Whole Wheat

We would all be much healthier if we ate like they did hundreds of years ago, growing their own wheat, grinding it, making their own bread. With everything processed and refined these days we are really doing damage to our health.

White flour is wheat that has been subjected to the refining process, which basically removes the bran and the germ from the wheat, and along with it most of the nutrients (including all of the fiber).

White flour has been shown to increase your risk of type 2 diabetes (because it has a high glycemic index which affects blood sugar in unhealthy ways, similar to just eating a spoonful of white sugar). It also raises your levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) causing heart disease. It’s been adversely linked to colon health because of the lack of fiber, which can lead to Crohn’s disease, IBS, and colon cancer. And it’s associated with excess fat, especially around your middle (true story, I’m not making this up). It makes you feel sluggish and less inclined to want to exercise. I have experienced this, but I also read it so I swear it’s not just my opinion.

Eating whole grains has the opposite effect, decreasing your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer. People who eat whole grains weigh less. It also lessens chronic inflammation, helps prevent gallstones, keeps your GI tract regular, even protects against breast cancer. (Okay, now I feel like I’m giving my breastfeeding speech, which just so happens to include a lot of the same benefits.)

There are actually more benefits listed on this site. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=66

Have I sold you yet? Are you ready to toss out your white flour? If not that’s okay. But for the sake of this competition, let me just say that once you get all your servings of whole grains/fiber for the day, you won’t have much room left for white flour. And if you are eating a whole lot of it along with everything on our list that you need to eat each day, most likely you are not going to lose weight because you’ll be getting more calories.

There is a wide selection of whole grain pastas in the stores now. There are a lot of whole grain tortillas. Of course there’s also a lot of products that claim ‘whole grains’ when they are really mostly refined flour. But I’m not going to get too nit-picky with the competition. Just do your best to choose high fiber foods for your three servings.

It’s true brown rice doesn’t taste as good as white rice. But that probably means that you won’t eat as much of it, right?

This is one of the things I gained a better understanding of from doing a competition like this. You look at food and ask what it is providing for you. Vitamins? Fiber? Calcium? Protein? Wheat bread with honey is actually good for you. Where as Nilla Wafers are just empty calories that play with your blood sugar. (But they sure are yummy :))

You can substitute whole wheat flour for white flour anywhere in your diet. I've even used it for gravy! Try it. It's awesome. I can't go back.

Safe Foods

No points given nor points taken away.

•Unsweetened cereals/Low in Fiber: Cheerios, Wheeties, Crispix, etc
•Nuts
• Low Sugar Jam
• Diet Soda or Crystal Light (both not necessarily good for you)
• 100 cal popcorn snack or air popped popcorn
• Pretzels, wheat thins, etc (in moderation)
• Sugar free jello, Fat free sugar free jello pudding
• Fat free or Sugar free cool whip, or light whipped topping
• Mustard, Salsa, Relish, Pickles, Marinara sauces, or lower fat sauces
• Spray butter, light butter alternatives, Pam
• Olive oil, Canola oil
• Low-Cal, low-fat healthy alternatives
• You are allowed 3 servings a week of something sweet, 150 calories or less. Ideas include Skinny Cow ice cream treats, or small amounts of sweets. I am trying to be realistic and a life without anything sweet is not realistic. Any more than 3 servings in a week, or more than 150 calories in one serving is negative 5 points.

Good Food List

3 Fiber (goal is 25 grams a day)- up to 15 points: (5 points each)
*Oatmeal (i.e. old fashioned or Quaker Weight Control)
*Whole grain hot cereals (unsweetened, may add agave nectar or honey)
*Low sugar, High Fiber cereals (i.e. All Bran, Fiber One, ~10g/serving)
*Whole grain bread, pita bread & tortillas
*Brown Rice
*Legumes (black beans, kidney beans, etc)
*Etc.

