 lbs heavier than now) I couldn't eat more than 1,000 calories a day without gaining weight. It was a result of yo-yo dieting and eating once a day. Now, at 37, I maintain a healthy weight and energy level by eating the right combinations of proteins, carbs and fats; eating six mini meals per day; and taking my vitamins. At 100 lbs, I eat 1,800+ calories per day for maintenance.
By eating the right combination of foods, you'll also have a steady flow of energy. Remember, steady energy = steady blood glucose. This is a good thing.
Me, circa early 1990's. I
'm on the left.
Me, 2/2012 - doing push ups at Metro Dash.
Ignore the knee socks.
2. Be Protein-centric (I like making up words)
Every mini meal should be built around protein. Ideally, have 15g or more of protein. A good rule of thumb for athletes is 0.8-1.0 (or more) grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. If fat loss is a goal, use your lean body mass instead of total body weight. Crossfit's level of intensity puts us all squarely in the "athlete" category when it comes to nutrition. Protein breaks down into amino acids that are essential for maintaining, repairing and building lean muscle tissue.
Then you add carbohydrates (and fiber) and healthy fats to the protein in order to:
a) slow down/speed up protein absorption
b) make you satiated (SAT vocabulary for "full").
3. Include Healthy Fats
If you're eating 20% fat hamburgers, you can ignore this pointer. If you're truly dieting healthy and eating clean (lean proteins), you should add a moderate amount of healthy fats to some of your meals. Healthy fats include olive oil, peanut and almond butters, coconut oil, avocado and flax. Healthy fats keep you satiated, moderate protein absorpotion, and is required for fat-soluble nutrients to be metabolised by your body. Seriously, don't leave this step out. If you plateau on a diet, feel hungry between meals or feel lethargic even though you're popping vitamins, try eating a tablespoon of almond butter with a couple of your meals. It may sound counter-intuitive (especially if you've plateaued on a diet) but it may be the spark plug you need to re-energize your metabolism. For Pete's sake, just don't eat the almond butter with a tube of crackers or eat a bowl of guacamole. Moderation is key.
4. Take Your Vitamins
Take a multivitamin daily, with breakfast if possible. I also recommend a non-liquid Vitamin C and an EFA (fish oil) tablet with every other meal (preferably your three largest meals of the day). I, personally, also take two green tea capsules early in the morning and two capsules half-way through the day. Yes, I'm of Korean descent, but somehow the green tea gene skipped me. I don't like drinking the stuff so I take the capsules. Green tea leaves are a powerful antioxidant, boost your metabolism, and provide energy without the jitters. Just don't take them late in the day. You'll be cursing me as you toss and turn in bed, trying to get some shut-eye.
5. For Gluten-Free Individuals
Read the nutritional information on bread, pastas and other flour-containing foods labeled "Gluten-Free." Often times, these items are made with non-gluten flours that are more calorically dense and higher on the glycemic index than their traditional wheat-based counterparts. Treat these as just that...treats. Find healthier, whole food alternatives for traditional wheat-based products. For example, this past Easter I hosted a brunch with lamb and buffalo burgers. As an alternative to traditional buns, I sliced my favorite vegetable, sweet potatoes, into length-wise discs and roasted them. I served the burgers between two slices of sweet potatoes, and they were a hit. Toss out the old kitchen paradigms and get creative.
Cheers,
Missy
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