End it with a sweet note

Hey guys! How are ya??? I’m bueno.. took yoga, taught spin and have a belly full of Indian food and cookie. I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂

After my soup butchering incident, I met Jeni at the gym for 30 breezy minutes of elliptical chatting and some abs.

We did twisting crunches with a medicine ball on the decline bench, weighted crunches and reverse crunches with a medicine ball in between our knees. We decided to hit up The Main Squeeze for an afternoon smoothie while I got the coche detailed.

Once again, I decided to BMOP

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(1 scoop vanilla sprouted brown rice protein, 1 scoop of Vegalicious (which officially made my drink a sludge), and 1 packet of Stevia.

All went into the Tropical Superfood Smoothie:

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(I decided to roll with the 20 oz today)

Quite a glorious sludge 😀

My car wasn’t finished yet, so we decided to kill some time at the health food store—tragedy, I know 😉 Holler to the health food store girls, who told me they read the blog!! How cool is that?!? The owner said that when I come up with my own line of raw snacks, she would sell them. I might have to take her up on that 😉

Here’s what I bought:

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Flax snacks for our roadtrip, WINE juice –from Cabernet grapes (!)—I can’t to try this, raw chocolate and a coconut water for electrolyte replenishment tomorrow.

We had to bust open the raw chocolate:

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All it has is raw cacao and raw agave. And it rocked my face off.

I picked my car up –she looks BEAUTFUL!!! Like a brand-new car!- and then came home to get ready for tonight’s workout sesh.

I took a lovely vinyasa class and then taught spin – and it wasn’t my best class :/ My teaching ability has waned a little this week with everything going on, that’s for sure. Hopefully I’ll still have people when I get back! 😉

For dinner, we all met up at Passage 2 India.. aka the key to my soul

We started with the usual pappadum and dippers:

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And gobi manchurian, the spicy cauliflower foodgasm

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Vino:

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And for my meal, I actually got something different!

Not-on-the-menu veggie delight:

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And two of the pilot’s shrimp:

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We also did BYOD (Bring Your Own Dessert)

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Liz Lovely Vegan Chocolate Moose Dragon Cookie.

My night is complete 😀

I’m off to put on jammies and if I’m feeling spunky, work on my to-do-before-I-leave list 😀

See ya tomorrow!
G$

Something to talk about: The great carb debate. I got a comment on my last post asking what my position on carbs is.

It said:

I was wondering what your thoughts are on lowering carbohydrates for weight loss? Do you think you lose weight faster on a low carb diet, and if so how low should one go, or is it not necessary?

I DO not think you need to go low-carb for weight loss. I do, however, think you need to go *SMART* carb, not only for weight loss but for health purposes in general. Smart carbs are: fruits and veggies, bean and legumes, sweet potatoes, whole grains (brown rice, millet, quinoa, oat bran, oatmeal, spelt, etc.). *Not-so-smart carbs* are things like: white pasta and bread, white rice, processed crackers and cookies, etc.

I used to limit the amount of carbs in my life, mainly due to the fact that I lost a majority of my weight on South Beach, which encourages smart carbs but in limited quantities per day. At one point in my life, I was eating 1-2 whole grain servings. I was small, yes, but smushy and was not consuming enough carbohydrates to support my active lifestyle. As soon as I started adding more grain servings back in, the smush went away and as an added bonus so did the lack of carb crankiness 😀

You will lose weight quickly on a low-carb diet, but fast weight loss isn’t the healthy way to go and is nearly impossible to maintain. By choosing a balanced diet of smart carbs, lean protein and healthy fats, you will be able to lose the weight you’re looking for (or just tone up if you don’t need to lose weight) and will be able to maintain what you’ve accomplished in the long term.

Healthy eating/living is about BALANCE. When you have a healthy balance of all of your food groups, your body will respond beautifully. Any lifestyle that recommends a severely limited amount of macronutritients should be avoided. The way I feel about it is that the way you eat should be something you should be able to maintain for life. That’s the difference between a lifestyle and a diet—a lifestyle is something that you will happily be able to follow from now on, while a diet can’t possibly be followed for a long span of time.

Right now, my diet is the highest in carbs it’s probably ever been as I like to stuff my face with fruits and veggies all the livelong day 😀 I still don’t eat a ton of grains –maybe 2 servings per day- but when I’m feeling it, I’ll happily help myself to a bowl of the good stuff.

