personalized nutrition

Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

If you had to describe a holiday based on its menu, the word for Thanksgiving would be carbs. Mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, rolls with a little turkey thrown in for good measure, of course. It occured to me as I enjoyed my holiday meal that carbs have gotten a bad rap lately. With so many people adopting a low carb lifestyle and diets like keto being all the rage, carbs have really been vilified. But if you ask me, carbs have an important place in our diet – they are the body’s primary energy source – and should be embraced instead of avoided.

I feel like a lot of the negativity around carbs stems from misunderstanding. There are good carbs and bad carbs; carbs that you should incorporate into your meals and those you should avoid. Here’s my best attempt at breaking it down so you can easily figure out what is what.

There are two categories of carbohydrates – simple and complex. Foods fall into either category based on what they’re made of and how your body breaks them down. Some people think simple carbs are bad and complex carbs are good.

Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs Read More »

Did Your Diet Explode on July 4th?

All across the country people celebrated Independence Day with parties, fireworks and time with friends and family. As fun as they are, holidays like the 4th of July are very common times for people to fall off the wagon when it comes to their diets and fitness routines. But, slipping up (even a few times) over the holiday week doesn’t have to completely unravel all the progress you’ve made.

Here’s what to do if fireworks weren’t the only thing to blow up over this holiday week.

Acknowledge your slip up and move on. What’s done is done. Acknowledge that everyone, including you, is going to slip up once in a while. You’ll only set yourself up for personal disappointment if you expect perfection 100% of the time. If you live a generally healthy lifestyle, a short period of veering off track won’t turn you into an out of shape slug. Beating yourself up and wallowing in guilt will only prolong your episode and put more time and space between you and your overall healthy habits. In fact, a negative mindset has just as detrimental an effect on your body as eating bad food.

Did Your Diet Explode on July 4th? Read More »