Paleo Fuel

    I have two links and some charts (woohoo get excited!) to share with you today. I mentioned in my Paleo Conversation post that I would talk more about the Fat vs. Carbs issue. Instead of talking your ear off, I'm posting two links here with some information about the new dietary shift that calls for more fat and fewer carbs in your diet. 

It really doesn't focus on butter all that much.

TIME Magazine- Ending the War on Fat: This page links to a short video and the beginning of an article about why our country went low-fat to begin with and where dietary guidelines went wrong. You actually need a subscription to read the article, but the video works. This article on slate.com discusses the same issue. 

23 Studies on Low Fat vs Low Carb Diets: This site links to 23 studies and offers very brief summaries of their results. Can you guess what they show? Fat doesn't make you fat. 
Just think about it for a minute...what do you eat each day?  The following items are actually loaded with sugar:  Lowfat yogurt; smoothies made with lowfat yogurt, fruit, and honey are also loaded with sugar, whether or not you threw in a handful of kale; granola and granola bars; belvita; bread, including wheat bread; any type of juice, even if its homemade or "all natural"; corn; salad dressings; cereal; lowfat milk; and dried fruit. I used to start my day with 2 cups of plain cheerios, skim milk, and a large grapefruit. It seems pretty harmless. I thought it was a perfect breakfast. Here are the stats below:

This is an example of what I used to eat, but no longer do so because it makes me grumpy.

Eating like this turned me into a grumpy, irritated person who could only think about the lunch that was still hours away.  It also made me much more likely to dig into candy I bought for my students or cupcakes they brought for birthdays. The following breakfast is similar in total calories, but it lasted me until lunch without making me grumpy. I also didn't feel the need to stuff my face at lunch.

Delicious.

(These engaging charts are brought to you by My Fitness Pal.) I ate only ten more calories and was much happier. This meal has half of the carbs as the cheerios/grapefruit breakfast. It also has 23 more grams of fat, and this is where you think I'm a little crazy. We are brain-washed to freak out over fat. Eating fat won't make you fat unless you load on the sugary (and even not-so sugary) carbohydrates. Let me stop you before you assume my metabolism can just handle the fat and yours can't. Since 9th grade, I've had to watch what I eat and workout. I weighed more my junior year of high school than I do now.  I wasn't one of those girls who could pull off a size 2 pair of skinny jeans while downing a coke and a bag of Ruffles for lunch. 

I was nervous when changing my diet last year because I thought I would gain a lot of weight. I read a book, nearly 20 articles, and a handful of studies before I dove into the dietary change, but I was still taught to think that fat was bad. Here's what actually happened: nothing. I may have lost a couple of pounds, but my goal was just to prove that significantly increasing my fat intake and lowering my carb intake wouldn't make me fat. And it didn't. If you're skeptical, read through many of these success stories here: Mark's Daily Apple Success Stories and Chris Kresser Success Stories. Oh and Tim Howard eats Paleo.

I said I didn't want to talk your ear off about fat, and that's what I did. Oops. I even intended to talk about workout fuel, but I have a feeling that's an entire new blog post. 
Before I say good night, I want to make sure that no one thinks I'm telling you to eat this way or that this is the absolute  "correct" way to eat. I just really enjoy reading about nutrition, and I was tired of always being irritated and weak between meals.

Question: What foods keep you full during the day?
Ok I'm done. Good night =)