Have you tried the low carb thing before??? What was your experience like??

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29 Comments

  1. Lizzy on September 1, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    yummy dinner! 🙂

  2. niccilerline on September 1, 2009 at 11:47 pm

    Any chance of getting that recipe for your friend’s light as angel food cheesecake? I discovered your blog a week or so ago and have spent the time since then catching up. Its weird to see someone’s year in a week on fast forward! When you said you would post the recipe I got excited but never saw it in later posts…any chance of a big reveal? I know you’re busy getting ready to head off to school…I am too, so I know how crazy it is, but it sounded amazing and I’d love to try it out. I googled it and came up with something called japanese cheesecake…any chance I’m on the right track? Thanks!

    PS – sorry about your puppers situation…I lost my kitty this year and I know how painful pet situations can be 🙁

  3. nomnomnom on September 1, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Market your B-fast cookie immediately! mooolah G…plenty mooolah in those–and healthy inspiration and love ofcourse! =)

  4. Fallon on September 2, 2009 at 12:48 am

    Interesting on your carb perspective. I agree 100%. I use to count calories about 3 years ago and I just couldn’t do it forever. Yes I lost weight but it sucked to constantly count! I wanted to eat a normal portion and be happy with it. I found eating food as pure as possible is the best way to go. I eat grains and sprouted grains (like ezekiel bread). Veggies and fruits are natures food. You should be able to eat as much of them as you want in a day. I do have a question for you though. Fruit. How much fruit to consume? I’ve always had a sweet tooth and I always go for fruit when I want something sweet. Sometimes I feel I eat too much fruit, but then I always think but it’s just fruit? It’s not a cookie!

  5. GirlonRaw on September 2, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Great post re carbs. I totally agree on the smushiness. I went on the Atkins Diet years ago (who hasn’t?) and although I got a rocking ripped body and looked fantastic, I clearly remembered one day walking up to the cash machine and totally forgetting my secret PIN number. It was any wonder I didn’t forget my name and my focus was totally OFF!

  6. Deb (Smoothie Girl Eats Too) on September 2, 2009 at 1:16 am

    Yes, have done the low carb thing-many times. Once I lost nothing. Once I lost a bunch but felt like crap. now I prefer complex carbs, but I cannot say no to a piece of naan bread. The roti/chapati just doesn’t cut it for me 🙂

    Deb

  7. Fat Girl on September 2, 2009 at 1:19 am

    So, this is my first comment on your blog. Love love love it. Thanks for the inspiration and personal training insight that we all need. Can’t wait to start doing your circuits and making your breakfast cookie. I actually had my own, very first blog post today, in part inspired by your advice and guidance.

  8. WholeBodyLove on September 2, 2009 at 1:31 am

    Your position on carbs is much like mine! I really love your posts that address eating to support an active lifestyle and the importance of giving your body what it needs. So helpful!

  9. Tay on September 2, 2009 at 2:12 am

    I love your opinion on the carb debate. Your body cannot survive without carbs, as I’ve learned time and time again in my nutrition classes. The key is healthy, whole grain, unprocessed carbs, but unhealthy white carbs are definitely okay in moderation. There are some things to occasionally be enjoyed! I once went on a low carb diet in high school and remember being SOOOOOO cranky, light headed and just starving no matter what!!

  10. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) on September 2, 2009 at 2:46 am

    I’ve tried and loved the go raw bars (there’s one in an orange wrapper that’s flax seeds and apricot as the main ingredients….soo good) but that’s good info that the chocolate bar rocked. Cool!

    Carbs…I think I am the only person in the world who has never, ever counted carbs. I honestly do not know if I eat 20 or 200 g’s of carbs a day. I really have no idea. I do know my general fiber stats and my protein stats, but the other numbers I don’t pay attention to. I don’t eat grains though, with the exception of oats. I am a raw as possible fruits and veggies girl. I try to be high raw, all vegan. It’s what I have found works for me and keeps my body strong and able to do all the yoga I want!

  11. Filis on September 2, 2009 at 4:53 am

    I agree completely on the carbs issue, I can’t feel good without them, not to mention the skin problems I have if I eat too many fats or protein.

