When Complex Is Good!

 Since several of us were wondering what exactly IS a Complex Carbohydrate I decided to do a little research of my own.  What I will lay out in the next few minutes is my mini-version of what I found.  I do not claim to know anything about this subject other than what I have found along the information hi-way!  (and even with that...Do Not take what I'm writing here as the truth...as we all know we can't believe everything we read on the internet!)  So please do some research also if you are interested in knowing more and then we can compare notes!  =D 


So with my mini-disclaimer out of the way...this is what I found! 


Basically, Complex Carbohydrates are foods in wholegrain form.  Some of these would be wholegrain bread, muesli, oats, and brown rice just to name a few.  Since they are in this "wholegrain" form...they take longer to break down into glucose within our bodies...this slow process provides us with a gradual, more balanced stream of energy as the day goes by.  On the flipside, Simple Carbohydrates, such as processed convenience foods...quickly turn into glucose, causing a spike in our blood sugars...and sending some of us to the moon, only to come crashing back down again 30 minutes later!  Raise your hand if you can relate!

Side Note: Complex Carbs are not only found in Grains but also in Fruits and Veggies too... You will see many familiar favorites in the list below and perhaps a few that will surprise you!  (Be sure to watch for those sugars and check your portions!)  The point is... it's a Whole Food...not processed into an unrecognizable mess!

Just this information alone makes me want to be very careful of my Carb choices!    The vitamins and minerals found in Natural Complex Carbs also play an important role, helping our body to properly utilize the energy the carb is supplying.  Simple carbs are usually so processed that they no longer even contain any useful vitamins and minerals..they are what are called "empty calories"...they lack anything of use to our body and actually could be destructive to healthy cells.  Ok...I don't know about your body...but mine is exhausted from fighting the WWIII sized war inside from me feeding it all the Simple carbs I have over the past 53 years of my life!  Dang!  Why do those simple carbs have to taste so good!  But I digress!  Let's move on...it gets better!


If the Carb does not have any nutrients to help the carbs to give us more energy...guess what?  Our bodies take the lack luster carb and converts it into FAT and STORES IT!   (Perhaps you've seen the commercial where the lady is walking around and she has a honey bun stuck to each hip! Very Graphic and True!)  I do not want to be that lady anymore!  


The sad truth is that many of us were fooled into believing that all these wonderful tasting goodies were good for you...especially if they were made at home and by your loving mom!  Heck!  I grew up having Peanut Butter and White Sugar sandwiches in my lunch box!  And of course I had a bag of chips and a cookie too!  My "milk ticket" I used on Orange Drink!  No wonder I was falling asleep by 1:00 in the afternoon!

So "bottom" line is...Reach for the the Healthy, High Fiber, Vitamin and Mineral Rich Complex Carbohydrates when filling your daily SIX BFC Carb points!  And for a nice dose of sustain daily energy... Spread those Good Carbs out throughout the day for a more balanced blood sugar and say "Good Bye" to those Hi's and Lo's!

Hope this helps...there's so much more...so I've attached 2 of the many articles I read today at the bottom of this post.

The following list is one I compiled during my research.  Although extensive, it is by no means conclusive!  I did not include the BFC points so you will need to look those up on your own.  I tried to mark those items which would have High Sugar Content...but may have missed some along the way...so be watchful for those sneaky hidden sugars that seem to hide in the most surprising places! 

• All-Bran cereals
• Almonds
• **Apple w/ skin
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Bagel
• Baked beans non sugary
• Beans
• **Beets
• Beet Greens
• **Blueberries
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Brown bread
• Brown rice
• Brussels Sprouts
• Buckwheat
• Buckwheat bread
• Cabbage
• **Carrots
• Cashews
• Cassava
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chick peas
• Coleslaw
• Collard Greens
• **Corn
• Cornmeal
• Cucumbers
• Dill Pickles
• **Dried apricots
• Eggplant
• Flax Seeds
• Garbanzo beans
• Granary Bread
• **Grapefruits
• Green Beans
• High fiber breakfast cereals
• Kale
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Lettuce
• Low fat yogurt
• Macaroni
• Maize
• Muesli
• Multi-grain bread
• Navy beans
• Oat bran bread
• Oat bran cereal
• Oatcakes
• Oatmeal
• Okra
• Onions
• **Oranges
• Other root vegetables
• Pastas
• Peanuts
• **Peas
• **Peppers, sweet
• Pinto beans
• Pistachios
• Pita bread
• **Plums
• Pop Corn Air popped
• Porridge Oats
• Potato w/skin
• **Prunes 
• Pumpernickel bread
• Pumpkin seeds
• Radishes
• Ryvita crispbread
• Shredded wheat
• Skim milk
• Soy milk
• Soybeans
• Spaghetti
• Spinach
• Split peas
• Sprouts
• **Strawberries
• Summer Squash
• Sunflower seeds
• Sweet potato
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes
• Turnip Greens
• Walnuts
• Water Cress
• Weetabix
• Whole Barley
• Whole grain flours
• Whole meal bread
• Wholemeal spelt
• Wholegrain Bread (sugar free is best)
• Wholegrain Cereals
• Wild rice
• Winter Squash
• Yam
• Zucchini

** WATCH FOR HIGH SUGAR CONTENT

CREDITS: Weighlossforall.com

                  Buzzle.com

 

 Important Update:  

Robin feels 10 lbs lighter today....

and is smiling again! 

