Food Snubbing- Wheat

Poor wheat.  And fruit. And Corn.  And potatoes. And dairy. And red meat.  They are all getting an unnecessarily bad rap.

I don't know about you, but I have heard reports speaking against all of the above, even to the extremes of saying many of these shouldn't have been in the human diet in the first place and should be eliminated.  I think this is, at least, very inconvenient (and expensive) and, at most, dangerous.  My belief is that God put on these foods on earth for our consumption.  Eliminating any or all of them from our diets, for reasons other than allergies or intolerance's, leaves our bodies void of many nutrients they need to run at max efficiency.

Food fads come and go.  Someone will decide that a food "causes" problems.  Remember when they said peanut butter caused cancer?  The same thing came around about cauliflower.  Now, peanuts are considered a valuable source of healthy fats (A-hem... They always were!), and cruciferous vegetables, to include cauliflower, are considered nutritious for their unique blend of nutrients and fiber.

Hey, if you overeat ANY food, even a healthy one in it's most natural form possible, there are going to be negative side effects.  The key is to eat a very wide variety all the time.

So, starting with wheat, I plan to do a series of blogs on what I have heard to be the reasons to avoid the above mentioned foods, and my rebuttal to these reasons:

Wheat 

Reason to avoid: It has a high glycemic index, making it mess with blood sugar.
My rebuttal:  When wheat isn't stripped of it's wheat bran, bleached free of it's nutrients, smooshed to bits, and then sprayed with vitamins to "fortify it" (in other words, been turned into common white flour), the glycemic index isn't bad at all and it can actually help to stabilize blood sugar, due to the high fiber content.  It's the fact that man has jacked with it so much that has screwed it up.  If you want to use white flour for a special and rare dessert, be my guest!  Whole wheat flour does not a light dessert make. But for your regular, day-to-day use, go with whole wheat: either white wheat (it's actually a type wheat, still in it's whole form) or regular brown whole wheat flour.  King Arthur is my favorite brand of either.  Try it once, and you'll see why.  Totally worth the extra cost, IMHO

Reason to avoid:  The glucose in it is bad for you.
My rebuttal: The glucose in your regular, cheap, processed white wheat is indeed bad for you.  The glucose in whole wheat is not.  (See above.)

Reason to avoid: It is a high allergen.
My rebuttal: Are you allergic to it?  If so, then avoid it.  If not, this is a moot point.  I am allergic to tree nuts, but I'm not going to tell you to avoid tree nuts if you are not allergic to them.  They are good for you, but they are bad for me.  You should eat them, I should not.  Duh. 

Reason to avoid: It makes you bloat ("wheat belly").
My rebuttal: When some people digest wheat their midriffs do indeed temporarily swell.  It's the gases produced by the bacteria in the intestinal tract that are digesting the wheat. In other words, it's air.  And  this is a good thing:  It means the body is breaking the wheat down and sending the good stuff into your body to be used as healthy fuel, as well as separating the fiber to keep your elimination system moving regularly and in a healthy manner.  It's a temporary, healthy, and necessary process that will go down as soon as the digestion is complete.  Additionally, this tendency tends to be worse if you haven't had wheat for a while.  As your system adjusts to it, "wheat belly" will usually go away.  If it doesn't, you may be one of the rare people with either celiac disease or a gluten intolerance (keep reading).
 
Reason to avoid: It has little nutritional value.
My rebuttal: Hogwash!  It's an excellent source of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, folate, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, choline, betaine, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, copper, zinc, potassium, not to mention fiber.  If that's not a nutrient-rich food, I don't know what is.

Reason to avoid: Celiac Disease
My rebuttal:  If you have celiac disease, wheat is going to be a problem for you.  So is anything else with gluten in it.  But do you know how rare celiac disease is?  Last I heard, about 1/2 of a percent of all mankind actually have it, and only 15% are gluten intolerant.  How many of the remaining 84 & 1/2% are avoiding gluten because they think it is bad for them?  They are missing out on important nutrients all packaged into one very healthy food unnecessarily.  This is ridiculous.  Gluten is what gives wheat it's protein and is rich in iron, among other things.  Vegetarians often use it for this reason.  Don't go for gluten-free foods unless you have been medically diagnosed to have a sensitivity to gluten.

Next up: Fruit......

The Great Weigh-In Debate

Do you ever struggle with how often you should weigh yourself? I've seen rather heated discussions on the subject.  Everyone seems to have an opinion.  It can get confusing. 

Personally?  I don't think there is one answer for everyone.  I think this has more to do with your own personality than anything else.  And, to a lesser degree, your goals.

If you are someone who needs constant accountability to keep your head in the game, daily weighing is what I would suggest.  Knowing that you have to face the scale every morning might help you to stay on-track during the day.

On the other hand, if you are someone who gets discouraged with the daily (normal) fluctuations in scale weight, a weekly or bi-weekly weigh-in might be better for you.

And some people do better if they just don't get on a scale at all and instead focus on the changes in how clothes fit, measurements, and how they look in the mirror.  Which are actually more accurate, albeit slower, gauges, anyhow.

Then there is the factor of goals.  Weight loss is a completely different mindset than maintenance.  You might decide you need to weigh more or less often, depending on where your head is in your current journey.  Personally, I do best during maintenance when I weigh daily.  But that's me.  Some people are better at letting it go entirely or just jumping on a scale every once in a while to make sure they are still on target.

And then there is the goal of muscle gain.  When I start with a new client, I ask them to step away from the scale, if at all possible. This is because, for reasons unknown to me, often the scale weight will change very little while the body shape changes fairly rapidly once intense resistance training is introduced.  If someone is focusing on the scale it makes it very hard for them to acknowledge the physical changes taking place in their body.

Likewise, if you are working with a trainer who wants you to weigh in at certain intervals, that is what you need to do.  Don't jack with their program!  (I did a blog by [almost] that title here.)

There is so much more to your fitness than a number on the scale!

And lastly, however often you decide to weigh, strive to do it at the same time of day, in the same amount of dress, having eaten (or not eaten) the same number of meals before hand.  The most accurate time to weigh is first thing in the morning, after you have used the restroom and buck naked.  But even then, there are fluctuations, so don't let a gain of a pound or two ruin your day.  Just make note of it, keep doing the right thing, and weigh at the next scheduled weigh date.  The most important thing is that the overall trend is downward.

Don't allow someone else's opinion of how often you should weigh guilt you or have you second-guessing what is right for you. We are all individuals.  Do what works for you, and respect what others say works for them.  It's a big fitness world and there is room for all of our differences.