2 Protein – up to 10 points: (5 points each)
*Fish (tuna, salmon, halibut, etc)
*Shrimp
*Chicken (w/o skin)
*Turkey
*Eggs, Egg Whites, Egg Beaters
*Protein Shake (less than 250 cal per shake)
*Cottage cheese (lowfat)
*Legumes (black beans, kidney beans, etc)
*Peanut Butter
*90% or more lean ground beef or lean steak
*Low fat beef jerky

2 Dairy – up to 10 points: (5 points each)
*Skim or 1% milk
*Lowfat cheeses (string cheese, mozzarella, laughing cow, etc)
*Lowfat or nonfat yogurt (Dannon Light ‘n Fit, 1 cup ~ 80 to 100 cal)
--If you are lactose intolerant or you have issues with dairy, you can achieve
similar results with soy products, a calcium supplement, etc--

All Fruit – 5 points each – up to 15 points

All Vegetables – 5 points each – up to 15 points
clarification: potatoes are a great source of fiber, however, make sure you eat in them in moderation and not mashed.

Supplements – 5 points
*Multivitamin (Centrum gets good reviews)
*Calcium and Vitamin D (Oscal Ultra or Caltrate 600 Plus - good reviews)
*Fish oil capsules on days when you did not eat fish (1 gram)

Bad Foods List

Subtract 5 Points for each SERVING of food you eat a day on this list.

• Sugary cereal, full-fat store bought granola
• Fried foods, cheesy foods, full-fat cream sauce, bacon or full-fat sausage
• Bakery items such as muffins, cake, bagels, doughnuts, brownies, cookies, pie, sweet roll, danish, etc
• Soda or other drinks with sugar
• Mayo, sour cream, butter, margarine, creamy sauces, full calorie/full fat salad dressings, dips
• Ice cream, whole or 2% milk, cream, full fat cheeses, cream cheese
• Potato chips, Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos, Cheezits, crackers, etc.
• Fast food, Restaurant food, pizza (There are some good choices – your discretion)
• Chocolate, candy, candy bars, pop tarts
• Full sugar syrups, jams, jellies
• High sugar or high calorie protein bars over 150 calories.

RULES

Program runs from Sept 5th to Oct 3rd.

Honesty. Of course there is no way to check up on each other and make sure we are telling the truth. It is on your honor that you report your numbers each week.

Track your points daily. The week goes from Monday morning to Monday morning. Use checklist to help keep track of points daily.

Weigh In. You will weigh in each Monday. Try for the same time of day each week. You will earn 10 points for ANY lost weight as long as it’s half a pound or more. If you are already at your goal weight, let me know beforehand to work out something else.

Every Monday you will email your points to me at poanster99@gmail.com. If I get your email on Monday, you get 5 extra points.

There will be two mini-competitions on week 2 and week 3. If you participate in these challenges, you will let me know in your weekly email to me and I will have random.org choose the winner out of those who played.

Good Food Points (see other form). You get 5 points for each serving you eat, up to the maximum points for each day. You do not get extra points for extra servings.

Bad Food Points (see other form). You will deduct 5 points for each serving of foods you eat on the bad foods list. No max! If you eat 10 servings of bad food, you get -50!

Water Points. You get 10 points for drinking 64 ounces of water a day. That is just less than four normal size water bottles, or 8 cups. I like to number water bottles 1-4 so I can sip on them throughout the day and still keep track.

Exercise Points. 15-29 minutes= 20 points. 30-45 minutes= 30 points. 46 minutes and up= 40 points. Max of 40 points a day. No exercise points counted on Sundays. Exercise can be resistance training, cardiovascular, zumba, yoga, pilates, brisk walking, etc. Pretty much anything that gets your heart rate up, and maybe a little sweat on your brow.

After 8 PM Points. You earn 10 points if you eat nothing after 8 PM. Or 3 hours before bed. If you regularly go to bed at midnight, then you can eat up to 9 PM. (If you have issues with blood sugars or other reasons you can not keep this rule, let me know and we will work it out.) Eat after eight…. Put on weight!

Bonus Points. Every week I will send out emails including ways you can earn bonus points. These emails will also include freebies, ie: eat a serving off the bad food list without losing points.

Supplement Points. Can be something like a multivitamin, or calcium and vit D, or fish oil, or a combination of all three.

Prayer. Receive 10 points for daily personal prayer. Family prayers or prayers over meals do NOT count.

Scriptures. Receive 10 points for reading scriptures, or another inspirational book, daily.

Good Luck!!