Nuff Said!   

=D

I Do Solemly Swear...

Ok...some of you may have read my rant on Rosalie's blog...but in case you didn't here is the jist of it:
"Good Morning Rosalie!!! Dang it...you did it again..encouraged me to stick to it one more day! Ok, Ok... I'm going to stick with this thing...I can doooo it! But I've been stuck at the same weight now for 3 weeks! I'm so frustrated right now I could bust! (or is it burst?) I'm not cheating, I'm eating right...but still dealing with the "ISSUE" and all I can think of is I'm just full of S***! I keep telling hubby...if I ever get this part "normal" I'll drop 10 lbs instantly! Ok..thanks for the opp to spew my frustrations! Today on my blog I'm gonna make a commitment to myself and to ya'll...and face some skeletons I have still hanging in my closet! =O Love ya girl!"

So here goes my commitment to myself and YOU...my BFC friends!

I do solemnly swear that I will make sure I keep my frig stocked with healthy on the go, easy to grab, food and snacks so I won't go without or grab something that isn't on the BFC plan!

               Part of my problem I believe has been not eating all of my 6 servings of Healthy Carbs!  So I will make an extra effort to keep up with this in the future.

I do solemnly swear that I will STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTA!

         Eeek! This one's a tough one!  It's so easy to get lost following the infamous Rabbit Trails you are bombarded with each time you check your email, Facebook, your Blog List, and Forums!  I will even determine a time at which I will shut it down and find that I've gone over that by an hour or two!  Insane!
Some may wonder what this has to do with my BFC plan.... well my BUTT is spreading from here to there just for sitting hours at a time at this machine!  So I am making a plan to only check my email, FB, Blogs and Forums first thing in the morning and limit my time to 1 hour period!  Email one more time in the evening when I write my BFC post for the day.  The rest of the time will be spent doing creative and active things!

I do solemnly swear that I will kick the monkey off my bike and use it myself TWICE everyday!
          A friend of ours gave us the coolest exercise bike that sits not even 5 feet away from me in my art studio!  It even has one of those great cushy seats and computerized riding plans giving you a choice of challenges and resistance!  It even tells you how many miles you've gone,  how long you've ridden, and how many calories you burned!  So what is it that keeps me off of that wonderful riding machine...besides the monkey!  Well...here's one of my skeletons I referred to earlier... It's called SWEAT!  I hate sweating!
It makes me feel so yucky and sticky and more yucky and sticky!  I truly HATE it!  But I'm just going to have to face that sweaty skeleton and move past him...he's merely a fog and one that can be showered away! So I am committing today to ride twice a day and post my results so you and I will see that I'm doing what I promised. (Hubby reads the blog...so there's my accountability!)

I do solemnly swear that I will attend my NIA classes at least TWICE a week!

          Last week I was supposed to start my regular schedule of NIA classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Well, it never happened... First we had a monsoon rain on Tuesday and I also went to help my mom move to her new apartment...so Ok... I had a fairly good excuse... but Thursday rolled around and I just flat out chose NOT to go.  Why?  Remember Skeleton number 1 above?  Yep...SWEAT!  I didn't want to go out and sweat!  So I didn't!  Even though I LOVE the NIA classes and have a blast while dancing my heart out of my chest...I just wouldn't make myself DO IT!  So, I am confessing and committing all at once here... This week I'm gonna kick some skeletal A$$ and GO to my NIA classes!

Lastly... I do solemnly swear I will NOT use Ready Whip as an millinery adornment anymore and only use Ready Whip for occasional Sweet Splurges!
          Do I really need to explain my reasonings here?  Seems it's pretty obvious!  =D


I feel my lack of movement is causing my system backup as I mentioned in an earlier post and on Rosalie's blog today.  Even though I'm eating healthily, using the recommended methods for easier elimination, etc... I have had a serious problem and I feel that the only thing I haven't been doing to help things along is MOVEMENT! I truly believe it's a simple as that!  So now that my Sweat Skeleton has been exposed, hopefully I will be able to move on...get it over with... and shower it off!  I know I'll be better for it...in the end!