    I love your smoothie recipes, and tonight I will prepare my breakfast cookie for tomorrow, can’t wait!

  12. Shelby on September 2, 2009 at 6:25 am

    Even though that chocolate is so expensive, it is some of the best! I love it.

    No grains = No brains for me. I don’t have any energy! I eat TONS of smart carbs, but I guess that’s just what works for me.

  13. simpledaisy on September 2, 2009 at 6:46 am

    I do and watch my starchy carb intake….but lately I have been really re-thinking this and have been really thinking about giving up dairy:) I am a total cheese freak and just can’t help to think what all the saturated fat is doing to my insides! I think I eat cheese at least 3x a day! Plus I am still about 8 pounds away from my goal and I am sure my cheese addiction is helping me move towards this goal! Great post~

  14. MizFit on September 2, 2009 at 6:53 am

    I tried LOWLOWOW carb once before a bodybuilding competition (youre supposed to go LOW the week prior) —- I lasted a day.

    I could NOT THINK CLEARLY at all and seriously feared driving.

    for me it is low PROCESSED carbs.

  15. Lauren on September 2, 2009 at 7:21 am

    I like to get my carbs from fruits and veggies too, but sometimes a girl’s just gotta have some grain. (cereal, granola, bread….)

    Low carb/high protein diets never really intereseted me, but I remember when the Atkins craze was HUGE. Glad that’s mostly over and people came to their senses. Life without carbs just seems to make everyone crabby.

  16. Rebecca on September 2, 2009 at 7:48 am

    Your food looks awesome! I agree with your advice on smart carbs!

  17. K on September 2, 2009 at 9:01 am

    That’s so sweet that the health food store employees/owner reads your blog! I don’t think I could ever go low-carb, I love my breads and apples way too much!

  18. Nicoleonthego on September 2, 2009 at 9:13 am

    I completely agree with your perspective on Diet & Lifestyle. That’s a mind set I’ve tried to always embrace when I change an aspect of what I eat. It’s nice to read that someone else shares my same thoughts about this.
    Thanks Gina! 🙂

  19. Ada on September 2, 2009 at 9:19 am

    Woah, I’ve never seen raw chocolate before, it looks great! Your spicy cauliflower also looks delish:)

  20. A on September 2, 2009 at 10:07 am

    Great answer to that question. The low/no carb thing totally blows! Healthy grains is the way I roll!
    -A

  21. Krista on September 2, 2009 at 10:30 am

    GREAT info on carbs. I’ve never gone low carb. I actually am not a fan of pasta, potatoes and bread….never have been…..so it’s easy for me to avoid these types of food.

    I love working out with a partner. It makes the time fly and is certainly more fun!

  22. Rose on September 2, 2009 at 11:01 am

    Yum. It all looks good here.

  23. Low on September 2, 2009 at 11:42 am

    That’s awesome that they offered to sell your products. I would totally buy them if I lived in Vdizzle 🙂

  24. Lacy on September 2, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    I did a very low carb diet. I can now say I have hypothyroidism for shocking my metabolism and I gained all the weight back! So I really appreciate hearing your perspective on carbs.

  25. Melanie on September 2, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    That Dragon cookie looks to die for !!!! Your dinner looks fantastic. I don’t do the low carb thing either. I need my healthy carbs.

  26. Nicci@NiftyEats on September 2, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Mt attempt at Low carb lef tme hungry and faint 7 gave me headaches. I have now learned how to lose w/o low carb! I eat fruits and veggies and whole grain breads and pastas.

  27. Mandy on September 2, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    I guess by low carb you mean less than 50% carbohydrates. I exercise too much for that kind of diet. I could never give up bread, or I’d be sad. I do track my protein, though.

  28. Justine on September 3, 2009 at 3:08 am

    I definitely don’t do the low-carb thing, but I don’t eat that many grains. I eat bread here and there (only whole grain, or sprouted if possible) and pasta sometimes (one of my favorite vices if you want to call it that) but only when I really want them. I have problems with candida and being over-yeasted so I have to be careful not to overdo the starches and sweets. I find that when I’ve ‘overdone’ any starchy carbs before, I’ve felt a lot MORE “smushy” – so everybody’s different, really.

  29. lola on September 4, 2009 at 6:50 pm

    all the food looks amazing!

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